Aid Spell, Damage, and Fatigue

[phiwum]

Just to add another detail, the mustard jelly (Old School Monsters) has an Aid-like ability. Whenever it's hit by electrical or kinetic damage, instead it receives that many "temporary hit points".

Now, it seems clear to me that damage comes off those temporary hit points first and so when they dissipate in an hour, a jelly doesn't become all dead if he's suffered more than his ST in damage in the interim.

To be sure, this doesn't directly speak to the issues we've discussed, because one could always say that these temporary hit points are not like the temporary ST granted by Aid. I just thought I'd point out the similarity in this effect and Aid. Whether or not that's really relevant is, I reckon, up to the reader.

[hcobb]

Whataboutism ITL 137 "If an Aid spell revives him before the end of the turn"

That looks like Aid is (temporarily) overcoming fatigue or injury.

[phiwum]

I think everyone is in agreement that after damage has been taken, Aid simply boosts the current ST.

When the thread started, I was of the opinion that damage and fatigue taken while an Aid spell was active came off the boosted ST first. Most think that only fatigue (or only spell-casting fatigue) works like that.

In the end, my opinion was a lot less firm than when I started. I think I was leaning towards conventional wisdom: when you lose the Aid, you still have the same amount of wounds, but not fatigue. I can't recall why I was leaning that way. Probably either peer pressure or respect for forum members with more experience than me.

But anyway, I wasn't really wanting to reopen this can of worms. I just thought I'd point out a similar effect that surely does allow (right?) the jelly to live after the temporary hit points dissipate.

(By the way, much as I loath the term "whataboutism", I really have to point out that I don't think it means what you think it does. I think you just mean to say, "What about?" Sorry, it's just been bugging me that you say "whataboutism" every time you cite a passage lately. Blame it on having to read poorly written student papers all weekend.)

[Steve Plambeck]

Been reading that lovely new book, but hadn't gotten to the Mustard Jellies yet. "Temporary hit points"??? Say it ain't so. We already have physical fatigue, magical fatigue, exhaustion, wounds... I simply shudder to think how this further complicates this contentious part of the rules.

When I finish writing my own game system (don't get excited or hold your breath, I've been saying that for over 40 years) there will be no Aid spell. None. Nada. Zilch. Problem solved! ;>

[phiwum]

I think there's just fatigue and wounds, personally. And I don't think temporary hit points are much different than the effects of an Aid spell, though this takes me back to my original position for the sake of simplicity.

All of this would benefit from an official rule clarification, but I reckon HTH is higher priority.