(TFT) TFT: Heal Spell Correction

["Dave Seagraves" <dseagraves@austin.rr.com>]

   Something about the Heal spell -- Andrew Morris' and my own versions --
has been bothering me for the past year or so now, but I just couldn't put
my finger on what it was.  Now I've figured it out.
   In my face-to-face campaign here in Austin, I've witnessed characters get
sliced, diced, and bashed about by opponents.  After every fight, no matter
how bad the injuries, and no matter how many characters are near death, just
/one/ character with Heal is required to bring everyone up to full strength
in a relatively short amount of time.  That's not heroic fantasy, that's D&D
. . .  /BAD/ D&D!
   (This is similar to a certain power in Champions: "I use my Mind Scan to
locate Dr. Destroyer so we can go kick his ass.  I have Mind Scan on a 4 or
less, so I'll keep rolling dice until I get it.  Here goes . . .")
   But aside from all that, there's a serious balance problem here.  Which
would you rather take?  Master Physicker or Heal?  To help us decide, let's
make a table!  (I just love tables, don't /you/?)

                   IQ   IQ Points        Requirements
Physicker          11   2                Physicker's Chest
Master Physicker   14   4                None/Physicker's Chest
Heal               12   1 (3 for Hero)   ST and time to recharge

                   Benefits
Physicker          Heal 2 hits per wounding incident in 5 minutes
Master Physicker   Heal 1 or 3 hits per incident in 5 minutes
Heal               Heal 1+ hits (depending on ST available) in 5 /seconds/;
                   eventually heal /all/ hits on /everyone/, given enough
                   time and rest

   Seems pretty obvious to me.  Heal has Master Physicker beat hands down.
Heal has a lower IQ requirement, a lower IQ point cost, takes less time to
perform, and has no upper limit on the number of hits that can be healed per
figure.
   Heal potions also fare very poorly against a Heal spell.  They cost $150
a pop, whereas Heal is free.

   So how do we fix it?  Simple, really.  Here's the updated spell:

IQ 17 SPELLS
HEAL (T): This spell heals physical wounds with a successful spell roll.
   Cost: 5 ST for every hit healed, but only 4 ST if wizard also has the
   Priest talent, or only 3 ST if wizard is also a Theologian - but only
   if gods really do exist in the GM's campaign (and the wizard worships
   a benevolent one) - otherwise the cost is 5 ST for everyone.  You can
   assume gods do exist if you're playing solitaire.  A failed DX roll to
   cast Heal costs only 1 ST.
      Also, just like the Physicker talents this spell will only work once
   for each episode of being wounded, such as combat.  Any remaining hits
   taken must be healed normally.  [Andrew Morris]

   The first change I made is to prevent unlimited healing by making Heal
work similar to the Physicker talents, the purpose of the spell's second
paragraph above.  You can still heal up completely -- even from near
death -- but only if you spend enough ST the /first/ time you successfully
cast the spell.  (So a 40 ST Heal -- if you can swing it -- will fully
restore a figure who's taken 8 hits.)  Another wizard in the party with Aid
would be handy here.
   The other change is to increase the IQ requirement.  Even with the above
change -- which I felt was absolutely necessary -- Heal is still more
powerful than Master Physicker.  I estimate about 3 IQ more powerful (IQ 14
base, +1 for speed, +1 for potentially increased maximum, +1 for no
equipment necessary = 17), which makes Heal an IQ 17 spell, which sounds
about right.  (The lower IQ point cost is already balanced by the ST (i.e.
fatigue) cost for casting -- a relationship that already exists between
talents and spells -- so no change needed there.)
   These two changes should work well for both Andrew's and my versions of
this spell (although mine is better).  8^)  It's still a powerful spell, but
now it's not so dominating, leaving plenty of room for healers and healing
potions.  It's a spell that a powerful wizard, healer, or high priest would
likely have in his repertoire, and a spell I'd like a few of my own wizards
to have.

Pfc. Dave Seagraves, Scout/Sniper, 101st Airborne
Division, attached to HQ Company, 36th Infantry Div.
Texas Military Historical Society (WWII reenactors)
1 (512) 835-7527   http://members.aol.com/txmhs


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