Empathic/Vampiric Healing

[Griffith Dragonlake]

In Grymwurld™ I’ve used the following magical healing rules ever since 1st ed. AD&D:

All magical healing is empathic and vampiric. When a cleric casts Cure Light Wounds (or any other healing spell), the cleric incurs damage equal to the amount healed. This takes one hand. The cleric may inflict a light wound in the amount of damage incurred on one ore more persons with the other hand provided that the other person fails their saving throw willingly or not.

Game Impact: Raise Dead et al. becomes quite rare as either someone willingly gives up their life for another or an evil cleric uses a sacrificial victim. Healing in general becomes less common because someone has to naturally heal the wound.

In Grymwurld, most Good parties would share the damage all around. The Neutral ones kept livestock for the scapegoats and the Evil ones kept slaves. One interesting consequence is that the adventurers were motivated to inflict non-lethal damage on their opponents so that they could take them prisoner for healing purposes. After all, why not inflict upon the opponents the damage that they caused you?

In Grymwurld: A Dark Mirror™ there was a paladin named Syr Stephen™ who when confronted with the sudden and violent death of his lord Syr Grifflet Duc de Dragonlake™ offered up his own life so that his lord might be raised from the dead. All of the players and myself the GM were surprised and touched by this act of supreme self-sacrifice. However since this was 2nd Ed. AD&D a resurrection check had to be made. the duke failed and Syr Stephen kept his life. Many an eye around the table welled up including mine.

 

[Clay_More]

Thats actually a concept that is in very good keeping with the traditional, historical church view on witchcraft, even the "benign" forms. It was belived that miracles could only be performed if they were powered by something. Naturally, all the miracles approved by the church were said to have been powered by the almighty himself. When it came to traditional magic, or witchcraft, many in the church argued that any magic not powered by the almighty had to be powered by some other means, so that even white magic, i.e. healing magic, had to be evil in nature since it had to draw its force from somewhere, thus breaking the natural cycle of things.

The idea is quite excellent for a grim and gritty, dark age campaign in my opinion, and I can imagine all the good roleplaying opportunities it must create, for both good and evil parties. With the names you are using, it does sound a bit like a dark age campaign?

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

Yes it is as a matter of fact. Basically Grymwurld is an Earth that never knew any religion that is still in existence, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. In response to the barbarian incursions in Rome, the Latin cults cannonized their practices and created a church similar to the Western Church with Jupiter Optimus Maximus as its celestial emperor. Vesta came to be venerated as the Queen of Heaven, Mars the parton deity of knights, and Venus the patroness of troubadours. In this pagan world Good is confused with Law and Evil with Chaos. The Inquisition is spearheaded by the Martian Paladins who detect Chaos rather than Evil. However there is a also cult of pacifists who claim to be able to perform miracles — non-empathic/vampiric healing. These pacifists are also the only ones able to cast Good spells. And finally, Pluto has a monastic cult consisting of monks & nuns who pray for the souls of the dead and friars who seek out the restless dead and send them back where they belong.

In other words, Grymwurld is a Mediæval Christian Allegory with undertones of Lovecraft/Howard/Smith Horror and Sword & Sorcery.

 

[AbeTheGnome]

i've been thinking about using a similar system in my campaign. mainly, my interest in this was piqued by scenes from the HBO series Carnivale, where the main character had healing powers, but he had to siphon life from other things. however, touch contact would not always be necessary for the vampiric portion of the spell. in the show, he could draw life from surrounding fields of wheat, or crows overhead.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

i've been thinking about using a similar system in my campaign. mainly, my interest in this was piqued by scenes from the HBO series Carnivale, where the main character had healing powers, but he had to siphon life from other things. however, touch contact would not always be necessary for the vampiric portion of the spell. in the show, he could draw life from surrounding fields of wheat, or crows overhead.

That would be a really cool ability for the BBEG. Just when the party thinks they've got him on the ropes, the BBEG croaks some inhuman sounds and suddenly everyone feels weaker. They look around and notice the grass has dried up, trees have shrivled and the BBEG is looking stronger than ever! Kinda like the Defiler from Dark Sun.

Or make it an automatic lich ability. Each round the lich automatically regenerates hit points by draining each creature within a 50' radius. No saving throw but negative energy resistance applies. Undead are immune to the effect.

Regardless of the mechanics, I like the visual of birds dropping from the sky in shrivled husks. Very creepy.!

 

[AbeTheGnome]

Regardless of the mechanics, I like the visual of birds dropping from the sky in shrivled husks. Very creepy.!

Indeed. This is the appeal for me.

 

[jaker2003]

That would be a really cool ability for the BBEG. Just when the party thinks they've got him on the ropes, the BBEG croaks some inhuman sounds and suddenly everyone feels weaker. They look around and notice the grass has dried up, trees have shrivled and the BBEG is looking stronger than ever! Kinda like the Defiler from Dark Sun.

Or make it an automatic lich ability. Each round the lich automatically regenerates hit points by draining each creature within a 50' radius. No saving throw but negative energy resistance applies. Undead are immune to the effect.

Regardless of the mechanics, I like the visual of birds dropping from the sky in shrivled husks. Very creepy.!

uh . . .
Draining Aura: At the begining of his turn every round, the (life draining undead) steals 1 hit point from every living creature within a 50 foot radius. The (life draining undead) heals an equal number of hit points, gaining any excess as temporary hit points.

If we give it a death knell ability also, this would be a truly frightening creature.