Stabilising a mortal wound in DF

[lachimba]

The party is in a Dungeon. No surgery, but they have healing magic (and first aid).

The Basic Set has surgery to stabilise a mortal wound.

GURPS Lite of all places has any magical healing doing so.

What do you think is fair?

I was leaning towards getting up to negative HT with magic.

Now after reading GURPS Lite I'm leaning towards just going with any magic healing and/of surgery.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by lachimba

What do you think is fair?

Any magical healing is probably OK.

The whole point of the mortal wound rules (as opposed to you failed a Death Check, you die) is to keep PCs alive, so if you are using them in the first place you don't want to make that hard. I could see a requirement for enough healing to take you back up through the threshold for 1 death check, or enough healing to do more for you than First Aid can (which I guess is 3 or 4 hit points worth). I wouldn't go to more than that.

[Edges]

Stop Bleeding spell (M91).

[Anthony]

If I were being serious about being old-school in my DF I'd just remove mortal wounds; you fail a death check, you're dead. In any case, the rules don't specify, so do whatever the GM prefers.

[Bruno]

Stop Bleeding is the only spell that discusses Major Wounds at all. While generally I think this means that no other spells are applicable, I think Instant Regeneration and Great Healing are both probably fine, as of course appropriate Wishes.

Petrifying the subject will keep them stable :)

Plant Form Other and Heal Plant would also be successful.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Petrifying the subject will keep them stable :)

Theoretical question: if you petrify someone and then knock their head off, do they die, or do they only die when you cast stone to flesh? Can you cast Repair or Shape Stone on the statue to put it back together?

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Stop Bleeding is the only spell that discusses Major Wounds at all

That seems like the RAW answer I'll go with it.

[dcarson]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Theoretical question: if you petrify someone and then knock their head off, do they die, or do they only die when you cast stone to flesh? Can you cast Repair or Shape Stone on the statue to put it back together?

Some of that depends on the tone of the campaign. I was in one where Shape Stone could be used to do plastic surgery, even fairly extreme changes. Because it was funny when the PCs did it the first time.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Theoretical question: if you petrify someone and then knock their head off, do they die, or do they only die when you cast stone to flesh? Can you cast Repair or Shape Stone on the statue to put it back together?

The latter is certainly more fun, so I would go with that.

[Michael Cule]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Theoretical question: if you petrify someone and then knock their head off, do they die, or do they only die when you cast stone to flesh? Can you cast Repair or Shape Stone on the statue to put it back together?

I've always said that the soul is stored throughout the petrified body and not in any specific place. If you damage the body (even the petrified clothing! Wait, why does clothing get affected anyway?) then the soul is sent on to its reward.

This is to prevent abuse of the magic and goofy ideas about plastic surgery.

How long the soul hangs around as the petrified body is eroded by wind and water is something that never came up.