The following rules are established as guidelines for how individuals are affected by magical weapons, spells, greater powers, etc., in terms of damage to the physical body and the time/effort it takes to heal such damage.
Two-point damage occurs from minor magical weapons or spells, such as the creations of Shadow mages. Such damage involves no Greater Power other than magic, and so damage can be healed without too much difficulty.
Four-point damage occurs from powerful magical weapons or spells. Such damage usually involves no Greater Power other than magic, and so damage can be healed through normal means.
Eight-point damage occurs when a weapon or spell has been infused with the energy of a Greater Power, such as Logrus, Pattern, or Abyss. Instant death is possible, depending upon the wound and the opponents' Warfare. These wounds are magical in that they negate the victim's ability to heal him or herself. In such cases, outside aid is usually necessary...as is the passage of time. Logrus tendrils and Abyssal manifestations do eight-point damage, assuming that they penetrate the victim's defenses.
Sixteen-point damage occurs only very rarely, and usually manifests itself as Primal damage. In the case where a sixteen-point weapon is being used against a defender who possesses the same power infusing the weapon, however, the only real effect is that the healing process takes twice as long. There is no immediate incapacitating effect.
Primal damage only occurs when the power infusing the weapon is diametrically opposed to the power protecting (or affecting) the victim and the damage-causing power of the item is at the level of a 16-point item. Examples include:
Primal damage is the most immediately incapacitating damage capable of being inflicted upon a character, and usually results in the immediate death of the individual. The primary determining factor in such a case is the level of power possessed by the defending individual.
If the resisting power is only of Basic level, then the individual will most likely die within minutes unless an outside party intervenes. The wound will immediately knock the victim unconscious if it is a mortal wound, and the individual will be unable to flee, even via Trump.
An Advanced level character will survive, but must flee immediately and obtain assistance, or the individual will die without outside aid. The individual will not immediately lose consciousness, but will be unable to concentrate sufficiently to manifest a Greater Power, save for a previously-racked spell.
An Exalted-level character will be able to continue fighting in spite of the destruction being wreaked upon his or her body. The individual will be able to heal him or herself (provided he or she has the means), assuming he or she isn't wounded further.
The healing of primal damage is painfully slow, akin to the time it takes a normal human to heal a life-threatening wound. The character can expect to spend months bed-ridden, and years afterward rehabilitating his or her body. It may take decades to completely restore the individual's full physical potential, in terms of Strength, Endurance and Warfare.
The true power of a Pattern blade is its ability to damage a foe in such a way that his or her supernatural abilities cannot immediately heal the wound. The stability of the Pattern works in such a way as to make the wound permanent...resisting all attempts to change (or heal).
Logrus damage causes the natural (or supernatural) healing abilities to malfunction, causing the body to consume itself through cancerous growth, or causing it to generate toxins. Any attempts to heal Logrus damage hastily will only damage the individual further, and possibly prove fatal. The key to healing Logrus damage is to go slowly and to excise as much tissue as possible without killing the patient.
Abyssal damage is by far the worst. Tissue simply dies and fails to respond to all healing techniques. The only real way to restore Abyssally-damaged tissues is by exposure to a Greater Power or by excising the tissue.
There are a great many factors which govern the time it takes to heal from serious wounds. The chart below provides a vague explanation of the severity of wounds and the time it takes to recover from them.
2-Point | 4-Point | 8-Point | 16-Point | Primal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Human Endurance | Incapacitating (months/years) |
Fatal | Fatal | Fatal | Fatal |
Chaos Endurance | Serious (months) |
Incapacitating (years) |
Fatal | Fatal | Fatal |
Amber Endurance | Minor (weeks) |
Serious (months) |
Incapacitating (years) |
Fatal | Fatal |
Basic Shapeshifting | Minor (minutes/hours) |
Serious (days) |
Serious (years) |
Incapacitating (decades) |
Fatal |
Advanced Shapeshifting | Minor (minutes) |
Major/Serious (hours) |
Serious (weeks/months) |
Serious (years) |
Incapacitating (decades) |
Certain factors may also speed up the healing process significantly.
Please note that these are only guidelines; they are not meant to be 'writ in stone'. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact the GM.
All text on this page is © 1997-2000 by Matthew Richardson and Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on October 13, 2000 by Kris Fazzari.