SR5:Spells:Health

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Health spells can heal physical injury, cure diseases (or inflict symptoms), detoxify poisons or drugs (or mimic their effects), and modify attributes. No techniques currently known to magic can erase Stun damage or cure psychological conditions. All health spells require the magician to physically touch the subject of the spell—this “laying on of hands” is traditional in magical healing lore the world over.

Most health spells are cast with a simple Spellcasting + Magic [Force] Test. Exceptions are listed in the spell descriptions.

Essence

Low-Essence characters are more difficult to affect with some health spells. It’s hard to put the body back into its natural state when that state has been unnaturally altered. In game terms, this means you take a dice pool modifier equal to the target’s actual Essence minus his maximum Essence (which will turn out to be 0 or a negative number), rounded up.

Antidote

ANTIDOTE
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 3	Source:Core

This spell helps a poisoned subject overcome a toxin. Casters use it after the target has been poisoned, but before the target needs to make her Toxin Resistance Test, based on the Speed of the toxin. Add the hits from this spell directly to the hits from the Toxin Resistance Test.

Cure Disease

CURE DISEASE
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 4	Source:Core

This spell is used at any point after infection to help a patient overcome illness. The infected character receives a number of additional dice on her Disease Resistance Test equal to the spell’s net hits until the patient recovers (or dies). It does not heal any damage already inflicted by the disease (that requires a separate Healing spell).

Decrease Attribute

DECREASE [ATTRIBUTE]
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 2	Source:Core

This spell weakens the target by decreasing a designated Attribute. A version of this spell exists for each Physical and Mental attribute, but not for Special attributes (Initiative, Edge, Essence, Magic, or Resonance). It affects both natural and augmented Attributes.This spell is cast with an Opposed Spellcasting + Magic [Force] v. (targeted Attribute) + Willpower Test. If the magician wins, the Attribute is reduced by the spell’s net hits. If a Physical Attribute is reduced to 0, the victim is incapacitated and paralyzed. If a Mental Attribute is reduced to 0, the victim stands still, mindlessly confused. Decreasing an Attribute also affects any other derived statistics that use it (for example, if Reaction or Intuition is lowered, Initiative is lowered as well) as long as the spell is sustained.

Detox

DETOX
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 6	Source:Core

Detox relieves the side effects of a drug or poison. The Force of the spell must equal or exceed the toxin’s base DV. A single hit is sufficient to eliminate all symptoms. Detox does not heal or prevent damage done by toxins, but it eliminates any side effects they may have on the victim (dizziness, hallucinations, nausea, pain, and so forth). Detox is the hangover cure of choice among those who can afford it.

Heal

HEAL
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 4	Source:Core

Heal repairs physical injuries. It heals a number of boxes of Physical damage equal to the spell’s hits from the Spellcasting Test. Hits can also be used to reduce the base time for the spell to become permanent; each hit spent this way shaves off 1 Combat Turn (you can split hits between healing and reducing time).

Any boxes of Physical damage your target still has after any boxes are healed magically can only be healed by time and rest.

Increase Attribute

INCREASE [ATTRIBUTE]
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 3	Source:Core

This spell increases an Attribute (natural or augmented) on a voluntary subject. A version of this spell exists for each Physical and Mental attribute, but not for Special Attributes (Initiative, Edge, Essence, Magic, or Resonance). The Force of the spell must equal or exceed the (augmented) value of the Attribute being affected. The Attribute is increased by an amount equal to the hits scored, up to the target’s augmented maximum (any hits that would increase the Attribute beyond its augmented maximum are ignored). Each Attribute can only be affected by a single Increase Attribute spell at a time.

Note that increasing an Attribute may affect other derived statistics (Increase Reaction also affects Initiative, for example, while Increase Body adds extra boxes to the character’s Physical Condition Monitor for as long as the spell lasts).

Increase Reflexes

INCREASE REFLEXES
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F	Source:Core

This spell increases the initiative of a subject. Each hit rolled on the Spellcasting Test adds +1 to the target’s Initiative, and every two hits adds one Initiative Die. A character can only be affected by a single Increase Reflexes spell at a time, and the maximum Initiative Dice anyone can have is +5D6.

Oxygenate

OXYGENATE
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 5	Source:Core

This spell oxygenates the blood of a voluntary subject, providing extra Body dice (1 die for every hit) to resist suffocation, strangulation, the effects of inhaled gas, or any other effect of oxygen deprivation. The spell also allows the subject to breathe underwater.

Prophylaxis

PROPHYLAXIS
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 4	Source:Core

This spell provides an extra die per hit for a subject to resist infection, drugs, or toxins. The spell does not discriminate between harmful and beneficial drugs, so the subject also resists medicines and other helpful drugs while under its effects. Reduce the bonuses of a beneficial drug by 1 for every hit rolled in the casting; three or more hits block effects that do not have a bonus or penalty associated with them.

Resist Pain

RESIST PAIN
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 4	Source:Core

Resist Pain allows the subject to ignore the pain of injuries, reducing penalties from Physical or Stun damage. Each hit on the Spellcasting Test removes the effect of one box of damage from each of the subject’s Condition Monitor tracks. It does not remove the damage itself; it only eliminates the modifiers. If all of the boxes on the track are filled, the character still falls unconscious.

The spell is permanent in that the boost to the patient’s endorphin levels does not wear off. If the subject’s damage rises above the level at which the patient is resisting pain or if the existing injuries heal, the spell dissipates. A person can only be under the effects of one Resist Pain spell at a time (the one with the most hits).

Stabilize

STABILIZE
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 4	Source:Core

When applied to a character with a filled Physical damage track, this spell stabilizes all vital functions and prevents the character from dying. The spell’s Force must equal or exceed the overflow damage already taken when the spell starts. The full time must be taken for the spell to become permanent before the character is truly stabilized; hits reduce the time it takes by 1 Combat Turn each. If successful, the spell prevents the character from taking further damage from Physical Damage Overflow (p. 209).

Ambidexterity

AMBIDEXTERITY
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:I	Drain:F – 3	Source:SR5:SG

Ambidexterity allows the spellcaster to temporarily grant the Ambidextrous quality (p. 172, SR5) onto a willing subject. The effect lasts 1 Combat Turn for every hit on the Spellcasting Test. The spellcaster must touch the subject to activate the spell.

Alleviate Addiction

ALLEVIATE ADDICTION
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 6	Source:SR5:SG

Alleviate Addiction temporarily reduces the effects of addiction on the subject’s body and mind (p. 77, SR5). Every net hit reduces the addiction level by one (from Severe to Moderate, for example). This spell does not remove the addiction; it only alleviates its effects, and it can only address the effects of one addiction at a time. This cure only last while the spell is powered and then the Addiction returns at full force. Note that this spell does not work against the effects of Focus Addiction (p. 319, SR5).

Alleviate Allergy

ALLEVIATE [ALLERGY]
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 6	Source:SR5:SG

Alleviate Allergy temporarily blocks or reduces the effects of an allergy on the target’s body and mind (p. 78, SR5). Every net hit reduces the allergy level by one (from Moderate to Mild, for example). This spell does not remove the allergy, only alleviates its effects, and it only alleviates the effects of one allergy at a time. The Allergy returns at full force once the spell ends.

Awaken

AWAKEN
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 3	Source:SR5:SG

Awaken allows the spellcaster to immediately wake an unconscious target and instantly bring them to full alertness, temporarily alleviating the effects of Stun, including modifiers from damage. This spells works on a subject that is unconscious due to an external cause such as injury, medication, or chemicals.

The caster must achieve a threshold equal to the Stun modifiers (or 1 for targets simply asleep) the subject currently experiences. The subject remains conscious as long as the spell is sustained. At the end of that period, the character relapses into unconsciousness. Afterwards, the subject must endure all the Stun damage (this includes any new Stun damage accumulated while awake) at twice the typical duration. This effect lasts until all Stun damage is healed. Sadly, the caster may not cast this spell on herself.

Crank

CRANK
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 3	Source:SR5:SG

Crank alleviates a voluntary subject’s physical need for sleep. Every hit scored approximates one hour of sleep for purposes of resisting Fatigue (p. 172, SR5). Popular among student magicians, Crank has a significant downside. At the gamemaster’s discretion, a character who abuses Crank to avoid actual sleep for long periods may find themselves addicted to magically aided sleep deprivation (p. 172, SR5).

Decrease Reflexes

DECREASE REFLEXES
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:P	Drain:F – 2	Source:SR5:SG

Decrease Reflexes allows the spellcaster to decrease the reflexes (as represented by Initiative Score) of a target. The target resists with Reaction + Counterspelling. The Force of the spell must equal or exceed the target’s Reaction. Every net hit achieved reduces the target’s Initiative Score by 1.

Enabler

ENABLER
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 3	Source:SR5:SG

Enabler is the opposite of the spell Antidote (p. 288, SR5). This spell increases the target’s susceptibility to drugs or toxins. Naturally, Enabler is popular with wiz-gangers to help themselves and other druggies get a better high. The target resists with Body + Counterspelling. Each net hit scored reduces the target’s dice pool by 1 for the Toxin Resistance Test. Enabler must be sustained until the toxin effect kicks in, otherwise it does not affect the Resistance Test.

Fast

FAST
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 3	Source:SR5:SG

Fast grants a voluntary subject the ability to supplant feelings of hunger or thirst for as long as the spell is sustained. Each hit allows the target to ignore the symptoms of one skipped meal. Fast does not alleviate the biological need for food or water. Once the spell ends, the subject immediately suffers any effects of from dehydration or starvation. The wealthy sometimes use Fast as a painless “diet spell.” Hunger pangs and the effects of not eating and drinking immediately return to the subject.

Subjects under the effects of this spell for more than seventy-two hours risk permanent damage. The gamemaster should apply Fatigue damage and the Disorientation effect (p. 409, SR5) as appropriate to any subject that uses Fast excessively.

Forced Defense

FORCED DEFENSE
(ESSENCE)
Type:M	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:I	Drain:F – 1	Source:SR5:SG

A trained runner learns to control and master her survival instincts to take calculated risks. Forced Defense triggers these primal urges to survive at all costs. The spellcaster must succeed in a Magic + Spellcasting Test opposed by the target’s Body (+ Counterspelling). The target of this spell is forced to interrupt her current action to go on Full Defense (p. 191, SR5). The number of hits scored by the caster determines the number of Combat Turns that the target is forced to remain at Full Defense. This spell does not force the target to remain in the area or the combat. For more information on Active Defenses, see p. 190, SR5.

Increase/Decrease Inherent Limits

INCREASE INHERENT LIMITS
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 1	Source:SR5:SG

DECREASE INHERENT LIMITS
(ESSENCE)
Type:P	Range:T	Damage:
Duration:S	Drain:F – 1	Source:SR5:SG

Every character has three inherent limits (Physical, Mental, and Social) that determine how many of the hits from your initial roll you can actually use to determine the result of the test (p. 47, SR5). This set of spells allows a spellcaster to temporarily help a subject overcome these limits for the duration of the spell.

The spellcaster must touch the subject to activate the spell and then select a single inherent limit to affect with this spell. Only one inherent limit may be altered at a time. Recasting the spell on a subject wipes away the previous alteration. Each net hit achieved increases or reduces the target’s selected inherent limit by 1, to a minimum of 1.

Just so we’re clear: Increase Inherent Limits increases the limit of a subject while Decrease Inherent Limits decreases the limits of a target.