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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Keenath" data-source="post: 4069442" data-attributes="member: 59792">I just put together what's in the new Rogue article with something that one of the guys -- Mearles, I think?  -- said in the podcast last month.He said something about how triggers were going to be more important to players as well as monsters, and as an example he mentioned Second Wind being an action that triggers a healing surge.I think I understand that comment now.Healing Surge is a game effect that happens any time you get healed.  If you drink a "healing potion" (which we heard mentioned once -- not "cure light" or whatever, but just a generic Healing Potion); if you are targeted by a Cure spell; or if you take the Second Wind action... all of them are triggers that cause you to activate a Healing Surge.  A Second Wind is an action you can take once per day (or once per encounter, whatever) as a full round action that triggers a healing surge, but does not in itself heal any damage.This is useful in a couple of ways.  First, it standardizes healing.  You don't have 1d8+X HP from one source, 1 HP/turn for 2 minutes from another, and a flat 10 HP from a third; all healing abilities trigger this common Healing Surge mechanic.  This is useful for balance purposes as much as for clarity.Second, a standard mechanic means you can start linking class or racial abilities to the Healing Surge.  For example, a monk might, instead of becoming immune to disease, gain the ability to flush all disease from his body when he's targetted by a healing surge.  A druid could do likewise for ongoing poisons.  A dragonborn might have a power that grants him draconic resilience for a few rounds when he gains a healing surge, giving him a +2 AC for a short time -- regardless of the SOURCE of that surge.Third, that means you can put the Healing Surge mechanics description in one place rather than reprinting it all over the world whenever you come up with a new method of healing.  The downside of that is, we don't yet know what the generalized Healing Surge mechanic IS, so that "6+con" may be (read: is probably) adjusted by your class level -- whether it's multiplied by class level or what, I haven't the foggiest.  (I do notice that HP per level are not adjusted by CON, though -- you gain 5, not "5+con", according to the Rogue stats.)This is just speculation, but I really suspect I'm right on this one.</blockquote>

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