Healing Breakthrough

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

The main area of the ArM magic system I'm dissatisfied with is the heavy limitations with healing and mending magics. Now, as SG, it's prest simplicity to house-rule, but as player, one would have to resort to breakthrough. Since in ArM5, the Lesser Limit of Creation no more includes healing, what kind of Hermetic Breakthrough and modifications to the existing system would be needed to make Healing and Mending spells able to permanently heal without need of Ritual and Vis ?

Some minor checks might be left in place, such as the need to expend fatigue levels, or to concentrate. Wished methods: Creo Animal/Corpus for healing wounds. Creo Animal/Herbam/Terram, to mend objects. Both of these would require expendng fatigue levels (normal, not long-term). Muto Animal/Corpus, for accelerating natural healing rates so that it occurs within minutes. Concentration would need to be maintained as long as accelerated healing takes place.

The Limit of Creation, requiring Vis to create permanent objects and creatures from nothing, would still remain in place. But healing or repairing damage from existing creatures and objects would have permanent effects by default, without need of vis.

It is meant that dying in combat would still be a serious issue, but if you survive it, mages with the appropriate Creo and Muto spells are able to quickly repair damage to themselves, associates, mounts, and equipment. Post-combat crippling and long-term lingering in bed from wounds and diseases become trivial, rare occurrences for covenants folks, and Creo/Corporem vis becomes roughly as precious and sought after as other forms (barring longevity rituals). Healing powers of mages become a significant motivation for mundanes to like the Order of Hermes.

2

Since healing is natual, I could see a Rego effect to accelerate th healing process.

Something in these lines:

Health of Tomorrow
ReCo(Cr) 25

This spell forces the body to accelerate it's healing process allowing to heal twice as fast as one would usually be able to.

The strain to the body is such that the target must make an aging roll but can add the medecine/Cirurgy skills that are used to attend to his wounds as a bonus in addition to the LP bonus if applicable.

(Base 10?, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, Ind; Free Rq) serf's parma

Blessing of the Moon
ReCo(Cr) 35

This spell forces the body to accelerate it's healing process allowing to heal much faster than one could usually be able to.

Under the comfort of the moon glow, the target will feel his body rejouvenating. During the day, he will suffer the pains of the wounds as he never did before.

The strain to the body is such that the target must make an aging roll but can add the medecine/Cirurgy skills that are used to attend to his wounds as a bonus in addition to the LP bonus if applicable.

(Base 15? [Tripple the healing speed], +1 Touch, +3 Moon, Ind; Free Rq) Serf's Parma

These two spells are most effective with the combilation of a CrCo spell to add a bonus to the recovery.

W

3

After looking further into the recovery rules, here are some refined suggestions:

Health of Tomorrow
ReCo(Cr) 30

This spell forces the body to accelerate it's healing process allowing to heal light wounds faster than one would usually be able to.

Mandicus of Flambeau used this spell a number of times to help in the war against the infidels, readying the holy troops for yet another day of war.

Instead of rolling for recovery every week, you can roll every day while under the effect of this spell.

(Base 15, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, Ind; Free Rq)

Blessing of the Moon
ReCo(Cr) 40

This spell forces the body to accelerate it's healing process allowing to heal much faster injuries up to medium level than one would usually be able to.

Under the comfort of the moon's glow, the target will feel his body rejuvenating. During the day, he will suffer the pain of the wounds as he never did before.

Mandicus of Flambeau loved to look at the moon during the calm nights of the holy land. He often used this spell to help in the war against the infidels, readying the holy troops for yet another day of war.

Lower the interval for the recovery roll by one increment while under the effect of this spell. Light wounds recovery rolls are rolled for recovery every day while recovery for medium wounds are rolled every week.

(Base 20, +1 Touch, +3 Moon, Ind; Free Rq)

Blessing of the Full Moon
ReCo(Cr) 50

This spell forces the body to accelerate it's healing process allowing to heal much faster all injuries than one would usually be able to.

Under the comfort of the Full moon's glow, the target will feel his body rejouvenating. During this single night, the target will feel the evergy of the moon flowing into his vains.

Mandicus of Flambeau, with the help of his focus with the moon, created this mighthy healing spell. In dire times, he used this spell to help in the war against the infidels, readying the holy troops for yet another day of war.

Make one recovery roll to see if the target heals all his wounds.

The strain to the body is such that the target must make an aging roll but can add the medecine/Cirurgy skills that are used to attend to his wounds as a bonus in addition to the LP bonus if applicable.

(Base 35, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, Ind; Free Rq)

These tree spells are most effective with the combination of a CrCo spell to add a bonus to the recovery roll.

W

4

How about using PeCo to age the wound?
Not sure of the level of spell required...it might cause warping.

5

Perdo only makes things less perfect - so a PeCo on a wound could make it grow infected or such, but not heal it...

6

Well, Perdo magic will never have a positive effect on the target. It can benefit on a global vue but I doubt we can acheive this in this specific case.

I can very well see a PeCo effect to age the wound rapidely so that th body cannot catch up. This would have the effect or worsening the wound by one level (Light>Medium>Heavy>Incap)

Creo can heal/clense the wound or give it a bonus ro recovery
Intellego can gather all the info about it.
Muto can render it smaller or bigger for a duration
Perdo can worsen it
Rego can force it to undergo it's different natural states.

W

7

Removing the bothersome grogs wound (PeCo 20)
(Touch, mom, ind)

"Removes" a wound - leaving a bigger wound in its place. Effectivly turning any wound into a heavy wound. As a up side it also removes any infection in the wound (since the infected flesh is removed), and gives a +1 on recovery rolls.
Using this spell on an incapasitating wound is likely fatal.

This spell was invented by Chriselda ex Bonisagus of Heavenspire after being bothered by the grogs about helping to remove their wounds. The wording was probably not the wisest.

8

Thanks to all for the interesting ideas, even if an important part of my original question has been as yet unanswered so far: what kind of breakthrough would be necessary to make Creo magics able of healing and repairing (only that; I want the Limit of Creation still in place) permanently, without vis ??

Healing is not more a part of the Limit of Creation, so I'm undecided between Minor and Major.

9

Minor, probably. All the above spells seem suitable tradeoffs, though. you get recovery, but you age as a consequence. tough luck :slight_smile:

Cheers,

Xavi

10

The problem I have with "sped-up recovery" is that you could easily apply the very same reasoning to fatigue levels, thus violating two limits (creation, energy) for the price of one.

That makes for a heck of a breakthrough.

11

After reading the description of Perdo on page 78 I see the error of my thought. Aging a wound cannot result in healing. Niether can Perdo destroy an infections ability to spread. This made me wonder. If a wounded person is aged 5 years with PeCo magic do his wounds heal as if 5 years had passed? This would make healing with perdo magic possible albeit with the downside of becoming 5 years older.

And now for something more relevant to the thread. What level of breakthrough would it be to discover a way to transfer body levels between people? I'm thinking of drain life magic. The caster loses a light wound while a stupidly loyal shield grog gains one. Or the wounds are traded like fatigue is in the gift of vigor spell. The limit of energy deals with restoring fatigue levels so I don't see this as preventing the transference of injuries. Nor does it seem clear that any other limits prevent this from being done.
Thoughts anyone?

Hail Eris!
Flarg

12

no - it makes the body 5 years more decrepit, suffering all side effects of that, but no other change -- eg hair and nails don't grow 5 years longer (though it may fall out if aging makes you go bald) clothes don't age (unless included in spell!)

Look again at the Aging PeCo example and the Perdo introduction (in the 15 Arts section), and you'll see that you can't make a youngster age with Perdo, as it increases and improves them - you can speed up their growth with Rego, or improve them with Creo, but to age them you must wait until they are mature...

Hermetic Magic (in 5e) is quite tightly constrained - non-Hermetic magic can quite likely have a specific "Aging" power that ages by 5 years - and could include maturing youngsters and healing wounds in the "elapsed" time... Just not hermetic stuff...

13

Well, given that a Minor breakthrough is well within the possibility of a magus with decent CrCo or CrAn Lab Totals, I'd prefer pursue the development of permanent MoM CrCo rather than spells with the drawback of aging. Even if the proposed spells which don't cause aging roll side effects (Health of Tomorrow and Blessing of the Moon) look like quite interesting additions to an hermetic healer mage's toolset in addition to Creo spells. Blessing of the Full Moon might be occasionally useful in emergencies or for Rego specialists who don't have access to 45 CrCo spells, especially if the subject is a mage or has respite from aging due to Virtues like Faerie Blood or Unaging.

While I do share the OOC game reasons behind the Limit Of Creation, and may find sufficient justification for it within the overall structure and philosophy of the Hermetic magic system, I judge the non-permanent healing limitation of Creo magics unreasonable and contradictory with the overall hermetic magic system, and the OOC gaming supposed "reasons" (stopping D&D-like instant healings) unfounded (IMO, heroically dying in combat is an interesting dramatic occurrence; lying in bed from wounds for days, weeks, or months, generally yields no dramatic interest).

14

Unless their is a beautiful maiden tending you that you have a chance to woo