Hello all, my buddies and I have been wondering for quite some time whether or not it is possible for a hero to rest without strain to simply recover health. Same goes for the spend a surge to recover strain. We have been playing it in which you have to have strain to rest but I would like a some more opinions on this, I have been unable to find it in the RRG or the FAQ.

You don't need to have strain to rest.

For each strain not recovered the hero recovers damage instead.

See Recover, Rest and Strain from the RRG.

Having strain is not a prerequisite for the rest action.

Rules you are looking for:

"Rest", RRG, Page 22:

During a campaign, hero figures can perform an action to rest. When performing a rest, the hero recovers (Strain) equal to his Endurance.

• If he recovers more (Strain) than he has suffered, he recovers one (Damage) for each (Strain) he cannot recover.

See also

"Recover", RRG, Page 22

(truncated) • If a hero recovers more (Strain) than he has suffered, he recovers one (Damage) for each (Strain) he cannot recover.