Question concerning party composition and player attitudes in D&D 5e

[Rasvelg]

short story: the rest of the party tries to make me become a healbot because they hate npc:s in the party, what should i do? :smallfrown:

long story: im currently playing a cleric (life domain) in our group and we are having some troubles regarding how we perceive my role in the party, during character creation i said that i could go cleric if no other wanted to play it, but that i would refuse to be a healbot and that i would fight on the frontline. Everyone agreed to it and most of them chose classes that has some kind of healing (i chose life domain because it meant less rounds focusing on healing when it was needed).
but as our second session started unfolding i started to notice how people had already forgotten about our deal. we were lvl 0 characters (so no lvl 1 spells) who were exploring an ancient temple to my diety. the fighter and paladins almost always wanted me to stay in the back in order to heal them (i had no healing, highest ac and second highest hp).
The problems just kept piling on as people just focused on dealing damage over healing themself and then expecting me to save them.
I finnaly snaped at our paladin when he came with the argument "what else are you supposed to do?"
to add a bit of context: 1 party member was seriously injured (i had 3 spells left for the day out of 10 and would need atleast 2 of them in order to heal him up completely) i said that i could heal him but that it would mean that it would be an uphill fight if we continued.
the reason why i snapped at our paladin was because he had only used 10 hp of his "healing pool" as we call it, and the bard had atleast 6 spells left.
so my question is if i should let my character leave the party (because she has been driven to the point of leaving the party about 5-6 times already and we are not even lvl 8 yet)
and be replaced by a sorcerer i came up with after the last session (it has been approved by our dm as a backup character) or if i should just stick it out awhile longer while trying to reason with them?

Thank you for your time.

[JellyPooga]

You've got a couple of options;

1) Play your Sorcerer. If you're not having fun playing a character, then just stop playing that character. I've done it a few times myself when a character isn't quite living up to the way I imagined it in my head, usually because of poor choices, either mechanical or roleplaying.

2) Address it Out of Character. From the sound of it, you've been playing this character for a while now (from lvl.0 to lvl.8ish); perhaps the other Players simply need reminding that you don't want to just be a heal-bot and that was part of the deal of you playing a Cleric in the first place. If they still maintain their expectations, then bring it up and tell them flat that you don't appreciate their attitude. If they're friends of yours in any way, they should be willing to ease off on the demands and expectation to heal-bot.

3) Address it In Character. If the expectation for you to be a heal-bot is as much in-character as it is out-of-character, then taking in-character action can work out. Be careful doing this because it often comes across antagonistic. If you do decide to handle this IC, you've again got couple of options;
- You can simply ignore the demands others make of you and when confronted about it, tell them that [your deity] is your boss, not them.
- Alternatively, you can start asking for a "donation" to your church for your services; they'll quickly start looking to their own healing if they're having to cough up gold pieces for a Cure Wounds from you. You could even go one further and start trying to convert them all to your faith; after all, they've been relying on the good graces of [your deity] for so long now, isn't it time they repaid the debt owed with some service of their own?
- Finally, you can start an argument in-character. This last I would approach with extra care, going so far as to talk to the player you intend to argue with OOC beforehand, even resolving the issue and deciding an outcome between you. The last thing you want to do is let IC spill over into OOC and fall out with your real-life friends over a game. Actually, this applies to any in-character solution, should you decide to go down that path. Still, if handled appropriately, dramatic tension between party members can be a rewarding roleplaying experience.

Whichever method you choose, I hope it works out for you and remember, it's a game and it's supposed to be fun!

Happy Gaming.

[Arial Black]

I wouldn't start charging them for healing because if I did then they'd charge me for them casting spells, swinging swords, and getting injured because I don't have to.

But I wouldn't just take it either. They broke the agreement: you play a cleric if they don't expect you to be a healbot. They expect that now, so they broke the agreement. Since the agreement is broken, the part of the agreement where you play a cleric is also broken.

Your cleric rides off into the sunset; she has finally accepted that promotion to Head God-Botherer.

In comes your new sorcerer. Don't forget to keep bugging the paladin and the bard for healing. Every. Single. Time. You get even scratched.

[Foxydono]

It really depends on your group. JellyPooga already gave a lot of good options and they are certainly more tactful than what I am going to advice. But if I would be in your situation I would first give them a few reminders about the deal we made. If they wouldn't change their attitude I would do whatever I deem fun in game. Even if that would mean one of the tanks might die. You gave them a fair warning, so if they don't respond it's their problem not your. Worse case scenario you party wipe, but I'd take that for granted.

As a second option I would just switch characters. Problem solved, apart from the party lacking a healer :p

[Toadkiller]

Use all your spells on something else.

[Sigreid]

Ran into an issue similar to this in an MMO. The answer is simple, you don't have to heal them. Play how you want to play and they will have to adapt.

[Foxhound438]

In comes your new sorcerer. Don't forget to keep bugging the paladin and the bard for healing. Every. Single. Time. You get even scratched.

Extra points if you bee-line to the melee storm sorc build because "the reaction thing is soooo good tho"

[RSP]

My advice, for what it's worth:

Out of character, I would just be honest and tell your group you don't have fun playing a healbot. If they insist that you ignore having fun yourself to do what they want, is probably look for different friends. The point of the game is for everyone to have fun, not just them.

If that doesn't work: don't prepare heal spells. Prepare defensive spells and offensive spells that reflect how you want to play.

I like one of the previous posters in character suggestion of stating to anyone who requests healing that your god directs you differently and has refused to help those who won't help themselves (i.e. Relying on his healing powers rather than healing themselves); your god just got a lot more selective with his gifts.

[AttilatheYeon]

I'd remind them that it's your character and they should stop telling you how to play him.

On a related note, when i play a healer, i never heal party members unless they drop. Then i wont top them off. They get a heal to bring them up on there feet, and back in the fight. The rest of the time i buff, debuff and dpr. After the fight, i remind them they have hit dice they can spend, and only use out of combat healing when hit dice are done. If someone complains, i just let them make death saves till they change there toon. It's amazing how quickly paladins remember they have heals when a cleric is stingy with the heal spells.

[nilshai]

Use your turn to describe/explain why your character is doing what he does. This forces the responsability of your character's actions from you to your character (your character does what his personality dictates) and it will also force the other players to react "in character".
They will either adjust and explain, why their characters risk certain death instead of just healing themselves (something difficult for a proud paladin) or start to feel very awkward.

[CantigThimble]

I'd remind them that it's your character and they should stop telling you how to play him.

On a related note, when i play a healer, i never heal party members unless they drop. Then i wont top them off. They get a heal to bring them up on there feet, and back in the fight. The rest of the time i buff, debuff and dpr. After the fight, i remind them they have hit dice they can spend, and only use out of combat healing when hit dice are done. If someone complains, i just let them make death saves till they change there toon. It's amazing how quickly paladins remember they have heals when a cleric is stingy with the heal spells.

This. The cleric's job is not to put everyone at full health because that's the worst way to use healing. Lots of it gets wasted. Just use spiritual weapon and hit people or spam sacred flame. Look for opportunities to throw a guiding bolt so an important attack will land. Use spirit guardians. Don't even bother spending spell slots on healing uless you're out of channel divinity. If all you do is heal they'll just think of you as a healer. Use other tactics and don't let them play your character for you in combat.

[sigurd]

Nobody who hasn't played a cleric in 5e will understand you. If they still see the 3-4e strategy web they will likely not see why you shouldn't heal all the time.

Tell them they don't understand clerics and one of them should try it. Announce you are playing your sorcerer and suggest the top healing requesters play a cleric.

Don't try and solve this in game because its not an in game expectation - its a player relation thing. Be polite but decisive and the game will improve.

Make sure you tell them that Clerics can be fun and they'd really enjoy playing one. You'll be understanding of their cleric with your sorcerer.


Sigurd.

[Plaguescarred]

Just tell the DM the truth that you don't have fun playing a heal-bot Cleric and would like to change and play a Sorcerer instead. Hopefully everyone will understand your desire and you'll be given the chance to also play a character that you can enjoy. #goodluck

[Rasvelg]

Wow, thanks for all your respones! i did not expect to get this many in such a short amount of time!
thank you all for your insightfulness, it really means alot, i will take it to heart during the next time we play.

thanks to all the tips you have given me, i have decided that i will try to stick it out for a few sessions longer and if that does not work out then i will switch to my sorcerer. :smile:

[Citan]

short story: the rest of the party tries to make me become a healbot because they hate npc:s in the party, what should i do? :smallfrown:

long story: im currently playing a cleric (life domain) in our group and we are having some troubles regarding how we perceive my role in the party, during character creation i said that i could go cleric if no other wanted to play it, but that i would refuse to be a healbot and that i would fight on the frontline. Everyone agreed to it and most of them chose classes that has some kind of healing (i chose life domain because it meant less rounds focusing on healing when it was needed).
but as our second session started unfolding i started to notice how people had already forgotten about our deal. we were lvl 0 characters (so no lvl 1 spells) who were exploring an ancient temple to my diety. the fighter and paladins almost always wanted me to stay in the back in order to heal them (i had no healing, highest ac and second highest hp).
The problems just kept piling on as people just focused on dealing damage over healing themself and then expecting me to save them.
I finnaly snaped at our paladin when he came with the argument "what else are you supposed to do?"
to add a bit of context: 1 party member was seriously injured (i had 3 spells left for the day out of 10 and would need atleast 2 of them in order to heal him up completely) i said that i could heal him but that it would mean that it would be an uphill fight if we continued.
the reason why i snapped at our paladin was because he had only used 10 hp of his "healing pool" as we call it, and the bard had atleast 6 spells left.
so my question is if i should let my character leave the party (because she has been driven to the point of leaving the party about 5-6 times already and we are not even lvl 8 yet)
and be replaced by a sorcerer i came up with after the last session (it has been approved by our dm as a backup character) or if i should just stick it out awhile longer while trying to reason with them?

Thank you for your time.
I see several options:
a) if your character has (good) roleplaying reasons to antagonize the rest of your party, play it. But honestly, I don't see how one could pretend be a "Life" cleric and refuse to heal others, so that is the less probable option.

b) out-of-game before starting your next session, remember all of them that 1. You always agreed you would contribute to the fight and not just heal 2. Beyond Healing Words, there is a better way to use your action and slots in most situations. Especially now that you get Spirit Guardians.
If they still bother you, act suicidal until you die (BUT roleplaying: like, finding someone you must save because he is dying and your faith forces you to save all... Except he's in a burning mansion or surrounded by hostiles)... Or find a good RP reason to leave the party.

c) Don't bother listening to them, just act as you see fit, while going frontline, and make grand things to convince them you are a valuable addition (like, casting Spirit Guardians before rushing in to help your Paladin friend, forcing enemies to fall back or be hurt).

I'd recommend the b) because it's the most honest and upfront. But after all, your characters are all adults, and you are not supposed to be a lackey for the group, so c) would work too as long as you always play what you think is best for the group (=not actually putting them in danger on purpose or the like).

[Douche]

I play a life cleric too. People vastly overestimate the importance of healing, especially when you're a life cleric.

Basically, you shouldn't even be healing them if they are still conscious. You heal someone from 0 hp, that's 100% efficiency. If you healed someone to 10 health and they take 12 damage next turn, that's a waste of a heal.

Regardless of your attitude on that, if people think you need to use every turn to heal, they are idiots. The benefit of being a life cleric is that your heals are so powerful, you don't need to spend many turns doing it - you can be spending those turns fighting & only have to heal when things get crazy.

I mean, my DM is brutal AND we're pretty sure he cheats (to make the fights more deadly.. I kind of like it actually) and I still only have to heal, like, once every 3 turns. And most of the time it's just channel divinity. Plus, healing word is a bonus action - and most of your healing comes from the bonus (2 + spell level + wisdom.. forgot the name of that feature), not whatever the dice roll is. You can roll a 1 on a healing word just like a cure wounds (full action) & still heal 9 damage, lol. And on top of that, you have the other feature that makes you heal for half of whatever you healed someone else for.

Basically, your friends are idiots. At your level you should be chasing enemies with spirit guardians, spirit weapon, and sanctuary. Not standing in the back doing nothing but healing.

[Sir cryosin]

Switch domains there are many god's with over lapping philosophies and ect... it sounded like you wanted a different kind of cleric. So I'll say switch domains and let the party know you will not was your limited spell slots on healing your scrapes and scratches. Grow a pair your a paladin when you have exhausted your healing I wont let you die. But I won't kiss your boo boo like your mother. I am a dpr type of player but I also like helping people. So I decided to switch things up and play a cleric. I didn't want to be the heal bot so I went with arcane domain. After a fighter the barbarian and the paladin looked beat up and we could take a rest so I started putting the barbarian back together the paladin looked over at me and said what about me. I looked at him and said you can heal your self. Then I told the party that I would heal them when they need it and they don't need every hp healed at all times. I also was a vhuman with the healer feat which I used more then spells. I would cast Shield of faith on the barbarian bring her ac to 18 same as mine. Then I would sit back and firebolt or magic Missile. Or when we need I would be with the fighter and barbarian on the front line killing things. I have tank, out dpr the ranger in a competition to see who kills there enemy first we bet on, I had really good stats because we roll so I was also the party face and leader because no one stepped up and in part of I just kind of took charge and no said anything. My point is stand your ground and heal only to keep them from dying. Also tell them if they keep acting rash and just charge head first you won't heal idiots looking for a death wish.

[ClintACK]

Agree with everything that's been said.

One "RPG strategy" argument to make: Your spell slots are a far more valuable party resource than their Hit Dice. So it's extremely poor, unstrategic, stupid play for you to spend your powerful general-use spell slots topping off their hit points out of combat when they still have HD to spend.


Of course, once you've had that OOC discussion, you could fall back on the "hp as fighting spirit" interpretation. When the Paladin comes whining to you for healing when he still has HD or LoH points left -- your character should ridicule him mercilessly. He's not *really* wounded, just shaken up by combat. And if he'd just take a few minutes to power through it, he'd be fine. And he wants you to call upon your very serious God to provide a magical security blanket for him? Would he like a pink Hello-Kitty bandaid for his booboo? Would he like your God to cut up his food for him too? Does he need a bedtime story?

But have the OOC talk first.

[Klorox]

I play a life cleric too. People vastly overestimate the importance of healing, especially when you're a life cleric.

Basically, you shouldn't even be healing them if they are still conscious. You heal someone from 0 hp, that's 100% efficiency. If you healed someone to 10 health and they take 12 damage next turn, that's a waste of a heal.

Regardless of your attitude on that, if people think you need to use every turn to heal, they are idiots. The benefit of being a life cleric is that your heals are so powerful, you don't need to spend many turns doing it - you can be spending those turns fighting & only have to heal when things get crazy.

I mean, my DM is brutal AND we're pretty sure he cheats (to make the fights more deadly.. I kind of like it actually) and I still only have to heal, like, once every 3 turns. And most of the time it's just channel divinity. Plus, healing word is a bonus action - and most of your healing comes from the bonus (2 + spell level + wisdom.. forgot the name of that feature), not whatever the dice roll is. You can roll a 1 on a healing word just like a cure wounds (full action) & still heal 9 damage, lol. And on top of that, you have the other feature that makes you heal for half of whatever you healed someone else for.

Basically, your friends are idiots. At your level you should be chasing enemies with spirit guardians, spirit weapon, and sanctuary. Not standing in the back doing nothing but healing.

Awesome post, especially about the efficiency.

I have thoughts of playing a life cleric (dwarf for the better weapons, and I just love dwarves), and playing him as a front-liner. I just haven't had the chance yet.

I've found making the players sign a contract kind of fun and funny. This idea is not mine, but I do want to retype it for myself:

http://m.imgur.com/bTT8giV

[JellyPooga]

But honestly, I don't see how one could pretend be a "Life" cleric and refuse to heal others, so that is the less probable option.

I think there's a roleplaying opportunity in doing just that, myself. As I hinted at in my post upthread, if the other PC's have been taking his healing for granted for a while now, the Heal-bot Cleric can start "calling in his markers"; the fact that they've been abusing both the good graces of the Cleric himself and his deity could come to the fore. A little gentle persuasion hinting that [deity] is displeased with their lack of devotion despite everything [deity] and [cleric] has done for them and that unless they do something about it, either in service or donation, the proverbial well will dry up. You can even ham it up; OOC you might have the spell slots, but IC you can go through the motions with the prayer and the laying on hands and all that, but just don't spend the slot, claiming "[deity] is not responding to my prayers; I don't know why", then later coming up with the "solution" of the other players showing a little faith to "repay the debt owed".

We're talking about a Cleric here, after all and a Cleric is, if nothing else, a devoted follower of their deity. A deity who gets his power from the belief and devotion of mortals. A little faith can go a long way and if the other PC's aren't willing to play ball, well...perhaps they shouldn't be benefiting from another mortals faith.

[Contrast]

Amusingly I have the opposite problem. I find myself lying to the rest of the party about how much I am hurt as if I admit to being even slightly injured someone will burn a spell to heal me up to full even if its the very first fight of the day.

Kinda sounds like theres just different expectations of what your cleric should be spending their time doing and you've already spoken to them OOC about it. If things don't change, just change classes - no use playing a character you're not having fun with and 5E is pretty forgiving about having a different mix of class roles.

[nilshai]

Basically, you shouldn't even be healing them if they are still conscious. You heal someone from 0 hp, that's 100% efficiency. If you healed someone to 10 health and they take 12 damage next turn, that's a waste of a heal.

I got the same impression from 5e healing and do it exactly like that (Healing Word only), especially in Storm King's Thunder, where you get some 25 damage rocks to the face.

[Citan]

I think there's a roleplaying opportunity in doing just that, myself. As I hinted at in my post upthread, if the other PC's have been taking his healing for granted for a while now, the Heal-bot Cleric can start "calling in his markers"; the fact that they've been abusing both the good graces of the Cleric himself and his deity could come to the fore. A little gentle persuasion hinting that [deity] is displeased with their lack of devotion despite everything [deity] and [cleric] has done for them and that unless they do something about it, either in service or donation, the proverbial well will dry up. You can even ham it up; OOC you might have the spell slots, but IC you can go through the motions with the prayer and the laying on hands and all that, but just don't spend the slot, claiming "[deity] is not responding to my prayers; I don't know why", then later coming up with the "solution" of the other players showing a little faith to "repay the debt owed".

We're talking about a Cleric here, after all and a Cleric is, if nothing else, a devoted follower of their deity. A deity who gets his power from the belief and devotion of mortals. A little faith can go a long way and if the other PC's aren't willing to play ball, well...perhaps they shouldn't be benefiting from another mortals faith.
Hmm. Very interesting, never saw this angle but it's very coherent too. Thanks for the idea, I'll keep in mind for when I find myself in the same kind of situation as OP. XD

[mgshamster]

Hmm. Very interesting, never saw this angle but it's very coherent too. Thanks for the idea, I'll keep in mind for when I find myself in the same kind of situation as OP. XD

It's something I've done a lot with cleric characters. It's quite fun to require people to show a bit of faith to gain healing. Maybe the other characters don't actually believe (and that's ok), but they have to at least put in some effort.

Tell the fighter he needs to have your God's symbol displayed on his armor or shield. Or they have to make a 10% tithe to the church or some other organization that is aligned with your deity. Or they have to join you in your daily prayers, sacrificing some of their time to your God even though it doesn't directly benefit them.

Those that refuse stop getting the benefit of your gods magic.

[Douche]

It's something I've done a lot with cleric characters. It's quite fun to require people to show a bit of faith to gain healing. Maybe the other characters don't actually believe (and that's ok), but they have to at least put in some effort.

Tell the fighter he needs to have your God's symbol displayed on his armor or shield. Or they have to make a 10% tithe to the church or some other organization that is aligned with your deity. Or they have to join you in your daily prayers, sacrificing some of their time to your God even though it doesn't directly benefit them.

Those that refuse stop getting the benefit of your gods magic.

I tried that once. I used Channel Divinity when 3 guys were down, and I said "Pelor, please cure anyone who has the faith in their hearts to know yours is the righteous path". One guy refused to accept the blessing of Pelor to prevent him from death. So what I am I supposed to do? He outright said he won't accept the healing because he won't admit Pelor is great! Not my fault :smallwink: Of course someone else gave him a potion on their turn, so he didn't die.

But then I had him whining at me for months (out of game) that I'm holding the party hostage if I'm bartering my healing like that. I didn't really mind it though, cuz I was a dwarf & roleplayed my character as a stingy bastard in all things, grudgingly healing people like it's a chore to me. It was pretty funny to me, particularly because everyone else was nice to me for healing/buffing them... He was the only one who made it a point to complain.

Now that I think of it, though, people who bark out that they need healing are kind of annoying altogether. If you're about to die, it's much more graceful to say "Gee, my health is pretty low" instead of "RAGHAHGAHHA I'M DYING FRACKIN HEAL ME NAO!" One is a command, the other is a statement - one that will make the life cleric feel smart & useful when he responds "Don't worry, friend! I'll heal you when my turn comes up!"


Awesome post, especially about the efficiency.

I have thoughts of playing a life cleric (dwarf for the better weapons, and I just love dwarves), and playing him as a front-liner. I just haven't had the chance yet.

I've found making the players sign a contract kind of fun and funny. This idea is not mine, but I do want to retype it for myself:

http://m.imgur.com/bTT8giV

Thanks, friend! Although I've found that using weapons is sort of lackluster. Despite what I said, I don't do much attacking on the front line. Spirit guardians does all the work for me, and attacking would make your Sanctuary drop. When I absolutely have nothing else to do, I grapple

[Anonymouswizard]

The real problem is how people view Clerics. Clerics haven't been Healbots since at least 3.0 (I'd argue since 2e, the Cleric is a good enough warrior that they should be patching people up after the fight, but back then you had to split your spells between 'healing juice' and 'actually useful', with some of the former actually required). I once had a similar problem when playing a 2nd level wizard in 3.5, I was an illusionist with no Evocation or Enchantment (although if I made the character now I'd be banning Conjuration instead, it's more flavourful), and yet everyone kept complaining about how my 3 spell slots were filled with illusions (I had some grenades for resistant enemies, but I was playing a Shadow Illusionist so no burning hands).

Now is a Healbot Cleric useful in 5e? Moreso than in 3.5, but it's still a waste of time compared to a Battle Cleric, who supports the opponent with hammer and/or spells. Especially at early levels I'd be very wary of using slots to heal people, that's what Hit Dice are for! The problem is, unless someone has seen how effective a Cleric can be, they'll just think of them as the guy who dispenses bandages (even though most of the time a Druid or Bard is just as good at it).

I do suggest playing your Sorcerer instead, for one reason: it sounds more fun. Having to continually argue that I shouldn't have to waste my spell slots/mana is why I only play healers in groups who have an understanding of optimisation (and there resist poison got so much more use*, even after the GM nerfed it so I wouldn't break the campaign). If you aren't having fun with your cleric you are beholden to nobody to continue, and either the party will learn that healing isn't as important, or they'll start stocking up on Healing Potions (which fill the healbot role better than a cleric does). I'd actually prefer to be a wizard who supplies the party with healing potions than a Cleric, it lets me decide which spells to take and prepare (until someone insists I should learn Fireball).

TLDR: if they won't let you use your spells your own way or it just isn't fun anymore have the Cleric leave the party and bring in your Sorcerer, your fun is more important than their hp.

* Even if half of that use was to outdrink dwarves.

[Sigreid]

I have thoughts of playing a life cleric (dwarf for the better weapons, and I just love dwarves), and playing him as a front-liner. I just haven't had the chance yet.
http://m.imgur.com/bTT8giV

Playing dwarves is wrong and you should feel bad. :tongue:

[Klorox]

Playing dwarves is wrong and you should feel bad. :tongue:

:mad:




😜

[JakOfAllTirades]

I am sooo angry on the OP's behalf right now....

Right about the time someone asks the Cleric "What else are you supposed to do?", anything goes.

Cleric secretly converts from the "Life" deity to the "Trickster" deity... let's see if his party notices!

Paladin: "Hey, Healbot, can I get some healing over here? What else are you gonna do?"

<Cleric *accidentally* casts Inflict Wounds instead>
"Whoopsie! Did I do that? Hey, are you alright? Guess not. Okay, who wants the Paladin's magic items?"

[MeeposFire]

One thing I would do if you keep the cleric is only use healing word and other bonus action spells. That way you can heal them when they fall (which is a good use of spell slots) and you can still do your fighting on the same round.

That is the biggest problem pre 4e clerics had. For the most part they had to choose between attacking (or otherwise casting) or healing (which is one of their jobs though people have this misconception that they have to be healed NOW) but in 4e and now 5e we can have clerics that get to beat face and heal somebody in the same turn. That is fun and useful. One can have spiritual guardians, spiritual weapon, and be smacking enemies with your weapon and then on a turn where you need to heal you just do not use spiritual hammer that round and use healing word and get back on with the killing. It is pretty glorious.

[Rasvelg]

I am sooo angry on the OP's behalf right now....

Right about the time someone asks the Cleric "What else are you supposed to do?", anything goes.

Cleric secretly converts from the "Life" deity to the "Trickster" deity... let's see if his party notices!

Paladin: "Hey, Healbot, can I get some healing over here? What else are you gonna do?"

<Cleric *accidentally* casts Inflict Wounds instead>
"Whoopsie! Did I do that? Hey, are you alright? Guess not. Okay, who wants the Paladin's magic items?"

thx for the concern, it is usually very hard for me to get angry, but after about 3 gaming sessions (which lasts around 10 hours each) it started getting on my nerves, although i would not go that far in order to mess with him, but it would be fun to mess with him because he can be very conservative in his view about how DnD should be played (he is the kind who wants clearcut definition about every alignment but still call bull**** and/or avoid the question when you give him the orc baby dilemma) and doing something like that would probably make him flip the table.:smallwink:

But one thing i could do that could work (considering her personality) would be that if i retiered my cleric, she will most likely go back to her main job, which is blacksmithing (saved alot of money by making everyones armor) and because the party earned a magical house as a reward for the last quest(which my cleric did alot of the legwork for and she wanted the money instead of the house) she will set up shop there until the rest of the party can outbuy her part. while she is there she will either take full price(or maybe even a bit more) for the paladins equipment while giving everyone else a discount, and if they even try to lower the price she will throw a hammer in their face (yes, she is that stubborn and that easy to piss off):biggrin:

[Herobizkit]

One thing I would do if you keep the cleric is only use healing word and other bonus action spells. That way you can heal them when they fall (which is a good use of spell slots) and you can still do your fighting on the same round.Exactly what I was going to bring up. Yes, Life clerics heal more than standard clerics, but that isn't the Cleric's only job.

Also, I may have missed it... which deity (if any) does the OP's Life Cleric follow?

[Sigreid]

Tell the party that healing is simply cancelling damage to the party and you prefer to cancel it before it happens and are going all in offensive!:smallbiggrin:

[Klorox]

One thing I would do if you keep the cleric is only use healing word and other bonus action spells. That way you can heal them when they fall (which is a good use of spell slots) and you can still do your fighting on the same round.

That is the biggest problem pre 4e clerics had. For the most part they had to choose between attacking (or otherwise casting) or healing (which is one of their jobs though people have this misconception that they have to be healed NOW) but in 4e and now 5e we can have clerics that get to beat face and heal somebody in the same turn. That is fun and useful. One can have spiritual guardians, spiritual weapon, and be smacking enemies with your weapon and then on a turn where you need to heal you just do not use spiritual hammer that round and use healing word and get back on with the killing. It is pretty glorious.

They really are pretty awesome, aren't they?

[Rasvelg]

Hello~
Just an update on the situation since it has been quite along time since i asked for help.

The party tonned down the "i need healing!" shouts to some extent (now they only complain when they are under 50% :smalltongue: )

some context first might be in order: Our characters were thrown about 100 years into the future which made it kinda hard for my cleric to leave since she wanted to leave in order to get back to her family.
we have played a few sessions and thx to our monk (that joined mid game) who had a whealthy family (which he hated to the point of making a vow of celibacy in order to spite them) that wished him home (IRL he was busy working so it was a basically a side-quest for the party).

we got a letter about what had happened so, we searched for a way to get him home. found a wizard who had a ring with a wish spell in inscribed. And instead of simply wishing him back like the party wanted. i basically made our characters switch place in space and time (the paladin was quite annoyed by this but our warrior was very sympathetic which made the whole ordeal alot easier :smallbiggrin:). So now my character is officially dead by old age.

Now our dm was not prepared for this twist since it seems he has worked out quite a number of boss battles and asked me to consider playing a class that can work as a "main healer" when needed since our bard replaced his cure wounds with another spell.

at first i considered dipping a level or 2 in cleric and then focusing on sorc but then i remembered the favored soul in UA. this way i can pump out some healing when needed while still doing something more productive (also twinned cure wounds ftw).

character creation happening tomorrow! :smallbiggrin:

Thank you all for the support and advice you have given me! it really helped me out! :smallsmile:

[imanidiot]

One "RPG strategy" argument to make: Your spell slots are a far more valuable party resource than their Hit Dice. So it's extremely poor, unstrategic, stupid play for you to spend your powerful general-use spell slots topping off their hit points out of combat when they still have HD to spend.


Your party needs to pay attention to 5e's system. Healing someone who is above 0 hp is one of the most inefficient uses of your spell slots.

If I have 5 hp and a dragon hit me with it's breath weapon for 75 damage, I only take 5 damage. Hp doesn't go into negative numbers in 5e. So that other 70 damage is just lost. Then a Healing Word picks me back up to positive hp and all I lose is half my movement standing up.

90% of the healing spells you cast should be on people at 0 hp. Tell you party to use short rests and spend their hit dice. That's exacty what they're for.

[MeeposFire]

Your party needs to pay attention to 5e's system. Healing someone who is above 0 hp is one of the most inefficient uses of your spell slots.

If I have 5 hp and a dragon hit me with it's breath weapon for 75 damage, I only take 5 damage. Hp doesn't go into negative numbers in 5e. So that other 70 damage is just lost. Then a Healing Word picks me back up to positive hp and all I lose is half my movement standing up.

90% of the healing spells you cast should be on people at 0 hp. Tell you party to use short rests and spend their hit dice. That's exacty what they're for.

You should really put a caveat on that of it depends on what your max HP is and how much damage in one attack can an enemy do to you. For instance if you get hit by that breath weapon for 75 damage and you have an HP max of 65 with a current HP of 5 then yea you probably do want to get a healing effect on that guy before the breath weapon hits due to instant death.

Normally it is best to use something like healing word during fights when needed (mostly on downed allies) and use efficient spells out of combat if needed.

[Klorox]

Your party needs to pay attention to 5e's system. Healing someone who is above 0 hp is one of the most inefficient uses of your spell slots.

If I have 5 hp and a dragon hit me with it's breath weapon for 75 damage, I only take 5 damage. Hp doesn't go into negative numbers in 5e. So that other 70 damage is just lost. Then a Healing Word picks me back up to positive hp and all I lose is half my movement standing up.

90% of the healing spells you cast should be on people at 0 hp. Tell you party to use short rests and spend their hit dice. That's exacty what they're for.

This. All of this.

In character way of communicating this: "Suck it up, buttercup"

[MarkVIIIMarc]

One thing I would do if you keep the cleric is only use healing word and other bonus action spells. That way you can heal them when they fall (which is a good use of spell slots) and you can still do your fighting on the same round.

That is the biggest problem pre 4e clerics had. For the most part they had to choose between attacking (or otherwise casting) or healing (which is one of their jobs though people have this misconception that they have to be healed NOW) but in 4e and now 5e we can have clerics that get to beat face and heal somebody in the same turn. That is fun and useful. One can have spiritual guardians, spiritual weapon, and be smacking enemies with your weapon and then on a turn where you need to heal you just do not use spiritual hammer that round and use healing word and get back on with the killing. It is pretty glorious.

THIS!

My Lore Bard has healing word. Someone goes down, she heals them with a bonus action to like 5 or 6 hit points. The bad guy damages them for 20 again the next round and its like I got 20 hp of heal out of healing word because I wasted 15 of the bad guy's damage!

It limits what I can cast a bit, but EB which I may take at level 6 is a Cantrip for some reason.

If you go right after the bad guy then your ally doesn't miss a round of combat or anything. Healing word is great.

[Corran]

@OP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB5Kg9qWHn0
(Dungeon Bastard Clerical duties, on youtube, in case the link does not open)

You're welcome.

[Citan]

Your party needs to pay attention to 5e's system. Healing someone who is above 0 hp is one of the most inefficient uses of your spell slots.

Seriously, it's not a good way to put it.
A much better way would be: "healing someone who has very little chance to get downed before his next turn, or has nothing meaningful to contribute to the fight".

Because not healing someone "just because you still have some HP" may be extremely detrimental if, as a consequence, the guy gets downed before his turn comes. Unless, of course...
1) That guy has nothing left really significant to contribute to the party (like a caster with no slots left and only Firebolt against a fire-resistant enemy, or a GWM Champion against a high flyer).
2) Yourself have another spellcasting option for that current turn of yours that has a high chance of greatly shifting the power balance (aka killing/paralyzing one dangerous enemy, or clearing several small ones, or providing a strong battlefield control).

Otherwise said, a healing spell should always have his value evaluated through a global yet precise analysis, comparing the overall magnitude of "to-win effort" that ally can provide, compared to the one you could provide while doing something else entirely.

For example, in a level 5 party with a Cleric and wounded Bearbarian against an humanoid enemy dealing medium or heavy damage on an attack, ensuring the Barbarian will get his coming turn by pushing his HP beyond the probable damage will often be worth a Healing Words. Unless you still have a slot left for Hold Person and feel lucky (or know target's WIS save is low).

By the way...


If I have 5 hp and a dragon hit me with it's breath weapon for 75 damage, I only take 5 damage. Hp doesn't go into negative numbers in 5e. So that other 70 damage is just lost. Then a Healing Word picks me back up to positive hp and all I lose is half my movement standing up.
As MeeposFire illustrated, this is dangerously vague and can be horribly wrong. Insta-kill is much harder to achieve but it's still a thing. Especially at low levels or when facing really high-CR creatures, it may happen if you are not careful.

[KorvinStarmast]

Tell the party that healing is simply cancelling damage to the party and you prefer to cancel it before it happens and are going all in offensive!:smallbiggrin: When you roll that 3 on the attack roll with guiding bolt, you'll be so convincing. (How do I know this? :) )

Guiding bolt is really cool when it hits, since the next attack (hopefullyl your Barb or rogue or paladin) gets made with advantage.

With a miss, it stinks.

Bless always works. Get that feat for advantage on concentration checks. Bless 'em all. Spiritual Guardian if the mobs/swarms arrive.