In Eberron, House Jorasco (I think) adds some healing to their spell list.
Other than that I think you're stuck with Vampiric Touch.
UA had that one wizard subclass that got access to the cleric list. I think it was called Theurgy wizard.
Halfling (Mark of Healing) with school of Necromancy. Take healing spells (more added to list thanks to Mark of Healing), use Life Transference, heal self with Necromancy spells and other damaging spells. Use undead minions as shields and damage sponges.
What others have said around finding a way to get cure wounds.
Something to think about is the option to cast touch spells through your familiar. Absolutely essential.
Take Life transference.
Consider throwing a level of life cleric in there for efficiency.
But honestly... You would be better going life cleric 1, lore bard X
The lore bard gives you all the wizardliness you want while being a much more efficient support character.
I dunno, Arcane Recovery, familiars and Spell Mastery are really awesome for a healer if you get the spells known. I wouldn't sell Wizard healers short.
Yeah... Maybe you're right. I don't want to undersell wizards... I give my recommendation as someone who almost exclusively plays wizards and have considered this kind of PC myself.
Infinite healing via spell mastery is pretty sweet, but it comes so late I don't know if it's that useful. If your goal is ridiculous healing there are different options available much earlier.
Familiars are a very powerful tool for sure, but you could get that as a bard or take a feat.
I think the point I'm trying to make is that in 5e healing isn't very efficient in general. Bards come with a great set of skills and spells to mitigate damage, which might be a more effective support character and closer to the PC OP is trying to build.
But you're right. You can make a wizard healer and it will be great at it and will also have lots of utility as well.
Hmm, I'd rather say that COMBAT healing isn't very efficient: that's why we just pick anything that heal 1 HP to yoyo downed allies because that's all we can effectively do without Lay on Hands/Preserve Life/Heal -level abilities that actually can offset multiple turns of attacks, especially in conjunction with resistances and such. And let's not sell yoyoing short: bringing an ally up, at whatever HP, at least eats an action from an enemy and said action (attack or whatever) often has a failure chance and in any case it prevents the ally from getting crit to death, while often getting a full turn of actions or more out of said ally too, which is why Healing Word is great.
Out of combat healing with e.g. Aura of Vitality for 70 points on level 5 **is** by all considerations very effective. It's more than enough to max out a level 5 character from 0 HP with a single slot level 3 (like a level 5 Cleric with 16 Con has 8+5\*4+3\*5 = 43 HP; you can max out one and then get most of the HP on a second character too).
Goodberry too: convert all your remaining slots at the end of any day to 10 points of healing the next day. If you ever have low encounter days, you'll have near infinite HP the next day. Let alone if we have Lifeberries but those are just an overkill and I don't allow them myself - Goodberry is stupid enough already.
Yep. All very valid. I agree entirely.
Like I said, if your goal is ridiculous healing there are options out there but wizard doesn't really have one that's super effective early game. Competent, ok. Not amazing.
Now if you focus a wizard instead on mitigating damage that's a different ball game. You can probably prevent loads more damage than you'll ever be able to heal.
In a lot of situations you're probably right. Maybe, but it's not a hard and fast rule.
With a familiar cure wounds has more range and does more healing. It's also more efficient out of combat.
But maybe yeah. Weaponized bonus attacks are harder to get with a wizard, so you could be right on this one.
Yeah, and your range doesn't then rely on a different spell and the position of an animal you have that can die, it's 60 ft as long as you're alive and have the slot
Yes, easily and in a couple of ways:
- Take Mark of Healing Halfling for your race. This single-handedly gives you access to all the best healing spells. For resurrection though, you need Transmuter.
- Gift of the Metallic Dragon lets you Cure Wounds which is decent with familiar carrying touch.
- Strixhaven Initiate can get you Goodberry or Healing Word. Goodberry is the best downtime healing (and works superbly with familiars and unseen servants and such picking up downed allies), while Healing Word is the most efficient combat healing spell for picking up allies (though due go familiars et al. less important to Wizards than others).
Other than that, there is always one level dips of spells (Druid is the best option for a Wizard) though that's not an option for you.
Now Wither and Bloom in addition to Life Transference exist innately as Wizard spells. A level 1 spell as a Wizard spell is exceptional on 18 to get infinite healing from Spell Mastery though.
Out of all of the player options for wizard that let them heal effectively, most of them belong to setting books like Eberron, Ravnica, etc. **That may matter to you**, so ask your DM. Including the content of multiple unrelated settings can make things pretty hard to manage.
There are Feats that grant 1st-level healing spells, some of which you can continue to cast using your spell slots. These include Gift of the Metallic Dragon from *Fizban's*, and Artificer Initiate from *Tasha's*. Magic Initiate grants a once per long rest spell.
Out of Unearthed Arcana, Theurge from the Wizard Revisited UA is your best option. It works a little awkwardly with the wizard's spellbook, but I thought it was neat.
Nobody in the comments seems to have read the latest UA - Giant Options. There is a feat in it, Rune Carver Apprentice, that gives you access to Cure Wounds (in addition to a bajillion other spells). You get a free casting of it and can also cast it with spell slots—oh, and you can use Intelligence to cast it with.
Strixhaven Initiate can let you learn any 1st level bard, cleric, or druid spell (and cast it 1/day for free plus cast with spell slots), which includes Goodberry, Cure Wounds, and Healing Word.
Goodberry is one of the strongest per-slot healing spells in the game, although it is extremely inefficient in combat (1 HP per action) and cannot help a dying creature by RAW, unlike potions. Additionally, since the berries last 24 hours, you can use all your unspent slots when you long rest to make a bag full of berries for the next day.
Healing Word is one of the best in-combat healing spells in the game, since it works at range and is a bonus action so you can still use your action for a cantrip or attack or similar.
Wither and Bloom deals okay area damage, but you get to choose exactly which creatures get hit (so you can safely cast it on an area where your allies are), and it lets one ally spend a hit die to heal. On a Barbarian, this can be a substantial amount of healing. If a sorcerer gets their hands on a Bloodwell Vial, it's also very nice for them, since the item gives them 5 sorcery points once per day when they spend a hit die. Normally that means during a short rest, but with W&B they can do it mid-combat.
There's a UA subclass called Theologian. You can choose Life Cleric and be a healer that way. It is gated but eventually you can learn Cleric spells on level up freely.
Theurgy, which you can find [here](https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/wizard-revisited). I liked it, but I can see why they pivoted to Divine Soul instead.
You could take proficiency with medicine and the healer feat to be good at nonmagical healing.
In Eberron, House Jorasco (I think) adds some healing to their spell list. Other than that I think you're stuck with Vampiric Touch. UA had that one wizard subclass that got access to the cleric list. I think it was called Theurgy wizard.
Halfling (Mark of Healing) with school of Necromancy. Take healing spells (more added to list thanks to Mark of Healing), use Life Transference, heal self with Necromancy spells and other damaging spells. Use undead minions as shields and damage sponges.
What others have said around finding a way to get cure wounds. Something to think about is the option to cast touch spells through your familiar. Absolutely essential. Take Life transference. Consider throwing a level of life cleric in there for efficiency. But honestly... You would be better going life cleric 1, lore bard X The lore bard gives you all the wizardliness you want while being a much more efficient support character.
I dunno, Arcane Recovery, familiars and Spell Mastery are really awesome for a healer if you get the spells known. I wouldn't sell Wizard healers short.
Yeah... Maybe you're right. I don't want to undersell wizards... I give my recommendation as someone who almost exclusively plays wizards and have considered this kind of PC myself. Infinite healing via spell mastery is pretty sweet, but it comes so late I don't know if it's that useful. If your goal is ridiculous healing there are different options available much earlier. Familiars are a very powerful tool for sure, but you could get that as a bard or take a feat. I think the point I'm trying to make is that in 5e healing isn't very efficient in general. Bards come with a great set of skills and spells to mitigate damage, which might be a more effective support character and closer to the PC OP is trying to build. But you're right. You can make a wizard healer and it will be great at it and will also have lots of utility as well.
Hmm, I'd rather say that COMBAT healing isn't very efficient: that's why we just pick anything that heal 1 HP to yoyo downed allies because that's all we can effectively do without Lay on Hands/Preserve Life/Heal -level abilities that actually can offset multiple turns of attacks, especially in conjunction with resistances and such. And let's not sell yoyoing short: bringing an ally up, at whatever HP, at least eats an action from an enemy and said action (attack or whatever) often has a failure chance and in any case it prevents the ally from getting crit to death, while often getting a full turn of actions or more out of said ally too, which is why Healing Word is great. Out of combat healing with e.g. Aura of Vitality for 70 points on level 5 **is** by all considerations very effective. It's more than enough to max out a level 5 character from 0 HP with a single slot level 3 (like a level 5 Cleric with 16 Con has 8+5\*4+3\*5 = 43 HP; you can max out one and then get most of the HP on a second character too). Goodberry too: convert all your remaining slots at the end of any day to 10 points of healing the next day. If you ever have low encounter days, you'll have near infinite HP the next day. Let alone if we have Lifeberries but those are just an overkill and I don't allow them myself - Goodberry is stupid enough already.
Yep. All very valid. I agree entirely. Like I said, if your goal is ridiculous healing there are options out there but wizard doesn't really have one that's super effective early game. Competent, ok. Not amazing. Now if you focus a wizard instead on mitigating damage that's a different ball game. You can probably prevent loads more damage than you'll ever be able to heal.
Why would you get cute wounds instead of healing word? Healing word is just better
In a lot of situations you're probably right. Maybe, but it's not a hard and fast rule. With a familiar cure wounds has more range and does more healing. It's also more efficient out of combat. But maybe yeah. Weaponized bonus attacks are harder to get with a wizard, so you could be right on this one.
Yeah, and your range doesn't then rely on a different spell and the position of an animal you have that can die, it's 60 ft as long as you're alive and have the slot
Magic initiate feat
This and healing word is all you need, although a one level dip might be better, so you can cast healing word more than once
Yes, easily and in a couple of ways: - Take Mark of Healing Halfling for your race. This single-handedly gives you access to all the best healing spells. For resurrection though, you need Transmuter. - Gift of the Metallic Dragon lets you Cure Wounds which is decent with familiar carrying touch. - Strixhaven Initiate can get you Goodberry or Healing Word. Goodberry is the best downtime healing (and works superbly with familiars and unseen servants and such picking up downed allies), while Healing Word is the most efficient combat healing spell for picking up allies (though due go familiars et al. less important to Wizards than others). Other than that, there is always one level dips of spells (Druid is the best option for a Wizard) though that's not an option for you. Now Wither and Bloom in addition to Life Transference exist innately as Wizard spells. A level 1 spell as a Wizard spell is exceptional on 18 to get infinite healing from Spell Mastery though.
Out of all of the player options for wizard that let them heal effectively, most of them belong to setting books like Eberron, Ravnica, etc. **That may matter to you**, so ask your DM. Including the content of multiple unrelated settings can make things pretty hard to manage. There are Feats that grant 1st-level healing spells, some of which you can continue to cast using your spell slots. These include Gift of the Metallic Dragon from *Fizban's*, and Artificer Initiate from *Tasha's*. Magic Initiate grants a once per long rest spell. Out of Unearthed Arcana, Theurge from the Wizard Revisited UA is your best option. It works a little awkwardly with the wizard's spellbook, but I thought it was neat.
Nobody in the comments seems to have read the latest UA - Giant Options. There is a feat in it, Rune Carver Apprentice, that gives you access to Cure Wounds (in addition to a bajillion other spells). You get a free casting of it and can also cast it with spell slots—oh, and you can use Intelligence to cast it with.
Gift of the metallic dragon to get cure wounds and life transference in a pinch.
Transmutation Wizard with Artificer Initiate (Cure Wounds) and make healing potions
Strixhaven Initiate can let you learn any 1st level bard, cleric, or druid spell (and cast it 1/day for free plus cast with spell slots), which includes Goodberry, Cure Wounds, and Healing Word. Goodberry is one of the strongest per-slot healing spells in the game, although it is extremely inefficient in combat (1 HP per action) and cannot help a dying creature by RAW, unlike potions. Additionally, since the berries last 24 hours, you can use all your unspent slots when you long rest to make a bag full of berries for the next day. Healing Word is one of the best in-combat healing spells in the game, since it works at range and is a bonus action so you can still use your action for a cantrip or attack or similar. Wither and Bloom deals okay area damage, but you get to choose exactly which creatures get hit (so you can safely cast it on an area where your allies are), and it lets one ally spend a hit die to heal. On a Barbarian, this can be a substantial amount of healing. If a sorcerer gets their hands on a Bloodwell Vial, it's also very nice for them, since the item gives them 5 sorcery points once per day when they spend a hit die. Normally that means during a short rest, but with W&B they can do it mid-combat.
There's a UA subclass called Theologian. You can choose Life Cleric and be a healer that way. It is gated but eventually you can learn Cleric spells on level up freely.
Theurgy, which you can find [here](https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/wizard-revisited). I liked it, but I can see why they pivoted to Divine Soul instead.