Thank you for your feedback. Obviously I would rather adjust my character to fit into the RP, than to completely rework the way the abilities function.
@Traitor if we soley had NPC encounters.
This actually didn't come to mind, and you're completely right. I was too focused on creating something unique to realize how absurd everything would be in a conflict with another player. Let's try and tweak this thing to make it a little more digestable.
How's a combat type guardian supposed to fight against that, when physical contact is the only thing they know?
This actually isn't that big of a deal in my mind. Consider that Sam is a regular kid with no special physical properties of any description. He doesn't have the speed or physical strength to keep up with someone who decides to poke him with a weapon or what have you, but it certainly would screw over combat types a bit (Again, I didn't consider the option to fight against them to begin with). As such I would propose that "tagging" is not as convenient as my initial post made it sound, but rather a deliberate, seperate spell that needs a moment of focusing energy into Sam's hands and requires him to specifically touch the target with his fingers (or Blast). Also, this act is quite visible and doing it "in secret" would require the target to be incredibly unaware of their surroundings.
-The tag not requiring line of sight/no loss in effectiveness with increase of range: I do not agree with this. While i'm no expert on the subject, very rarely (if at all) do you see a magic spell that doesn't require at least a visual of the target. Secondly, if i allowed a limitless range, the character would simply need to tag something and run as far as they can and sit in some hiding spot until the targets eventual death.
I can understand how that's a problem. Solution is simple - Necrosis requires line of sight. Done. This also automatically limits the range.
-channeling: i can't allow something completely ignores the rules, channeling requires immense focus. I would find it hard to focus, while my mind thinking about running and various other things in a combat scenario. This is why you always see people who are channeling (in video games or otherwise) standing/sitting still and if they are attacked (or their concentration is broken) the channel breaks. Again, if i allowed this, all he character would have to do is run/dodge attacks until their targets evetual death.
This in combination with the line of sight requirement seems a bit much on the punishment, to me. If Sam needs both line of sight
and becomes immobile, he's a sitting duck. You could shut him down by booping him on the nose every few seconds to break the channel and he would be completely useless. In a combat environment where most are using hand-to-hand combat, both of these requirements combined completely remove a character from every 1 on 1 competition. I've got an idea bout this though, and it ties in with your next point.
-Regeneration/siphoning: I'm not sure if i can agree with this ability. If i'm understanding this correctly, essentially (with the right dosage) it's a recipe for infinite casting w/o reprucussion. Sure it mentions that they could potentially pass out from over-use and major tissue degeneration, but how could it ever get to that point? From my understanding, all they need to do is tag a target and they're set because they're draining the targets energy to fuel their own. So as long as the target is alive, what is there to worry about? Not to mention the energy they've been storing, for only god knows how long.
This actually didn't come across properly. It is
not meant to be a tool to infinitely sustain both offense and defense. It was more like an explanation as to why Sam doesn't die from having multiple body parts stripped to the bone. When actively using the Necrosis channel, the damage done to himself outscales the healing capabilities. The longer the channel lasts, the more damage is being done, the less actual healing happens. This was initially meant to pull him back from near death AFTER the channel ends, as the healing gets a short burst from the burned soul energy to regenerate the worst. I had this written out in greater detail and then shortened it a lot because it seemed like an unnecessary wall of text for a very minor effect.
But instead, I would propose to completely change this part into a purely active component. What if the siphon was not passive at all and needed to be channeled seperately to restore the damage done by Necrosis? It would give the character a more unique momentum in combat, as Sam would have to alternate between damaging with Necrosis and regenerating himself with Siphon.
To shorten my idea on how to make Sam's abilities more agreeable:
Tagging- needs to be its own deliberate act and can only occur when contact with his fingers happens after they have been visibly infused with magic (make it a dark-purple-ish glow that can not be hidden)
- causes a visible mark on the target that causes mild pain even when inactive (to prevent "stealth tagging")
- tag ends when the active combat-fusion between Corona and Sam ends
- continually does minor damage to both target and user (to prevent infinite stalling)
- shall be renamed to "curse" because it sounds less silly
Necrosis- requires line of sight but doesn't immobilize
- can not regenerate/siphon while channeling
- can not be healed from other sources while channeling (to prevent infinite channeling)
- can be interrupted from physical impact to reset damage build-up
Siphon- is an active spell instead of a passive effect
- immobilizes, but does not require line of sight
- draws life force from everything in a set range around Sam, allies included
- damage inflicted is negligible outside of prolonged exposure
- is significantly less powerful if there is no living being to siphon from
- can be interrupted by physical impact, as well
- while in combat, can only regenerate ~75% of the damage Necrosis does (to prevent infinite combat sustain)
The main idea here is to give Necrosis a big enough drawback by adding a phase of vulnerability to Sam's combat behavior. In the grand picture, he is a burst caster - once the initial burst of damage is applied, his danger potential falls off as he needs to regain health before being able to attack again.
If the entire concept seems unfitting for the general tone/scenario you had in mind though, then I do understand. In that case I would probably try to come up with an entirely different guardian using a different magic color. But be warned. That would likely end up being a disgustingly silly comical relief thing.
