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Old 09-17-2010, 09:43 AM   #11
zorg
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
Is there a link to a ruling which made this explicitly legal? It seems overpowering to me, and the rules example, Leech(Mechanical), suggests that plants should be another such variant.
Unmodified Leech works on "living beings". Machines aren't living beings, so you need to take a variant Leech. Plants are living beings, so you can drain them with the unmodded ability.
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Old 09-17-2010, 10:24 AM   #12
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by zorg
Unmodified Leech works on "living beings". Machines aren't living beings, so you need to take a variant Leech.
That is the text, yes. Do you know of a post or link where Kromm explicitly said that it was intended for standard Leech to work on nonsentient life?
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Old 09-17-2010, 10:38 AM   #13
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
That is the text, yes. Do you know of a post or link where Kromm explicitly said that it was intended for standard Leech to work on nonsentient life?
No. Is that necessary? The rules are usually clear when an ability is meant to affect only certain subclasses of targets.

When the rules specifically talk about Leech/Machines as being a special case, but make no mention of Leech/Plants, or Leech/Molluscs, I think it's fair to assume that all living beings are affected equally, with no exceptions.

In fact, I find this rather fair, since Leech-as-is is pretty expensive. Reducing it to a not very effective combat ability while keeping the price seems unfair to me.
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Old 09-17-2010, 10:49 AM   #14
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by zorg
No. Is that necessary? The rules are usually clear when an ability is meant to affect only certain subclasses of targets.
The rules are usually clear, but the implications of this are troublesome to me. I do not mind asking by PM... just wanted to check for a possible confirming post first. Thanks!
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Old 09-17-2010, 10:57 AM   #15
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
The rules are usually clear, but the implications of this are troublesome to me.
To be honest, I'm rather relieved by the plant inclusion. I always felt Leech was too expensive, this takes it down to a - imo - reasonable level.

Quote:
I do not mind asking by PM... just wanted to check for a possible confirming post first. Thanks!
Ask away! And keep us posted.
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Old 09-17-2010, 02:55 PM   #16
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

I had asked:

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery
Hi Sean, A point was brought up in the Help creating life-draining touch ability? thread, that the basic Leech ability allowed for draining HP from plants. The text does seem to support this, but it feels overpowered to me that a non-limited leech can just go suck a tree for healing, without having to worry about victims that might fight back. Is that really supposed to be the idea?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
No. The idea is that you can use Leech on things that have IQ. IQ 0 trees and grass shouldn't count.

Followed up by:

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery
Would a variant Leech(Plants), like the mentioned Leech(Mechanical), be a valid extension of the rules?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Yes, I think that's a good variant.

Sentience appearing to be the main determinant, but once you branch into nonsentience, it looks like categories become necessary. I would rather keep such stuff away from PCs, as a general rule, but I am conservative that way. I cannot think of many examples of Leech being used on non-sentients.
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Old 09-17-2010, 06:46 PM   #17
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
I had asked:

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery
Hi Sean, A point was brought up in the Help creating life-draining touch ability? thread, that the basic Leech ability allowed for draining HP from plants. The text does seem to support this, but it feels overpowered to me that a non-limited leech can just go suck a tree for healing, without having to worry about victims that might fight back. Is that really supposed to be the idea?

Followed up by:

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery
Would a variant Leech(Plants), like the mentioned Leech(Mechanical), be a valid extension of the rules?

Sentience appearing to be the main determinant, but once you branch into nonsentience, it looks like categories become necessary. I would rather keep such stuff away from PCs, as a general rule, but I am conservative that way. I cannot think of many examples of Leech being used on non-sentients.
Strange that the RAW should say 'living' when 'sentient' was meant.
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Old 09-17-2010, 08:01 PM   #18
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by vitruvian
Strange that the RAW should say 'living' when 'sentient' was meant.
*g* You remind me of someone else when you say that.

'Sentient' and 'living', I think. Dunno what to tell you about the text. Others apparently find it misleading as well, but I picked up on sentience somehow... maybe from the suggested need for it in Vampiric Bite?
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Old 09-17-2010, 08:24 PM   #19
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

It's perfectly ok to disagree with the almighty Kromm.
This is one the many times that what was meant by the authors was not what was written.
Honestly though, what game difference does it make to drain plants as well as random woodland creatures? I don't believe it's anywhere near the utility of buying leech a second time.
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Old 09-17-2010, 08:48 PM   #20
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Default Re: Help creating life-draining touch ability?

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Originally Posted by Flyndaran
Honestly though, what game difference does it make to drain plants as well as random woodland creatures? I don't believe it's anywhere near the utility of buying leech a second time.
I cannot say as to the reasoning behind Kromm's ruling... asking that was not in my self-mandate *g*

If the idea was to restrict it to sentients in the first place, as seems to be the case, it hardly seems reasonable to expect that non-sentient plants should be included for the same price. It is pretty easy to find tappable sources in most settings, and you do not have to worry about them running away or fighting back.
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