I'm new to D&D and started with 5e. I was reading through the cleric class and it says that it's main purpose is to heal the party, but they also that they are chosen by a deity or god or they choose to follow a deity or god themselves.
My question: Does a cleric's (and to certain extent, paladin's) magic come from the gods or from themselves? Can a cleric have an evil god as their patron? If so, and if the magic the cleric has comes from its patron, should they still be able to heal or should they have a different spell list?
Best Answer
All clerics can use healing magic.
Per the descriptions in the Player's Handbook, a cleric's magic comes from their deity:
(PHB, p. 56)
Clerics can serve an evil god. Whether a player character cleric can serve a particular evil god is up to the DM to decide; some evil gods may not require all of the their servants to be evil, or to do evil deeds.
All clerics, regardless of the alignment of their deity, use the same basic spell list, which includes a number of healing spells. Each cleric chooses a divine domain which is related to their deity; this will give them additional spells and abilities. The DMG provides rules for an additional domain (Death, on p.96), which may be appropriate for clerics of some evil deities.
Note that there's no reason that a cleric of an evil god shouldn't be able to use healing spells. The cleric, their allies, minions, and followers, can all benefit from healing, and healing their servants may be entirely in the interests of an evil god.