Giving Rogue some healing

[Bjarkmundur]

At character creation, I usually give all my players one unique ability.

My friend wants to play a rogue, but have self-healing.

Should I give him Lay on Hands (target=self)? Should it be a bonus action?
Should I give him second wind, using a 1d8?
Should I tell him about Healing Surges and give him a couple of extra hit dice?

What are the pros and cons of all of these?
Balance isn't exactly an issue, since all my players get something, but I'd love to hear how powerful/broken each feature really is.

Thank you in advance :)

[Man_Over_Game]

• Lay On Hands is primarily to remove poisons/disease or to quickly stabilize someone. It's not very good as a burst healing option, and it should be used sparingly, as it doesn't make a whole lot of sense as to why a Rogue can do that (but only on himself).
• Second Wind is a solid choice. It's best for people who need to stay in the thick of combat, but it could be written off as some kind of "veteran's survivability" or something like that. Not too out of place, especially if he's more combat focused.
• The Hit Die idea is really solid, just make sure you provide Short Rests to your team so that he'll actually get the value out of them. If he normally has 5 hit die, but only ever uses 3 in a day, then adding more won't do anything.
• Another option is the Healing Kit. If he's more of a "Quick Hands" style of Rogue, you could have him be able to use the Healer's Kit to patch himself up. Consider looking up the Rogue Thief and the Healer feat in combination for each other for some inspiration on how you'd like to do it.

[nickl_2000]

A new thought of something that is kind of roguy.

A guild had taught him a secret formula to make stim pack formuled for his body. When he uses it he gains HP power second wind and can apply it as a bonus action.

He can use one for free per long rest, but if he uses it a second time he gets a level of exhaustion.

[Arkhios]

I know it's not quite what you asked, but I'd be happy if you'd try my homebrew and, if at all possible, give feedback afterwards. So... maybe try out my Inquisitor (it's a roguish archetype that's basically a divine version of the arcane trickster, with its own flavor)?

You can find it from my signature below.

[ThePlanarDM]

I would make it feel more rogue-y. Maybe something like

Hidden Recovery--When the rogue takes an Action to hide, she can use a bonus action to heal 1d8+con hp. Usable 1/long rest.

The narrative idea here is the Rogue is great at finding pockets of calm within the action to hide, catch her breath, and get back in the fight.

[Vogie]

• Vampiric Sneak attack - you regain hit points equal to half the sneak attack damage dealt
• Cinematic Short Rest - When they use the Cunning Action to hide, they can also spend a Hit die to gain life
• Mob Doctor - While under half health, they can use their action to consume medicine kits, alchemical kits, Herbalism kits, sewing kits and other supplies to gain one die of hp
• Cauterize - Gain the Produce Flame Cantrip, which can be used to stop bleeding and stabilize creatures
• Potion Sommelier - The rogue can consume a potion using the cunning action, then spit it back into the vial. Only they can use the healing potion again on another turn, with one less die and without the + bonus (So a greater healing potion can give 4d4 + 4 hp, then spit it back into the vial, and later consume it again for 3d4 hp)

[Gr7mm Bobb]

Little bit of laziness on my end, but if you look up the Sawbones archetype for rogue, it'll come back with some really nice ideas people have been making. I personally like the one that lets you heal others by using their hit dice. Lots of nice and creative stuff out there for a 'healing rogue'. Also plenty to scavenge if you just want a special skill or training to apply to a preexisting rogue character.

[Vogie]

Little bit of laziness on my end, but if you look up the Sawbones archetype for rogue, it'll come back with some really nice ideas people have been making. I personally like the one that lets you heal others by using their hit dice. Lots of nice and creative stuff out there for a 'healing rogue'. Also plenty to scavenge if you just want a special skill or training to apply to a preexisting rogue character.

That's a good point - I believe Grod's options include a Surgeon archetype