Yes, it’s possible (see below); but note that even a “regular” heart in this world can literally break.
In other news, now you know what Muna’s BLAGH! face looks like, as promised!
What’s that? We didn’t promise it, and yet we still delivered? You’re welcome.
On this page…
What’s a Wild Card? A charcter that’s designated by the rules as being more heroic, more powerful, than most – like the player characters, obviously!
Wild Card non-player characters are inherently “stronger” than most, which sometimes makes them feel like a boss.
Raffaella’s Crystal is called Life Sense, and it can, well, you know. Opening oneself to the presence of life all around you isn’t simple – it’s the Advanced use the Crystal – but Raf can theoretically use this ability to also conceal the presence of life. More importantly, Crystals register as “life” when sensed with this power.
We don’t show it, but Nadav asked Lily to roll her Crystal Channeling skill to activate her Crystal. It might seem like there’s not much point in rolling since there isn’t any danger – she can just retry, right? – and generally speaking, one should only ask for a roll if something interesting or dangerous might happen. Here are Nadav’s reasons for asking for a roll:
- He wants Lily to practice the rules, get used to rolling in Savage Worlds.
- He wants to keep the use of Crystals mysterious and unpredictable. It’s not something that comes easily, it should always have a bit of uncertainty about it.
- There is some danger in using a Crystal, every time (see below). When Nadav calls for a roll, he’s accepting there’s a chance that the character de-sync here and now. Later on in the campaign he might forgo it for very simple uses, but for now, he wants the players to become aware of the danger, and having a character de-sync in a non-action scene is relatively safer, and still delivers the point, compared to having her get a seizure in the middle of a gun fight.
Lily rolls her Crystal Channel die, a d4. She prepares herself beforehand, by concentrating for a few moments, adding 2 to the roll (yes, you can do that). This power is a variation on Detect/Conceal Arcana (pg. 111), with an inherent difficulty of -1, and another -2 because it’s the Advanced power of the Crystal. She rolls a 1, so bleh, but the Wild Die gets a 5 that becomes a 4 (after add 2 and subtracting 3), which is a regular success.
Wait, what’s that bit about preparing to use a power? Well, it’s part of the rules for using Crystals, and generally speaking, there’s usually no reason not to do it, if you’re not mid-combat. Yes, Muna could have done the same, but because it takes a few moments longer, Nadav would probably also have her roll to hide her actions from the priest – he wants to make sure the players don’t get complacent and take the +2 for granted.
Finally, yes, you can have a Crystal heart attack. Actually, because your Crystal isn’t really your heart, it might happen whenever you activate it. A natural 1 on both your Crystal Channeling die and your Wild Die result in desynchronization, sending you into a shock as you begin to suffocate.
Yes, that means that people who aren’t Wild Cards can’t de-sync, because they don’t roll the Wild Die. “But isn’t that weird!” you might say. Well, the question we should ask is, what’s the point of having a rare, dramatic event happen to someone we described as being not important?
Related RPG article: Expectations are Made to be Subverted
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