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Old 12-16-2020, 11:21 AM   #1
Alden Loveshade
 
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Default Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

I know, the question, "Is Regeneration a Disadvantage" probably sounds silly. Of course it's an Advantage!

But...depending on the GM's interpretation, not being able to switch off Regeneration could be a serious problem.

I have a super-level PC who Jumps from campaign to campaign, GM to GM, not all of whom treat abilities the same. The PC has very fast Regeneration with Switchable. I paid for the enhancement due to a question that came up.

Imagine a character has very fast Regeneration, healing at 1 HP/second. If that characters gets, for example, a broken leg, they would almost certainly be fully healed before the leg could be set in place. In real life, people who heal without having broken limbs properly set can be crippled. So could the regenerating character be permanently crippled because of Regeneration?

What do you think?

EDIT: There's also the question of how would very fast Regeneration affect Surgery? Before the surgeon even finishes making the incision, the first part of the cut has already healed. Even for an extremely fast surgeon, Surgery would essentially be impossible. How would you deal with that?
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Last edited by Alden Loveshade; 12-18-2020 at 10:22 AM. Reason: Added Surgery to things affected as suggested by Otaku
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Old 12-16-2020, 11:38 AM   #2
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

It's a thing in modern medicine to rebreak a bone to set it properly, might be hard to break a super's bones but obviously not impossible in your case.

Basic does have rules for temporary, lasting and permanent injuries which remain after all hp are recovered, as well as rules for the surgeries to repair such damage.
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Old 12-16-2020, 11:39 AM   #3
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

If your Regeneration can harm you in some cases, I'd call it a significant Limitation.
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Old 12-16-2020, 11:42 AM   #4
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

Regeneration includes Rapid Healing, which grants a +5 to HT rolls to recover from crippling injuries, so it will generally recover properly. But yes, in a pinch, just rebreak and set, it's a lot easier when the recovery time from such work is measured in seconds instead of weeks.
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Old 12-16-2020, 11:45 AM   #5
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

Given that GURPS doesn't, as far as I know, include any rules for limbs setting improperly when given rapid healing, then a ruling that such happens (rather than the force of the regenerating flesh pushing the bones more or less back into line, or one of many other possible alternatives) would be entirely a house-rule by the GM- and any GM who sprang such a houserule on a player who paid 100 points for an advantage would, in my view, be demonstrating very bad form.

As a general rule, GURPS advantages (barring specific rules to the contrary - or certain limitations) include whatever "subsidiary" abilities are needed to keep the advantage from interfering with ordinary function- high DR doesn't cause your limbs to lock in place due to the thick outer covering, Enhanced Time Sense doesn't make you zone out in boredom as interaction with the outside world seems to take subjective ages, Enhanced Move doesn't cause your bones to break under the great force of running, Doesn't Eat or Drink doesn't keep you from chugging magic potions, and Photographic Memory doesn't make you freeze up under the overload of perfectly remembering every embarrassing thing you did as a teenager.
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Old 12-16-2020, 11:59 AM   #6
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

I understand that Gurps uses a quasi-scientific frame that makes for very funny speculations but i think "Regeneration" is meant to be like in the comics: your body remembers its "unhurt" form and regenerates until it has achieved it.

It's not "tumor like" random regeneration but "Wolverine like" time compression: because being bedridden and then having to make a ton of rehabilitation it's both boring and a bummer.
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Old 12-16-2020, 01:09 PM   #7
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

Regeneration explicitly heals "wounds" (B80). Damage causes "injury" (B379, B380) and sometimes wounds (B420). Crippling injuries are also "major wounds" (B421). So IMO canonical regeneration does heal crippling injuries.
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Old 12-16-2020, 01:45 PM   #8
Mark Skarr
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

Carnifex, from Wild Cards would have a limitation on his Regeneration. The expectation (seen, generally, in media works) is that regeneration does a complete healing of you. It is the exception that it does not.
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Old 12-16-2020, 03:04 PM   #9
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

RAW, the way crippling works is that you make a HT roll (with a +5 bonus for Rapid Healing, which is included in Regeneration) and if successful, the crippling goes away when the HP are recovered. For a typical PC (HT 11+) this means 98% of the time there's no lasting effect. The remaining 2% of the time is lasting or permanent crippling, which doesn't seem to be affected by regeneration unless you also have regrowth.
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Old 12-16-2020, 04:15 PM   #10
Donny Brook
 
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Default Re: Is Regeneration a Disadvantage?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alden Loveshade View Post
I know, the question, "Is Regeneration a Disadvantage" probably sounds silly. Of course it's an Advantage!

But...depending on the GM's interpretation, not being able to switch off Regeneration could be a serious problem.

I have a super-level PC who Jumps from campaign to campaign, GM to GM, not all of whom treat abilities the same. The PC has very fast Regeneration with Switchable. I paid for the enhancement due to a question that came up.

Imagine a character has very fast Regeneration, healing at 1 HP/second. If that characters gets, for example, a broken leg, they would almost certainly be fully healed before the leg could be set in place. In real life, people who heal without having broken limbs properly set can be crippled. So could the regenerating character be permanently crippled because of Regeneration?

What do you think?
I don't play in games where GMs play sleazy tricks.
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