A Player's Guide to Feats - Healer
What happens when you go unconscious, and the cleric doesn’t have a 3rd level spell slot to cast revivify? What if everyone is out of healing potions or healing spells left? The Healer feat can fill that gap. Not only can it get back to consciousness, but it also gives you some hit points to help you finish the fight. So why is the Healer feat an afterthought? Let’s dive into the feat, see what it is, and whether or not it is worth consideration.
What is the Healer Feat
You are an able physician, allowing you to mend wounds quickly and get your allies back in the fight. You gain the following benefits:
When you use a healer's kit to stabilize a dying creature, that creature also regains 1 hit point.
As an action, you can spend one use of a healer's kit to tend to a creature and restore 1d6 + 4 hit points to it, plus additional hit points equal to the creature's maximum number of Hit Dice. The creature can't regain hit points from this feat again until it finishes a short or long rest.
Dissecting the Feat
Being able to heal someone or yourself is always a good thing. The problem with the Healer feat is that there are many better options. Not only that, but the feat has substantial limitations. First, it only stabilizes and provides no healing. Bringing a friend back from the brink of death is always good, especially if their death is ice cold and death saves aren’t something they want to rely upon. However, without healing, they are just lying on the ground unconscious, which means you can get to safety and are an easy target for your enemies.
Second, you'll need the Medicine skill. It's commonly one of the last skills a player would take, and those with the option typically have much better options. The artificer, bard, cleric, druid, and paladin can all take the medicine skill at character creation. Out of all those classes, the cleric may take it as a skill since they can choose two from a limited list (History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion), but there's no reason to since they have a long list of better spell options.
There's always the Healer's Kit for those who can't take the Medicine skill at 1st level. You don't need to make a Medicine check, but again, this only stabilizes the individual. You'll need to track how many uses it has since it's only good for 10 uses. It may only cost 5 gp, but you'll always find better ways to spend your money.
Finally, you can only use the feat once per short or long rest. No matter how you slice it, that is a massive limitation. Or, to put it another way…it sucks.
Then there's the list of healing spells classes you will have access to...at 1st level!
Cure wounds is the classic healing spell. With a +2 Wisdom modifier, you have just as much healing potential as the feat, and that's casting it with a 1st-level spell slot. Casting this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher increases by 1d8. Even with my horrid math skills, I know that's more than 1d6+4.
Goodberry provides only a single hit point per berry, but you can make up to ten berries at once. Sure, it takes an action to use, but you can eat as many berries as you want, not just one per short or long rest.
Healing word is so powerful because it is a Bonus Action. At the first level, there are few options for Bonus Actions.
Spare the dying is a cantrip! Enough said.
Are you really going to take the Healer feat at the 4th level with so many other options? Even then, if you feel like you absolutely feel you must possess healing, the Magic Initiate feat is a better option since you can take two cantrips and a 1st-level spell.
The Healer Feat Useability by Class
Artificer: With access to cure wounds, healing word, and spare the dying, the feat is not worth taking.
Barbarian: Just hit things. Not worth taking.
Bard: The do-it-all bard has access to healing spells, rendering the Healer kit relatively useless.
Not worth taking.
Cleric: You might think the cleric would be a good fit for the Healer feat, but it really isn’t. With access to so many healing spells, the Healer feat would only be used in the absolute worst-case scenario. If that happens, there’s no shame in running away to fight another day.
Not worth taking.
Druid: One word—goodberry. As always, just be a bear already. It's not worth taking.
Fighter: See barbarian. Not worth taking.
Monk: The monk doesn’t have access to healing spells, but they need to use their action to Attack, lest a majority of their abilities go to waste. And if you are a Way of Mercy monk, Hand of Healing will heal for almost as many hit points as the feat.
Not worth taking.
Paladin: Healing spells and Lay on Hands are sufficient. Not worth taking.
Ranger: See druid. Not worth taking
Rogue: This is the only possible class, and I say that with hesitation. A rogue can use movement to get within 5 feet of their downed/wounded ally, use the Healer feat’s ability, and then use Cunning Action to dash away. Many rogues aren’t going to be willing to run around healing people, especially when they have the opportunity to use Sneak Attack.
Sorcerer: No primary spellcaster in their right mind would run to the front line and heal a downed ally. It’s not that they are scared or don’t love their friends. They just don’t want to die after being one-shot.
Not worth taking.
Warlock: See sorcerer.
Wizard: See sorcerer & warock.
Conclusion
Well, it's obvious that the Healer's feat isn't worthwhile. At the 4th level, taking a feat that provides such minor benefits is a waste. Every class has more than a couple of better feat options. Increasing your ability scores is a much better option if you don't want a feat. There are ways to improve the feat: bonus action instead of an Action, scaled healing as you increase in level, stabilize, and get 1 hit point. Until some changes are made - looking at you, OneD&D - avoid this feat at every turn.
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