10-09-2020, 01:19 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Healing too much with spells
Hi folks !
In my current fantasy campaign with sessions seeing lots of fights, the group healer has a vital role in getting the team back on their feet after the clashes. The fights often take place in high or very high Mana areas. The healer knows the spells of Minor/Major and Great Healing (M p.91). And the player is very lucky with his dices so critical success often occur. Nice ! But if Magic p.7 says : On a critical success, the spell works especially well. Details are up to the GM, who should be both generous and creative. Well, here my question. When you have often critical success in high mana area, you get a free FP spell. It's good but do you have ideas about play creativity about to very well or too much well heal ? Someone that receive two critical success healing spells in the same day could be heal too much or have some problem or exotic side effects ? It's occur often in my game so I want to have suggestions to inspire prudence to the warriors... |
10-09-2020, 01:37 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Sep 2016
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Re: Healing too much with spells
You should NEVER penalize critical successes. If they roll a critical success, it’s supposed to be very good. But, repeated castings of healing spells on the same target have penalties to skill. These will eventually make a spell failure. Spell failures in very high mana are spectacularly bad, so if they keep casting in those situations, eventually the dice will turn against them.
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10-09-2020, 01:39 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Mar 2012
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Re: Healing too much with spells
If you want interesting problems or side effects... how about giving the characters some free points for mutations (or points in a random mutation)?
It will probably look ugly or freaky to normal people and give some nice abilities in combat. You can see some examples, as well as a worked-out system of drawbacks, in After the End. Edit: this might actually be a better option for critical failures, not successes. |
10-09-2020, 01:56 PM | #4 |
☣
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: Healing too much with spells
I'll repeat the recommendation not to penalize critical successes. If you want critical successes on healing to have special effects, allow a special boon. Extra one-time use FP, temporary Very Rapid Healing or Regeneration, +1 on HT rolls for a day, etc.
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
10-09-2020, 02:00 PM | #5 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Healing too much with spells
One nice thing to happen on a critical success would be for that casting to not count for the cumulative -3-per-casting penalty.
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10-09-2020, 02:10 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Healing too much with spells
Of course, I don't want to penalize critical Healing spells at all. I'm more looking to add effects for high dose or high amount magic. Maybe mutations yes it's a track ...
Just a remember of a spell that working too well... It's possible that be a bonus. My player suggest to me that will be a good explanation for more HP for his warrior... |
10-09-2020, 02:32 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Healing too much with spells
It's fair to do critical healing as a justification for something that the player wants to buy anyway, but I'd avoid any direct long-term effects.
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10-09-2020, 02:32 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Healing too much with spells
Quote:
As for beneficial mutations you could have it grant an appropriate Special Exercises perk. So crit success could be Special Exercises (Increased HP) allowing HP to exceed campaign max by 1 if the player wants to. Only useful if your using capped attributes of course.
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10-09-2020, 10:42 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Most definitely alone
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Re: Healing too much with spells
Quote:
I'm not sure why you would want to inspire prudence about successful healings, but you could rule that critically successful healings leave a visible mark of the god on the person healed. Not a scar or anything disabling, but, for example, a white mark in the shape of a sunburst (for a god of light or the sun) or a white mark in the shape of a dove (for a god of peace). The GM is inspired to be generous and creative, so people shouldn't want to avoid getting them. These marks could be noted and venerated by the faithful, as they would see the recipient as someone who had suffered in defense of the faith (or the faithful). It would be like 'next to martyrdom'--this person suffered grave wounds for the faithful, and the God has healed them for their service. Alternatively, critically successful healing might also heal minor wounds on the healer--or maybe confer the benefits of a Blessing on the recipient, but only for health/injury/healing related events: +1 on all Health rolls to avoid or recover from injury, until a consequential failure, which is averted (so like, the next time they fail a dismemberment or death check, they make it).
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critical success, healing |
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