Remove tired status from Hindo's Doom Restoration
Edvin
Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,244
We are not the one who casts a spell, so we should not be tired.
2
Comments
BUT WE WERE WARNED!
Energy comes from the sword, not from us.
Seconded.
That's like saying that in PnP, when the Raise Dead spell is used, you lose some diamond dust/gold but if you cast it from a scroll it should be free. The scroll is casting it, not you.
The item simply stores the spell, the character needs to invoke it and cast it to be used.
Unless it's an intelligent weapon, you are casting the spell through the item.
The fatigue effect is a bit more gray, how do you pay that in advance for fatigue? Still, it PROBABLY shouldnt occur as per the rules, but the bigger fu is that this supposed to be the uber katana... and its really lackluster in many peoples eyes, so its more annoying than it would otherwise be.
I guess you could make an argument that the spell should "fatigue" the sword by damaging it, but I suspect that would be even less appealing.
The spell Restoration fatigues the caster. That's part of the spell; the sword lets you cast the spell, but it doesn't protect you from the spell's effects.
I think you might have a point that the XP is a cost, while fatigue could be argued to be a side effect. I have no 2nd ed phbook, so I cant check the wording.
It's a bit of a semantic difference, but D&D is all about semantic differences.
That being said, I really don't see letting players avoid the ill effects of spells from items while enjoying all the benefits happening.
* Yes, I'm aware 'rules lawyer wankery' is redundant.
Hahaha! @CamDawg makes a good point. Why the hell am I getting fatigued? I didn't even do anything...
*sparkle of course meaning 'crazy effects and significant elemental damage'. It feels more like a late or difficult to find SOA weapon.
Specifically, in 2nd edition there were no XP costs. You lost lifespan instead, and it did NOT occur until the spell was fully cast. Imbuing a scroll or item with that power didn't take it's toll on the caster until the time of actual casting, since prepping a scroll is more akin to memorizing a spell, just outside of your head and needing a costly/expensive base to set it to. At the end of the day, the person using the scroll still has to act as a conduit of that power to give it form.
(Note worthy towards that area. Scrolls that cast spells higher then character using the scroll can cast (either because of low level or lacking the int required to cast a spell of a particular level) is supposed to require an intelligence check, with a penalty equal to the difference between the caster's highest castable level and the level of the spell on the scroll. So a 9th level mage (with 17 int, 5th lvl casting), using a 9th level spell from a scroll, would have to make an intelligence check (roll their intelligence score or less) with a +4 penalty or the spell would fizzle, since they lacked the knowledge and ability to control the release of the energies properly. And Divine Spells, even those cast from items, are supposed to suffer spell failure if the user has a Divine spell failure penalty due to low wisdom (12 or lower, starting at 5% and growing from there as it gets lower.) or the inability to cast 6th or 7th spells from items if they lack 17 or 18 wisdom respectively.)
And it's not like this is IWD's fatigue penalty, that would wreck your $%#^. BG's fatigue penalty is so ridiculous you can simply ignore being fatigued without issue.
I remember an IWD item lore about an adventurer that dies of old age in his 30s, having abused haste.
And how do you know the priest isn't becoming fatigued???
The temple's version though uses Greater restoration, which is so powerful, even the recipient is left drained, but fully healthy, by the effects.
Moreover there is no evidence, for such an explanation. Rather, it is a bug in the script, which assigns spell to person who buys it.
"Spell components are unnecessary for the scroll reader, and no adverse effects associated with casting the spell are suffered - these requirements or penalties have been fulfilled or suffered by the creator of the scroll".
By default I would personally assume the same applies to items, although Hindo's Doom obviously isn't in the DMG so it's really up to the BG creators to decide how it works. Maybe it drains vitality from the wielder in order to provide the restoration effect.