D&D 3E/3.5 Healing Surges in 3.5

[atom crash]

After playing around with several different iterations of the healing surge for 3.5, I've finally settled on this one:

Each character gets (2 + Con mod) number of healing surges per day; each one restores 20% of max HP (round up to the next whole number). Using one healing surge requires a 5-minute rest break between encounters. Complete rest (8 hours) replenishes a character's healing surges.

Once per encounter, if the character is currently below 1/2 max HP, he or she can take a full round action to gain a second wind, which uses up one healing surge.

 

[VBMEW-01]

Unearthed Arcana had a good rule on Reserve Points. I don't have my copy here at the moment, but I thought it might bear a mention.

 

[Gansk]

Use the reserve hp rules from UA, but recalculate the total based on healing surges.

Reserve hp = 5 + 1/2 level + Con Modifier * healing surge (1/4 hp).

Allow second winds once per five minutes. Magic healing and second winds subtract from the reserve hp total. Once your reserve hp is at 0, you cannot receive magical healing.

Reserve hp heal naturally.

 

[Remathilis]

I think that 1/day is a bit too little to even be noticed

At least make it 1/encounter as in 4e. Then if not wanting to allow healing surges out of combat (thus avoiding the need to figure out how many you should have per day), just allow them as a second wind.

Unless the number of combats is more than 6 (I doubt), you're not giving more surges than the minimum.

Well, the cleric has a reserve feat (touch of health) so he can already heal everyone to 1/2 hp out of combat. All second wind does is give people a free turn (its a swift action to use) where you don't fall into that weird "I'm going to die before the cleric can heal me, I need a quick hp buffer" area.

There is also a feat that will grant an additional use per day. No one's bit on that one though...