I have a 2nd level bard that is thinking about the college he'll choose at 3rd level. My bard is the designated main healer. I know Lore is probably optimal but I am very interested in College of Creation. Our group is mostly damage dealers (barbarian, sorcerer, ranger) with a Mercy Monk as the secondary healer. There will likely be less need for social skills and more need of useful things in combat, especially heals, support, and crowd control. It's possible we will get to high levels but will take a while.
Race is Changeling, got Charisma up to 17. I would like to take +1 charisma at level 4 with a feat, but think maybe inspiring leader would be more beneficial to the group.
Has anyone played a College of Creation main healer and have good build/creation suggestions?
I think you'll be just fine with a College of Creation Bard as your group's primary Healer... the only thing that makes Lore Bards any better at healing is their extra Magical Secrets they can use early on to get something like Healing Spirit early. College of Creation actually has a few boosts to healing that maybe aren't too obvious.
For one, their "Mote of Potential" for their Bardic Inspiration is awesome. Specifically for healing use, if an ally uses your Bardic Inspiration on a Saving Throw they just automatically gain temp HP just for using it. So even if they still fail their Saving Throw you've gifted them some Temp HP to absorb whatever damage is coming their way.
And your Animating Performance feature doesn't seem like it does any healing, but importantly it creates a completely disposable "meat shield" you can throw into combat that will absorb damage that might otherwise hit your allies. Even if you're not actively attacking with it and just letting it move around the battlefield and use its free dodge action to be harder to hit, if it tanks even one attack from the enemy that's damage your allies aren't taking. It's also non-concentration, and has a feature that affects the speed of creatures around it... either slowing them down or speeding them up. You can use this for more battlefield control, both making it easier for your allies to get out of range of enemies they want to avoid, and hampering the enemy if they try to pursue. And while it's out there doing it's thing, you can still cast potent concentration spells like Hypnotic Pattern.
Having access to healing spells and abilities is useful, but preventing damage in the first place is usually a better use of the party's "healer" than just recovering HP.
Creation Bard healers are one of my favorites, because they can create their own components for spells, such as the diamonds for Greater Restoration, enabling you to use those spells more freely than other characters. You'll actually be better than Life Clerics at removing debilitating effects other than basic hit point damage to keep the party in the fight.
That, and the good points made by TransmorpherDDS above.
With that party make up don't underestimate Heroism! Your Barbarian effectively doubles the temp HP and the immunity to fear can be HUGE for barbarians with their weak Wis saves and reliance on melee. Otherwise mostly just those above. Bards are perfectly good healers and Creation's big contribution to combat is the meat shield companion. I'd also recommend grabbing Fey Touched at some point b/c that BA MistyStep can be crucial for getting out of the fray so you can heal others.
The ranger has access to Goodberry and Cure Wounds and can help out on the healing as well, certainly from lvl 3 if he/she has not chosen healing spells on lvl 2. Goodberry is particularly useful imho, as if you have not used all your spells before a long rest you can fire the spell on some random berries you have picked un during the rest and get 24 hour healing ability whenever you have a little down time (doesn't even have to be a short rest). 10 berries (=hp) for each "throwaway" 1st lvl spell slot, which is better than a potion of healing and costs nothing
One thing to keep in mind is that combat healing isn't nearly so much of a thing in 5e as it is in something like an MMO. The relative value of using a spell slot to heal vs attack in combat skews heavily towards attacking, particularly since 5e restores all HP on a long rest. Any full caster that gets access to things like Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration can be a functional healer.
The Disney Princess Bard (College of Creation) is one of the two best Bard collages. Very powerful. Works fine as a Main healer, but not it's main advantages.
A lot will depend on whether or not your DM lets you have access to the various non-magical, roots, berries, etc. One is a full on ressurection, others include bonuses to poison, disease saves, another grants temp hitpoints.
The Disney Princess Bard (College of Creation) is one of the two best Bard collages. Very powerful. Works fine as a Main healer, but not it's main advantages.
A lot will depend on whether or not your DM lets you have access to the various non-magical, roots, berries, etc. One is a full on ressurection, others include bonuses to poison, disease saves, another grants temp hitpoints.
Not familiar with those items, are they homebrew? Honestly, a group shouldn't need access to resurrection that often, and most of the others are situational. Healing potions are good for a little on the spot healing, although they have some scaling issues as well.
Thanks all for the ideas. I found a link to a list of the best non-magical items, with prices, that might be of use to someone trying to find things to make with their Performance of Creation.
Greetings,
I have a 2nd level bard that is thinking about the college he'll choose at 3rd level. My bard is the designated main healer. I know Lore is probably optimal but I am very interested in College of Creation. Our group is mostly damage dealers (barbarian, sorcerer, ranger) with a Mercy Monk as the secondary healer. There will likely be less need for social skills and more need of useful things in combat, especially heals, support, and crowd control. It's possible we will get to high levels but will take a while.
Race is Changeling, got Charisma up to 17. I would like to take +1 charisma at level 4 with a feat, but think maybe inspiring leader would be more beneficial to the group.
Has anyone played a College of Creation main healer and have good build/creation suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your help!
I think you'll be just fine with a College of Creation Bard as your group's primary Healer... the only thing that makes Lore Bards any better at healing is their extra Magical Secrets they can use early on to get something like Healing Spirit early. College of Creation actually has a few boosts to healing that maybe aren't too obvious.
For one, their "Mote of Potential" for their Bardic Inspiration is awesome. Specifically for healing use, if an ally uses your Bardic Inspiration on a Saving Throw they just automatically gain temp HP just for using it. So even if they still fail their Saving Throw you've gifted them some Temp HP to absorb whatever damage is coming their way.
And your Animating Performance feature doesn't seem like it does any healing, but importantly it creates a completely disposable "meat shield" you can throw into combat that will absorb damage that might otherwise hit your allies. Even if you're not actively attacking with it and just letting it move around the battlefield and use its free dodge action to be harder to hit, if it tanks even one attack from the enemy that's damage your allies aren't taking. It's also non-concentration, and has a feature that affects the speed of creatures around it... either slowing them down or speeding them up. You can use this for more battlefield control, both making it easier for your allies to get out of range of enemies they want to avoid, and hampering the enemy if they try to pursue. And while it's out there doing it's thing, you can still cast potent concentration spells like Hypnotic Pattern.
Having access to healing spells and abilities is useful, but preventing damage in the first place is usually a better use of the party's "healer" than just recovering HP.
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Creation Bard healers are one of my favorites, because they can create their own components for spells, such as the diamonds for Greater Restoration, enabling you to use those spells more freely than other characters. You'll actually be better than Life Clerics at removing debilitating effects other than basic hit point damage to keep the party in the fight.
That, and the good points made by TransmorpherDDS above.
With that party make up don't underestimate Heroism! Your Barbarian effectively doubles the temp HP and the immunity to fear can be HUGE for barbarians with their weak Wis saves and reliance on melee. Otherwise mostly just those above. Bards are perfectly good healers and Creation's big contribution to combat is the meat shield companion. I'd also recommend grabbing Fey Touched at some point b/c that BA MistyStep can be crucial for getting out of the fray so you can heal others.
The ranger has access to Goodberry and Cure Wounds and can help out on the healing as well, certainly from lvl 3 if he/she has not chosen healing spells on lvl 2. Goodberry is particularly useful imho, as if you have not used all your spells before a long rest you can fire the spell on some random berries you have picked un during the rest and get 24 hour healing ability whenever you have a little down time (doesn't even have to be a short rest). 10 berries (=hp) for each "throwaway" 1st lvl spell slot, which is better than a potion of healing and costs nothing
One thing to keep in mind is that combat healing isn't nearly so much of a thing in 5e as it is in something like an MMO. The relative value of using a spell slot to heal vs attack in combat skews heavily towards attacking, particularly since 5e restores all HP on a long rest. Any full caster that gets access to things like Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration can be a functional healer.
The Disney Princess Bard (College of Creation) is one of the two best Bard collages. Very powerful. Works fine as a Main healer, but not it's main advantages.
A lot will depend on whether or not your DM lets you have access to the various non-magical, roots, berries, etc. One is a full on ressurection, others include bonuses to poison, disease saves, another grants temp hitpoints.
Not familiar with those items, are they homebrew? Honestly, a group shouldn't need access to resurrection that often, and most of the others are situational. Healing potions are good for a little on the spot healing, although they have some scaling issues as well.
Some of the less common adventures/books have them.
Explorers Guide to Wildemount has a a ton, as does Tome of Annihilation. Ebberon has a few.
Basically, if you like non-magical stuff that does cool stuff, those three books are your go-to sources.
Could not find the ressurection, I think that was not real, just a false memory I had.
Thanks all for the ideas. I found a link to a list of the best non-magical items, with prices, that might be of use to someone trying to find things to make with their Performance of Creation.
https://tabletopbuilds.com/non-magical-items/