D20 Mechanic: Healing Surges

Here we discuss healing surges as used in d20.

Healing Surges

You have a number of healing surges equal to your Constitution modifier. If you would have fewer than 1, you have 1 healing surge.

Many powerful healing effects consume your healing surges. Whenever a healing effect would consume a healing surge, it will either specify how many hit points it restores (such as a medic's treat injury ability), or will heal 25% of your maximum hit points.

Some classes, such as the defender, can gain access to abilities that allow them to spend their healing surges on abilities. If you spend a surge in such a way, you do not gain hit points from its expenditure.

Second Wind

Once per encounter, you can expend a single healing surge on your own. Doing so is a move action, and heals you for an amount of hit points equal to 25% of your maximum hit points.

This ability "recharges" similarly to martial maneuvers; so long as you're out of combat for roughly a minute or so, you can catch your breath and wind down, regaining the the ability to use a second wind in the next encounter.

Outside of combat, you can spend as many healing surges as you like to regain hit points, provided you have at least 1 hit point remaining. Doing so requires at least 10 minutes of downtime, and each healing surge you spend in this manner requires one use of a healing kit (or repair kit, if you are a construct or similar creature that cannot heal naturally).