From: Michael C. Morrison 8-543-4706 (mmorrison@VNET.IBM.COM)
Date: Wed 17 Sep 1997 - 23:01:03 EEST
Jane wonders what healers do ... So I present my views:
Because a standard Chalana Arroy healer is a pacifist, there is a
real danger that players will treat the healer as a cardboard
character, only useful for resurrection. But healers can do so
much more, even in an old-fashioned RQ2-style game:
- - heal anybody without magic. Not a CA-exclusive skill, but not
especially common for non-CAs.
- - heal with magic. Heal 6 may be too common in some games, but CAs
almost always have it before other PCs.
- - heal _anybody_ with magic. CAs don't need Xenohealing (which I
believe is no longer part of RQ ... unfortunate).
- - use divine magic to restore limbs that were lost. Uniquely CA when
you no longer have the missing limb to reattach ...
- - heal with plants and herbs and stuff. Again, other folks can have
the Find Healing Plants skill, but CAs are almost always masters.
Besides, they have Preserve Herbs, which makes the stuff much more
useful.
- - detect and heal poison. Also not unique to CA, but not too common
for others.
- - detect and cure disease. Very handy when fighting Malians.
- - put foes to sleep, and thus remove their threat. An underused
tactic in many games because of the side effects.
- - and, of course, raise the dead. Rare, but extremely useful.
- - and more!
With so many of the spells and skills available to others, it might
seem that CAs are redundant. Not so! Look at all the features you
get in one convenient package! Even a new CA priestess is a better
healer than experienced priests of other cults.
If you add in the fact (IMG) that healing potions and antidotes are
expensive and hard to come by, and that not every village has a CA
temple for handy resurrection, the PCs come to rely on their own CA
priestess for healing, and come to respect her. Even if she couldn't
fight her way out of paper bag (if paper bags were to be found and
thought to be combative ...).
Michael
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Michael C. Morrison Santa Teresa Laboratory Phone (408)463-4706
IMS User Technology IBM Software Solutions Fax (408)463-3696
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