Healing Magic in RQII Elric

[GevatterHein]

Hello,

may be I have missed something - but I didn't find any healing magic in the Elric core book. So there has to be discovered a healing rune, I suppose?

This Heal Rune could look like this: To work properly this rune has to be inscribed on the wounded hit location but will heal wounds permanent at the rate of 1 hit point per Magic point invested. And will attach severd limbs if you invest enough magic points i.e. 8 magic points for an arm with 4 hit points (to heal the location from -4 to it's maximum hit points of 4 again). In the latter case the sorcerers maximum Magic Points are reduced by this amount for, say, 24 hours before they regenerate normally. Or would that be to powerfull?

Any Comments?

Gevatter

 

[Loz]

You're right. There is no healing magic, and this is quite deliberate.

No healing magic is ever displayed anywhere in the saga, save for the herbs Elric sometimes uses and the Nanorian stone he gets to rouse Myshella from a sorcerous slumber.

Even Elric, the greatest sorcerer in the world, never displays knowledge of healing magic.

But, by all means create a Rune of Healing for your game; however, as the saga is concerned - and the game is designed to reflect the Elric saga, first and foremost - healing is by conventional means.

 

[GevatterHein]

Loz, how right you are. But there are my players - they only know DnD. The game starts next week with character creation. We will play the very old Stealer of Souls Adventure by Ken Rolston. May be they will discover the rune, may be not. I will see how it develops...

Gevatter

 

[Vagni]

Hello,

may be I have missed something - but I didn't find any healing magic in the Elric core book. So there has to be discovered a healing rune, I suppose?

This Heal Rune could look like this: To work properly this rune has to be inscribed on the wounded hit location but will heal wounds permanent at the rate of 1 hit point per Magic point invested. And will attach severd limbs if you invest enough magic points i.e. 8 magic points for an arm with 4 hit points (to heal the location from -4 to it's maximum hit points of 4 again). In the latter case the sorcerers maximum Magic Points are reduced by this amount for, say, 24 hours before they regenerate normally. Or would that be to powerfull?

Any Comments?

Gevatter

I don't play Elric but there is a similar thing in historic Vikings campaigns where you downplay the magic rules.

I've decided to play this by allowing sacrifices of bullocks to the alfs in the burial mounds as a mechanic to (possibly) receive magical overnight healing for the players. I've also stressed the importance of using Hero Point's wisely to the players.

It's years since I read Elric but maybe a similar thing could be done with various demons or powerful spirits whilst still being in the spirit of the Elric saga.

No doubt they would want a bit more than a bullock though...

 

[Mongoose Pete]

There's also the idea of downplaying the frequency of combat, or at least deadly combat.

Make sure you start the game by stressing the lack of healing magic and fragility of characters. Then use some of the following.

1) Set up other sorts of challenges instead of combat - such as having negotiations in places where combat is forbidden (royal throne room for example); art, craftsmanship, seduction to gain the attention of a patron, encourage chases and stealth to avoid superior foes, or use the environment or weather to test the PCs.

2) When fighting does occur, make sure most combats are against mooks of little threat (30+% lower skills than the PCs).

3) Ensure PCs get access to decent armour whether by boosting starting money or presenting it as a gift early on in the campaign.

4) Allow loooong periods of time to pass between violent encounters by travelling between far flung places, resting as honoured guests, extended periods of carousing etc. This allows wounds to heal naturally and in sync with the verisimilitude of the EC sagas (this is done similarly in Conan and other S&S tales too).

5) reserve truly dangerous fights to the final climax of the entire scenario.

Lastly

6) Not every fight needs to be to the death. There can be challenges over reputation, slighted lovers, political one-upmanship and so on. The objective isn't to kill, but rather to capture, belittle, warn-off etc.

Running a good Elric or even Viking game is all about pacing.

 

[PhilHibbs]

If a Rune can make you immune to bladed weapons, then maybe a Rune could be called upon to make you immune to the detrimental effects of that sucking chest wound that you have, at least for a while.

 

[Vagni]

There's also the idea of downplaying the frequency of combat, or at least deadly combat.

Make sure you start the game by stressing the lack of healing magic and fragility of characters. Then use some of the following.

Running a good Elric or even Viking game is all about pacing.

Very true, that's very good advice.

I think that's why my players were so cautious in facing that 'troll' in my game recently. As they did so well with it I threw in another encounter with the local bully and his mates on the way home - the fight was vicious but not deadly and the bad guys went off to lick their wounds and plan their lawsuit for the spring assembly.

I plan to have several weeks downtime between each scenario in my campaign.

 

[GevatterHein]

A lot of good ideas. Many thanks for your advice! I will start without Healing Magic - and see how the first combat encounter in the adventure (Assins in Ambush) will play out. I very much like theIdea to summon some demon to get some Healing - for a price. Of course it depends on the players an the characters they whish to create.

Again - many thanks for your ideas

Gevatter

 

[havercake lad]

Lack of healing magic is, as noted by Loz, a feature of the Elric series. Replacement limbs and other body parts might exist in some realms, but these would require terrible bargains with great powers. (Look at the Corum series). It should be used sparingly though..just read Moorcock's lampoon in 'The Stone Thing'!!

 

[havercake lad]

Loz, how right you are. But there are my players - they only know DnD. The game starts next week with character creation. We will play the very old Stealer of Souls Adventure by Ken Rolston. May be they will discover the rune, may be not. I will see how it develops...

Gevatter

Re Stealer of Souls
There are some continuity errors with canon (as a lot of UK readers never read the fuller version of 'Stormbringer' during the 70's and 80's) and its still old style deamons and temples a go-go.
That said it's easily refined/adapted to taste. I expanded it and ran a whole campaign around it for three terms a couple of years back.
J

 

[GevatterHein]

True, Stealer of Souls i pretty old style. But it appeals to me. So far I have converted the Stats and will see how it runs. And yes - I love old school - er old style gaming

Gevatter

 

[Loz]

Quick thought Gevatter - do you know about Eternal Con?

http://www.eternal-con.de/

You may well have been to Tentacles, its predecessor, or heard about it. Always lots of Eternal Champion gaming to be had there.

 

[GevatterHein]

I have heard of tentacle but never stayed there. My last Con I visited was around 1985 at Hamburg. hmmmm - start thinking.

Gevatter

 

[Jujitsudave]

1) Set up other sorts of challenges instead of combat - such as having negotiations in places where combat is forbidden (royal throne room for example); art, craftsmanship, seduction to gain the attention of a patron, encourage chases and stealth to avoid superior foes, or use the environment or weather to test the PCs.

2) When fighting does occur, make sure most combats are against mooks of little threat (30+% lower skills than the PCs).

3) Ensure PCs get access to decent armour whether by boosting starting money or presenting it as a gift early on in the campaign.

4) Allow loooong periods of time to pass between violent encounters by travelling between far flung places, resting as honoured guests, extended periods of carousing etc. This allows wounds to heal naturally and in sync with the verisimilitude of the EC sagas (this is done similarly in Conan and other S&S tales too).

5) reserve truly dangerous fights to the final climax of the entire scenario.

Lastly

6) Not every fight needs to be to the death. There can be challenges over reputation, slighted lovers, political one-upmanship and so on. The objective isn't to kill, but rather to capture, belittle, warn-off etc.

Running a good Elric or even Viking game is all about pacing.

I do most of these and it really does work.