Regeneration/Healing

[Joe]

How would you all construct a wolverine type healing character or a vampire like character such as Selene from the movie underworld?

 

My question is on life support, damage resistance, or healing.

 

Technially they are not immune to disease and drugs yet they are not affected by them either. Should "immortal" characters be a function of MASSIVE regeneration abilities or could you simmulate the effect with defense or life support? Any ideas, just curious.

 

Thanks for any input, have a good one.

Joe

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

Well....that's a complex question...

 

For the first part, here's a (high powered) version of Wolverine I did years ago:

 

Wolverine

 

Here is another character that is a high powered regenerator / scrapper from my version of the Champions Universe setting:

 

Machine

 

and his son, who has similar powers:

 

Tenacious

 

and here is a PC from my current game that is a partially regen based:

 

Triage

 

 

 

 

But all that aside, I think the main thing that should be clear is the concept of SFX vs mechanic. The SFX of "Regeneration" can serve as a justification for a lot of different exceptional abilities in addition to just healing damage fast.

 

So, to point out one of the examples in your own question, the concept of "Regeneration" is a valid SFX to cover both healing of damage modeled via the Healing Power using the Regeneration option, and long life and resistance to disease and poisons modeled via the Life Support power, and several other abilities to boot.

[sinanju]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

My favored approach to the "heals instantly" sort is to give them moderately high resistant defenses with the SPECIAL EFFECT that they appear to take full damage*, but it heals up before your very eyes. Then throw in some real regeneration (at a reasonable level) to handle the damage that actually gets past their defense.

 

*It's a matter of flavor whether they seem to shrug it off, or suffer stunning as if they'd really been injured.

[Captain Liberty]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

I have a whole group of characters, both villains (Lung Hung, Lupus, et al) and heroes (Corsair [Nemesis of Evil]) who have regeneration from death and heavy damage reduction to model the "instant recovery", but with the kicker that the damage reduction does not work UNTIL they have suffered the effects of any stunning or death results. Of course, they wear okay armor and have good CONs.

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

Another thing to remember is that, in terms of game mechanics, Regeneration (Healing+Always On+Extra Time+ Regeneration Only) really isn't a very efficient damage mitigation tool:

• it's 20 active points per level of Body healed every Turn. Yeah, the limitations get it down to 7 points or so Real, but that's still going to run into campaign caps fairly quickly. (4 BODY/turn = 80 active).
  
• Also, most Champions fights last only a couple of Turns; the ability to heal is mainly a way to limit down-time between fights, rather than to help IN a fight.
  
• Finally, in most Champions games, STUN is more important than BODY.

Probably a better "model" of regeneration-as-defense would be an insanely high STUN and REC, and a moderate PD/ED (as others have suggested, to "heal fast").

 

A another option would be as follows:

 

SPD 4 - represents your normal speed.

SPD 4 (Only to take full-phase recoveries)

Insubstantial (Always On, Only when taking Full-Phase Recoveries, only to prevent being inturrupted while taking a full-phase recovery, can still be hit.)

 

That last bit is a bit of GM handwavium to represent the fact that the character automatically 'rests', and retrieves his full-phase REC bonus, even if someone is hitting him.

 

Note you'll have to watch this build fairly closely - especially if the character has a moderate level of PD/ED and a high CON, it's concievable that many opponents simply can't do enough damage to get through his REC. It's actually for reasons like this that I believe Regeneration is costed the way it is (post-12 phase recovery only) - the way I describe it above, it may get too good, too fast.

[Gemphyre]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

Another thing to remember is that, in terms of game mechanics, Regeneration (Healing+Always On+Extra Time+ Regeneration Only) really isn't a very efficient damage mitigation tool:

• it's 20 active points per level of Body healed every Turn. Yeah, the limitations get it down to 7 points or so Real, but that's still going to run into campaign caps fairly quickly. (4 BODY/turn = 80 active).
  
• Also, most Champions fights last only a couple of Turns; the ability to heal is mainly a way to limit down-time between fights, rather than to help IN a fight.
  
• Finally, in most Champions games, STUN is more important than BODY.

Probably a better "model" of regeneration-as-defense would be an insanely high STUN and REC, and a moderate PD/ED (as others have suggested, to "heal fast").

 

A another option would be as follows:

 

SPD 4 - represents your normal speed.

SPD 4 (Only to take full-phase recoveries)

Insubstantial (Always On, Only when taking Full-Phase Recoveries, only to prevent being inturrupted while taking a full-phase recovery, can still be hit.)

 

That last bit is a bit of GM handwavium to represent the fact that the character automatically 'rests', and retrieves his full-phase REC bonus, even if someone is hitting him.

 

Note you'll have to watch this build fairly closely - especially if the character has a moderate level of PD/ED and a high CON, it's concievable that many opponents simply can't do enough damage to get through his REC. It's actually for reasons like this that I believe Regeneration is costed the way it is (post-12 phase recovery only) - the way I describe it above, it may get too good, too fast.

 

An additional limitation on the "Fast Recovery" might also be in order. Include "Only to RECovery STUN", so that you don't have a person that can NEVER run out of END without someone draining it from him, especially if the person also has high END attacks. For Martial Artist type characters and others that normally do not run into END troubles, it would be less important.

 

Gemphyre

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

It would probably be better to just take 0 END on salient abilities to reflect never getting tired, and Damage Reduction or gobs o stun rather than SPD only to REC with.

[Nolgroth]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

For the first part' date=' here's a (high powered) version of Wolverine I did years ago:[/quote']Wow, that pretty much covers all of Wolverine's abilities as I remember them. The point total causes a bit of sticker shock, but you did say he was high-powered.

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

It would probably be better to just take 0 END on salient abilities to reflect never getting tired' date=' and Damage Reduction or gobs o stun rather than SPD only to REC with.[/quote']

 

I agree that your description is a more simple build and easier to balance against. However, I've found that such builds don't actually describe what most people think of as "regen" powers. At best, armor or DR would represent a one-shot "quick heal" that applies to all incoming damage. But if they could (essentially) heal that fast as a 0-phase action, why can't they just heal that amount again in the next phase, and thus get back up to full STUN/BODY?

 

Sure, there's many in-game answers to that. But if that doesn't match up with the character concept, you'll have to modify the character concept in order to align with what the game mechanics allow a character to do. Within reason, it's supposed to be the other way around.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

I agree that your description is a more simple build and easier to balance against. However, I've found that such builds don't actually describe what most people think of as "regen" powers. At best, armor or DR would represent a one-shot "quick heal" that applies to all incoming damage. But if they could (essentially) heal that fast as a 0-phase action, why can't they just heal that amount again in the next phase, and thus get back up to full STUN/BODY?

 

Sure, there's many in-game answers to that. But if that doesn't match up with the character concept, you'll have to modify the character concept in order to align with what the game mechanics allow a character to do. Within reason, it's supposed to be the other way around.

 

If you look at the characters I posted links to, you'll see that I use a variety of different techniques to model "fast healing".

 

As far as "regen every phase" or even "every segment" is concerned, if a GM allows it you can do things with Triggered Heals and / or Aids, kind of like I do on this character (but less limited), which I think work better than limited SPD:

 

Agent X

 

 

 

Basically, as Ive covered before in old threads, I'm not a big fan of "SPD Only For X". I've found from personal experience that its just a clunky construct rife with mechanical friction.

 

YMMV, of course, but SPD Costs END, SPD OIF, and SPD OIHID are about as far as I'm willing to allow anymore without an extremely strong argument from concept.

[Comic]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

So, have I misread how to build this, then?

 

30 CP = Heal 1d6 Body (+2: Reset/Phase; +1/2: 0 END; +1/2: Persistent; +1/2: Regrow Limbs; -1/2 Self Only) 45 AP [0]

[Markdoc]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

My approach has been threefold (and I must admit, a bit of rules exploiting, which seems justified given the cost involved in simulating this archetype )

 

First, regeneration (for the BOD): You don't actually need a lot: as pointed out, it doesn't help you that much in combat. And even a small amount will usually let you heal up totally between fights.

 

Second, Healing (for the STUN) - make it persistant and self-only. This is the power that gets you back up and into the fight after the brick has just punched you through two walls.

 

Third, stun-only Damage reduction. Damage reduction is not usually a great buy, but in this case, it greatly amplifies the usefulness of your healing (that's the exploit part )

 

Partner that with moderate defenses and you have a character that most people can hurt, but who is extremely hard to take down and keep down.

 

cheers, Mark

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

Actually, Damage Reduction is a good buy at higher point levels / as damage scales up. There is a pretty well definable pivot point where as the DC's scale up Dmg Reduc becomes more worthwhile than an equal number of points spent on Armor. I did the math on it in an old thread in the general rules forums. It's flat cost for percentile protection scales best at the high end and worst at the low end.

[Sketchpad]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

I usually use the Simplified Healing rules for Regeneration. Though, I'm curious ... besides Power Defense, how would someone take an excelerated resistance to toxins and such? Would that be left up to story fiat?

[Gemphyre]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

I usually use the Simplified Healing rules for Regeneration. Though' date=' I'm curious ... besides Power Defense, how would someone take an excelerated resistance to toxins and such? Would that be left up to story fiat?[/quote']

 

Life Support, All terrestrial Poisons and Chemical Agents, 10 pts. (5th Ed. Rulebook, pg 127)

 

Various other poisons and classes of poisons are less. Guidelines are on the same table.

 

Gemphyre

[Sketchpad]

Re: Regeneration/Healing

 

That's more of an Immunity and not an increased resistance ... I'm thinking of something more gradual rather than the whole kit 'n' Kabootle