When my bear shaman decides he really needs to kill someone fast, he wades into melee and starts passing around Death Touches at force 8. Doing the math on that, it's 2 drain, which can be bought off with my 8 dice of willpower + charisma. Mind you, I don't buy it off, I actually roll, but 1 hit per 4 dice is a good benchmark. My magic is 5, so force 8 is overcasting.

If he takes physical drain from overcasting, does it set off his berserk rage? According to the rules, it's "when you take physical damage in combat," but does that apply to drain. Maybe with emotions running high in a combat situation, a physical drain can set him off. Its been rare for my character to take physical damage so far, so in the situation this came up in, we went with it, but I'm interested in what the DS community thinks

Dread Polack

I would say no. Exhaustion/over working your body (basically what drain is an extreme form of) just doesn't seem to me to be the right thing to drive you into a killing rage. I'd be cool with a Bloodmage doing it though, sort of self harming to work yourself up.

I also would say no. But since there is no bonus for berserk rage, I would let the player decide.

Well, unless there's a mystic adept with Berserk involved. Which it seems to me there should be...

Can you take Berserk multiple times, and, if so, would they stack? That would be fairly pimp. And an efficient use of power points methinks...


Hmmm....troll mystic adept...Norse tradition...Berserk...ally spirit in the form of great big axe...

...yes...

I think I just soiled myself.

What was your troll adept rolling and how much damage was he rolling for?

My ninja adept rolled 9 dice for 10S damage, as far as I can remember.

Physical drain is physical damage, so yea it should definitely count. I don't view physical drain as exhaustion like Ophis suggested (that sounds like stun) - more as internal bleeding. I wouldn't even give it a second thought if I were the GM.

I had my Giant(Nordic troll) mystic adept Odinist shaman, who did indeed have Berserk. He didnt have the axe, though, he had the spear, which was the 'Gungnir' replica.

I do love that character as well.

As for the berserk Bear drain question, in a way, your Bear shaman, desperate, could 'berserk' and overcast a spell for the 'big bang', taking as many as he can with him. Sort of comboing the two.