Hello spellcasters of all shapes and sizes! Welcome to my spellbook and thank you so much for checking out the 58th episode of our second level spell series. Today we’re looking at a interesting healing spell, a lot of people have accused this of being a kind of a bait and switch if that makes sense i’ll explain why in a little bit here.
But today we’re talking about prayer of healing spell 5e it is found in the player’s handbook and is usable by the cleric class it’s pretty cool, i don’t know i’ll explain the gist here. So let’s take a quick look at its mechanics and break this down a little bit further.
Mechanics
- Level: 2nd
- Casting Time: 10 Minutes
- Range/Area: 30 ft
- Components: V
- Duration: Instantaneous
- School: Evocation
- Attack/Save: None
- Damage/Effect: Healing
The effect at a glance: Heal up to six living targets 2d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. Now that is pretty damn incredible to be honest with you. The reason a lot of people consider it a bait and switch though is the second point there.
Cast time is 10 minutes and it’s not a ritual, range of 30 feet, the duration is instantaneous. At higher levels you can increase the healing by 1d8 per each slot level above 2nd. The components are just verbal which is great and the school is evocation. Now let’s take a look at the full description and i’ll kind of explain a little bit more about the spell place in terms of the background text.
Description
Up to six creatures of your choice that you can see within range each regain hit points equal to 2d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.
Very good stuff here! So the problem a lot of people have is that this spell can’t really be used in combat. 10 minutes is a absurd amount of time which is spend of waiting on a heal of 2d8 i think that’s like what 600 rounds that what that is. In any case it is way too long to wait.
I mean six people 2d8 that’s like 12d8 worth of healing plus your spell-casting ability modifier for each of them, that’s great the life domain cleric also absolutely wrecks with this spell just saying it’s a great way of healing at a relatively low level. That’s kind of how it’s meant to be used right! In any case let’s check out some alternative uses.
Alternative Uses
So the best use is for this spell at least in my opinion are the following: Using it on camp environments where you don’t quite have enough time for a short rest or you’re already out of your hit die but at the same time you’ve taken a decent chunk of damage and you’ll want to heal up.
Once again this is super useful at those early levels especially as a decent chunk of healing especially for your more squishy casters right, so it’s quite beneficial there. This is also a great way to curry favor with locals. If you come across a bunch of peasants that we’re attacked by wolves, you can pretty quickly heal them up a decent chunk we’re just of this spell alone. It’s quite impressive. You can also read this mass healing word 5e.
Outside of that you could use this to if you’re a traveling medic or doctor and you’ll want to help out some local militiamen. This is a great way of reminding them that if they make it back they could get healing in a relatively short timeframe i mean 10 minutes out of combat goes by pretty much as quick as the DM wills it but it’s pretty safe to assume that they can hold out or barricade doors or what have you for 10 minutes it’s a relatively safe assumption.
Conclusion
In any case if you have any alternative uses, ideas, concepts, questions, comments, concerns please bring them down to the comment section beneath i really do appreciate it. That being said, i hope you all have a great day and as always happy casting everyone. Also check out this aid 5e | spiritual weapon 5e | cure wounds 5e |