QUOTE (Sengir @ Oct 18 2017, 01:28 PM)
But wouldn't that also work in the different direction, with a hardcore elf poser suddenly sprouting real ears?
It's a problem, but I think the answer can be argued as no under typical circumstances.
In Earthdawn and Shadowrun (somewhat) we've seen and heard about rituals to "rename" something. The bloodwood/blood elves in earthdawn are an example of that. With powerful enough magic you could, in theory, alter someone's astral self in such a manner. In a distant future where the scientific method has "solved" magic perhaps turning a troll into a elf could be a relatively simple matter. In theory.
The heal spell simply, in my view, restores your body to what it should be according to your pattern. It's much easier to damage something than it is to rebuild it. A mage's damaged psyche can place a mental block on the reception of a healing spell preventing it from fully restoring the physical form. Because of that trauma, the spell either was blocked subconsciously or it simply did not respond because of the mental block and resulting damage to the pattern. Additionally, in my campaign example with the elf, she was an unaware physad in strong religious denial of magic whose mental block gave her a sort of subconscious masking. The mages in the group who carefully examined her aura did see the ears, but they can be missed upon first glance.
Back to your point more specifically, I do think it is possible it could go the other way, but given the difficulty of renaming, unless you're the Emperor of Mankind from WH40K, I don't think any amount of mental trauma or posing could will you into an elf simply given the level of mojo necessary to accomplish such a feat.
QUOTE (Kiirnodel @ Oct 18 2017, 10:29 PM)
Actually, the answer there is much simpler. The Heal spell can't heal any damage over an hour old. It doesn't fix scars, repair old damage, or anything like that. It has nothing to do with the subject's self-concept.
First, my game is in SR2 which has the treat spell which has the one hour limit not the heal spell. The heal spell, in second edition generally implies (but does not out right state IIRC no books with me at the moment) that you only get one chance to heal each set of wounds. Once magical healing is applied to a given set, those wound do not get a second bite at the apple.
I disagree that the heal spell (and similar spells) very much have to do with the target's pattern (which can be impacted by trauma and self-image). Otherwise, how does the spell "know" where the thigh bone connects to the hip bone? There has to be some sort of template or plan to follow. Shadowrun is quite clear that magic is not intelligent and must be directed or guided somehow. Also, Earthdawn and Shadowrun focus so much on patterns, true names, and such so intently that I can't see any other reasonable answer as to how the spells would otherwise work.
Also, as I explained with Fix, scars and old damage can potentially not be repaired because the subject has existed with them long enough to simply have them become a part of them. You're no longer who you were, but you are now that person + the scars. How long that transition takes, however, I think is a philosophical question that starts to get a bit weird depending on the person's views, experiences, trauma, aural damage, etc.