Fun with Heal END

[DasBroot]

In my last session someone used Heal with variable effect "Any characteristic below its starting value" (straight from the example in CC) on someone who was almost out of endurance due to holding their breath. They were trying not to drown and the Heal refilled a large part of their END pool so they could hold their breath longer.

 

It was a quick thinking and clever use of the power, in my books, so we joked that the person kept turning more and more purple regardless as they burned through the Healed END and moved on. 

 

It was amusing, though - according to the rules you burn through end, then stun, then body... so healing END functionally could allow someone to hold their breath forever, if it restored more than they expend while holding their breath.  I guess breathing is over-rated?

 

Anyone else run across a situation like this? Is there a specific rule against heal END in 6e that didn't hit CC? Not so much because I'm against saving drowning people as needing to do pointed out to him that he can restore more END than the power costs to use once per turn....

 

(Meant to put this in system discussion.)

[Christopher R Taylor]

Eh, its 5 points to be able to breathe water, or 3 points to be able to hold your breath effectively forever.  So healing isn't remotely cheaper, but its a way of helping people keep going underwater, in a sense.

[BoloOfEarth]

I don't know if it's different in CC, but unless you have the Decreased Re-Use Duration, you can't just keep Healing over and over ad infinitum to stop from drowning.  (Though as Mr. Taylor pointed out, it's far cheaper to just be able to breathe water.)  It's admittedly a creative power use, though perhaps not as fully useful as one might imagine.

 

Let's say he has 3d6 END Healing.  He can heal up to 18 points each day (without the Decreased Re-Use Duration advantage).  But be aware that END is technically a Defense Power (see 6E1:141), so adjustment powers (like Healing) affecting END are half effect.  So that 18 points Healing is actually 9 points, or 45 END total.  If he buys Decreased Re-Use Duration to a Turn, a minute, or 5 minutes, that should be adequate. 

 

All of that said, I created a group of artificial constructs supervillains who had their minions driving disguised trucks transmitting Broadcast Power: 

 

Healing 2d6 END and STUN (15 END & 6 STUN, maximum 30 END and 12 STUN per Turn), Expanded Effect (+½), Area of Effect (500m Radius; +2), Indirect (+½), 0 END (+½), Invisible Power Effects (Invisible to Sight and Hearing; +1), Decreased Re-Use Duration (1 Turn; + 1½); IIF Bulky (-¾), Only works vs. electrically- or magnetically-powered beings or equipment (-½)

 

 

It certainly made things easier for the New Gods to fight the heroes without worrying about running low on END. Of course, the heroes got wise to that (when one of their own who had electromagnetic powers started getting healed too) and took to hunting down the trucks before taking on the bad guys. 

[Beast]

I've used it to regain speed that was drained away

[DasBroot]

Oh, it's definitely cheaper to just be able to breath water and it's his per turn variable heal so it's 'only' 2d6 (basically 15 end recovered for 6 end and an action ... not exactly devastating).  I really did find it more amusing and creative than anything else - but it did get me thinking about a non-variable one with 0 end instead.  That's 15 end for 0 end and an action, which is getting into 'hard to interupt recovery action' territory - at least for endurance purposes.

 

I suppose Aid Endurance in the pool instead for the same point value gets you a pool of 150 in two applications using standard effect (30 halved to 15 twice to hit the full 10d6 potential) which is a lot better than any END reserve you can buy for 6 points and is usable (completely fades) every two and a half minutes.  That's probably more useful to keep on blasting than a 15 point endurance recovery break.

[phydaux]

"The secret compartment of my ring I fill with an Underdog Super Energy Pill."

 

[Tech]

Another way to heal your END is to buy pizza.