Hexblade 2/Lore Bard 6: Prayer of Healing or Aura of Vitality as a Magical Secret?

[OgataiKhan]

I'm playing in a party of 5: me, an Eloquence Bard, an Artillerist, a Gloom Stalker, and a Kensei Monk.

One of my Magical Secrets is going to be Counterspell, and I'm considering an out of combat healing spell as the second one. Which of these two is better in your opinion?

Prayer of Healing

Pros:

- Heals more with the same slot if everybody is at low health (3rd level slot, Prayer: (4.5*3+5)*5=92.5 vs Aura: 7*10=70)
- Can be cast with a 2nd level slot, which is relevant because Bards have excellent 3rd level spells and no excellent 2nd level spells
- It's not concentration, so it doesn't interrupt hour-long concentration spells like Summon Fey (which my character heavily relies on)
- Can be upcast, although it's rarely worth it


Cons:

- Takes 10 minutes to cast, whereas Aura does its thing in one minute. Can be relevant in a dungeon
- It's less flexible: Aura is effective even when 1-2 people are very damaged and the rest are healthy. Prayer heals the same amount to everyone
- Can't be used in combat

Aura of Vitality

Pros:

- Only takes 1 min out of combat
- You choose where the healing goes, so it's better when only 1-2 people are heavily damaged
- Can potentially be used in combat, although I'm not sure I ever would since it's so much better outside of combat

Cons:

- Doesn't heal as much in ideal conditions
- Requires a 3rd level slot
- Is concentration, so it interrupts Summon Fey
- Can't be upcast

Currently I'm partial to Prayer of Healing because it won't interrupt my summons and will put to good use my 2nd level slots, which would otherwise just be there. What do you think?

[Bobthewizard]

Out of those two, I'd take Aura of Vitality. Being able to focus your healing is much better. But with 4 out of 5 of the party having access to some healing spells, I'm not sure this is the best use of your magical secrets.

Fly, fireball, spirit guardians (depending on your AC), or conjure animals might all be better choices.

[ff7hero]

Out of those two, I'd take Aura of Vitality. Being able to focus your healing is much better. But with 4 out of 5 of the party having access to some healing spells, I'm not sure this is the best use of your magical secrets.

Fly, fireball, spirit guardians (depending on your AC), or conjure animals might all be better choices.

I agree with most of this, especially with double Song of Rest for nice Short Rest heals.

My suggestion would actually be Pass Without Trace. Even if your Ranger has it, having it on 2 party members is nice when they both might have an hour long concentration spell already going (your Summon Fey, their Hunter's Mark). It doesn't look like anyone in your party is using Heavy Armor, so full Stealth might actually be viable with liberal application of a +10 bonus.

[Keravath]

My suggestion would actually be fireball. The artillerist will get access to it at 9th level but you have more and better spell slots. The main reason for suggesting it is that your party seems to lack AoE damage spells. If you can kill or significantly weaken 10 opponents with one fireball ... they do less damage ... and you need less out of combat healing in the first place.

I have a 2 hexblade/ 14 lore bard that took fireball and counterspell and never regretted it ... but I didn't use summoned creatures.

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However, Conjure Fey is a 6th level spell, Conjure Woodland Beings is a 4th level spell. Conjure Animals is a 3rd level spell and none of them are on the bard spell list.

I don't think there are any summoning spells on the bard spell list except Animate Objects. Some folks pick up conjure animals as a 6th level magical secrets pick just so they can summon animals. So I am not sure what spell you are referring to that requires concentration and which summons fey creatures as a regular tactic as a 6th level bard.

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[OgataiKhan]

My suggestion would actually be fireball. The artillerist will get access to it at 9th level but you have more and better spell slots. The main reason for suggesting it is that your party seems to lack AoE damage spells. If you can kill or significantly weaken 10 opponents with one fireball ... they do less damage ... and you need less out of combat healing in the first place.

I have a 2 hexblade/ 14 lore bard that took fireball and counterspell and never regretted it ... but I didn't use summoned creatures.

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However, Conjure Fey is a 6th level spell, Conjure Woodland Beings is a 4th level spell. Conjure Animals is a 3rd level spell and none of them are on the bard spell list.

I don't think there are any summoning spells on the bard spell list except Animate Objects. Some folks pick up conjure animals as a 6th level magical secrets pick just so they can summon animals. So I am not sure what spell you are referring to that requires concentration and which summons fey creatures as a regular tactic as a 6th level bard.

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I'm talking about Summon Fey, the new 3rd level Bard spell from Tasha. Conjure Fey is a different spell.

[Keravath]

I'm talking about Summon Fey, the new 3rd level Bard spell from Tasha. Conjure Fey is a different spell.

Cool. I don't have Tasha's yet since it doesn't come out until Tuesday. All I can find is a UA version of the spell called Summon Fey Spirit.

[Chronos]

I think there's something to be said for having every character capable of doing some healing, if reasonably possible. But Healing Word is a pretty good one, and is already on the bard's list. Beyond that, well, your party probably already has enough.