The mage is able to transfer "life" from one creature (the "victim") to another (the "target"). In game terms, this spell allows the target to recover, or heal, lost hit points. The transfer rate is not one for one and depends on the victim's ability to feel pain and experience terror. In game terms, the victim's intelligence is used.
INT | Ratio | Death Bonus |
0 | 10 to 1 | 1 |
1-2 | 8 to 1 | 2 |
3-4 | 7 to 1 | 4 |
5 | 6 to 1 | 6 |
6-7 | 5 to 1 | 8 |
8-9 | 4 to 1 | 10 |
10-11 | 3 to 1 | 12 |
12+ | 2 to 1 | 15 |
If the mage drains all hit points from the victim, killing them with the spell, the target gains additional hit points indicated by the "Death Bonus" column above. For the purposes of this spell, death occurs at -10 hit points unless the victim is a player character, in which case use the normal rules for character death.
The victim is drained at a rate of 2 hit points per round and the spell lasts for 3 rounds per rank of the caster. Thus, the maximum amount the mage can transfer is constrained by his rank with the spell. Unwilling victims must be bound, so as not to disrupt the spell.
Examples:
- A rank 5 mage uses a large, barely intelligent spider (INT 1) with 18 hit points as the victim. His duration is 15 rounds (rank 5 x 3) allowing him to transfer 30 hit points from the spider. Because the victim has an INT of 1, the ratio is 8 to 1 so the 30 hit points is divided by 8, yielding 3.75. Fractions always round down so the target is only healed 3 hit points. The 30 hit points drained from the spider is enough to kill it (it had 18 HP and death occurs at -10 so it had 28 HP to give), so the target gains the death bonus of 2 additional hit points for a total of 5 hit points healed.
- The same rank 5 evil mage has captured a low-level soldier and is using him as the victim. The soldier has an INT of 13 and 36 hit points. The mage is still rank 5 so can only keep the spell going for 15 rounds. As with the spider, the soldier is drained 2 HP per round, for a total of 30 points of damage, not enough to kill him or even render him unconscious. Because the victim is more intelligent than the spider, the target benefits from a much better ratio and is healed 15 HP. When the spell ends, the soldier has 6 HP remaining. The mage casts another spell and continues to drain the soldier. He drains the remaining 6 HP and then 10 more taking the soldier to -10 HP and killing him. Thus, he drained a total of 16 HP so the target is healed 8. Since the mage killed the soldier with the spell, the target is healed another 15 HP for the death bonus. Between the 2 spells (and assuming the same target though it doesn't have to be), the target is healed a total of 38 HP - 15 from the first spell, 8 from the second plus 15 more for the death bonus.
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