Fruit-Based Healing Power

[Mark Skarr]

I remember someone had built a power like this before, but my Search-Fu is weak today and I can’t seem to find it.

The character can create a plant that bears healing fruit. In order to heal, someone must eat the fruit.

The base power would, obviously, be Healing. Tack some Limited Use (potentially with Slow Reload) on to limit the number of fruits you might have at once. Put Capped on it to limit how powerful the fruit can be (capping at 2 FP for 4 HP, or, 1d worth) and some Reduced Fatigue Cost (or not, to taste, this character will have it).

Now, the “must eat fruit” I thought was Trigger, but, reading the limitation, turns out I’m wrong. So, I can’t remember what that would be. Wouldn’t there also be a limitation due to the fact that anyone can use the fruit?

[The Colonel]

Wasn't there something around alchemy that was designed to allow the character to pull random potions out of his pocket every now and again? If that can be found, I would expect it to be mechanically similar...

[Kelly Pedersen]

There was an old thread where someone wanted to make "healing blood". I think that's conceptually similar enough that my suggestions from that thread are relevant here.

Basically, I'd do this with Healing, and put Time-Spanning, +50% (Powers, p. 109) on it, to cover the fact that you can heal in the future, effectively, and Ranged and a couple levels of Long-Range to eliminate range penalties completely, to cover the fact that it works at any distance from you. "Must consume fruit" sounds like a -10% Accessibility limitation to me, if it takes only a second to do so, or a -20% limitation if it takes a few seconds. I think I'd tack on another -10% limitation for the generic inconvenience of the fact that an enemy or just random person could hypothetically steal the fruit.

[Daigoro]

Isn't it technically a Gadget or even Gizmo, with Can Be Stolen on it? "Must be eaten" sounds like Accessibility.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Isn't it technically a Gadget or even Gizmo, with Can Be Stolen on it? "Must be eaten" sounds like Accessibility.

I could see a Gadget if this was a single healing plant that the character had to haul around. But it sounds to me like every use of the ability creates a new plant, which wouldn't count for Gadget - that presumes your thing is at least somewhat hard to reproduce or recover if lost.

[Daigoro]

What happens to an old tree when you create a new one?

I still think it's a Gadget, being external to the character and all. He can make the tree then wander off round the block while his comrades indulge in its fruits of healing.

Gizmo kind of works, being leveled for uses/adventure, but as it creates equipment it doesn't quite fit, unless you just say it creates fruit-shaped healing potions.

But I can see the point that none of the Gadget limitations actually model creating a new tree each time you want it.

How about Preparation Required (for growing time)?

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

There was an old thread where someone wanted to make "healing blood". I think that's conceptually similar enough that my suggestions from that thread are relevant here.

Yeah, that was the thread I was thinking of.

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

Basically, I'd do this with Healing, and put Time-Spanning, +50% (Powers, p. 109) on it, to cover the fact that you can heal in the future, effectively, and Ranged and a couple levels of Long-Range to eliminate range penalties completely, to cover the fact that it works at any distance from you.

I can see the Time-Spanning, and that works better than my idea of using Persistent with +150% Permanent.

But, the Long-Range, not so much. I get where you're coming from, but, the plant creates the fruit, and they must have been at the plant (or someone who was) to get the fruit. I could see that the Time-Spanning, and whatever counts for them being able to steal the fruit, automatically covers for that.

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

"Must consume fruit" sounds like a -10% Accessibility limitation to me, if it takes only a second to do so, or a -20% limitation if it takes a few seconds. I think I'd tack on another -10% limitation for the generic inconvenience of the fact that an enemy or just random person could hypothetically steal the fruit.

I was thinking around the -20% level myself for "Must Consume". I might tack "Can be Stolen" on, but that's a fairly hefty limitation. Putting "not obviously useful" might be a way to mitigate that. While the plant, itself, can be stolen, that's not nearly as limiting as one might thing. Just grow another one.

Originally Posted by Daigoro

What happens to an old tree when you create a new one?

Assuming it's cared for, it continues to grow but will bear no more fruit.

Originally Posted by Daigoro

I still think it's a Gadget, being external to the character and all. He can make the tree then wander off round the block while his comrades indulge in its fruits of healing.

Gizmo kind of works, being leveled for uses/adventure, but as it creates equipment it doesn't quite fit, unless you just say it creates fruit-shaped healing potions.

As I'm not looking to completely limit the number of times it can be used per session, it would be better modeled with a limited Snatcher or Create to go that route.

Originally Posted by Daigoro

But I can see the point that none of the Gadget limitations actually model creating a new tree each time you want it.

How about Preparation Required (for growing time)?

I was considering that, or a little bit of "takes extra time."

[Anaraxes]

My first thought was "Prep Required". But there's also the implicit Enhancement that the healer doesn't have to know the target of the spell when he casts it. The fruit is more flexible than just using the Healing ability in advance, because it can be retargeted as needed. It's effectively a hanging spell.

So, Delay (Triggered). The trigger is the subject eating the fruit (as opposed to catching a tripwire or stepping on a pressure plate to set off a bomb). You likely still need Prep Required to represent the time it takes the tree to grow and bear fruit.

I want to throw in a Limitation to represent the fact that the subject has to take time to eat the fruit, which also implies being able to take action (conscious, has volition, etc). Sort of like Requires Concentrate (and probably Takes Extra Time for realistic fruit), except that it's the subject that has to do the concentration. Given that you're mostly healing friends, that's probably a wash as far as the action economy goes, so maybe just using the standard pricing is fair.

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

So, Delay (Triggered). The trigger is the subject eating the fruit (as opposed to catching a tripwire or stepping on a pressure plate to set off a bomb). You likely still need Prep Required to represent the time it takes the tree to grow and bear fruit.

Yes, that. That's what I couldn't remember. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

I want to throw in a Limitation to represent the fact that the subject has to take time to eat the fruit, which also implies being able to take action (conscious, has volition, etc). Sort of like Requires Concentrate (and probably Takes Extra Time for realistic fruit), except that it's the subject that has to do the concentration. Given that you're mostly healing friends, that's probably a wash as far as the action economy goes, so maybe just using the standard pricing is fair.

I went with Accessibility 20%, as that seems to be fair for it needing to take a few seconds to consume enough of it to be relevant. It could be done in combat, but, you'd be giving up a few turns (one turn if you're the werewolf and just eat the darn thing whole).

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

But, the Long-Range, not so much. I get where you're coming from, but, the plant creates the fruit, and they must have been at the plant (or someone who was) to get the fruit.

I think that, if it's possible to pick a fruit and have it work away from the tree, then some degree of Ranged is going to be necessary. If you have to be standing at the tree when you eat the fruit, I can see the argument that that's effectively no range. But if you can pick a fruit, take it some distance away, and still eat it? That's strictly better than Healing alone, so it's going to need an enhancement to cover it.

That said, I can see tweaking how the range thing works. Anaraxes' suggestion of Delay (Triggered) sounds right to me. Delay certainly seems to suggest that the "focus" of whatever it's modifying can be picked up and moved by default, so it's reasonable to replace Ranged in the build with Delay (Triggered), I think.