AID Question

[Greenstar]

(Not sure if this should go here, the Rules forum, or the Fantasy Hero Forum. I rolled a die and this forum won out

 

I'm working on a Heroic Level campaign (FH type, actually) and I've got a character that can activate some limited magical abilities via Herbalism (druid priestess type). The spells all require extra time (usually 1 or 5 minutes) and expendable OAF (the herbs). Mostly they'll be limited to AIDs and HEALs.

 

Dilemma 1: I'd like to create something to help resist toxins. Normally, I'd think this would be a 10 pt. Life Support, so I could create an AID to that, and shift it way down on the time scale. Trouble is, AID can't grant a power that the character deosn't already have. TRANSFORM doesn't seem to fit the bill either, as it's horridly expensive for this limted effect, and it lasts far too long.

 

Dilemma 2: It'd be nice for the same charcter to have a spell that can help cure disease. It wouldn't actually heal any damage already done, just check the further progression of the disease's gradual effect. Most diseases are DRAINS I'd think, so how would this be defined - AID to Power Defense with Variable Advantage? Again, though, almost no one will have any Power Defense, so...

[Gary]

Re: AID Question

 

Originally posted by Greenstar

(Not sure if this should go here, the Rules forum, or the Fantasy Hero Forum. I rolled a die and this forum won out

 

I'm working on a Heroic Level campaign (FH type, actually) and I've got a character that can activate some limited magical abilities via Herbalism (druid priestess type). The spells all require extra time (usually 1 or 5 minutes) and expendable OAF (the herbs). Mostly they'll be limited to AIDs and HEALs.

 

Dilemma 1: I'd like to create something to help resist toxins. Normally, I'd think this would be a 10 pt. Life Support, so I could create an AID to that, and shift it way down on the time scale. Trouble is, AID can't grant a power that the character deosn't already have. TRANSFORM doesn't seem to fit the bill either, as it's horridly expensive for this limted effect, and it lasts far too long.

 

Dilemma 2: It'd be nice for the same charcter to have a spell that can help cure disease. It wouldn't actually heal any damage already done, just check the further progression of the disease's gradual effect. Most diseases are DRAINS I'd think, so how would this be defined - AID to Power Defense with Variable Advantage? Again, though, almost no one will have any Power Defense, so...

 

For the first item, simply buy 1 character point of the power. It won't actually do anything until it gets aided.

 

For the second, you can either buy 1 pt of power defense and then aid it, or buy a transform of the target into himself with the disease arrested. The untransform would be to catch the disease again, of course. The transform doesn't have to be expensive as long as you're willing to take several phases before it has an effect.

[Greenstar]

The Transform idea is good - I assume that it would be a minor as opposed to major transform, and that it could be cast several times to get the cumulative effect. Oddly, the folks with lots of BODY would be *harder* to heal, but, well, OK, I could live with that.

 

I don't like the idea that everyone in the whole world would carry around 1 pt. of LS just so they could be Aided by spells like these, though.

[Chris Goodwin]

If I were you I would ask the GM if you can alter your Powers somewhat; it sounds like you've built your Powers as Aids and Heals with Variable SFX and Variable Advantage. You might look at something like a Variable Power Pool, Only Herbalism Abilities (-1/2), season to taste. That way you could build lots of Powers that are Usable By Others.

 

Your dilemma 1 sounds like Life Support or Power Defense, Usable By Others. Your second sounds more like a Dispel Disease; most diseases are built as Drains with Gradual Effect. Or perhaps a Life Support vs. Disease, Usable By Others; it might stop any more damage from occurring but wouldn't heal damage that had already happened.

[Chaosliege]

The LS usable by others sounds like the ticket to me. You would also want to put continuous uncontroled on it, so you can cast something else afterwards without losing the effect. Keep in mind, if you put these "spells" into a power framework, I believe they will stopp working as soon as you put the points into something else, even if it has continuous, uncontroled. I could be wrong on that though.

[Greenstar]

I am the GM

 

I don't want to use this in a Power Framework - that was how I first approached it, but the spells are very limited, and it's just not very cost effective. Plus which, the characer in question really don't plan to hav every many spells at all.

 

I like the Dispel Disease - that one I'd not thought of. The problem with the LS usable by others is really an fx kind of thing.

 

The concept is that the character whips out some herb, mixing bowl, silver rod, sping water, whatever, and makes an infusion that is a vehicle to the magical energies. This is applied to the target, and it lasts for a while on it's own.

 

Wait a minute...LS - all poisons, useable by others, 1 continuing charge (1 Day)...that might work. Heck, maybe I limit it to natural venoms, though the cost break isn't much...hmmm...

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by Greenstar

I am the GM

 

I don't want to use this in a Power Framework - that was how I first approached it, but the spells are very limited, and it's just not very cost effective. Plus which, the characer in question really don't plan to hav every many spells at all.

 

I like the Dispel Disease - that one I'd not thought of. The problem with the LS usable by others is really an fx kind of thing.

 

The concept is that the character whips out some herb, mixing bowl, silver rod, sping water, whatever, and makes an infusion that is a vehicle to the magical energies. This is applied to the target, and it lasts for a while on it's own.

 

Wait a minute...LS - all poisons, useable by others, 1 continuing charge (1 Day)...that might work. Heck, maybe I limit it to natural venoms, though the cost break isn't much...hmmm...

 

Life Support: all poisons and viral agents, Usable On Others (+1/4), 1 continuing Charge lasting 1 Day (+1/4), OAF spell components (difficult to obtain new focus, -1 1/4)

 

base cost: 10 points

active cost: 15 points

real cost: 6 points

[Chaosliege]

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

Life Support: all poisons and viral agents, Usable On Others (+1/4), 1 continuing Charge lasting 1 Day (+1/4), OAF spell components (difficult to obtain new focus, -1 1/4)

 

base cost: 10 points

active cost: 15 points

real cost: 6 points

 

Make that charge recoverable, so as soon as you get more components you can do it again. Otherwise, it's once per adventure, that's not good..

[Greenstar]

Thanks for the suggestions. Now another question - how to create a poison antidote? Doing a Transform is one way, but it's an expensive way (Transform person to person without poison, "healed" by getting poisoned again). I was thinking that most poisons do damage as an NND Killing Attack perhaps linked to a Drain to one or more stats, Gradual Effect. One way to keep a character alive would be to Aid BODY, Limited only to poison damage, and shift it down on the time chart. The poisoned person would still suffer the Drain effects (if any), but should at least survive if the antidote is given to them in time.

 

Let's say that poison X does a CON Drain 4d6 linked to a NND HKA 4d6 (defense is LS), Gradual Effect, 1 minute. Let's further say that I have the spell set to Aid BODY only vs. poison, 3d6, and it takes a minute to prepare the herbs.

 

1st minute, the poison rolls a 4 and a 3, so lose 2 CON, 3 BODY, 9 STUN. Next minute the spell is there, and the roll is 11...so there's 3 points of "real" body damage already that's not healed, but the next 11 BODY come off the Aid. So,

next minute, the rolls are 2 and 5, so the victim loses 1 more CON, 5 BODY (but this is from the Aid) and 15 STUN. Next minute, a 4 and a 2, so 2 more CON and 2 BODY from the Aid plus 6 STUN. Final minute, 4 and 3, so 2 more CON and 3 BODY plus 9 STUN. So, that's 10 more BODY total, but it's all from the Aid, and the sTUN comes back quickly. At the end of it all, the victim is down 3 BODY and 7 CON.

 

Sound right?

[Chris Goodwin]

Why not just Dispel Poison for the antidote?

[Greenstar]

I didn't think you could use Dispel against something that did an attack-type damage? Or did I read things wrong?

[Chris Goodwin]

The thing about using Dispel against disease earlier and poison here is that you're building them as Gradual Effect. With Gradual Effect, the Power is in effect until the Gradual Effect duration is over, at which time the Power ends. With Dispel, you're shutting down the Power before its Gradual Effect is complete, preventing it from doing any further damage.

 

So you couldn't use Dispel to bring back Characteristics that have been lost through Drain, damage, or any other reason except Suppress, but you can use it to shut down the Powers that are continuing to cause them.

 

And there's no restriction on what kind of Powers you can Dispel. You could Dispel an incoming Energy Blast or RKA if you had a held action.