Advanced healing in combat

[doomwolf]

The following may be a minor spoiler for anyone who has not finished the Magnakai series.

Forum users have occasionally pointed out that during combat no other actions are permitted, such as use of a potion of Laumspur.
Does this mean that using Deliverance or high-level Curing to instantly regain Endurance is prohibited during combat?
Some fights in the Grandmaster series are hard enough even if you do use this ability!

[ramthelinefeed]

I imagined that the whole point of the discipline was that
you could magically repair your body before your opponent's eyes!

I'm sure the situation is made quite explicit in the discipine discription in the rules.... too lazy to go and look it up though ;-)

The giveaway perhaps is that Laumspur is always described as "can restore 4EP if swallowed AFTER combat"

[doomwolf]

You = correct.
Me = thick. Dur.

[Black Cat]

I think it is easier for a Grand Master to regain EP during a fight with his Curing habilities: it might take only 2-3 seconds to do that,just with his power of concentration.

It is another thing if you want to drink a Laumspur potion during a fight. You need to take out your backpack from your shoulders, open it, search the potion, open the bottle, drink it, discard the empty bottle, close your backpack and put it back on your shoulders. I don't think Lone Wolf would say to his ennemy: "Hey, can you hold my sword a second? I need a drink in my backpack". ;D

[doomwolf]

A good point well put, Black Cat. Another question does spring to mind though: should you be able to damage your opponent during the round in which you heal yourself, or do they get a "free hit" as if you were evading combat?

[Black Cat]

You have a good point too doomwolf: it's hard to concentrate to do two complicate things at the same time, in this case fighting (avoid to get hit and hit the ennemy) and heal yourself. It's a good idea to let the ennemy hit you without answering back, but maybe Joe thought of that when he made the rules. Maybe he planned that we should have a 30 EP boost, but we're getting only 20 EP because then Joe thought about the ennemy hitting us at the same time that we are healing. So, maybe the ennemy is taking away an automatic 10 EP while we're healing, and Joe decide to not waste his time by telling us this detail that doesn't change anything to the game.

[Nerethel]

Actually, I would say healing would work like Psi-Surge, and would be able to be used in combat the same way, as it's more or less a mental discipline. On the other hand, I would not use it in the same round I used Psi-Surge, taking up mental concentration and all.

Nerethel

[Sol]

Using potions while in combat is certainly frowned upon in the rules... it seems clear that this is not allowed. Even so, it is just too hard to let Lone Wolf die in a fight when he has a backpack full of healing potions!

If I were Lone Wolf, I would have my potions in the top of my backpack. Then I could just yoink them out like pulling out an arrow. For that matter, I should start keeping them in my extra quiver. Even better, I wish Lone Wolf had one of those Beer Helmets - you know, the kind that holds 2 cans of beer and has straws going into your mouth? That would be awesome! But can you picture Lone Wolf as a true hero while wearing such a headpiece?

It might be realistic to say that you can quaff a potion while IN combat if you give your opponent a "free hit." I usually don't do this either, though, since the fights where I need healing potions are usually so tough that I am likely to lose MORE than 4 points during that "free hit."

So I just assume that Lone Wolf is able to drink that potion during combat by avoiding the enemy like crazy... since he is doing nothing but avoidance/defending, maybe he should be able to pull it off.

The other reason I do this: I don't need the potion when the fight is over... at that point I can usually just rely upon my Healing skill to bring me back up.

Regarding the free boost of 20 EP, I imagine Lone Wolf just releases his healing power in one fantastic burst... which would take only a second or two, "video game style."

Another idea: Lone Wolf is mortal. Thus, his EP score (MAX) is set. When going into the next BIG fight, wouldn't it be nice if he could use his magic to extend this score a bit higher? After all, what is magic for? Well, technically he can't extend his EP any higher, but then again if you have a healing potion, you can push the envelope a bit.

Ridiculous idea: When you are done with your potion, save the bottle. For each section you pass through without combat, have Lone Wolf restore 1EP of healing to the bottle (only if you have Curing or Healing ability). This is a great way to use your +1 per section if you are already at your Max EP.

[Frying Pan]

Guest-Sol said:

Ridiculous idea: When you are done with your potion, save the bottle. For each section you pass through without combat, have Lone Wolf restore 1EP of healing to the bottle (only if you have Curing or Healing ability). This is a great way to use your +1 per section if you are already at your Max EP.

Hahahahahaha!

[Zipp]

If we look at the new RPG rules, you would be able to heal in combat, but it would cost you at least a round (done like escaping). However, this would also allow use of items in your backpack and I think Joe was trying to simplify the book's combat system and would probably say, "no, you can't do it"

Also, let's think about the combat: these are not monsters who are going to sit back and let Lone Wolf heal. Sure, you can say he goes and hides somewhere, but generally if he can find somewhere to hide, he has the option of evasion, which simulates him running to that spot.

[BenKenobi]

The rule says that you can use Deliverance if your Combat Skill goes under a number during a combat. Now, we know that Combat Skill can't go down during a combat ( there was another topic on this matter, it seems to be a typo ).
We have 2 choices:

1) If we say that the Combat Skill is the Endurance, well, we can use the Deliverance during a combat.
2) If we say that the Combat Skill is the Combat Skill (it isn't a typo), we can never use Deliverance.


....... I will go for the first one. It is a skill that the god Kai in person directly gave to Lone Wolf, and we know that a Grand Master Kai is more similar to a demi-god than to a mortal warrior, so what's the problem ?

For the use of potions during combat, it is clearly stated that we can't use them. We don't have the time to grab an item from the backpack during a combat.

[outspaced]

This was clarified in Lone Wolf Club Newsletter #24 page 3:

Please note that in some early editions of Grand Master gamebooks 13-17 a literal error appears in the rules for the Grand Master Discipline of Deliverance. The section should read ‘their ENDURANCE is reduced to 8 points or less’ (not ‘COMBAT SKILL’ is reduced).

So it isn't speculation, it really should read 'ENDURANCE'.

[Sol]

I feel that it is only fair that Deliverance should be usable during combat once your ENDURANCE falls to a certain level. That typo seems pretty obvious.

No potions during combat: so sad, but it seems so that you were never allowed to drink them in combat.

Here's an interesting speculation: could you drink a healing potion *just* before combat? Just before you roll your first random number for the fight? You can definitely drink a potion of Alether... probably you could drink a healing potion, too.

Do you think this should depend on the combat?

Do you think you could drink 2 or more potions? (would it be fair to drink 2 potions of Alether before combat, or say 2 Alether and 2 healing potions?)

Do Alether potions combine for a greater effect?

Can you somehow make your enemy drink a potion? (Gallowbrush for example)... what about poison-tipped arrows? There IS a Graveweed potion you can obtain in Kalte (is there one in book 1 also?) It would be cool to consider being struck by such an arrow as Instant Death.

[BenKenobi]

There's no automatic use for Gallowbrush, Graveweed and other potions besides Laumspur (and curative ones) and Alether.
It would be nice the rule of poisoned-arrows, but the combats are intended as hand-to-hand combat where you don't have time to use items, arrows, or anything else; you could win easily many combats with poisoned-arrows ( imagine defeating the Chaosmaster with a poisoned arrow ) ...

It seems that you can't drink a Laumpsur or curative potion before combat, because you can just use it to heal the wounds of that combat after. You can't heal your previous wounds.

The text doesn't forbid to use more than 1 Alether potion, as it isn't forbidden to use more than 1 Laumspur after a combat; it should be possible, and very useful against tough enemies ( it is full of nasty people )

[Zipp]

I always carried around a vial of graveweed in case I was about to die. Then i could drink it, commit suicide and laugh at the enemy as he ripped my slowly dieing body apart, causing me even more agony and...

... yeah, it didn't work out very well.