Healing Surges (3.5e Variant Rule)
Healing Surges
- Healing surges allow in-combat healing to be more potent, and allow a party to continue on for longer periods of time.
Characters with this variant have a number of "healing surges" per day. Whenever a healing surge is activated as outlined below, a character gains 25% of their health rounded down.
Characters have a number of healing surges per day equal to one-half their hit die + their Constitution modifier. In the case of multiclass characters, they use the hit die of the class in which they have the most levels. If they have two or more classes that are equal and of which they have the most levels in, they use the higher hit die for the purpose of healing surges per day.
For example, a Rogue 2 / Wizard 3 with 10 Constitution would get 2 healing surges per day. Should they take another level of Rogue, it increases to 3/day due to the Rogue's higher hit die.
Healing surges may be activated whenever a character is the target of a spell (and not a supernatural ability like the Paladin's Lay on Hands) or a single-use item (like a potion or scroll, but not staffs or wands) that heals hit points, though not one that increases their natural healing, such as one that would grant Fast Healing or the like. When this occurs, the target may choose to spend a healing surge to gain extra health equal to 25% of their maximum HP on top of the healing gained from the spell.
For example, if Rodgar the Fighter has a maximum of 100 HP and was the target of a Cure Light Wounds of CL 5, Rodgar would gain 25+1d8+5 hit points if he expended a healing surge.
Spells that heal over time activate the healing surge only on the first round during which the spell is in effect.
One exception is Heal and its upgrade Mass Heal which allow characters to activate two healing surges at once.
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Rules