Unconsciousness, 2nd Wind Via Healing Skill

[Zustiur]

Yes, it is explicitly stated in the rules under the Heal Skill (PHB p. 185) that a DC 10 Heal check can trigger Second Wind for an unconscious character who has not yet used it during the encounter. Do note, however, that the character does not get any bonus to defenses if their Second Wind is triggered in this fashion.

-Dan'L

Not in my book it's not. Which print run do you have? There is no mention of unconsciousness on that page. Nor any statement regarding characters who are dying but have not yet used their second wind. I just checked the errata, and this does not appear to have ever been altered either.

Use Second Wind: Make a DC 10 Heal check to allow an adjacent character to use his or her second wind (page 291) without the character having to spend an action. The character doesn't gain the defense bonus normally granted by second wind.

If it's generally accepted that you can perform this on unconscious characters, I'm okay with that. But I can't see any clarification anywhere which confirms that. And given that second wind is described as "you can dig into your resolve and endurance" I fail to see how it would work on an unconscious/dying character.

The closest mention I can find is on p 293 regarding healing in combat where the sentence "Even if you're unconscious, the power uses your healing surge and restores hit points." appears, but that sentence specifically mentions powers, not skill checks.

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

The only requirement for the use of the Heal skill in this way is that the character that its used on has to be adjacent. So it doesnt matter if they are conscious or unconscious as long as they are adjacent.