How often can secondary powers be used?

Question

In 4e d&d there are a number of powers out there like stances, that activate the use of a (secondary power) that usually revolves around triggers and USUALLY ends the power that activated it, however in some cases this doesn't happen, and the secondary power is classed as a daily, or encounter so I've assumed they've only been able to be used once.

but I've seen a number of things that suggest otherwise.

for instance, the Blackguard power, slave to fury is a short use retaliation move. that in effect is designed (both author developer comments and power notation) acts a little like the rogues duelist's prowess. The power itself makes reference to multiple uses of the secondary power (as it is triggered you can use it, and as its an oppertunity, its every turn not every round)

yet the secondary power is marked and noted as an encounter power like its. I've run into this DMing and Playing as a character. I thought I'd gotten down pat what limits these secondary powers have. but now I'm not so sure.

Can such a secondary power, notated as encounter or not, but used every time it is triggered within the limit (for instance, until the start of your next turn) or are they supposed to be limited like I've always had them to single use (encounter and daily)

can someone please clear this up?

Answer 1

Slave to Fury's secondary power can be used as many times as it's triggered during the time limit.

From the Slave to Fury primary power (emphasis mine):

You grant combat advantage until the end of your next turn. Until the start of your next turn you can use the secondary power at will. If you don't use it at least once, your weapon attacks on your next turn deal 1[W] extra damage.

The secondary power is an at-will during the allowed time period, and the primary explicitly details what happens if you don't use it at least once; if it could only be used once it would instead be phrased "if you don't use the secondary power" instead of "if you don't use the secondary power at least once".

The secondary power is an opportunity action, so you can use it once per turn (not round) any time it's triggered until the start of your next turn.

Most other secondary powers can only be used once for each time you activate the primary power, but the primary power should explicitly say so.

Powers that grant access to a secondary power usually have the phrasing "Once during this encounter you can..." There are, however, a few others that grant access to a secondary power that can be used repeatedly (Wakeman's Invocation is a good example).

If a secondary power can only be used once, the primary power will almost always say so. Note that in pretty much every case, secondary powers will have the same recharge rate (at-will / encounter / daily) keyword & color code as their parent power, regardless of how often the second power can actually be used. Always go by what the parent power says rather than the keywords/color of the secondary power.

Summary: It's best to assume that a secondary power can be used as many times as you want/can during a primary power's duration, unless the primary power explicitly says the secondary power can only be used once.

Answer 2

Slave to Fury Secondary Power can only be used once per Encounter.

The following is from the DDI Compendium:

Slave to Fury
Reckless anger takes hold, instilling you with the preternatural speed necessary to respond to each new attack with one of your own.
Encounter * Divine, Shadow
Minor Action * Personal
Effect: You grant combat advantage until the end of your next turn. Until the start of your next turn, you can use the secondary power at will. If you don’t use it at least once, your weapon attacks on your next turn deal 1[W] extra damage.

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Slave to Fury Secondary Power
Encounter * Divine, Shadow, Weapon
Opportunity Action * Melee 1
Requirement: The power Slave to Fury must be active in order to use this power.
Trigger: An adjacent enemy hits you with a melee attack or a close attack.
Target: The triggering enemy
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage, and the target is dazed until the end of its next turn.

Both powers have the Encounter keyword, thus both can only be used once per encounter.

For additional details on Secondary Powers consider Rules Compendium p.97:

Secondary Powers Some powers encompass what are called secondary powers. A creature must use the encompassing power to gain access to the secondary power. A secondary power requires a separate action from the action used to perform the encompassing power.
A secondary power's entry specifies its action type, attack/utility type, range, and effects.

This would include whether the secondary power is an At-Will, Encounter, or Daily. Older publications provided this information in the Primary Power's text, such as PH2 Warden Guardian Forms, which basically all state: "Once during this encounter, you can make the following weapon attack while you are in this form." The DDI Compendium further clarifies by providing a red encounter power stat block and power card for these secondary powers.