>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:20 1996
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 08:28:47 -0500
From: David Wood
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:101] Exercise #1: The Healing Spell
All right, folks, in order to keep traffic lively, grab your copy of the
Masterbook Effects Rules and try this. It will not be graded, unless you count
peer review...
The Task:
Design a spell to revive and heal someone who is unconscious and/or wounded.
Make your design suitable for a MU with a total skill of 14 (effect skill plus
any applicable knowledges).
(Apart from that, I give you no guidance about the development of the spell.
Yes, this will probably mean that there will be a great many different spells
coming up the list, but so what? Variety is the Spice of Life, and all that...)
The Rules:
Design and post your effect by Monday at 9 PM. (You have Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning to work on it.)
Do *not* post comments on anyone else's effects until after that time, when
you've seen everyone else's effects.
-David
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-David
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>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:28 1996
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 06:34:42 -0500
From: David Wood
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:110] Exercise #1, Revised: The Healing Spell
The Task:
Design a spell to revive and heal someone who is unconscious and/or wounded.
Make your design suitable for a MU with a total skill of 14 (effect skill plus
any applicable knowledges) and a Mind of 10 (for purposes of setting feedback).
(Apart from that, I give you no guidance about the development of the spell.
Yes, this will probably mean that there will be a great many different spells
coming up the list, but so what? Variety is the Spice of Life, and all that...)
The Rules:
Design and post your effect by Monday at 9 PM. (You have Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning to work on it.)
Do *not* post comments on anyone else's effects until after that time, when
you've seen everyone else's effects.
The Purpose:
Think of this as an informal workshop. We're going to poke, prod, push, pull,
fold, spindle, and mutilate the SFX system, to find its threshold of pain and
the point at which it breaks.
And in the process, it's my hope that we learn a few surprising things it can
do...
-David
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>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:35 1996
Date: Sun, 14 Jul 1996 03:27:08 -0500
From: Jim Ogle
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:113] Re: Exercise #1, Revised: The Healing Spell
David writes:
> The Task:
> Design a spell to revive and heal someone who is unconscious and/or
> wounded. Make your design suitable for a MU with a total skill of
> 14 (effect skill plus any applicable knowledges) and a Mind of 10
> (for purposes of setting feedback).
> (Apart from that, I give you no guidance about the development of
> the spell. Yes, this will probably mean that there will be a great
> many different spells coming up the list, but so what? Variety is
> the Spice of Life, and all that...)
Since no one has posted any yet, I'll start the variety myself by
posting two versions.
-----
Version 1: It shouldn't be this easy...
Effect Description: Compare Effect Value of spell to Endurance of
target. Look up the Result Points on the Damage Chart. Character
is healed that much damage.
Step Value Total
Effect Value 30 30
Range: 1 meter 0 30
Speed: 0 0 30
Duration: 1 second 0 30
Effect is permanent so duration is unnecessary.
Cast Time: 15 sec 6 24
Optional Elements: none
SFX total: 24 -> Difficulty 14, Feedback 10
Optional Modifiers: none
Final values: Difficulty 14, Feedback 10
Version 2: Let's make it a bit more complicated...
Effect Description: Compare Effect Value of spell to Medicine DN chart
(p 73) and read the Result Points on the Push Chart. Add Push bonus
to character's Endurance and have him generate a healing roll (DN on
p71). If successful the character is healed of one Wound level (as if
he had made a normal healing roll) and all Shock and KO conditions.
However, the effect is illusionary until the Duration has expired, if
the spell is negated before that time the healed damage will
immediately return.
Step Value Total
Effect Value 30 30
Range: 1 meter 0 30
Speed: 0 0 30
Duration: 1 day 25 55
one day is required because that is how long it takes a wound to
heal (I know Heavy and Incapacitated say three days but I didn't
want a spell that only worked on Light or Moderate wounds.)
Cast time: 2 min 11 44
Cast time could be as high as 27 (half the SFX Total after
Duration) but that would be rather pointless!
Optional Elements
Focused 11 55
Effect will not remain with the target unless it is focused
Formula is (EV + Duration)/5 -> (30+25)/5 = 55/5 = 11
SFX Total 55 -> Difficulty 28, Feedback 27
Optional Modifiers
Components
very common (salve) -2 Difficulty Difficulty 26, Feedback 27
very common (incense) -2 Feedback Difficulty 26, Feedback 25
Concentration: 30 seconds -3 Feedback Difficulty 26, Feedback 22
Gestures
simple -1 Difficulty Difficulty 25, Feedback 22
fairly simple -2 Difficulty Difficulty 23, Feedback 22
fairly simple -2 Feedback Difficulty 23, Feedback 20
spellcaster must examine the target's wounds and apply the salve
then wave the burning incense over the target
Incantations, complex -3 Difficulty Difficulty 20, Feedback 20
spellcaster must recite complicated medical jargon
Unreal Effect
Disbelieve DN 6 - half EV (15) may be subtracted from DN and/or FV
Final value (Disbelieve DN 6): Difficulty 15, Feedback 10
NOTE: if Cast Time is increased to one hour (value 18) then the
Disbelieve DN could be increased to 10 (subtract one-fourth EV instead
of one half) and you can get about the same result, DN 16 FV 10 or
DN 15 FV 11.
-----
Since we're supposed to withhold comments until after Monday I won't
say anything concerning my two attempts until then.
Kansas Jim ([email protected])
>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:39 1996
Date: Sun, 14 Jul 1996 07:13:01 -0500
From: David Wood
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:114] Re: Exercise #1, Revised: The Healing Spell
Here's my entry into the healing spell derby. It was inspired by the "Death
Cheat" from EarthDawn, but this one does a bit more than that. There are
specific things which I would consider mildly abusive in this spell, but I won't
discuss them until after the 9PM Monday. I may work up another for
conversation's sake.
Oh, and let's make that 9PM Grenwich Mean Time. I keep forgetting this list has
possible global distribution...
=====================================
Effect name: The Amulet of Life
Effect skill: Conjuration
Difficulty Number: 14
Feedback Value: 15
Effect Value: 45
Range: 0 (1 meters)
Speed: 0 (1 meters/sec)
Duration: 24 (15 hours)
Casting Time: 21 (4 hours)
Modifiers:
Multi-Attribute:
Push down time between healing attempts (Effect Value 43)
Medicine skill (Effect Value 41)
Charges: 1
Components:
An ounce of blood (expended)
A chunk of smoky quartz (expended)
Concentration: 10 (1.5 minutes)
Incantations:
"The Resuscitation Recitation" (DN 8)
Other Modifiers:
The blood contributor must be wearing the amulet
Effect will only work on person wearing the amulet
I'd like to get my hands on whatever crummy wizard cooked up the Recitation
of Blood and Life. I don't know why, but that lousy poetry has been accepted as
a staple in some spells. And this is one of them that demonstrates that there is
indeed power in it.
Start by putting the amulet and the quartz in a bowl. It doesn't hurt if
the quartz has a lot of flaws or veins in it; some people say that helps. After
you recite that cheesy poem over it, you're supposed to stare at the quartz and
concentrate on forcing in the essence of the blood.
If at that point you've done everything right, you'll receive confirmation:
the quartz is actually soaking the blood into its many cracks and crevices. When
you're done, you'll have a dark crimson crystal which feels just a little warm
to the touch.
In the rest of the casting time, you're supposed to put a chain on it. You
can then take the money from the person who contributed the blood and give him
the amulet -- it'll only work for him, after all.
After that, if the wearer gets hurt sufficiently to need medical care, he
or anyone (including people he owes money to) can activate the amulet.
Immediately, his condition will stabilize (Medicine 41 used as First Aid will
even stabilize the newly dead) and over the course of the next day he will
almost cerently be restored to full health.
(Read: At the appropriate times in the healing period, the recipient gets
to make an Endurance check vs. his wound level, with at least a +9 bonus from
the amulet's Medicine skill. Failure is an option, but it's one that shouldn't
occur often. Note that because of the time push, one day is condensed into 1.5
hours, and three days is condensed into 4.5 hours.)
-David
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>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:49 1996
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 22:54:03 -0500
From: David Wood
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:124] Healing Critiques
In message <[email protected]> writes:
> So David, should we give people a little more time to post their
> versions of a healing spell or should we start without them?
We gave 'em fair warning. Let 'em suffer.
The thing I thought gave this exercise a real edge (and those who attempted it
hives) is the fact that Masterbook SFX are only really supposed to be used four
ways. And you'll see in a moment why they're out of order:
I'm looking now at the right column of page 139 here.
1) Damage & Interaction FX: Using Effect Value as Damage Value or Interaction
effects (as, say, Intimidation or Charm).
2) Simulating Skills: Using Effect Value to substitute for other skills, like
Medicine.
4) Changes: Pushing values up or down (like attributes).
Those are very strict, very closed definitions. There's little room for free
interpretation there. But then there's...
3) General Effects: Using the effect points or level of success for other
things.
Of the four, this stands out as the loosest and easiest to interpret in strange
and unusual ways. And in this case, that one is the best to use in this case,
since Medicine will only help with the healing process, not speed it along like
we need in this case.
The only limit on the power of General Effects is the ability of the player and
gamemaster to agree on how much value to place in the General Effect. On the one
hand, it makes the system much more open-ended. On the other hand, effects that
one GM accepts gladly another will throw out sight unseen.
Message 113a: The Undamaging Spell
It's a pretty straightforward way to use the table: the Effect Value is
read against Endurance and then used to determine damage healed. It's clever,
and compared to the other ways of restoring health, damned elegant.
I wonder if it would also be valid to read the General Success level as
damage healed, one wound for each level of success. Minimal recovers one wound,
Solid recovers two, Good recovers three, etc. There are a few other ways we
could add to it to give it validity.
Message 113b:
I'm actually more leery of this one than the first -- it could be argued
that the use of Unreal Effect would be redundant, since the effects of Medicine
(when used as First Aid) go away under the exact same conditions.
Message 114: the Amulet of Life
Oh great. I get to critique my own work now.
I wanted a spell that would get the person as close to fully healed as
possible; that's what a really good healing spell should do. And, naturally, I
wanted a really good effect.
If I just threw the effect into Medicine, then it would stabilize the
victim, and then give him bonuses to heal ...the next day. Unless he was heavied
or incapacitated, then the next healing check is three days off. The time had to
be cut down.
So I did. First I applied the effect to the time to heal, as a push down. A
day's healing would be crammed into an hour and a half. On the whole, a good
deal, I thought. I gave it sufficient duration to work through all six checks:
one at the very start, to the last fifteen hours later.
On the other hand, the effect was extraordinarily and heinously expensive,
and I had to knock it down somehow. I used a charge so I could increase the
casting time, used the components to build thing the spell would be charged
into, included the obligatory Concentration and Incantation, and attached some
provisi to keep just anyone from using the thing.
Now about the DN & FV... We were using the Mind in the formula for
comparing to Feedback. And with a Mind of 10, 17 is the highest Feedback that
will allow maximum damage with no wounds. Sure, there's a good bit of stun, but
since it's a charged spell, there will probably be time for the damage to heal
before it needs to be used.
Hope that covers it. Your turn, Jim...
-David
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>From [email protected] Jul 23 09:32:56 1996
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 14:10:39 -0500
From: Jim Ogle
Reply to: [email protected]
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [MASTERBOOK:127] Re: Healing Critiques
David writes:
> The thing I thought gave this exercise a real edge (and those who
> attempted it hives) is the fact that Masterbook SFX are only really
> supposed to be used four ways. And you'll see in a moment why they're
> out of order:
[1, 2, and 4 are fairly straightforward and narrowly defined]
> 3) General Effects: Using the effect points or level of success for other
> things.
> Of the four, this stands out as the loosest and easiest to interpret in
Which is putting it mildly, "other things" can cover quite a lot of ground!
[...]
> Message 113a: The Undamaging Spell
[my first spell]
> It's a pretty straightforward way to use the table: the Effect Value
> is read against Endurance and then used to determine damage healed. It's
> clever, and compared to the other ways of restoring health, damned elegant.
You think? I thought it was a bit too simplistic, but since healing is
the opposite of damaging I figured that if the latter is considered
permanent then the former would also not require a duration. But it
just seems that there should be more to a spell than assigning an
Effect Value and a Casting Time (which is really all there is to that
spell.)
> I wonder if it would also be valid to read the General Success level
> as damage healed, one wound for each level of success. Minimal recovers
> one wound, Solid recovers two, Good recovers three, etc. There are a few
> other ways we could add to it to give it validity.
That was originally what I wanted to do with it but the only thing I could
think of to compare the Effect Value to was the target's Endurance, and
if we're going to do that we might as well use the Damage table since it's
already there.
> Message 113b:
[my more complicated attempt]
> I'm actually more leery of this one than the first -- it could be
> argued that the use of Unreal Effect would be redundant, since the effects
> of Medicine (when used as First Aid) go away under the exact same conditions.
I guess I didn't explain what the spell was doing well enough - it isn't
a case of magical first aid, it's substituting the spell effect for the
Medicine skill when used to aid in the healing of wounds (a #2 effect)
combined with an illusion of that healing check being made immediately
rather than after a day of rest. I couldn't figure out a real way of
compressing the time down for the spell (as you did in your spell) so
I decided the healing wasn't real until enough time had passed for it
to occur naturally (hence the duration of one day.) As I noted in my
post this isn't perfect since it actually takes three days before you
get to make a healing roll when at Heavy or Incapacitated so either
this spell would only work when you were at any other Wound level but
those two or we fudged things and allowed one the effect to become
real after a day regardless of the wound level.
[David's spell]
> The time had to be cut down.
> So I did. First I applied the effect to the time to heal, as a push
> down. A day's healing would be crammed into an hour and a half. On the
> whole, a good deal, I thought. I gave it sufficient duration to work
> through all six checks: one at the very start, to the last fifteen hours
> later.
If I had thought of the push down for my spell then my second spell would
have ended up looking a lot like yours since that was close to the effect
I really wanted.
[...]
About the only critique I have on your spell is that it should probably
be Focused, otherwise the person will have to remain in the same location
as he released the spell for it to continue affecting him for the duration
of the spell.
Kansas Jim ([email protected])
