QUOTE (Irion @ Mar 8 2012, 01:45 PM)
@snowRaven
First of all I think heal is a mana based spell. (But I have to check the books)
Second of all, of course can astral based damage be healed by first aid, if you find a way.
Thats why I am against OPENING such a way...
If a damage track is shared between body and astral form, you might just heal or stabalize the body. (Heal would be unable ot heal drain damage per RAW, thats why you have to use first aid!)
What you say has just no bases in RAW. You are jumping from one houserule to the next to get around the partially horrible implications of the previous houserule.
Since the attributes are replaced it would be based on willpowe either way. One other point, why your interpretation is in conflict with RAW.
Well, how about like said in the rules?
You zoom out, both parts keep the damage already done. (RAW)
If merge again I would add any additional damage together, because no damage was healed/should be lost or duplicated.
So there is no "mess". If you bring a messed up mind in a messed up body you are in for acardiac arrest.
But in the love of good: How often does this happen? And how often can I afford drones healing up my body....
Being able to use First Aid on the astral plane is out, I'd say. Heal is a mana spell nowadays, though - I stand corrected (I was in a real hurry when I wrote that previous post - sorry about all the chaos there). So even with two tracks, all you need is a Spirit of Man with Heal to tag along and play 'WoW-priest' on the astral.
If you base the astral physical damage track on Willpower, you can also end up with the situation where your astral damage is enough to kill your body if you merge - even if the body is undamaged (if you have a low body and high will). Inelegant.
Also - new can of worms with two damage tracks: - You have 6 boxes of damage, and project. On the astral you use a Heal spell while someone on the physical plane applies First Aid - each side heals 3 boxes of damage, but when the bodies merge they get 6 boxes again?
- You have 6 boxes of damage and project. On the astral you heal 3 boxes. On the physical, someone shoots you and does 4 boxes of damage. In the astral you take 2 boxes of damage in astral combat. How many boxes of damage do you have when you merge, and how many of those could be healed?
- You have 6 boxes of damage and project. A heal spell heals 6 boxes on your astral form. You merge. How much damage do you have? Can it be treated with first aid?
- You have 5 boxes of stun. You project. Your body is comatose and should heal stun damage because it's resting - can you add Willpower to that roll (or even make it?) Assuming you can make it, you rest away 2 boxes of stun while you are out. Your astral form isn't resting and doesn't heal - how many boxes do you have when you merge?
I find the whole idea of introducing a separate astral track to be quite inelegant since it has no precedence in any pre-existing rule, creates a situation where a being may take nearly twice as much damage as before and still live (only in very rare situations, I know), is the exact opposite of how it worked in previous editions, and opens a can of tangled worms when you can apply healing separately to the same pre-existing damage on different forms...
Oh, another interesting situation, kind of related to the partially de-railed original thread: If you rule that the astral and physical bodies are so separate as to have different tracks, what happens if you hit the body with a manabolt? Can it still resist with Willpower even though the mind is 'out', or does it become immune?
I think we can all (?) agree on a few RAW-supported statements though:
- Damage modifiers won't cross from physical to astral unless the damage existed prior to projection.
- The astral body can die while the physical lives on, and vice versa.
- Both forms react when either is damaged.
The only question is how much house ruling should be done to try and merge those statements with the rules.
- One track, full modifers for both, yet only one form at a time can die. (contradicts one RAW statement, and not especially pretty)
- Two tracks, separate modifiers; whenever the forms merge so does the damage. (house rule, but possibly RAI; new mechanic)
- One track, but separate modifiers, yet only one form at a time can die. (house rule, but possibly RAI; variant of existing mechanic)
All versions create their own problems, none of them is strictly RAW, and all have their own unique brand of abuse.