11-27-2020, 06:03 PM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
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Re: Shock Shield
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If you understood that, then I'm missing something from your reply. |
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11-27-2020, 06:06 PM | #12 | |
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
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Re: Shock Shield
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I use melee rules for Staff I and II and for a two hex range attack for higher skills, I treat it as a missile or thrown weapon when firing into HTH (so roll to hit and then randomly select a target). |
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11-27-2020, 09:18 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: New England
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Re: Shock Shield
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11-27-2020, 11:20 PM | #14 | |
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Durham, NC
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Re: Shock Shield
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According to Wizard 5 and ITL 102, all rewnewed spells last until the end of the turn OR until the wizard dies or loses consciousness. Looks like the answer is yes the foe takes damage from the shock-shield. And the more interesting newly raised question is: can the Shock Shield be maintained the following turn on the friend who is unconscious (ST=0), dying (say ST=-1) or dead character (say ST=-20). Could other thrown spells be maintained on a man in these conditions? How about casting other maintaining spells on inanimate objects? Like: Invisibility, Reverse Missiles, Spell Shield, Iron Flesh? Maybe you are hiding or protecting a critical cultural item... could this be done? I may allow these spells on inanimate objects but I would never allow it for Shock Shield. The room for abuse is too great. I can see where your friend dies at ST=-1 by ravenous wolves or vengeful orc that want to make sure he stays dead. Continuing the maintenance of Reverse Missiles or Shock Shield would make sense and fit a game narrative. So at what point does his life force becomes so low that he is now an inanimate object and thus no longer a valid target of Shock Shield. I would put it at ST=-5. Just a swag. Also note with the above rule you would avoid wizards putting Shock Shield on multiple dying bodies in the same hex. This is because they would then hasten each other to dead. You do it for a turn to four turns best case with two bodies (each taking a die of damage a turn and if started at ST=-1 and only rolled 1 damage each turn... four turns is very unlikely but possible). With 3 bodies with shock shield would mean all three are taking 2 dice per turn you will most likely after 1 turn have no bodies with enough ST to remain viable. |
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11-28-2020, 06:44 AM | #16 | ||
Join Date: May 2018
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Re: Shock Shield
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I agree with Skarg that it should only apply to "combat-significant" characters. Personally, I'd allow a wizard to cast Shock Shield on a Zombie but probably not an earthworm, even though it's a creature, unless there were already stats for the worm, like it's a Shapeshifted character. Quote:
What about only allowing it on "contextually-significant" characters. During combat, that means figures that already have stats but outside of combat, it could work on cockroaches. I think the "nature of magic" could be a fine justification for that kind of distinction... |
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11-28-2020, 07:06 AM | #17 |
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
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Re: Shock Shield
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11-28-2020, 07:30 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
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Re: Shock Shield
I'm liking Axly's suggestion so far. It deals with some of the conceived abuses nicely.
At some point in the end of life process, we want shock shield to stop working (I presume). I set it at the difference between ST 0 and ST -1, for no good reason other than it is already a game borderline between not dying and dying. But it's easier to make up a reason that a bit of life force is needed to support the spell and one at ST -5 just hasn't enough of that stuff. I also agree that trying to save a dying ally from being killed outright is more of a legitimate use than a hack to be outlawed and my suggestion doesn't allow it. Axly's solution doesn't deal with the earthworm nonsense however. The combat significant suggestion kinda does, but only leads to arguments that this earthworm (or that corpse) really is significant, because I desperately want to use it. Of course, one could use another hand-waving argument that anything that has base ST less than 2 hasn't enough of this life force either. You gotta be more alive than that. This suggestion precludes the wizardly exterminators, sadly, as well as the legitimate use of casting shock shield on one rat in a large stack before they close the distance. I hadn't started this thread thinking seriously about casting shock shield on little buggers, but Summon Scout + Shock Shield is deadly and there's not much one can do about it that I can see unless he outlaws shock shield on small things. A bat in particular would be really effective, since he's especially hard to kill. It's a cheap and easy assassination method. |
11-28-2020, 01:24 PM | #19 | |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Shock Shield
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11-28-2020, 01:34 PM | #20 | |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Shock Shield
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Back on topic, having slept on it, I'm thinking my house-ruling will probably be that the subject has to be aware and conscious, and probably IQ 3 or more, ruling out most dying people, slimes, and plants. |
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