D&D 5E Second Wind Regeneration

[Jester David]

As written, Second Wind lets Fighters bypass the hit dice limitation on self healing and effectively regenerate every hour. I'm using the Slow Healing DMG option so that doesn't work for me. IMC I'm changing it to:

"Second Wind
On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your
fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest (and have taken damage from combat etc - not self-inflicted) before you can use it again."

I think [MENTION=67338]GMforPowergamers[/MENTION] nails the house rule below. Don't worry about getting the perfect phrasing or limitations for the power, just warn the players if they abuse or exploit loopholes in the rules (such as taking endless short rests to heal 5x faster than normal) there will be consequences.
And don't draw attention to the potential loophole and hope the players won't notice. If they do, glare at them and just say "please don't do that."

And, realistically, this doesn't dramatically impact play, as the rest of the party will still be healing slowly. The fighter can't go off on their own and adventure. The party adventures at the rate the slowest party member to heal.

 

[S'mon]

How slow did you set the Slow Healing to? What are you using for Short Rest and Long Rest?

The DMG RAW slow healing option - no hp recovery on a rest, only hit dice. Rest durations are unaffected. I did say that a week's rest restores all hp & hd, just to avoid pointless rolling.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The DMG RAW slow healing option - no hp recovery on a rest, only hit dice. Rest durations are unaffected. I did say that a week's rest restores all hp & hd, just to avoid pointless rolling.

So you're using the option where a fighter can go from full to zero over a single fight - potentially a hundred HP or more - and go back up to full after an hour by spending all of her hit dice?

If you're primarily worried about Second Wind providing a steady source of rapid healing, it's really nothing worse than what anyone else can do after a short rest. It's just that fighters can do it slightly more often. All you've done is added a caveat where the fighter needs to pick a fight with a squirrel or something in order for the DM to say it's okay.

If you're really worried about Second Wind ever providing more recovery than the fighter has taken in damage, then the easiest mechanic for that is just temporary Hit Points: "On your turn, you can use a bonus action to gain temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level, which last until you take a short or long rest. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again."

 

[Uller]

So far this hasn't been a problem at our table. One group is at 10th level and one is at 5th. No has tried to use Second Wind, rest and then do it again. Not broken, so nothing to fix.

And for the record, when Basic first came out I was one of the one's whining about it. What convinced me was one of the designers saying something to the effect of taking multiple rests is boring. We're not going to make rules to prevent people from doing boring things if that's what they want to do.

 

[Iosue]

If you're primarily worried about Second Wind providing a steady source of rapid healing, it's really nothing worse than what anyone else can do after a short rest. It's just that fighters can do it slightly more often. All you've done is added a caveat where the fighter needs to pick a fight with a squirrel or something in order for the DM to say it's okay.

He's worried that a possible loophole in the way the rule is written allows fighters to regain much or all of their HP without ever using a hit die. In practice, the rule is as you say -- not that much more than what other people get. But if the loophole is exploited, it would provide much, much more. His revision of the rule is merely to close the possible loophole.

 

[KarinsDad]

Make second wind a reaction to taking damage instead of a bonus action.

In my game, I made it a reaction to get temp hit points when taking damage. It's more of an avoidance of damage than it is a healing of damage.

 

[SilverfireSage]

Make it so Second Wind can only be used during combat. It's a burst of energy, not a more restful nap.

 

[Reynard]

He's worried that a possible loophole in the way the rule is written allows fighters to regain much or all of their HP without ever using a hit die. In practice, the rule is as you say -- not that much more than what other people get. But if the loophole is exploited, it would provide much, much more. His revision of the rule is merely to close the possible loophole.

This is so strange to me. It is a table top RPG, not a CRPG. There are no loopholes or exploits because there are humans at the table, especially behind the screen. The only way something ridiculous can happen is if the DM allows it.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Make it so Second Wind can only be used during combat. It's a burst of energy, not a more restful nap.

"During combat" is not a thing. There is no line between when someone is or is-not in combat. It's only a question of whether we care about tracking the situation in six-second increments.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

This is so strange to me. It is a table top RPG, not a CRPG. There are no loopholes or exploits because there are humans at the table, especially behind the screen. The only way something ridiculous can happen is if the DM allows it.

The problem is that there's no way for a player to know what the DM considers to be ridiculous. If I want my fighter to recover HP, then I need to figure out what logic the DM is using in order to allow this ability to function.

If it's my character, then I should already know how its abilities work. Even more, I need to know how they work if I'm going to ever use them.