I was pondering on wood skin along with its clarification and it seems possible that there is a loophole that makes it a 'better' then Fire Blood replacement. I noticed under duration for talent, there was nothing about willfully ending the effect of a talent early. And baring the end effect of Wood Skin clarification, I couldn't find any talents where it would really matter.
So right now when using wood skin you are effectively healed what you are rolled, because of the end effect. Wood Skin therefore is effective at healing you as Fire Blood. The limitation would come to using it more then once during its duration. This is where the the question of being able to willfully end a talent early comes into play. If you can't, Wood Skin is limited in frequency based on your rank (no two uses can be closer then rank hours to each other) and could at least be used to expedite healing out of combat. If you can, the type of action/time to cancel would determine how close to Fire Blood in effect it is. Simple - as fast, Standard - questionable combat use, longer - no combat use, but still could be used to expedite healing.
Relevant parts of Wood Skin and clarification.
I don't think that this is the Rules As Intended. I saw someone doing it this way (which was also what I was thinking was a good solution to this issue):Spend recovery test & make Wood Skin test, add result to health ratings for Wood Skin rank in hours.
Clarification: When Wood Skin’s effect wears off, it takes damage equal to the result with it. For example, if Elmod’s Health Ratings are increased by 13 due to Wood Skin, up to 13 damage is removed when it wears off.
The talent remains in effect for the full duration, even if the adept falls unconscious.
Basically a hit-point buffer pool that doesn't impact getting wounded. Eliminates the end effect of healing (and all the oddness above).Spend recovery test & make Wood Skin test, gain a temporary hit-point pool equal to the test for Wood Skin rank in hours.
Hit-point pool can be healed in the same way that normal hit-points can during the duration of the effect.
Damage will still cause wounds as normal, even if the hit-point damage is taken fully or party from the hit-point pool