I was playing Fly Solo as Imperial player recently and my Rebel players argued that Adrenal Stim (recovers 3 strain on *friendly figure*) should be able to be used on an Ally figure (e.g. Han Solo) to restore 3 health. The argument was that if non-Hero figures sustain Health damage when they are forced to take Strain, then the opposite should be true i.e. when they recover Strain they should recover Health instead. It seems this subject has been debated in various forums before but was there an official ruling on it?

I would rule it as legal, Adrenal Stim specifically said "choose yourself or an adjacent friendly figure", being a Rebel hero is not a requirement

Non-heroes do not have endurance, they can choose to suffer strain to activate abilities (suffering the strain as damage instead, and in skirmish this damage from strain can be prevented by discarding command cards from the top of the deck). Recovering strain on non-heroes does nothing. The ally would become focused though.

(Outside of the app, "when recovering strain a hero recovers damage for each strain not recovered" is specifically a hero ability.)

Unfortunately I believe a1bert is correct on this one. (To no-ones surprise really)

There are specific rules for what happens when allies take strain (it becomes damage), but the absence of rules for what happens when they recover strain doesn't prove intent for it to work that way.

In fact, I would argue that the absence of a rule regarding allies recovering strain means that it does nothing. (FAQ should probably have an entry on this)

Recovering strain is, as stated by a1bert, specifically a hero ability. It would not make sense for allies to have the same benefit.

Thanks for the replies! I did see in the Rules Reference Guide under Strain, it is mentioned that "When any other figure suffers, it suffers an equal amount of damage instead." but all other bullet points specifically refer to Heroes only, including about recovering Health when there is no Strain on the Hero. I just wanted to be sure in case the Rebel players dispute it again