Leech (Steal Youth) Modifier Pricing, etc.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

In my example the character had the normal advantage Unaging with Age Control. But what if instead of paying for it, it had been a beneficial Affliction, of the Extended Duration, Permanent, +150% variety (not the +300% variety of Permanent, because to my mind the rules make it clear that an advantage gained with that duration ceases to operate like an Affliction). Would your answer change? Would he go back to being 35 (he had spent that year of having this beneficial Affliction rejuvenating back to 25)? And what if he had been granted this Affliction centuries ago? Would you rule that negating the Affliction, through whatever means, would make him suddenly age centuries and certainly die?

I've been thinking about the pertinent topics from this thread... Unaging, Afflictions, Leech and its cost. The more I have, the more it seems that an Unaging Affliction is just a bundle of headaches that isn't worth the trouble of resolving. One of the big issues is the how the nature of the ability, as an Affliction, changes depending on its modifications. Plain Unaging is pretty much the poster child for a Beneficial Affliction... you afflict a friend, and they are immune to the effects of aging for the duration. But by adding the Age Control enhancement, the affliction is no longer 'unquestionably positive', as you can threaten to change the age of your target in a direction they may not approve. This, plus the muddied interpretation of exactly how it should work, make me certain that an AF Affliction or Steal Youth are the preferable alternatives.

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

I've been thinking about the pertinent topics from this thread... Unaging, Afflictions, Leech and its cost. The more I have, the more it seems that an Unaging Affliction is just a bundle of headaches that isn't worth the trouble of resolving. One of the big issues is the how the nature of the ability, as an Affliction, changes depending on its modifications. Plain Unaging is pretty much the poster child for a Beneficial Affliction... you afflict a friend, and they are immune to the effects of aging for the duration. But by adding the Age Control enhancement, the affliction is no longer 'unquestionably positive', as you can threaten to change the age of your target in a direction they may not approve. This, plus the muddied interpretation of exactly how it should work, make me certain that an AF Affliction or Steal Youth are the preferable alternatives.

I've been PMing back and forth with Kromm on this and will post what he says shortly.

I will say off the bat he thought using Unaging with Age Control to age or de-age someone needed Extended Duration: Permanent on the Affliction, or the aging effects would go away. Then I pointed out it would leave them stuck at that age, and he said yeah, that's why Afflictions shouldn't be used to do damage (aging being considered by him - and I concur - to be a kind of damage, like HP, FP, or rads). I just raised with him that it's precisely for that reason that I think the Affliction's aging effects would last past its duration. If you Afflict Regeneration or Regrowth on someone, they don't lose regenerated HP or body parts when the Affliction expires. If you Afflict Weakness on someone and they take HP damage, they won't get back the HP they lost when the Affliction expires. I'm awaiting his comments and will post when we've ironed out all the sticky points.