Topic: Something I don't understand about Preservation

[Hurin]

I just realized this due to a play session in which one character was going to die and another had a limb cut off, and it doesn't really seem to make much sense to me. I hope I'm doing things right.

The thing that seems weird to me is the difference in what you have to do to preserve a body vs. what you have to do to preserve a limb. In a way, it seems it is EASIER to preserve a whole body than it is a severed limb.

Let's say you get your limb cut off. You look on the closed channeling lists, and see the spell 'Limb Preservation' on several lists as a 5th level spell. Each spell specifies that to preserve the limb, even if it is severed, you need to cast the other three 'Limb Preservation' spells on the other lists (the lists are Bone, Muscle, Nerve and Blood Law).

Now let's say you want to preserve, not just a limb, but an entire dead body. Surely, this will involve a lot more power point expenditure, no? Actually, no. All you need to cast to preserve an entire dead body is a single Preservation spell from the Cleric list Life Mastery, a level 7 spell.

So, to preserve a single limb is 20 pp and four spells; to preserve an entire body, 7pp and one spell.

Doesn't this seem a bit out of whack? My player was asking, 'can't I just preserve the whole body?' I didn't really know what to say.

Am I doing something incorrectly?

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Two very different things here...

The Limb Preservation spells are because you don't want the limb to "die" before it can be re-attached to living tissue. I would rule that the limb preservation spells keep the limb "alive" and viable, and ready to be re-attached without any problems or losses to the character.


On the other hand, the Preservation spell from Life Mastery list isn't trying to keep anything alive, it is only trying to stop decay from occurring from an already dead body. And the Life Giving spells all pretty much have drawbacks until you get to higher levels.

And please note, that I do not know the actual reasons behind the spells, that I am only trying to rationalize why they are the way that they are.

[Dax]

To preserv a limb a Lay  Healer need two spells of 5th level (Bone Mastery and Muscle Mastery),
but those are her Base List.

And this might be the difference (Closed vs. Base)

But still a bit odd.

In this situation I would allow to cast Preservation on a limb,
but surely with a drawback, like Rasyr stated: Make the Joining problematic.

Or give them an explanation like (perhaps better):
Preservation takes it effect on the container of the soul,
a body without a limb may live, a severed limb only in a Zombie game.

If you still don't like the powpoint-difference raise the level of the Preservation spells.

[Arioch]

To preserv a limb a Lay  Healer need two spells of 5th level (Bone Mastery and Muscle Mastery),
but those are her Base List.

And this might be the difference (Closed vs. Base)

IMHO that's the answer: Limb Preservation spells are on Closed spell lists, while Preservation is on a Base spell list. Base spell lists are more potent than Open and Closed ones

[Hurin]

Thanks for the input everyone; you all make some good points.

One thing to note, though, is that the descriptions of the 4 Limb Preservation spells specify that these spells can also be used on limbs that are NOT severed-- they are not just to preserve a severed limb, they are also to prevent further deterioration to one that is badly damaged (I imagine through a compound bone fracture or something similar).

This makes it still seem a little odd to me.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

One thing to note, though, is that the descriptions of the 4 Limb Preservation spells specify that these spells can also be used on limbs that are NOT severed-- they are not just to preserve a severed limb, they are also to prevent further deterioration to one that is badly damaged (I imagine through a compound bone fracture or something similar).

More likely it is against spells such as "Limb Death" off the Sorcerer Base List, Flesh Destruction, which slowly deteriorates and destroys the limb that it effects.