A hiding halfling healer

[Naanomi]

I am trying to rebuild an old (2e) character of mine. It won't be optimal, per se (I love the healing role, and I know how in-combat healing has been optimization wise for... well... forever) but I would like it to do well.

Here are my mechanical design goals:
~Be a Halfling (probably Lightfoot)
~Access to 9th level Cleric Spells (IE: at least 17 levels of Cleric, almost certainly Life Domain)
~Access to Goodberry (IE: Magical Initiate Feat or 1 level Dip of Druid)
~Be relatively good at being stealthy (IE: No heavy armor, stealth boosters appreciated)

The character would duck behind allies hidden in combat and heal them without the opponents knowing they were there.

Stats: I have not rolled yet but... I'd like WIS to be 20 eventually, and DEX to be at least 14. Everything else I don't care much about, excepting multiclassing requirements. Overall, WIS>DEX=CON>CHA>INT>STR. On a point by I would probably end up STR 8, DEX 14, CON 15, INT 10, WIS 15, CHA 14

Skills:
Stealth: The only really vital skill
Acrobatics: I'm trying to stay hidden, but a grappled Halfling is no fun
Perception, Insight: Ways to benefit from WIS are always useful
Medicine: fits conceptually, even without much mechanical impetus.
Herbalism Kit: again fits conceptually

Background:
Custom backgrounds are allowed, no background benefit really necessary conceptually. Probably go with Peasant Hero perk if nothing else pops out before then.

Feats:
Magic Initiate: Vital for design goals if I don't take a level in Druid. Shillelagh and Magic Stone both fit for my image conceptually, even if not the best mechanically.
Skulker: I am trying to be stealthy so it wouldn't hurt
Spell-Sniper/Sharp Shooter: Depends on how they interact with Magic Stone
Warcaster/Resiliant (Con): Always useful for keeping Concentration

Multiclassing: I have 3 levels to play with at most, and don't lose much for taking them. I want any multi-class to be full caster to keep spells. I see potential in...
Druid 1: Just for the few spells I want, gain armor restrictions that will be painful
Bard 3: Expertise in Stealth; healing song is a nice bonus as well
Sorcerer 2/3: The ability to convert extra spell-levels into more Goodberries at the end of the day is nice. Metamagic is of marginal use, but Subtle Spell would help keep hidden while healing

Help:
I need help deciding which, if any, multiclassing options to pursue; and when I should take the levels
Also, any ideas to flesh out this theme I don't seem to be considering?

Mechanical Questions:
Magic Stone is a magic spell attack so... how does it interact (if at all) with Spell Sniper/Sharp Shooter?

[ZenBear]

Way I see it you want 3 levels of Rogue for Stealth expertise, Cunning Action aNd Use Item as bonus from Thief. The rest of the way go Cleric for the Life Domain capstone. I don't have time to suss out the details about stats, ASI's and such. I do know it will take a while for your build to come online, won't be till around level 7 that you can pick up Healer and start healing peeps that way. Spells will do the trick until then.

[Giant2005]

Way I see it you want 3 levels of Rogue for Stealth expertise, Cunning Action aNd Use Item as bonus from Thief. The rest of the way go Cleric for the Life Domain capstone. I don't have time to suss out the details about stats, ASI's and such. I do know it will take a while for your build to come online, won't be till around level 7 that you can pick up Healer and start healing peeps that way. Spells will do the trick until then.

This.
Rogue 2 is at least mandatory for Cunning Action if you want to be able to heal as well as duck behind cover to hide. That only leaves 1 level left to play with which may as well be used for Thief although your bonus action sounds like it will be used every action on hide checks so you might not get a lot of mileage out of the bonus action item use. That third level could be used for Arcane Trickster or another casting class instead for more spell slots or even a level of Monk for the extra AC considering Wis and Dex are your two primary attributes.


Magic Stone is a magic spell attack so... how does it interact (if at all) with Spell Sniper/Sharp Shooter?

Sharp Shooter does nothing for magic attacks and all of Spell Sniper's effects are active.

[Naanomi]

Sharp Shooter does nothing for magic attacks and all of Spell Sniper's effects are active.
I'm thinking specifically Sharp Shooters ability to double range of an attack... Magic Stone can use a sling's range; does this interact with the feat?

[Giant2005]

I'm thinking specifically Sharp Shooters ability to double range of an attack... Magic Stone can use a sling's range; does this interact with the feat?

I wouldn't think so - all of Sharpshooter's properties specify "Ranged Weapon Attacks" and regardless of how you determine the rnge of Magic Stone, it is always a "Ranged Magic Attack".

[SharkForce]

I wouldn't think so - all of Sharpshooter's properties specify "Ranged Weapon Attacks" and regardless of how you determine the rnge of Magic Stone, it is always a "Ranged Magic Attack".

(super-tiny nitpick: ranged *spell* attack).

on the flipside, spell sniper can double ranges just fine...

[Naanomi]

on the flipside, spell sniper can double ranges just fine...
Yeah but the range is technically touch... Might be caught in a strange middle ground that benefits from neither

[SharkForce]

Yeah but the range is technically touch... Might be caught in a strange middle ground that benefits from neither

fair enough, but i would do my best to ignore technicalities as a general rule, and particularly for this edition of D&D when the writers are not trying to write with technical precision.

[Wartex1]

Just ask your DM on that.

[Easy_Lee]

If you do take three levels of rogue for thief, you can use a healer's kit as a bonus action. Take the healer feat, and you've got a combat healer who can heal allies as a bonus action. And it's a pretty hefty amount of healing too, check the feat. Considering the low price of healers kits, it's easily the cheapest kind of healing, and fits with the whole halfling healer concept quite well.

With that said, it could be tough to get heals off while hidden. You'd need to bonus action hide, successfully, after each spellcast. Since spells have somatic and verbal components usually, there's really no way to hide them. The verbal components in particular are tricky, since the spells have to be spoken with a certain intonation and volume. You can't just whisper the spells, like you might have gotten away with in other editions.

If you homebrew a sorcerer version of a cleric and use subtle spell, that might work. That said, that's a lot of homebrewing. It would be better if you can just bonus action hide using rogue and use the healer feat to conserve spell slots.

[hymer]

Haven't seen this mentioned: Consider druid3. That will get you access to Pass without Trace, which is +10 to stealth. If the DM will let you hide behind other PCs for being a halfling, this is almost as good as Invisibility, but doesn't break on casting. Druid1 gets you Goodberry, excellent healing spell. The whole thing is full caster and druid2 gets you the ability to turn into various critters to scout and infiltrate to capitalize on your stealth. The armour restriction may suck, but if you're going to go for high dex for good stealth anyway, the loss is much less grievous.

[Giant2005]

Haven't seen this mentioned: Consider druid3. That will get you access to Pass without Trace, which is +10 to stealth. If the DM will let you hide behind other PCs for being a halfling, this is almost as good as Invisibility, but doesn't break on casting. Druid1 gets you Goodberry, excellent healing spell. The whole thing is full caster and druid2 gets you the ability to turn into various critters to scout and infiltrate to capitalize on your stealth. The armour restriction may suck, but if you're going to go for high dex for good stealth anyway, the loss is much less grievous.

He would lose bonus action dodge by making that choice and bonus action dodge is absolutely critical for his build - possibly even more important than the Cleric levels themselves.
Although I'm not sure why 9th level Cleric spellcasting is so important for his build. It sounds like 9th level spell slots maybe important but not the spells themselves - if that is the case, then Rogue 3, Druid 3, Cleric 14 would be good.

[hymer]

He would lose bonus action dodge

What? There's someone who can Dodge as a bonus action? That sounds crazy. I'll await clarification before I go on about the rest of what you say.

[Giant2005]

What? There's someone who can Dodge as a bonus action? That sounds crazy. I'll await clarification before I go on about the rest of what you say.

Sorry I meant bonus action hide.
Although Monks can use dodge as a bonus action by spending Ki.

[hymer]

Sorry I meant bonus action hide.
Although Monks can use dodge as a bonus action by spending Ki.

Ah, fair enough. :smallsmile: Well, if OP wanted to attack from hiding, then cunning action would be a must. But unless the DM rules casting spells to be like shouting or breaking a vase, one Stealth check should suffice for the whole battle. And there won't be much healing to do in the first round anyway.

[ZenBear]

The verbal components in particular are tricky, since the spells have to be spoken with a certain intonation and volume. You can't just whisper the spells, like you might have gotten away with in other editions.
I don't recall volume being mentioned anywhere in the description of verbal spell components. Link or quote?

Although I'm not sure why 9th level Cleric spellcasting is so important for his build. It sounds like 9th level spell slots maybe important but not the spells themselves - if that is the case, then Rogue 3, Druid 3, Cleric 14 would be good.

He wants the Life Cleric capstone of maximized healing dice.

It will be up to his DM how stealthing in combat behind an ally he is healing will work. I would allow it with a Stealth check every round against an active Perception by the highest skilled enemy.

[Naanomi]

If you can't hide while casting spells with verbal componants, Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand tricks sort of fall apart right? Unless the Sleight of Hand check is meant to muffle the spell as well

[Easy_Lee]

I don't recall volume being mentioned anywhere in the description of verbal spell components. Link or quote?

PHB 203: "the words themselves aren't the source of the spell's power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion. Thus, a character who is gagged or in an area of silence, such as one created by the silence spell, can't cast a spell with a verbal component."

So whispering spells wouldn't really do the trick because you have to make the correct sounds.

[Mr.Moron]

Has your GM confirmed that Lightfoots can drop off enemy radar entirely using the behind-a-creature hide in combat? It's been something of controversial issue and you wouldn't want to get your heart set on something without knowing where your GM stands first.

[Naanomi]

It's been provisionally approved, especially if I am not attacking people (and thus an easier to lose track of). Quiet casting might take more discussion, and the build may fall apart there though.

[Falcon X]

I homebrewed up a Cleric of Selune Domain if you have any interest. It combines healing boosts with moon stuff, divination, and the ability to boost stealthy medium armor up to heavy armor levels:

Domain of Selune

Domain Spells:
Cleric Level:
1. Cure Wounds, Goodberry
3. Moonbeam, Augury
5. Beacon of Hope, Fly
7. Polymorph, Guardian of Faith
9. Mass Cure Wounds, Teleportation Circle

New Abilities:
Level 1: Selunites are naturally aware of their surroundings. Gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC, +3 if under moonlight.

Level 1: Disciple of life – You use your healing spells more effectively. Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.

Level 2: Channel Divinity: Soothe the Beast - Target a Druid in its Wild Shape or a Werecreature in
its monstrous form and if they fail an Intelligence saving throw they return once more to their original
form.
At Level 6, if the cleric has lycanthropy, they become treated as natural lycanthropes, having full control over when they shift, as well as having full mental capacity and the ability to shift into a hybrid form. They must use channel divinity to induce the change, though they may accept it freely during a full moon.

Level 6: Blessed Healer – The healing spells you cast on others heal you as well. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that restores hit points to a creature other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.

Level 8: Light of the Moon – When you are bathed in the light of the moon, you gain advantage on your attack rolls.
You also gain darkvison 60’ at all times. If you already have darkvision, expand the radius of your darkvision by 60’.

Capstone: Supreme Healing – When you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell, you instead use the highest number possible for each die. For example, instead of restoring 2d6 hit points to a creature, you restore 12.