Cleric powers' "ally can spend a healing surge"

[Mort_Q]

What magic item can be recharged by spending a healing surge?

 

[cdrcjsn]

lol

If you want to know how to spend a healing surge to recharge a specific magic item (like a bloodcut armor for instance) then look up the rules for magic items. It's right there in the beginning of the section where it talks about what recharge power(healing surge) means.

 

[Propagandroid]

What magic item can be recharged by spending a healing surge?

Any of them that say "Power (Healing Surge):", such as Bloodcut Armor on p. 227.

p. 226 has the explanation of Healing Surge (in this context, anyway).

The problem I'm having is that Healing Word, and I'm sure there are others, say "the target can use a healing surge."

Awesome, I say, but can I use that healing surge for anything, or just for healing?

It would have been much smarter of them to use the term "heroic surge" and then define the many things you can do with one. By putting the word "healing" into it, which is a freakin' keyword that means "effects that restore hit points," they completely muddled something unnecessarily.

 

[Propagandroid]

lol

If you want to know how to spend a healing surge to recharge a specific magic item (like a bloodcut armor for instance) then look up the rules for magic items. It's right there in the beginning of the section where it talks about what recharge power(healing surge) means.

lol

I really hope you're talking to Mort_Q.

 

[ZetaStriker]

I don't know why you're being rude to someone who's trying to help you, Propagandroid, but your answer is on page 293. It describes how you can spend your own healing surges and how Cleric powers affect your total. If that isn't enough, page 226 tells you exactly how spending a healing surge to recharge an item work, as has already been mentioned to you. Recharging the item requires a standard action, making it impossible to use along with things like Healing Word. You have to spend your own surges on it.

 

[Propagandroid]

I don't know why you're being rude to someone who's trying to help you, Propagandroid, but your answer is on page 293. It describes how you can spend your own healing surges and how Cleric powers affect your total. If that isn't enough, page 226 tells you exactly how spending a healing surge to recharge an item work, as has already been mentioned to you. Recharging the item requires a standard action, making it impossible to use along with things like Healing Word. You have to spend your own surges on it.

I'm not. I'm being rude to people that aren't trying to help, and are being rude to me. "Use the index" is not a helpful post, anyone can see that.

You seem like you're trying to help, so let me respond.

Does Second Wind require a standard action? If I was an ass, I would tell you to look it up yourself, perhaps in the index or on page 291. But, I'm not, so I will tell you that it does.

Therefore it can't be that "requiring a standard action makes it impossible to use along with things like Healing Word."


I'm pretty sure they mean for it to only be used to heal yourself, but it is by no means clear because there are other uses for healing surges besides healing.

I will call customer service on Monday if I remember and get an answer...it's pretty clear the answer isn't in the book.

Thanks for helping!

 

[ZetaStriker]

No, the problem is that spending a healing surge doesn't require an action. Second Wind does, as related in the Second Wind rules one page above the 'Healing' section you've already been referenced to. Recharging magic items does, as shown in the definition on how to do it. Spending a Healing Surge as a side-affect of Healing Word or another Cleric of Warlord power, however, takes no action. It doesn't even mention a free action, although I assume that's about what it is relegated to; it just happens. In an instant. It isn't the recipients turn, and recharging magic items isn't an immediate interrupt, so the healing surge can only be used as Healing Word implies; to heal.

 

[Propagandroid]

so the healing surge can only be used as Healing Word implies; to heal.

That word "implies" is where I'm having trouble. I just want clarification. The name healing surge was VERY poorly conceived. Introducing keywords into an RPG is fraught with exactly this kind of danger.

So I'll call custserv on Monday and get clarification. This won't be the last time this comes up.

 

[Vendark]

Does Second Wind require a standard action? If I was an ass, I would tell you to look it up yourself, perhaps in the index or on page 291. But, I'm not, so I will tell you that it does.

Therefore it can't be that "requiring a standard action makes it impossible to use along with things like Healing Word."

Healing Word has nothing to do with Second Wind. It's a way to let others spend a healing surge to heal themselves in combat without taking a Second Wind, which is normally impossible.

Because using Healing Word on someone does not count as them using a Second Wind, that means:

a) The target doesn't have to spend an action on it
b) The target can spend the surge even if they've already used their Second Wind
c) If they haven't used their Second Wind, they can still use it later in the fight
d) They don't get the +2 defense bonus they would get if they were using their Second Wind

and e) since the target doesn't get any actions to go along with the healing surge, they can't recharge a magic item with it.

 

[Propagandroid]

Healing Word has nothing to do with Second Wind. It's a way to let others spend a healing surge to heal themselves in combat without taking a Second Wind, which is normally impossible.

Because using Healing Word on someone does not count as them using a Second Wind, that means:

a) The target doesn't have to spend an action on it
b) The target can spend the surge even if they've already used their Second Wind
c) If they haven't used their Second Wind, they can still use it later in the fight
d) They don't get the +2 defense bonus they would get if they were using their Second Wind

and e) since the target doesn't get any actions to go along with the healing surge, they can't recharge a magic item with it.

Cool. I think you're right. Unfortunately, the rulebook doesn't state this. Had they added the words "to heal" to Healing Word it would have been clear as day.

I will let you know once I get the answer.