Topic: Harm and Inflict Pain (CoM)

[Karizma]

When crafting a Cleric sphere for a religion, I came to look at Harm and Inflict Pain.

Is there a reason Inflict Pain is far better at only one PP more?  Inflict Pain does flat 10 Hits at 100', while Harm does d10s at 10'.  Inflict Pain is only 1PP more (including scales, 40 Hits is only one more point than 4d10, and goes 90' more).  Does the scaling option for bleeding in Harm "make up" for its otherwise obvious weakness?

I was considering changing Inflict Pain (and Inflict Injury) to scale down from 100' to only 10' like Harm.  But the scaling option for increments of 50' makes 100' seem to be a better standard (thereby making me increase Harm to 100').  Either way, there seems like some imbalance here.

Is it just me?

[Witchking20k]

I'd have to look at the spell again, but I seem to remember the scaling costs making a difference if you project the costs over 10-12 ranks.  So the more powerful spell initially has fewer scaling options early on. 

As a Low-Level mage having a spell that you can buy 6 ranks in and have 3 different ways to cast it is often handy...

[Sazen]

Harm is from the Cleric Sphere
Inflict Pain is a Necromancer spell

I would just leave it as Necromancers are better at inflicting injuries then Clerics

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

Partly, it's because I'm good at getting value for money in spell design. (Note spells in the core book were not designed using the spell creation system)

Partly the parameters were chosen for Inflict Pain because it was intended to be a determinedly offensive spell for a profession whose remit is death and destruction. However it only does hits because that differentiates it from Inflict Injury (which delivers crits) and Harm.

The ability of Harm to do bleeding damage is actually quite vicious - particularly since that can be done at 9PP total (while skill ranks and penalties still cancel each other out) and with 1 extra PP that can be dished out at 50'.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[Witchking20k]

Agreed, is one of my favorite villian spells...."he gets all Emperor on you dude"