Healing surges

[Trellian]

I have two questions about healing surges. I think I have the answer, I just want to clarify it.

1. Only the surges spent when you take a short rest, is deducted from your total, right? So if a cleric uses a Healing Word, that surge is "free".

2. Does monsters have healing surges as well, even if it doesn't say so in their stat block? Minions can't have surges, can they?

Thanks, I have only played 4th edition once before.

 

[Ryujin]

If a power indicates that you get to spend a surge, as with a Cleric's healing powers, then you spend a surge. No free lunch.

Typically monsters have one healing surge, but they rarely have anything to trigger it. They don't get "Second Wind" so unless they have a leader type who can allow them to use a surge, they can't. Monsters get one additional surge at level 11, then again at level 21.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

No, all surges are surges that are used, both ones in combat and ones in short rests. There are a FEW powers that don't actually expend a healing surge, but still give a healing effect. Healing Word specifically causes the target to use a surge and heals surge value + 1d6 hit points of damage. Cure Light Wounds on the other hand does NOT expend a healing surge, either in or out of combat.

There are a few other things that are interesting to note. During a short rest a character can expend each encounter power they have (any they didn't use in the previous encounter). At the end of the short rest all encounter powers recharge. There is no rule against taking multiple short rests in a row. Thus a cleric could use Healing Word twice (assuming he still has it available) in the short rest, expending 2 surges on himself or other party members and giving surge+1d6 healing. Then the party could take ANOTHER short rest and he could spend his healing word 2 times AGAIN and do the same thing. Each short rest is '5 minutes', so there may be story based considerations as to how many the party can take in a row.

Only a long rest (or a few powers or magic items) can give a PC more surges. After an extended rest everyone will have all hitpoints and full surges, barring disease or some other DM imposed restriction.

The MM does explain that all monsters have 1 healing surge per tier. HOWEVER monsters DO NOT have the Second Wind feature which all PCs have. Thus they cannot USE a healing surge unless there is a monster with a power allowing that or the DM equips the monsters with some kind of magic, or there is some other environmental effect of the area where the monsters are that gives them access to healing. Of course you can also make monster variants that have Second Wind if desired.

 

[CapnZapp]

I have two questions about healing surges. I think I have the answer, I just want to clarify it.

1. Only the surges spent when you take a short rest, is deducted from your total, right? So if a cleric uses a Healing Word, that surge is "free".

2. Does monsters have healing surges as well, even if it doesn't say so in their stat block? Minions can't have surges, can they?

Thanks, I have only played 4th edition once before.

1. No, you must deduct all healing surges you use.

Some powers don't use your healing surges (Paladin's Lay on Hands) or don't use healing surges at all (Cleric's Cure Light Wounds) but that's something else.

2. Yes, monsters and NPCs have healing surges and healing surge values. However, very few can use them. So Monster Manual doesn't even list them.

Only player characters can take the Second Wind action. Only PC classes such as the Warlord and Cleric give out powers that let you use healing surges.

If you have a monster ally, yes, it can benefit from your cleric's Healing Word. (It regains 1/4 of its max hits just as usual). If you have an especially clever monster, it might try to find those rare magic items that allow you to use a healing surge for your own benefit. But this should be a rare exception and definitely not the norm.

Not minions though.

 

[Trellian]

OK, thanks. I was a little confused about the paragraph about Healing surges in PHB (p. 293) which says:

Some powers allow you to heal as if you had spent a healing surge. When you receive such healing, you don't actually spend a healing surge.

But now I see that it's all in the wording (can spend a healing surge vs. as if he had spent a healing surge).

 

[baberg]

OK, thanks. I was a little confused about the paragraph about Healing surges in PHB (p. 293) which says:

Some powers allow you to heal as if you had spent a healing surge. When you receive such healing, you don't actually spend a healing surge.

But now I see that it's all in the wording (can spend a healing surge vs. as if he had spent a healing surge).

If you'd like an example of a power that falls into that rule, check out Cure Light Wounds (Cleric Utility 2) on page 64 of the PHB. "The target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge." Compare to Healing Word, page 62: "The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points."

 

[jidar]

The wording of Healing Word "The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points."
Does that mean if the target does not have a Healing Surge available they can still gain the 1D6?

 

[Flipguarder]

Naw, the additional 1d6 is clearly attached to the healing surge as it must be on top of the healing surge value.

You choose not to spend a healing surge and therefore theres nothing the 1d6 can be additional too.

 

[Camelot]

Also, if you're in a dungeon and one of the monsters runs into the next room to avoid dying, while you take a short rest, the monster can take a short rest as well and use its one healing surge (or more if you're at a higher tier) so that it's not as weak as when you left it.

You still only get the XP once, though.

 

[Lucas Blackstone]

One minor correction. Previous posters have said that monsters cannot use the Second Wind ability. This is only true for most monsters. Each stat block on a monster will tell a monster's powers, and some of them do have Second Wind as an ability. See Bulette as an example of a monster with Second Wind.