Tae Kwon Dan Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 I'm looking for opinions, and a little knowledge, on building an NPC with a weak heart. He has to take medication for his heart and had to give up super heroing, because his heart can't stand much stress. Knowledge: In reality is heart medication a daily pill or a multiple times per day pill? How hard is it to obtain e.g. Class Whatever Narcotic? This will help me build the Dependence Disad. Opinion: Would you build the unable to withstand stress as a Susceptibility or Vulnerability? I'm leaning towards the former myself, but I'm just curious as to what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 I'm fairly certain it depends on how week the heart, I would not penalise the character that much on the rarity unless he does not have a perscription. It would be Suseptability on the stress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnormandin Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 from my limited experience, heart medication can be either once a day or multiple times a day, depending on what the problem is (irregular beat, high blood pressure, etc.). It can also be on an 'as needed' basis (nitro under the tongue). With the exception of aspirin, the meds would be prescription only and controlled to various degrees. WITH a prescription, most meds can be bought at the neighborhood Walgreens. I'm sure someone will follow my post with more/better info. Something I'd put out for consideration for this type of thing is a highly reduced recovery stat, perhaps coupled with a low endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 My father has heart and other problems. He takes over a dozen medications on at least a daily schedule. Most are 2 times a day. All are controled substances, although not more than most medications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugfromthearth Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 a weak heart would be 2 disads: dependence - you have to take the meds regularly or have a heart attack and susceptibility - even with the meds too much exertion or shock will get to you. I would say susceptibility to PRE attacks that do EGO+20 and using more END in a turn then twice your recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farkling Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 My best friend is classified as disabled and suffers form heart failure. She's 30 and has the heart of a 75 year old. She's on a suite of meds. They are not narcotics, and the "important" doses are twice a day. They do require prescriptions. One of them is fairly rare. She suffers from fatigue always. Once her stamina is gone, it is GONE, I'd say her REC is 1 or less. She can't walk more than a thousand feet. (No END). When she gets tired she will fall asleep in midsentence. The meds make it hard for her to sleep more than a few hours at a time, and frequently she doesn't really feel "rested and recharged", she's just ready to go on. On the other hand, she lives with the possibility of death (from heart failure) daily. Very little scares or disturbs her, other than losing the roof over her head or her SSI. She won't have a heart attack form her disease, her heart will just quit one day... There's more information than you probably wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tae Kwon Dan Posted November 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 That's pretty much what I have right now, except I decided that the shock was from taking Body. He's a non-combat character so I figured this would be alright. Anymore opinions or info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tae Kwon Dan Posted November 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Farkling, ouch. I appreciate you sharing that with me though if there is at least some comfort in the fact that it was a big help then I hope you can take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperPheemy Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 Physical Limitation: Advanced Heart Condition (unable to perform strenuous activity, or endure physical, mental or emotional shock) Either Frequently, or All the Time depending on how fragile the condition is, at least Greatly Impairing if not Fully. During the early part of his carreer, Tony Stark (without the Iron Man chestplate) suffers All the Time/ Fully. He can barely move without the shrapnel piercing his heart. Even with the chestplate, he's Infrequent/ Fully because when the batteries run low (or a supervillain somehow disables the chestplate) down he goes again. Susceptability works fine, but is kind of inflexible for my style of play. The Phys Lim is more of an abstract "MacGuffin" for the GM to use in the course of a storyline. I'd say that a heart condition treated with aspirin once a day would look like Dependence: Aspirin for Heart Condition (Very Common/ 1d6 Damage/ 1 Day) worth 0 points. On the other end of the spectrum, a condition that requires a dozen or more meds two or three times a day would look more like Dependence: Heart Medication (Difficult to Obtain/ 2d6 Damage/ 6 Hours) worth 10 points AND Dependence: Heart Medication (Difficult to Obtain/ Weakness/ 6 Hours) worth 5 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutsleeve Posted November 16, 2003 Report Share Posted November 16, 2003 id would do a bit of research There are many many differant varieties of heart problems that exsist. Hypertension, heart murmur, damaged valves, conjestive heart failure, clogged arteries, and many many more. some of these are not straight forward as their name appears. conjestive heart failure, which i have, isnt a heart condition that will cause you to have a heart attack nore does it mean you have had a heart attack. What it means is that your heart is not performing up to the level that it should be and isnt circulating blood effectively. This causes liquid to build up in the ankles, lungs, and abdomen. This is caused because the kidneys are not getting enough blood to properly function themselves and cause you to retain sodium which makes you retain water. with proper medication you can get the heart pumping properly and regularly but some of those medicines make you tired. another is a diaretic which make you have to urinate more often so you are sure not to build up liquid. another thing is you have to cut the amount of salt you take in very low. some people also have to watch how much water they take in also. so one heart problem can cause differant things. Hypertension for instance if untreated can cause kidney damage and in time absolute kidney failure. All in all it would be best to do some research on the various heart conditions out there and select one that fits the character or limits him in the way you want. The american heart association would be a good place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightfly Posted November 16, 2003 Report Share Posted November 16, 2003 Oh, wrong thread... I thought this was about Dick Cheney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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