How invulnerable?

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Veknironth
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How invulnerable?

Unread post by Veknironth »

Well, the spell invulnerability:limited is rather clear on being struck by object. It absorbs all of it. But it states that you are impervious to non-magical heat, cold, energy attacks, etc. and then says that magic energy attacks do half damage. Is that half damage to the field or to the individual? The description of weapon damage states that they do normal damage but to the field. If the field makes you impervious to non-magical energy, does that mean that the field aborbs the damage or it does no damage?

Another consideration. How much does the field protect the individual from being manipulated? Could someone pick up a person with this spell on them and throw them? Could you pick up someone with this spell on them and throw them over a cliff, or hold them face down into the dirt? Could you throw a bag over their heads? Could you move their hands or twist their head until their neck breaks?

-Vek
"Not so invulnerable, I think."
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Library Ogre
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by Library Ogre »

Once again, I'll open with "Palladium Games are not closely written and so parsing the words carefully doesn't necessarily yield good results." But, on to the question:
The magic makes the individual impervious to non-magical heat,cold, fire, energy attacks, poisons/toxins/drugs, gases, and disease. Magic energy attacks or illness does half damage. Weapons of all kind inflict normal damage, although all damage is first deducted from the magic S.D.C. The spell creates a form fitting energy field which appears as a dimly glowing aura around the body and provides 25 S.D.C.per level of the spell caster. Once the magic S.D.C. is exhausted, the person will suffer normal damage to his own S.D.C. and hit points, but remains impervious to all the things listed previously. The invulnerable character is also +4 to save vs horror factor, save vs magic and psionic assaults
My reading: We surround Vek with Invulnerability: Limited (and Globe of Silence, so he stops talking1), and we then subject him to various horrors for our amusement.

First, we tie him to a stake and set him on fire. He is immune to this, and his "dimly glowing aura" takes no damage.
We then throw him in the northern ocean. He starts to drown, but he doesn't take any cold damage.
We shoot him with a laser and a particle beam. He is immune to energy attacks, and takes no damage.
We shove poison down his throat and throw him into a room full of chlorine gas and syphilis. He takes no damage.

We shoot him with a fire bolt spell. The aura around him takes 5d6/2 damage. We give him to a giant to play golf with. The aura surrounding him takes full damage. He hits the ground after the giant launches him 3/4 of a mile. The aura around him takes full damage. We cast Fear on him. He must make a save v. Horror Factor at +4. We hit him with Paralysis: Lesser. He must make a save at +4. Mental Illusion? Save with a +4.

Much amusement is had and, because we did less than 25 SDC per level of the caster, Vek is unharmed. We will do this again next Friday.

***

Now, we do run into a couple questionable things. Would the Mind Bolt super-psionic count as "magic energy" or "normal energy"? Can you use telekinesis on them? Can you grapple them? I would be inclined to say that psionic energy, for this purpose, counts as magic energy. I would allow telekinesis, with the caveat that I always give non-consensual telekinesis a saving throw, and this would be at a +4. And, while I would allow grappling, I'd disallow Death Blows (which is what "snap his neck" would be) while the SDC from the aura is active. If you put a plastic bag over someone's head, I would have it be ineffective at suffocating them while the aura is active; the aura provides enough space for the air to get through and, arguably, non-vacuum suffocation is a gas attack.





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kiralon
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by kiralon »

+1
For me psionics is its on class of magic, like warlocks or wizards. Its' an editing issue normally when they say vs magic, as there is no such thing, its spells, wards, circles or psionics.
Deathblow definately as that is from a weapon.
For suffocation to work whatever is doing it would have to cover the entire body (Water, sealed full body plastic bag etc).

Does stuff stick to the field, like do water drops stick to it, or clingy mud?
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Veknironth
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by Veknironth »

Well, first of all why am I being tortured in Mark's scenario? This seems unfair. Second, if someone other than I were to be used as a giants golf ball, does the invulnerability stop the effects of inertia? Would the internal organs not be accelerated and decelerated by magic? Would an impact by a giant sized five iron send someone else flying or would it be absorbed by the spell and not move the caster at all? Would there be Newton's third law of motion in effect? For example if Vek, who is free and in molested in this case, is coupling Fly as the Eagle and Invulnerability Limited, could he fly into someone or something at 50 mph (or faster if going straight down) and do a lot of damage to it/them?

Kiralon brings up a interesting question of friction. How frictious is the surface? There must be some friction to allow someone to move on the ground and hold a weapon but how difficult is it to grab someone? Does the spell allow you to punch and inflict damage it does it absorb the contact via Newton's third law of motion?

I agree that you couldn't quickly snap someone's neck. But what it you slowly turned the head until it broke?

-Vek
"No Veks were harmed in the making of this post."
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kiralon
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by kiralon »

Veknironth wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2024 11:06 am Well, first of all why am I being tortured in Mark's scenario?
I agree that you couldn't quickly snap someone's neck. But what it you slowly turned the head until it broke?
-Vek
"No Veks were harmed in the making of this post."
A. He isn't going to torture himself, bit of a silly question really :D also revenge :lol:
B. Then it would be copying dunes protection field, which isn't allowed so it wouldn't work. However for me the idea of the spell is to prevent physical damage so i would work out damage per round, so it could be done but would still have to deplete the sdc before it would work.
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Library Ogre
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by Library Ogre »

Veknironth wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2024 11:06 am Well, first of all why am I being tortured in Mark's scenario? This seems unfair.
To quote my mentor... "Life's not fair, is it?" and, of course, "Be prepared!"
Second, if someone other than I were to be used as a giants golf ball, does the invulnerability stop the effects of inertia? Would the internal organs not be accelerated and decelerated by magic? Would an impact by a giant sized five iron send someone else flying or would it be absorbed by the spell and not move the caster at all? Would there be Newton's third law of motion in effect? For example if Vek, who is free and in molested in this case, is coupling Fly as the Eagle and Invulnerability Limited, could he fly into someone or something at 50 mph (or faster if going straight down) and do a lot of damage to it/them?
Invulnerability explicitly does not prevent damage from physical attack; it protects from it, somewhat (25 SDC per level, with no AR), but it doesn't prevent it. So, I have them still normally affected by physics... a sword might not cut you through the SDC, but it will hit you with 100% of the impact. As will the ground, or the target your are launched at.
Kiralon brings up a interesting question of friction. How frictious is the surface? There must be some friction to allow someone to move on the ground and hold a weapon but how difficult is it to grab someone? Does the spell allow you to punch and inflict damage it does it absorb the contact via Newton's third law of motion?
I assume it has a friction similar to what the character themselves have, simply because if it is otherwise, there's a bunch of other effects that aren't accounted for in the spell.
I agree that you couldn't quickly snap someone's neck. But what it you slowly turned the head until it broke?
I'd require you to overcome the SDC of the field, probably. The intention of the spell is that you're protected from things like that, and, well, the "Megaverse Runs on Vibes."


"Every Vek were harmed in the making of this post."
-overproduced by Martin Hannett

When I see someone "fisking" these days my first inclination is to think "That person doesn't have much to say, and says it in volume." -John Scalzi
Happiness is a long block list.
If you don't want to be vilified, don't act like a villain.
The Megaverse runs on vibes.
All Palladium Articles
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ShadowLogan
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

Veknironth wrote:Well, first of all why am I being tortured in Mark's scenario? This seems unfair.
Well if LO is casting "Globe of Silence" and "Invulnerability: Limited" on you, didn't you cast "House of Glass" on him first? ;)

As I then Teleport away,
Veknironth wrote:Is that half damage to the field or to the individual?
First to the field (until it's SDC/MDC is exhausted) and then the individual. IMHO that's one of the reasons the field has SDC (or MDC).
Veknironth wrote:Another consideration. How much does the field protect the individual from being manipulated? Could someone pick up a person with this spell on them and throw them? Could you pick up someone with this spell on them and throw them over a cliff, or hold them face down into the dirt? Could you throw a bag over their heads? Could you move their hands or twist their head until their neck breaks?
It doesn't. IMHO it protects from certain types of damage, not being manipulated. So yes you could pick up someone under the influence of the spell and toss them off a cliff, or push their face into the dirt (or otherwise restrain them) or put something on them. You can even manipulate them into taking damage by breaking something (it doesn't stop physical attacks AFAIK) though I could see it taking longer (you do have to deal enough damage long enough to deplete the field as it takes damage before the recipient).

It should be noted that smothering someone won't work, the magic works on "gases", so IMHO that means it negates the C02 buildup (you can't even fill their lungs with Helium) by some means (breaking down the C02?)
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Re: How invulnerable?

Unread post by kiralon »

ShadowLogan wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2024 12:41 pm
It should be noted that smothering someone won't work, the magic works on "gases", so IMHO that means it negates the C02 buildup (you can't even fill their lungs with Helium) by some means (breaking down the C02?)
You could follow that logic and say they are impervious to oxygen now as well, and could die from the lack of it (30 seconds per level is short lived but could still do it), it doesn't say that you do not need oxygen, just that you are impervious to gases.
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