Primary Healer

[NecessaryWeevil]

[Executive Summary: Please give me all your low-level healer build suggestions.]

Hi folks,

One of the groups I play in does exclusively one-shot adventures (in the sense that they are done in one session) but with recurring characters. Characters reaching level 5 will probably "age out" of the team since we have a steady influx of new players. I'm thinking of playing a primary healer as my next character and I'd appreciate your help in naming build possibilities for this concept. Mostly I would like help finding possibilities I might otherwise miss. It would need to "come online" quickly as the character might never see play past level 4.

I'm aware of the following and probably won't play them for the posed reasons.
Shepherd Druid: Playing this in another campaign.
Divine Soul Sorceror: Just played this in a recent campaign.
Redemption Paladin: Hoping to play this in an upcoming campaign.

Thanks!

PS I'm aware that "healbot" is suboptimal and unnecessary. I plan to do more than heal, but I want to effectively bring the healing when it's needed.

[nickl_2000]

The obvious one is Life Cleric.

Other than that:
Really any Cleric
Really any Druid
Really any Bard (although Glamour excels at it with temp hp)
Any Paladin (bonus for Oath of Glory for temp hp)
Oath of Crown Paladin (channel divinity heals)
Mark of Healing Halfling Sorcerer
Mark of Healing Halfling Wizard
Celestial Warlock
Way of Mercy Monk (although it takes level 3 before it kicks in)
Rogue Thief with the Healer Feat (again level 3)
Rangers get it past level 2.

Races with Healing:
Aasimar
Oath of Healing Halfling

[Grimmnist]

I like Glamour Bard, it has Healing Word and Cure Wounds for in combat healing and Song of Rest helps top the party up out of combat. The level 3 feature Mantle of Inspiration not only gives temporary Hitpoints but lets teammates during your turn without getting AoO'd, both of which are great supplements to healing. My favorite use is when a teammate keeps getting yo-yo'd down each round, with a little set up, you can cure wounds them up, then use your bonus action to Mantle of Inspiration moving them hopefully out of range.

*Posted by a shameless Bard main

[Kane0]

Life Cleric, Dreams Druid, Celestial Warlock

Bonus points for taking a race that either has built in healing (like Aasimaar) or can get a feat for Healer (or inspiring leader).

[MaxWilson]

Anybody with Inspiring Leader is excellent in Tier 1 (and still valuable up to level 20).

If you want more on top of that, make it a Jorasco (Mark of Healing) halfling and use Prayer of Healing and later on Aura of Vitality between fights. I do like combining it with Divine Soul though because Extended Spell metamagic doubles the healing output from Aura of Vitality. Can add Life Cleric 1 on top of that if you really want to but it's sort of overkill. Jorasco Divine Soul 5/Life Cleric 1 can heal over 1200 HP per long rest, but if you're using that much healing at level 6 you're either in marathon sessions (dozens of fights per day) or I dunno, your DM is a sadist or something. I hope you never need that much healing ever.

[Emongnome777]

Rogue Thief with the Healer Feat (again level 3)

To be fair, the healer feat is useful even without fast hands, though using it as a bonus action improves action economy in combat. At lower levels (tier 1), it's an amazing short rest healing resource.

[nickl_2000]

To be fair, the healer feat is useful even without fast hands, though using it as a bonus action improves action economy in combat. At lower levels (tier 1), it's an amazing short rest healing resource.

That's fair, it really comes online at level 3 when you can use fast hands to bring people back from dying in combat though.

[NecessaryWeevil]

Thanks all! I'm liking the Jorasco wizard idea. It's sufficiently different from what I've done before.

[Ashrym]

[Executive Summary: Please give me all your low-level healer build suggestions.]

Hi folks,

One of the groups I play in does exclusively one-shot adventures (in the sense that they are done in one session) but with recurring characters. Characters reaching level 5 will probably "age out" of the team since we have a steady influx of new players. I'm thinking of playing a primary healer as my next character and I'd appreciate your help in naming build possibilities for this concept. Mostly I would like help finding possibilities I might otherwise miss. It would need to "come online" quickly as the character might never see play past level 4.

I'm aware of the following and probably won't play them for the posed reasons.
Shepherd Druid: Playing this in another campaign.
Divine Soul Sorceror: Just played this in a recent campaign.
Redemption Paladin: Hoping to play this in an upcoming campaign.

Thanks!

PS I'm aware that "healbot" is suboptimal and unnecessary. I plan to do more than heal, but I want to effectively bring the healing when it's needed.

I'd still consider the bard. Song of rest is good extra healing at those levels, and the reaction mantle of inspiration grants is useful beyond just the thp it grants.

[Chronic]

At early level it's probably hard to beat twilight cleric as a combat healer. The temp hp you can give every turn as early as level 2 is golden, and the feature recharge on short rest. On top of that it has the rest of the cleric tools to work with.

[LudicSavant]

PS I'm aware that "healbot" is suboptimal and unnecessary. I plan to do more than heal, but I want to effectively bring the healing when it's needed.

Quite the contrary, healers are strong when optimized properly. You just shouldn't be focusing on using Cure Wounds, specifically.

You can make a strong healer out of most caster classes these days. For example, here's a very strong Wizard healer: https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24670442&postcount=496

Life, Twilight, and Peace are all top tier Cleric choices (especially now that Aura of Vitality is on their list). And Life Cleric 1 is a great dip for Lore Bards, Mark of Healing casters, Divine Soul Sorcerers, and Druids.

[NecessaryWeevil]

You can make a strong healer out of most caster classes these days. For example, here's a very strong Wizard healer: https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24670442&postcount=496



Actually, I'm already excited to try that exact build which I found from an Internet search. Thank you!

[LudicSavant]

Actually, I'm already excited to try that exact build which I found from an Internet search. Thank you!

Have fun! :smallbiggrin:

[Sigreid]

As healer is really just a form of damage mitigation, have you considered Artificer? The turret that grants refreshing temp hp every round to all allies within 30' can mitigate way more damage than a low level healer can heal.

[MaxWilson]

As healer is really just a form of damage mitigation, have you considered Artificer? The turret that grants refreshing temp hp every round to all allies within 30' can mitigate way more damage than a low level healer can heal.

Except that Twilight Cleric is even better at that game. Bigger AoE and eventually waaaay more temp HP per round, multiple times per short rest, plus more spell slots for regular healing and access to Aura of Vitality as a domain spell (i.e. even without optional cleric features).

[MrStabby]

At low levels I like the paladin for this.

5 HP per level from Lay on hands goes qhite a long way, you have a decent AC so at least one member of the party shouldn't need too much and you get spell slots for back up.

[Sigreid]

Except that Twilight Cleric is even better at that game. Bigger AoE and eventually waaaay more temp HP per round, multiple times per short rest, plus more spell slots for regular healing and access to Aura of Vitality as a domain spell (i.e. even without optional cleric features).

The turret looks better to me but that could be subjective. /shrug

[Frogreaver]

[Executive Summary: Please give me all your low-level healer build suggestions.]

Hi folks,

One of the groups I play in does exclusively one-shot adventures (in the sense that they are done in one session) but with recurring characters. Characters reaching level 5 will probably "age out" of the team since we have a steady influx of new players. I'm thinking of playing a primary healer as my next character and I'd appreciate your help in naming build possibilities for this concept. Mostly I would like help finding possibilities I might otherwise miss. It would need to "come online" quickly as the character might never see play past level 4.

I'm aware of the following and probably won't play them for the posed reasons.
Shepherd Druid: Playing this in another campaign.
Divine Soul Sorceror: Just played this in a recent campaign.
Redemption Paladin: Hoping to play this in an upcoming campaign.

Thanks!

PS I'm aware that "healbot" is suboptimal and unnecessary. I plan to do more than heal, but I want to effectively bring the healing when it's needed.

Be a life cleric. It's the only class I know of that can actually combat heal well.

A fighter at level 4 will have around 36 hp. (Assuming +2 con)
Say the fighter just dropped. The life cleric uses the channel divinity to heal him for 18hp. He then uses healing word to heal for an additional 1d4 + 7. Total healing on single turn = 1d4+25 = 26-29. The fighter is not far from being healed from 0 to max hp. You can do this once per short rest.

Other classes and setups can presumably heal more in the adventuring day (though a life clerics prayer of healing is enough to top off all but the most heavily injured allies at the levels in question). The Life cleric is the only one who does good in battle healing as he can heal enough in 1 round so enemies don't typically drop the character again.

**Also don't forget the interplay between aid and the channel divinity (allowing it to heal allies for more hp due to increasing their hp maximum).

[MaxWilson]

The turret looks better to me but that could be subjective. /shrug

Huh. Don't get me wrong, I love the Protector turret and in my games there are no Twilight Clerics allowed so there's no competition, but how does d6+Lvl HP per round to targets if your choice in a 30' AoE lose out to d8+INT HP as a bonus action each round in a 10' AoE? Is it the initial action cost for Twilight? The fact that you can do it "only" twice per short rest until high level?

[Ashrym]

Except that Twilight Cleric is even better at that game. Bigger AoE and eventually waaaay more temp HP per round, multiple times per short rest, plus more spell slots for regular healing and access to Aura of Vitality as a domain spell (i.e. even without optional cleric features).


The turret looks better to me but that could be subjective. /shrug

I find the turret better in the long run as far as the thp go, but the cleric's spell access is better.

The drawback on the twilight cleric in the context of the topic is the level range. It's one use of channel divinity for one minute per rest. 1d6 plus cleric level, 30' radius.

The artillerist using the protector feature is 1d8 plus INT mod, within 10', so the actual number of thp granted is similar until higher levels but the area is better for the cleric. The difference is the cannon lasts an hour instead of a minute, and the area can be activated from 60' away for better range.

In both cases adding more thp only matters for targets taking damage so the amount typically doesn't live up to the potential.

The cleric has more spells prepped, more spell slots, and higher level spells available.

[Frogreaver]

Huh. Don't get me wrong, I love the Protector turret and in my games there are no Twilight Clerics allowed so there's no competition, but how does d6+Lvl HP per round to targets if your choice in a 30' AoE lose out to d8+INT HP as a bonus action each round in a 10' AoE? Is it the initial action cost for Twilight? The fact that you can do it "only" twice per short rest until high level?

IMO, d8+int is greater than d6+lvl through level 4. The range is a bit of a potential issue, but using a bonus action instead of an action is a substantial improvement. I think by high level the difference is hard to justify artificer over twilight, but earlier levels...

[Sigreid]

Huh. Don't get me wrong, I love the Protector turret and in my games there are no Twilight Clerics allowed so there's no competition, but how does d6+Lvl HP per round to targets if your choice in a 30' AoE lose out to d8+INT HP as a bonus action each round in a 10' AoE? Is it the initial action cost for Twilight? The fact that you can do it "only" twice per short rest until high level?

For me, yes. Those two things. But like I said, it's subjective.

[MaxWilson]

IMO, d8+int is greater than d6+lvl through level 4. The range is a bit of a potential issue, but using a bonus action instead of an action is a substantial improvement. I think by high level the difference is hard to justify artificer over twilight, but earlier levels...

It's a bonus action EVERY ROUND though instead of an action once (and Twilight cleric can spend that round activating Spiritual Weapon). And at level 3, sure, d8+3 is greater than d6+3... but at level 2 Twilight cleric gets d6+2 and Artificer gets nothing. And Artificer 3 gets it "only" 4 times a day even if they sacrifice all spellcasting, and the turret is somewhat fragile (AC 18 but only 15 HP, which matters for a 10' healing radius), whereas Twilight cleric gets the healing aura once per short rest and still gets 4/2 spell slots on top (and can also dispel charm and fear). And BTW Twilight Cleric is also granting advantage on initiative to someone in the party, as well as uber-darkvision. (Yes, Artificer is granting two magic items to somebody in the party.)

By level 5 Twilight Cleric is clearly ahead at the healing game (e.g. d6+5 ~= d8+4, and Aura of Vitality is online for a 70 HP boost twice per day), which coincidentally is the level at which "real" minion spells like Conjure Animals and Animate Dead come online and being able to grant ~9 HP per round to all minions in a 60' diameter circle starts to really matter. And it just keeps getting more ridiculous from there.

I'll repeat, I think the Artificer is well-balanced, with interesting tradeoffs, and the Twilight Cleric is very much not. For the most part the only dilemma a Twilight Cleric faces is "should I play a Peace Cleric instead?" Me calling the Protector turret weaker than Twilight Cleric is not me saying the Artillerist is bad--Artillerist is good design!

Artillerist good (design). Twilight bad (design).

[Zaile]

It's a bit item dependent, but I have a Gloomstalker ranger ATM who has a moonisckle and dumps all his remaining spell each day into Moonberries (goodberries with the moon sickle bonus). Works fantastic for out of combat, which is his new responsibility.

[stoutstien]

Except that Twilight Cleric is even better at that game. Bigger AoE and eventually waaaay more temp HP per round, multiple times per short rest, plus more spell slots for regular healing and access to Aura of Vitality as a domain spell (i.e. even without optional cleric features).

I think party composition and tactics will determine which THP battery comes out ahead. The edgelord cleric has the bigger overall value but they also cant pull off little tricks like following a mass of summons as they clear out a temple. spamming THP while invisible while being out of harm's way.

*IMO twilight sanctuary just need the "like you are concentrating on a spell" clause added to it and it would be pretty balanced.

[MaxWilson]

I think party composition and tactics will determine which THP battery comes out ahead. The edgelord cleric has the bigger overall value but (A) they also cant pull off little tricks like following a mass of summons as they clear out a temple. spamming THP while invisible while being out of harm's way.

*IMO twilight sanctuary (B) just need the "like you are concentrating on a spell" clause added to it and it would be pretty balanced.

(A) Artificer can't pull that trick off either, because (1) they can't cast Invisiblity, (2) Invisibility doesn't work on objects including turrets, only on creatures.

If you have someone else willing to cast Invisibility on you, Twilight cleric can at least follow invisibly behind the summons, radiating THP in a 30' AoE that moves with them, maybe even while they radiate Spirit Guardians as well to damage and slow enemies. (Just cast the Spirit Guardians before Invisiblity--activating Twilight Sanctuary (Channel Divinity) later on doesn't break invisibility.) All Artificer can do is follow invisibly and spawn a visible turret, while potentially using Flash of Genius a few times (it's not really worth wasting on summons) or maybe a relevant infusion (I don't have any great ideas for what).

Looks to me like the Twilight Cleric definitely has an edge in the following invisibly behind summons scenario.

(B) Yeah, that would go a long way towards evening things out. At least the Artificer's turret would have a niche then: use a Protector Turret if you don't want to spend your concentration on radiating the temp HP. It would also even things out a bit with Shepherd Druids (Bear Spirit does not take concentration). If Twilight Sanctuary took concentration, it would be better than the others in most ways and worse in one big way, instead of being better in all ways.

[Sigreid]

Didn't think I was going to start a whole side debate when my main point was that regenerating THP can be a great substitute or augment for healing, especially at low levels. Among other things it keeps you from being dropped from spike damage on a lucky hit.

[stoutstien]

(A) Artificer can't pull that trick off either, because (1) they can't cast Invisiblity, (2) Invisibility doesn't work on objects including turrets, only on creatures.

If you have someone else willing to cast Invisibility on you, Twilight cleric can at least follow invisibly behind the summons, radiating THP in a 30' AoE that moves with them, maybe even while they radiate Spirit Guardians as well to damage and slow enemies. (Just cast the Spirit Guardians before Invisiblity--activating Twilight Sanctuary (Channel Divinity) later on doesn't break invisibility.) All Artificer can do is follow invisibly and spawn a visible turret, while potentially using Flash of Genius a few times (it's not really worth wasting on summons) or maybe a relevant infusion (I don't have any great ideas for what).

Looks to me like the Twilight Cleric definitely has an edge in the following invisibly behind summons scenario.

(B) Yeah, that would go a long way towards evening things out. At least the Artificer's turret would have a niche then: use a Protector Turret if you don't want to spend your concentration on radiating the temp HP. It would also even things out a bit with Shepherd Druids (Bear Spirit does not take concentration). If Twilight Sanctuary took concentration, it would be better than the others in most ways and worse in one big way, instead of being better in all ways.

Usually you just have one of the summons carry the tiny cannon in some fashion while the artificer follows invisible and using the SSI filled with whatnot.

[MaxWilson]

Usually you just have one of the summons carry the tiny cannon in some fashion while the artificer follows invisible and using the SSI filled with whatnot.

You still need someone else to cast Invisibility on you, and if you've got an SSI you're at least 11th level, at which point the hypothetical invisible Twilight Cleric would be granting d6+11 (14) HP every round to every summon within 30' of them, which beats d8+5ish (9) HP to summons within 10' of the summon with the cannon. Plus, the Twilight Cleric can summon an Avenger Celestial (if they have the spell list expansion feature) or something to go with the summons and add a bunch of DPR, whereas the Artificer is limited to a couple of tiny servants at best (since an Artificer 11 has only 4/3/3 spell slots).

[Ashrym]

(A) Artificer can't pull that trick off either, because (1) they can't cast Invisiblity, (2) Invisibility doesn't work on objects including turrets, only on creatures.

If you have someone else willing to cast Invisibility on you, Twilight cleric can at least follow invisibly behind the summons, radiating THP in a 30' AoE that moves with them, maybe even while they radiate Spirit Guardians as well to damage and slow enemies. (Just cast the Spirit Guardians before Invisiblity--activating Twilight Sanctuary (Channel Divinity) later on doesn't break invisibility.) All Artificer can do is follow invisibly and spawn a visible turret, while potentially using Flash of Genius a few times (it's not really worth wasting on summons) or maybe a relevant infusion (I don't have any great ideas for what).

Looks to me like the Twilight Cleric definitely has an edge in the following invisibly behind summons scenario.

(B) Yeah, that would go a long way towards evening things out. At least the Artificer's turret would have a niche then: use a Protector Turret if you don't want to spend your concentration on radiating the temp HP. It would also even things out a bit with Shepherd Druids (Bear Spirit does not take concentration). If Twilight Sanctuary took concentration, it would be better than the others in most ways and worse in one big way, instead of being better in all ways.

Why can't the artificer cast invisibility? It's already been mentioned that the cannon can be in a held form to be invisible.

The invisible twilight cleric is still radiating a 30' sphere of light invisible or not so less effective in that regard. The SSI is getting off on a tangent because it's 11th level but by that point the SSI could hold invisibility to free up the artillerist's concentration.

Where the artillerist gets the bonus over the twilight cleric is still duration of the effect. Twilight sanctuary is good for a minute, or generally one combat encounter. The protector feature of the artillerist cannon is useable for the one hour duration of the cannon, or several encounters without a rest, and is more easily replaced when needed by a 1st level spell slot.

Slightly better thp generation in a single encounter isn't better than great thp generation over multiple encounters. Twilight sanctuary improves with more uses and higher levels later but the early levels it's only really better at 2nd level and only because the artillerist cannon doesn't come online until 3rd level.

[MaxWilson]

Why can't the artificer cast invisibility? It's already been mentioned that the cannon can be in a held form to be invisible.


Because apparently I checked the wrong spell list before. My mistake.

[stoutstien]

Because apparently I checked the wrong spell list before. My mistake.

You had me double checking myself lol.

[MaxWilson]

You had me double checking myself lol.

My reasoning was "invisibility doesn't seem on-theme for Artificer, but better double-check before posting." But apparently I checked the wrong list or just had a reading fail.

Half-caster advancement still makes Invisibility expensive for an Artificer until late Tier 2, but I see now why you recommend the tactic.

[opaopajr]

My standard "lowest stats allowed" Healbot. Basic 5e & quickstart compliant. Basically an amusing Life Cleric that focuses less on build and more on just being the bestest lil' engine that could. A party cheerleader basically. Given this is a PC for a lot of one-shots and likely disposed of by 4th lvl, gives a sort of nice canvas with easy to digest tropes.

My "Wimples" tend to pattern themselves off the red-headed novitiate nun from "Sister Act" movie. :smallcool:

Wimple the Weenie, Healbot Novitiate Nun
Standard Human Acolyte Life Cleric
Lv 1. HP 5. PB 2. AC 18. Init -3. Spd 30 (20 in armor).
STR 3, DEX 3, CON 3, INT 3, WIS 3, CHA 3
edit: oopsie poopsie! forgot to adjust stats with Standard Human's +1 across the board. So that's all 4s with a -3 Mod on everything. Eh, you know what I meant, I'm sure. :smalltongue: Basically ignore PC stats, features, etc. and focus on Background.
STR 4, DEX 4, CON 4, INT 4, WIS 4, CHA 4
Saves: WIS -1, CHA -1
Skill: Insight -1, Persuasion -1, Performance -1, Religion -1.
Armor: All & Shields. Weapon: Simple.
Languages: Common + 3 extra
Spells: SA -1. SDC 7.
Cantrip -- Guidance, Resistance, Light
Bonus 1st -- Bless, Cure Wounds
Prepped 1st -- Healing Word
Money: 15 gp
Gear: Chain Mail, Shield, Mace, Xbow light, bolts x20, pouch, holy symbol x2, prayer book, incense x5, vestments, common clothes.

Bio: Wants to sing and be helpful but doesn't really know how yet! So earnest!

After that just kinda enjoy the moment and play around with Background motivations. :smalltongue:

[Chronic]

The hour long duration of the turret is probably only relevant if the adventuring day include more than 4 fights. Otherwise considering a group usually takes a minimum of one long rest a day, the Twilight cleric will get 4 fights out of his channel divinity, and will outscale badly the turret the higher level the game gets. If you add the range, the fact the heavily armored cleric is quite a bit more durable than the turret, and the action economy which is substantially better, I don't think there is much going on for the turret. Which doesn't mean that the turret Is a bad feature by any mean.

[stoutstien]

The hour long duration of the turret is probably only relevant if the adventuring day include more than 4 fights. Otherwise considering a group usually takes a minimum of one long rest a day, the Twilight cleric will get 4 fights out of his channel divinity, and will outscale badly the turret the higher level the game gets. If you add the range, the fact the heavily armored cleric is quite a bit more durable than the turret, and the action economy which is substantially better, I don't think there is much going on for the turret. Which doesn't mean that the turret Is a bad feature by any mean.

Depends on how a table rules how spells/effects that only target creatures interacts with the cannon it can be pretty hearty for a 1st level slot.

[Sigreid]

The hour long duration of the turret is probably only relevant if the adventuring day include more than 4 fights. Otherwise considering a group usually takes a minimum of one long rest a day, the Twilight cleric will get 4 fights out of his channel divinity, and will outscale badly the turret the higher level the game gets. If you add the range, the fact the heavily armored cleric is quite a bit more durable than the turret, and the action economy which is substantially better, I don't think there is much going on for the turret. Which doesn't mean that the turret Is a bad feature by any mean.

Ok, at my table it's not unusual to get into more than one fight and often more than 2 in an hour. If we're on the offensive, we're being pretty offensive. When you get to higher levels, the calculation should take into account that your bonus action with the turrets can have your shield and a cannon both trigger. Also, the turrets eventually start providing half cover which can be huge in a lot of circumstances.

I'm not saying the twilight cleric sucks or anything like that. Just that there's more dimensions than a 1 minute fight that can influence which does the THP job better in a particular circumstances. And, of course, if you can have both...

[MaxWilson]

Ok, at my table it's not unusual to get into more than one fight and often more than 2 in an hour. If we're on the offensive, we're being pretty offensive. When you get to higher levels, the calculation should take into account that your bonus action with the turrets can have your shield and a cannon both trigger. Also, the turrets eventually start providing half cover which can be huge in a lot of circumstances.

I'm not saying the twilight cleric sucks or anything like that. Just that there's more dimensions than a 1 minute fight that can influence which does the THP job better in a particular circumstances. And, of course, if you can have both...

Note that Twilight Clerics also start providing half cover eventually, IIRC two levels later than the cannon does (17 vs. 15).

I'd worry more about the 1 minute duration on Twilight Sanctuary except that THP lasts until the next long rest, so unless you have 3 or more huge fights in an hour or everybody in your party has AC 13ish you'll probably never even miss not having a third usage. Just having the _option_ to put up regenerating THP every round is itself huge but you don't need it in in small fights (IME with protector turrets).