[.11] Are you Healed?

[jwconvery]

We have Reduced and No Effect as calls from the defender, why is this question from the attacker?
Theoretically, it just adds 3 words to the end of every verbal during combat.

I feel if this situation is common enough in the Monster DB to warrant a shout-out in the packet, we should standardize a call from the defender. Previously, in our chapter, there was an "Got it, Appears to heal me" from the defender. Is the idea you can have a dedicated "Are you healed" guy in the back line of a fight just asking everyone?

I'm worried this is going to be real annoying in an actual fight, and add a ton of extra verbals. Someone like me will just add it onto the verbal, when hitting an NPC with a new effect, but I know many other members/plot in my chapters will find that audio-bloat super irritating. However, it's the only way for an attacker to realize something funky is going on.

I'm sure this was discussed by those play-testing before me, can someone fill me in on the rationale?

-Joe

 

[MaxIrons]

I know Oregon has an LCO calls of Healed if healed by a non-standard effect group. (Healing and Necro are the two standard effect groups). We also have Altered where you take something as something else. Though it doesn't tell you what that something else is. (Classic example is a bird monster that is attacking with its beak. Bind is taken as Pins instead because it can't fly around. )

They both seem to be very helpful and intuitive.

 

[Gilwing]

I think the intent was that by the attacker asking, they are spending the time to focus in and pay attention to notice that it's healing the target.

 

[MaxIrons]

I think the intent was that by the attacker asking, they are spending the time to focus in and pay attention to notice that it's healing the target.

No argument on the intent. Juzt a personal preference to reduce the amount of verbal back and forth on the field. It makes puzzle monsters a scoche more difficult to use. I think it's a net gain for the game to just ID that Flame heals the Flame Elemental and be done with it. But... that is one of the things LCO rules are for.

 

[jwconvery]

On the comment about puzzle monsters, that actually increases the verbals in my mind.
With the rules intentionally hiding 'healed by' behind an attacker prompted verbal, it makes puzzle monsters easier to use. Then if players start seeing puzzle monsters, they'll start spamming the "Are you healed?" call for a while, which makes puzzle monsters harder to use again. So ultimately, the players will be rewarded for spamming the call, which can encourage them to do it more.

I think, with or without the attacker prompted verbal, puzzle monsters will only be good in situations where the PC's aren't looking for them. So I would prefer the option with less verbal garbage during combat.

IMO, any rule that requires/encourages more OOG noise should be seriously looked at. Especially one that can/will be spammed in combat.

 

[Polare]

Adding "Healed" as a standard informative response when healed by non-standard effects was discussed but ultimately rejected by the Owners. Instead, a compromise was reached to allow for a National mechanism that many chapters (such as what Ben posted for Oregon) have LCO'd over the years.

Our expectation is that in normal play, this won't come up much. When someone wants to (in-game) closely examine what they're fighting during combat to try and find out if their blows are chipping away at it or actually putting it back together, they can ask the clarifying "Are you healed?" question to find out.

-Bryan

 

[Gilwing]

On the comment about puzzle monsters, that actually increases the verbals in my mind.
With the rules intentionally hiding 'healed by' behind an attacker prompted verbal, it makes puzzle monsters easier to use. Then if players start seeing puzzle monsters, they'll start spamming the "Are you healed?" call for a while, which makes puzzle monsters harder to use again. So ultimately, the players will be rewarded for spamming the call, which can encourage them to do it more.

I think, with or without the attacker prompted verbal, puzzle monsters will only be good in situations where the PC's aren't looking for them. So I would prefer the option with less verbal garbage during combat.

IMO, any rule that requires/encourages more OOG noise should be seriously looked at. Especially one that can/will be spammed in combat.

If the players are "spaming" "are you healed?" that's just lest time that they are spending attacking. Slowing down combat is good, right?

 

[Captnb]

As it is written, it looks to me like only the person landing the potentially healing effect can ask "are you healed?". Is this the intent, or can someone else watching the combat ask the question?

 

[jwconvery]

If the players are "spaming" "are you healed?" that's just lest time that they are spending attacking. Slowing down combat is good, right?

I don't think so. It will just make combat a bit louder/hectic. "Are you healed" isn't part of the actual call, so it doesn't need to be completed before swinging/throwing things. I'm not worried about "5 normal" guy spamming "Are you healed" on each swing. More like every spell effect, and the general "Are you Healed"/"No" audio added into every single fight. I don't think players will spam it repeatably for the same effect, on the same npc. However, I can easily see it being asked to each mob, on each pop, for each effect. Which is a lot of extra noise.

As it is written, it looks to me like only the person landing the potentially healing effect can ask "are you healed?". Is this the intent, or can someone else watching the combat ask the question?

I would hope others can ask. As a back-line caster most of my contribution is looking for things like this during mass fights, when the Fighter up front is busy swinging pipe. If it's supposed to represent actively watching for something being healed, everyone should be able to do it.

Our expectation is that in normal play, this won't come up much. When someone wants to (in-game) closely examine what they're fighting during combat to try and find out if their blows are chipping away at it or actually putting it back together, they can ask the clarifying "Are you healed?" question to find out.

That's kinda my concern though. If it doesn't come up much, hearing "Are you Healed?/ No" peppered through-out every fight is going to detract from the game and needlessly add confusion and noise. There is no other mechanical indicator to tell the players 'when' they should ask the question. So, better safe than sorry, ask it everytime.
I feel like you are hoping players wont ask this all that much, but I don't think that will be the case (in my chapters). Since the only clue that something is being healed, is by asking.

If there was a skill in the game, that said add "What's your body count?" on the end of a verbal to find out how much body an NPC has during combat, it would infest every single fight. "Are you healed" is on the same vein. Its a repeatable, un-miss-able, non-build bought skill that gets more information about a fight/monster. The simple fact that it exists as a call, means it has some relevance to the monster DB. Which means players that don't ask are willingly choosing to get less information about a fight.

Maybe this wont come up a ton during the play-tests for everyone, but allowing players to ask for free information during combat seems like a bad implementation of a concept.

-Joe