Recommendation? Healing + Animal companion

[Drache64]

My wife is excited to play 5e, but she wants to be the healer and have an animal companion. She was playing 3.5 Where druids got animal companions but nothing in 5e seems to allow you to focus healing and have an animal companion.

Any recommendations from any sources? UA, MTG, lotr, anything?

[Grimmnist]

Beastmaster Ranger can actually fill that role. Spells like Goodberry, Cure Wounds, and Healing Spirit are all on the Ranger spell list. It's only a 1/2 caster so it has a few less spell slots but Goodberry and Healing Spirit are both very efficient heals.

THe other option would be Celestial Warlock with Pact of the Chain, which gives you a familiar. By default the familiar options are a bit limited but the DM could easily allow an animal companion.

[nickl_2000]

Variant Human Druid with Magic Initiate: Wizard will do the job as well.

Take Find Familiar as your level 1 spell and you are all set.


Then choose from the elemental cantrips for the two cantrips (Mold Earth, etc). You've lost no flavour, still a really effective PC, and perfectly in the rules.

[Tallytrev813]

Variant Human Druid with Magic Initiate: Wizard will do the job as well.

Take Find Familiar as your level 1 spell and you are all set.


Then choose from the elemental cantrips for the two cantrips (Mold Earth, etc). You've lost no flavour, still a really effective PC, and perfectly in the rules.

This. 100%

[ff7hero]

Find (Greater) Steed is probably the closest thing to Animal Companions in 5e. So I'd say Lore Bard or Paladin.

[Teaguethebean]

On the topic of ranger you could go to ranger 5 then life cleric the rest and heal an insane amount with Healing spirit and having an animal companion to boot.

[Lunali]

Lore bard or paladin for find steed is probably the best, but to add another option, celestial warlock, chain pact if you like.

[LudicSavant]

The animal companion mechanics worthy of mention are Find Steed and Find Familiar. Bard is an effective platform for either, while simultaneously being a great healer.

No, Beastmaster Ranger doesn't get you a companion, it gets you an extremely badly programmed robot. Totally different.

[NaughtyTiger]

Beastmaster Ranger is fun.

add 3 levels of trickster or nature cleric for warding bond (or ask your DM)
officially, two-weapon fighting isn't compatible (or ask your DM)


or play druid and get a UA companion https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/UA_Sidekicks.pdf (really strong, levels up)

[Meichrob7]

If you or whoever is the DM, is okay with houseruling some changes you could just let her play moon Druid and change wild shape to thematically work like a summonable familiar. Instead of the Druid turning into the animal they summon it but have to use their turn controlling it so it’s effectively the same.

If you don’t need the animal companion to be that effective in combat then Celestial warlock with pact of the chain works as a healer with an animal companion.

If you’re okay with diving into some heavy reflavoring then the artificer UA (which is supposedly going to be official in the next book) has subclasses that all have different companions/minions and the alchemist has healing spells. I’d say that’s the closest to what you’d want that’s strictly within the rules of the game because the Artificer as a class is somewhat made to be reflavored in creative ways.