[RPG] What happens when making a dying, surgeless character use her second wind

If there are any dying characters, or any characters taking ongoing damage, then do not go out of rounds. Keep ticking them down as long as a character could potentially die.

Consulting the rulebooks reveals that this is not explicitly stated anywhere, but I don't feel like it is such a stretch.

My feeling is that if the characters are still in danger then there can be no rest. For my groups, usually a round or two of basic heal checks after combat is over are all that is required to stabilize anyone that needs help.

The rule my group has formalized upon is that for an encounter to end, both the players and DM must agree that it is over.

• The DM can continue the encounter to determine the outcome of any lingering effects
• The DM can continue the encounter if he knows that there is no safe rest available at the moment
• The Players can continue if they want to get more use out of powers that last "until the end of the encounter" and don't need the rest right now.

Here's how I play it and suggest to my fellow party members. (I don't suggest this to players when I'm a DM - that's over the line for me.)

Second Wind rules of thumb:

1. Use your second wind only after you are at 75% max HP total (including Temp HP)
2. Use your second wind any time after being at 50% max HP total (including Temp HP)
3. Unless you are at less than 25% total HP (excluding Temp HP), use your second wind when you can most afford the action (Those with feats/features that turn SW into a Minor Action have more flexibility with this.)
4. If you reach less than 25% HP, your next action should be to heal thyself (Second Wind/Potion/Ability), especially before movement or other action that may trigger an enemy reaction.

In short, when convenient, or to prevent forcing a healing action from an ally.

I'm always surprised when players leave their Second Wind unused, leaving their character vulnerable to trigger-based attacks by enemies. This usually puts the burden of healing on another player's action.