Heal v Heal Wound

[Rob Darvall]

I think I'm missing something.

Heal (spirit magic) takes x number of MP and converts them to HP

"Heal... Each point of Heal repairs 1 hit point in a designated location. The effect is immediate. If the location is not fully restored, Heal can be used again in subsequent melee rounds."

Heal Wound  does the same but costs a rune point as well.

"Heal Wound ...The spell converts magic points into hit points. The caster must simultaneously spend magic points equal to the points to be healed. This spell cures the damage in the locations being touched as well as total hit points."

Why the duplication? And more, why spend the Rune Point?

[daskindt]

Heal (Spirit Magic) is a variable spell and must be learned at a specific level (Heal 1/2/3/4/5/6). The maximum it can heal with a single use is equal to its rating. You can recast it, but each cast will require more Magic Points and an additional POW roll. You may need the healing to happen quickly or you may not want to make numerous rolls.

Heal Wound (Rune Magic) is learned with a single Rune Point. You cast it for 1 RP and then convert as many Magic Points into healing as you need. It happens on SR1 and you can heal as much damage to the target as you have Magic Points to spend. This gets you extremely powerful healing, extremely fast, and with a single roll against your associated Rune.

Edited November 15, 2018 by daskindt

[Rob Darvall]

Thanks.

It's the speed that makes the difference then. That and the fact that you can reattach limbs without working up to Heal 6, which is cheaper in the long term.

[PhilHibbs]

43 minutes ago, Rob Darvall said:

It's the speed that makes the difference then. That and the fact that you can reattach limbs without working up to Heal 6, which is cheaper in the long term.

Opinions vary as to whether the MP poured into the Heal Wound spell take up SR or not. I think the rules are fairly clear that they do, others think otherwise (and I may well houserule it this way).

The main difference is the second point, that Heal Wound is unlimited. Also, you can use your Rune rating instead of POW*5 to cast it so you might be able to cast Heal Wound reliably even if you have a modest POW.

Edited November 15, 2018 by PhilHibbs

[womble]

Also Heal 6 takes 6 points of Spirit Magic cap (CHA, by default), whereas Heal Wound just uses a Rune Point to cast. You might want more variation in your array of usable Spirit Magic than retaining the potential to cast a high strength Heal spell permits.

 

[Atgxtg]

7 hours ago, Rob Darvall said:

Thanks.

It's the speed that makes the difference then. That and the fact that you can reattach limbs without working up to Heal 6, which is cheaper in the long term.

Speed, plus the fact that you can affect multiple hit locations at once. 

 

6 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Opinions vary as to whether the MP poured into the Heal Wound spell take up SR or not. I think the rules are fairly clear that they do, others think otherwise (and I may well houserule it this way).

Depending on which way you go with it makes a difference as to just how useful Heal Wound is, too. If it all goes off in SR1, then it's a great "instant" heal. If not, then it could take a considerable amount of time-assuming that people wouldn't waste  Heal Wound for modest injuries. 

 

 

[womble]

I think there's another pointer that Heal Wound should take SR per MP: Heal Body is an instant total heal (trading 2 additional RP for the needed MP). The difference between that and Heal Wound becomes less marked if Heal Wound is also an SR1 spell regardless of size.

[Pentallion]

4 hours ago, womble said:

I think there's another pointer that Heal Wound should take SR per MP: Heal Body is an instant total heal (trading 2 additional RP for the needed MP). The difference between that and Heal Wound becomes less marked if Heal Wound is also an SR1 spell regardless of size.

I look at it from the other angle:  Heal 6 heals all 6 pts instantly.  Since when are Rune Spells out done in any single way by a spirit magic spell?  In every instance, the Rune magic is better or equal to the spirit magic.  So if Heal 6 heals instantly then it goes without saying that Heal Wound does too.

[PhilHibbs]

34 minutes ago, Pentallion said:

I look at it from the other angle:  Heal 6 heals all 6 pts instantly.  Since when are Rune Spells out done in any single way by a spirit magic spell?  In every instance, the Rune magic is better or equal to the spirit magic.  So if Heal 6 heals instantly then it goes without saying that Heal Wound does too.

Heal 6 takes DEX SR + 6.

[Atgxtg]

14 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Heal 6 takes DEX SR + 6.

Shouldn't that be DEX SR+5? I thought the first MP was still free.

[SDLeary]

7 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

Speed, plus the fact that you can affect multiple hit locations at once. 

Woo! Talk about ambiguity! Anyone know if this was intentional? I don't remember seeing anything in the Jason Answers thread.

SDLeary

Edited November 16, 2018 by SDLeary
wording

[Mechashef]

1 hour ago, Atgxtg said:

Shouldn't that be DEX SR+5? I thought the first MP was still free.

You are correct 

[PhilHibbs]

11 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

Shouldn't that be DEX SR+5? I thought the first MP was still free.

9 hours ago, Mechashef said:

You are correct 

Yes, I forgot which way the clarification had gone. So if you have a DEX SR of 1 then you can cast Healing at the same rank as Heal Wound, if you have DEX SR 0 then you can cast it 1 SR earlier.

[Atgxtg]

4 hours ago, PhilHibbs said:

Yes, I forgot which way the clarification had gone. So if you have a DEX SR of 1 then you can cast Healing at the same rank as Heal Wound, if you have DEX SR 0 then you can cast it 1 SR earlier.

Okay. I thought I remember which way the clarification had gone, but your post made me doubt. 

[soltakss]

Heal is a spell that must be bought and gained in increments. Heal 4 costs more than Heal 3, for example.

Heal Wound can be bought once and used as often as you have points in your Rune Pool and Magic Points.

You don't have to be an initiate in a cult to learn Heal, but you do to learn Heal Wound.

We played that Heal Wound went off at SR1, even with Magic Points stacked, but Heal costs SR to cast.

Heal Wound can heal very large wounds, but you need a large Heal to do the same.

In RQ2, there was a Powered Crystal that doubled Healing, so if you had a 4 point crystal it turned Heal 4 into Heal 8, however I am not sure if it worked with Heal Wound.

Certain Runespells provide all the Magic Points used to heal certain spells, for example Cure Chaos Wound. If cast with Heal Wound, this completely heals a wound, no matter how many points. If cast with Heal, it provides the Magic Points for just the Heal spell, so Heal 3 would heal 3 points but not cost any Magic Points.

 

[Atgxtg]

7 minutes ago, soltakss said:

In RQ2, there was a Powered Crystal that doubled Healing, so if you had a 4 point crystal it turned Heal 4 into Heal 8

I remember those! I miss all those wonky crystals. I hope they make a comeback in some way, maybe with a limit on them to keep them from being too powerful, now that the cap is off of Spirit Magic. 

[soltakss]

3 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

I remember those! I miss all those wonky crystals. I hope they make a comeback in some way, maybe with a limit on them to keep them from being too powerful, now that the cap is off of Spirit Magic. 

Soltak Stormspear had a 9 point Power Enhancing Crystal (Started off as a 6 pointer but gained an extra 1D3 on a HeroQuest) and a flawed 6 point Healing Focusing Crystal that added +1d4 Healing, but that extra cost double MPs. He found an piece of Jewellery once that was valued in the hundreds of thousands, so used it to buy a number of 9 point spells. He had something like 600 points of POW Crystals, so he could vast spells until the cows came home.

[Atgxtg]

Ow! The possibilities of that much POW plus enchantment is staggering. Especially if he has time to prepare. Enough multi-missiles to make a bow seem like a shotgun.

[soltakss]

3 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

Ow! The possibilities of that much POW plus enchantment is staggering. Especially if he has time to prepare. Enough multi-missiles to make a bow seem like a shotgun.

With Multispell III, he was quite effective.

[Skovari]

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

I remember those! I miss all those wonky crystals. I hope they make a comeback in some way, maybe with a limit on them to keep them from being too powerful, now that the cap is off of Spirit Magic. 

They are in the PDF of the adventure book available now.

[Atgxtg]

2 hours ago, soltakss said:

With Multispell III, he was quite effective.

Ow, Ow, Ow!

1 hour ago, Skovari said:

They are in the PDF of the adventure book available now.