[3.0] Hide Life 9th level spell question

[Dimwhit]

So can anyone explain the spell Hide Life to me? (It's in Tome and Blood.) A couple snips:

If damage or a spell effect would normally render you disabled, dying, or dead, you ignore the usual effects. Instead, you are staggered...

If you would otherwise be disabled or dying, you do not lose hit points for taking actions or having negative hit points....If you would otherwise be dead, you cannot benefit from healing and simply fall down dead if the spell is ended.

So what does that last sentence mean? It makes no sense to me. Can you die with that spell in effect or not? I'm just not getting it.

 

[CyberSpyder]

The spell always confused me. It does prevent you from dying, yes, but not usefully, because you're essentially crippled permanently. Of course, if it didn't do that, it would be incredibly overpowered, and everyone would have it cast on them.

About all it's good for, as far as I can tell, is ensuring that you'll survive a combat to get everybody raised.

edit: On further examination, it has a range of personal, so you couldn't have people running out and making themselves invincible. But even so.

 

[Dimwhit]

Well, I'm not sure you're crippled permanently. It says healing does not automatically return you to 0 hit points, but it does adjust your current total upwards. From that I get that you can be healed back above zero and function as before, but that you can take damage well beyond -10.

I just don't know, though.

 

[Thanee]

What about natural healing? Maybe they just mean magical healing there?

Bye
Thanee

 

[EvilGM]

When Hide Life is in effect:

If damage or a spell effect would normally render you disabled, dying or dead, you are instead staggered (only partial actions).

If you are at 0 to -9 hit points, you do not lose hp for taking actions and healing does not automatically return you to 0hp (it simply adjusts your current total upward).

If you are at -10 or lower hit points, you cannot benefit from healing and fall down dead if the spell is ended.

---

If the hidden body part is destroyed, the spell ends and your life force returns to your body, unless you were at -10 or lower hp - in which case you are dead.

Basically, hit points are irrelevant and you can suffer any amount of damage without dying. Wish/Miracle may be able to restore (not heal) you to full hit points
I take healing to mean any form of healing - magical, natural or otherwise.

I posted a few months ago about this spell - specifically how much damage could be sustained by a (human) body before the body was no longer usable. I'd link it here but search is really slow atm so it will have to wait. No one really agreed on any number...

 

[Squire James]

I suppose Frenzied Beserkers are interested in that answer as well

The spell is mostly intended to simulate those tales where someone puts their heart somewhere else and thus cannot die. This is so similar to the Lich and phylactery thing that I usually treated those situations as such. Hide Life seems to be just another reason for a wizard NOT to become a Lich!

If you're being cinematic, the guy with Hide Life (or in an Undying Frenzy) always appears completely unwounded while under the effect of the spell. In d20 Modern or Star Wars terms, you can't do Wound Point damage to this guy!

If you're not so generous, then I'd say a body with HP reduced to -10x its normal max is pretty much in pieces on the ground and not good for much. That is the point that one WISHES he were dead!

 

[Zappo]

So, what about Disintegrate? By the book, you should be able to be disintegrated and still capable of taking actions.

 

[Thanee]

Well, you ignore the usual effects, so you probably are not disintegrated in the first place, as it is a spell effect that would render you disabled, dying or dead.

Bye
Thanee