[TW/ED] Healing

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
Lys
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by Lys » Thu Jan 26, 2017 5:14 am

The Undying wrote:Slim's comment was "for dying characters, I am going to be testing allowing negative results from Recovery Tests."

"Dying" characters have passed their Death rating. Negative results means they can never rise above that, meaning it's just a matter of time (Toughness Step hours) before they die. Allowing a minimum of 1 per RT, even if they're only get 1-2 per RT, they're STILL very likely to die with the available resources: they're going to get maybe 2-3 RT, so 2-6 health, which likely isn't enough to come below their Death rating. Even if you're slathering on the Last Chance Salves, which only activate one per hour, you'd only be getting another 1-2 health per Slave (or 1-2 health per 500 silver).

"Unconscious" characters are beyond their Unconsciousness rating but not their Death rating. These characters aren't "dying."
Characters at or past their Death Rating aren't dying, they're flat out dead. They get no recovery tests at all unless specific magic is used to bring them back. Without either negative Recovery Tests, or the Wounds that Bleed optional rule, there is no such thing as dying in the system. Someone is either dead, or eventually going to make a full recovery.

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The Undying
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by The Undying » Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:57 am

Lys wrote:Characters at or past their Death Rating aren't dying, they're flat out dead. They get no recovery tests at all unless specific magic is used to bring them back. Without either negative Recovery Tests, or the Wounds that Bleed optional rule, there is no such thing as dying in the system. Someone is either dead, or eventually going to make a full recovery.
This is true. Life Check (Talent) and Death Cheat (Blood Charm) AVOID death (hopefully), Last Chance (spell) and Last Chance Salve (healing aid) revive a dead character during the standard time (Toughness step hours) during which a character could be revived by normally available means.

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The Undying
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by The Undying » Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:57 am

After re-reading the Player's Guide and its description that death tends to be a permanent thing in ED, I'm okay with my going in position that conventional RT bonuses don't extend down to RT to avoid/revive death. The existing means seem very much focused on a "barely went over the rating, now you can claw your way back out with a few health points" rather than "twenty over your Death rating? Cool story, bro, drink this potion, s'all good."

I'll double back and fix the text on dying / death shortly.

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The Undying
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by The Undying » Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:30 am

On the "Blood Magic Damage becoming Normal damage" front, how do people usually track it, especially for in-combat healing where a player wants to reuse a spent charm available for recharge when the damage is healed? I don't want to overly complicate it by recommending a table. Seems like, as long as a character only has one or two of such transition things, then simple to say "you can recharge them once you Heal," rather than trying to track numbers, esp per thing.

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etherial
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by etherial » Thu Jan 26, 2017 11:32 am

The Undying wrote:On the "Blood Magic Damage becoming Normal damage" front, how do people usually track it, especially for in-combat healing where a player wants to reuse a spent charm available for recharge when the damage is healed? I don't want to overly complicate it by recommending a table. Seems like, as long as a character only has one or two of such transition things, then simple to say "you can recharge them once you Heal," rather than trying to track numbers, esp per thing.
Tracking numbers, especially per thing, is the way I recommend to do it. So when you get a Death Cheat Charm, you write "Death Cheat, 450 silver, 3 damage" in the equipment or Blood Magic section on your character sheet, then erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 lower. When you use the Death Cheat or otherwise have it removed, you erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 higher and take 3 damage that can now be healed.

Slimcreeper
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by Slimcreeper » Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:49 pm

I may have thought things that I didn't type. The way I'm planning on handling 'dying' characters is this: The exact same as the book with one exception - it is possible to get negative results from a recovery test. So if you've got 58 damage, a 62 death rating, and 5 wounds, you are Unconscious, per the rules. After 1 minute, you roll a recovery test. If you roll a 1, that's 4 points of damage and your character dies. It's not the same as Undying's rule and it's not the same as the rule in the book. I may shift it so that it only happens if you roll a 1 on your recovery test. The character is 'dying' because he or she might die without medical intervention.

*That said - I do like the nomenclature change from Recovery Test to Recovery Points.*

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The Undying
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by The Undying » Thu Jan 26, 2017 1:07 pm

etherial wrote:
The Undying wrote:On the "Blood Magic Damage becoming Normal damage" front, how do people usually track it, especially for in-combat healing where a player wants to reuse a spent charm available for recharge when the damage is healed? I don't want to overly complicate it by recommending a table. Seems like, as long as a character only has one or two of such transition things, then simple to say "you can recharge them once you Heal," rather than trying to track numbers, esp per thing.
Tracking numbers, especially per thing, is the way I recommend to do it. So when you get a Death Cheat Charm, you write "Death Cheat, 450 silver, 3 damage" in the equipment or Blood Magic section on your character sheet, then erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 lower. When you use the Death Cheat or otherwise have it removed, you erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 higher and take 3 damage that can now be healed.
Death Cheat doesn't really fit the space I'm asking about tho. With a Death Cheat, you're both out of the combat, AND the item goes inert. This is in comparison to a Desperate Blow charm, which could go: Turn 1: unused, 3 Blood Magic Damage; Turn 2: used, now 3 normal damage; Turn 3: Fireblood, damage healed; Turn 4: recharge (as a Simple Action? No guidance), 3 new Blood Magic Damage, use, now 3 normal damage; repeat

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The Undying
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by The Undying » Thu Jan 26, 2017 1:12 pm

Slimcreeper wrote:I may have thought things that I didn't type. The way I'm planning on handling 'dying' characters is this: The exact same as the book with one exception - it is possible to get negative results from a recovery test. So if you've got 58 damage, a 62 death rating, and 5 wounds, you are Unconscious, per the rules. After 1 minute, you roll a recovery test. If you roll a 1, that's 4 points of damage and your character dies.
That seems very punitive, especially if you force people to make that first RT to regain consciousness (book says MAY after one minute). On one hand, while I'd personally never use it, I like the flavor you're going for, I just get the feeling you'd get some pissed players when they only get like 2 RT per day and can potentially hurt themselves doing it.

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etherial
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by etherial » Thu Jan 26, 2017 1:57 pm

The Undying wrote:
etherial wrote:
The Undying wrote:On the "Blood Magic Damage becoming Normal damage" front, how do people usually track it, especially for in-combat healing where a player wants to reuse a spent charm available for recharge when the damage is healed? I don't want to overly complicate it by recommending a table. Seems like, as long as a character only has one or two of such transition things, then simple to say "you can recharge them once you Heal," rather than trying to track numbers, esp per thing.
Tracking numbers, especially per thing, is the way I recommend to do it. So when you get a Death Cheat Charm, you write "Death Cheat, 450 silver, 3 damage" in the equipment or Blood Magic section on your character sheet, then erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 lower. When you use the Death Cheat or otherwise have it removed, you erase your Uncon and Death Ratings and replace them with numbers 3 higher and take 3 damage that can now be healed.
Death Cheat doesn't really fit the space I'm asking about tho. With a Death Cheat, you're both out of the combat, AND the item goes inert. This is in comparison to a Desperate Blow charm, which could go: Turn 1: unused, 3 Blood Magic Damage; Turn 2: used, now 3 normal damage; Turn 3: Fireblood, damage healed; Turn 4: recharge (as a Simple Action? No guidance), 3 new Blood Magic Damage, use, now 3 normal damage; repeat
Hunh. We always assumed Desperate Blow Charms had to be recharged by visiting a trained Apothecary, since a Blood Magic Charm that does no Blood Magic Damage is by definition not Blood Magic. If you let people recharge them in the middle of combat, you first have to decide whether recovering from damage is a LIFO or a FIFO system -- is the Blood Magic damage the first to heal because it's oldest or the last to heal because it's oldest (or the first to heal because it's convenient)? If they do manage to heal all the way, I'd suggest you just let them heal up to -3 damage since you know they're planning on recharging it.
Last edited by etherial on Thu Jan 26, 2017 3:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Slimcreeper
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Re: [TW/ED] Healing

Post by Slimcreeper » Thu Jan 26, 2017 2:43 pm

I'm not in front of a book, but I've always assumed blood charms had to be recharged by a nethermancer or alchemist or something, and that it was a bit of a ritual process.

For negative results on RT, I would make it clear to the players that knowing the Physician skill or connecting to a Questor of Garlen would be important.

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