House Rule: Second Effort

[Pale Jackal]

If you wanted to broaden this idea, what you could do is create a new category called "Recovery Actions". Similar to opportunity actions, you create a generic set and then your more specific actions.

Recovery Actions - These actions allow a creature to recover resources or negate conditions during a fight.
1) Once per encounter - You only get one recovery action per encounter.
2) Uses healing surge - Each recovery action requires the expenditure of a healing surge.

Second Wind - as is.

Greater Effort - Minor Action, allows you to recover an encounter power, and gives you a +2 to your next attack roll.

An interesting idea, but let's compare Greater Effort to Second Wind, using say, the Cleric's Level 1 Encounter Healing Strike.

Second Wind gets you a +2 to all defenses, and you get to spend a surge.

Greater Effort let's you, for a minor action and a standard action (and really, depending on your class, you have your minor action often available), gives you a roughly 50% chance to deal 2W + Str. damage and let's you heal Surge + Wis. So let's call it 1W + 1/2 Str. damage, and +1/2 Surge + 1/2 Wis. modifier.

I'm not going to say that Second Wind becomes useless, but I think it's perilously close to being obsoleted.

Using some level 1 numbers, say, a Human cleric with 18 strength and 16 wisdom, you can heal a guaranteed 6 HP, or you can have a roughly 50% chance of doing 2d8 + 4 damage (average 13 dmg.) and also heal 6 + 3 HP. Halve both of those: 6.5 and 4.5 = 11 HP of damage and healing.

That increases to ~12 HP if you took something like Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword (and I would take that over say, Toughness.) That's a 100% difference. Of course, this costs 2 healing surges, but doing damage sooner may save you additional HP.

As you level up, Second Wind might get better, but I do fear that you're making Second Wind almost redundant.

 

[Stalker0]

An interesting idea, but let's compare Greater Effort to Second Wind, using say, the Cleric's Level 1 Encounter Healing Strike.

Second Wind gets you a +2 to all defenses, and you get to spend a surge.

I'm not going to say that Second Wind becomes useless, but I think it's perilously close to being obsoleted.

Keep in mind that you are showing the effect of a leader class who has chosen healing powers...and in this case I completely agree with you.

I think greater effort would get more use in general than second wind, but second wind isn't completely obsolete. The nice thing about options is that they all don't have to be equal ones, sometimes its nice to have an ability even if it only comes up once in a while, but the player appreciates having the choice when its called upon.

 

[daHeadRat]

Once per encounter, the PC can expend his Second Effort. When he does so he may re-use an Encounter Attack Power that has already been used. He also gets a +2 bonus to any attacks.

I've just introduced a house rule somewhat along these lines. When using their Second Wind the PC either gains the normal +2 bonus to defenses or gains a +2 bonus to their next attack (must be prior to the end of their next turn).

Like I said, I just introduced it and we don't play again for a couple of weeks so I haven't seen it in action quite yet. It seemed logical that a Second Wind could give a similar offensive bonus rather than just being defensive (think adrenalin surge or the like).

 

[Stalker0]

I've just introduced a house rule somewhat along these lines. When using their Second Wind the PC either gains the normal +2 bonus to defenses or gains a +2 bonus to their next attack (must be prior to the end of their next turn).

Like I said, I just introduced it and we don't play again for a couple of weeks so I haven't seen it in action quite yet. It seemed logical that a Second Wind could give a similar offensive bonus rather than just being defensive (think adrenalin surge or the like).

This just made me think of another idea, you could have the bonus scale based on how much "action" the person took. This is similar to those spells in 3e that had a more powerful effect the longer you took to cast them.

Second Effort - Minor Action - Recharge Encounter Power
Standard Action - Recharge Encounter Power, gain +2 to next attack roll.

Second Wind - Minor Action - Heal with surge
Standard - Heal, gain +3 to all defenses (if you feel current version is too weak).
Dwarves - Get benefit of Standard with a minor action.