HEAL spell?

[zot]

Originally Posted by zot

Catnap sleeping could up this to around 32 points of healing per wizard or person with Aid per day. Technically you could just assert that your character is a catnap sleeper but I made a talent for it

Here's another reality check, just to answer my own figure of 32 points...

A master physicker has the potential to heal WAY more damage than that per day. It just depends on how big the group is and how many combats they have.

The Death Tests have from 11-15 combats or so and allow 15 minutes of rest per room. For a group of 3 or 4 characters, a physicker could potentially heal 9 damage per room potentially healing a whopping 135 points of damage in one day.

This is for Death Test, course: probably more combats than a group would normally see in one day but physicker's are also artificially limited to healing only three times per combat, so a fourth injured group member is out of luck. Something tells me, though, that dungeon-heavy adventures will have a lot of combats :).

[ColinK]

Wow! This thread is FULL of ideas. I'm looking forward to testing some of them next time my brother and I get together for some online TFT.

I saw one or two brief, peripheral mentions of permanent limb damage.

I'm not suggesting this for the basic rules, but my RPG campaigns are likely to feature crushed or removed arms and legs, lost fingers, ruined eyes, etc. That seems like a nice balance to some of the "easier" magic healing.

"My hand! Why didn't you fix my hand?"

"Sorry, Clive. The troll ate it."

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by zot

A master physicker has the potential to heal WAY more damage than that per day. It just depends on how big the group is and how many combats they have.

The Death Tests have from 11-15 combats or so and allow 15 minutes of rest per room. For a group of 3 or 4 characters, a physicker could potentially heal 9 damage per room potentially healing a whopping 135 points of damage in one day.

This is for Death Test, course: probably more combats than a group would normally see in one day but physicker's are also artificially limited to healing only three times per combat, so a fourth injured group member is out of luck. Something tells me, though, that dungeon-heavy adventures will have a lot of combats :).

Yes, if 3 party members each take 3 points of damage in every battle... But physickers can only heal damage that hasn't yet been treated, while magic healing so far has no such restriction. And most competent parties will strive to have both physickers and a healing wizard backed up by people with Aid.

And a master physicker generally means a non-wizard had to take IQ 14, which in Death Test means a fighter spent 4-6 points in IQ rather than ST + DX (or an IQ 14 wizard skipped 8 spells to be a physicker), and you can only take 4 figures into Death Test. With the healing spell, it means you took a wizard at IQ 14 and took the healing spell, which doesn't detract from your combat ability (well except in that Death Test it only lets you rest 15 minutes so your spell use needs to be rationed - in campaigns there are often hours or days between combats).

If Anders gets skewered for 11 points of damage, a master physicker can heal 3 to bring that down to 8... and that's it. Barring magic, that character is now actually seriously injured and wants 16 days of bed rest. But if there's a magic spell that says nothing about already-treated wounds, those remaining 8 points can be zapped up pretty quickly, especially if there are people with Aid available - with enough, he can be fully healed immediately. If Anders is a combat monster, that's a very powerful effect.

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by ColinK

Wow! This thread is FULL of ideas. I'm looking forward to testing some of them next time my brother and I get together for some online TFT.

I saw one or two brief, peripheral mentions of permanent limb damage.

I'm not suggesting this for the basic rules, but my RPG campaigns are likely to feature crushed or removed arms and legs, lost fingers, ruined eyes, etc. That seems like a nice balance to some of the "easier" magic healing.

"My hand! Why didn't you fix my hand?"

"Sorry, Clive. The troll ate it."

Yeah, we used both of the optional hit location rules in Advanced Melee, and that certainly adds to the carnage and can produce combat consequences despite healing magic. At least until someone suggests a Limb Restoration spell... well, Rick actually already has one in his house magic spells, though that's the only part I probably wouldn't use in his spells. I think lost limbs add character and significance to adventure results.

[zot]

Originally Posted by Skarg

And a master physicker generally means a non-wizard had to take IQ 14, which in Death Test means a fighter spent 4-6 points in IQ rather than ST + DX (or an IQ 14 wizard skipped 8 spells to be a physicker), and you can only take 4 figures into Death Test. With the healing spell, it means you took a wizard at IQ 14 and took the healing spell, which doesn't detract from your combat ability (well except in that Death Test it only lets you rest 15 minutes so your spell use needs to be rationed - in campaigns there are often hours or days between combats).

Unarmed combat III and up needs IQ 14, I'll have to try it with a UC physicker.

[Jim Kane]

Originally Posted by Skarg

I think lost limbs add character and significance to adventure results.

LOL! What fun would TFT be without a few missing limbs or getting your eye poked-out ;-D

Seriously, those Aimed Shots and Optional Hit Location Rules in our experience were devastating. The only time we used them was for enhanced dramatic purposes; and on a *very* limited basis, and *only* when it served to add excitement and color to the story - because putting a crossbow bolt through the Goblin King's throat, just after he croaks-out: "Destroy the Surface-Dwellers!!" is just too cool!

JK

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by zot

A master physicker has the potential to heal WAY more damage than [the Healing spell] per day.

An issue here is that the relative value of Healing and Physicker is hugely different in a one-fight-a-week outdoor campaign, compared with a ten-fights-a-day underground campaign. So there's no simple answer.

But Healing has the excellent feature that it will reasonably quickly remove all damage short of death. Physicker removes some damage very quickly but it's only a complete solution if the wounds are minor. The breadth of problems it can solve makes Healing a huge change: in my opinion a mostly desirable one.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Heal (T) (IQ 14)
For each 3 points of ST that the wizard puts into this spell, he/she can cure one hit of damage on himself or another. Heal will also restore lost fatigue from spellcasting, etc., but rarely is it practical to use it this way.

I'm a little rusty on TFT do you roll 3d6 vs IQ for successful casting?
If you do, maybe you could make it 4d6, 5d6 etc for subsequent casting on the same individual in the same 24 hour period? In GURPS I think you have minuses which have the same effect.

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Perhaps a Master Physicker who knows this spell would restore lost hits at only 2 ST each? I like synergies between Master Physicker and other kinds of healing.

Yes, this makes logical sense.

[zot]

Originally Posted by Wayne

I'm a little rusty on TFT do you roll 3d6 vs IQ for successful casting?
If you do, maybe you could make it 4d6, 5d6 etc for subsequent casting on the same individual in the same 24 hour period? In GURPS I think you have minuses which have the same effect.



Yes, this makes logical sense.

Steve's Heal is a thrown spell so it's 3/DX at -1 for each hex away starting with the adjacent hex (same hex is -0).

[JLV]

Originally Posted by Wayne

I'm a little rusty on TFT do you roll 3d6 vs IQ for successful casting?
If you do, maybe you could make it 4d6, 5d6 etc for subsequent casting on the same individual in the same 24 hour period? In GURPS I think you have minuses which have the same effect.



Yes, this makes logical sense.

The RAW say everything is against DX, though I've always thought rolling against IQ made a bit more sense in terms of the background story...