Difference between revisions of "Physiology"

  |detail=The body is held in balance by four vital fluids, called humours. Humourism is the science of manipulating these humours via the ether to cause illness in another.<br><br>To raise a target's humours, you must TEMPER that humour. Humours can be reduced by the target eating the ginger herb or antimony mineral. The maximum number of times each of a person's humours may be tempered is eight.<br><br>Each time you TEMPER a humour it raises the level by 1. If the target is afflicted with afflictions related to that humour, this number may rise.<br><br>Each humour will cause the victim to be disadvantaged in some form. The penalties and related afflictions are as follows.<br>Choleric (yellow bile): Random curing abilities will have a chance of failing. (nausea, sensitivity, slickness)<br>Melancholic (black bile): Irid moss and potash will have a reduced healing benefit. (anorexia, impatience, stupidity)<br>Phlegmatic (phlegm): Smoking will have a chance of filling your lungs with phlegm, increasing your lungs recovery time. (asthma, clumsiness, weariness)<br>Sanguine (blood): Bleeding will increase over time. (haemophilia, recklessness, paralysis)<br><br>Only one humour may be tempered at once with this ability; training in Physiology will allow for more freedom in tempering multiple humours.<br><br>Evaluation of a target's humours can be done for free.

  |detail=You may CULTIVATE NUCLEUS, using a small amount of your own flesh to create a small mass of living tissue. This nucleus can then be germinated from anywhere, so long as you hold in your hands some alchemical salt, sulphur, or mercury, into a full-grown homunculus using GERMINATE NUCLEUS <prime>.<br><br>This homunculus, which is a small, imperfect copy of the alchemist who created it, may be controlled via the ethereal bindings between the creator and the created. Initial control is weak, but further training in Physiology will allow for more proficient control of your homunculus.<br><br>You may only have one homunculus alive at a time, and it will perish should you yourself die.<br><br>HOMUNCULUS FOLLOW will order your homunculus to follow you. If it is unable to follow you because it is in a different location, HOMUNCULUS RETURN will bring the homunculus back to you. You may also HOMUNCULUS ATTACK <target> to have your homunculus attack another, though its attacks will be weak without training in Physiology. Finally, HOMUNCULUS PACIFY will command your homunculus to cease its attacks.<br><br>Most homunculus abilities work on their own special balance, while requiring balance and equilibrium.

  |detail=By assaulting an opponent's humours, you can afflict upon him several common maladies. Each has several afflictions associated with it, and any afflictions from wracking a humour will come only from this pool. When wracking, you may specify the affliction you wish to use, or you may allow the affliction to manifest at random at the cost of a slight delay in speed. It is possible to wrack an opponent's untempered humour, though this is done at a balance penalty and may be done only via specifying the affliction.<br><br>Wracking operates outside of humour balance, and may be used off-equilibrium immediately following a symbology ability.<br><br>The humours and their affliction pools are:<br>Choleric: Nausea, sensitivity, slickness.<br>Melancholic: stupidity, anorexia, impatience.<br>Phlegmatic: clumsiness, weariness, asthma.<br>Sanguine: Haemophilia, recklessness, paralysis.

  |detail=By mastering control of your homunculus's arms, you may now use your homunculus to more effectively attack your opponent. In addition to increased damage, your homunculus's damage type will change depending on the prime used to germinate it, and each prime will grant the attacks a special effect:<br>Salt: Magic damage - Attacks will cause bleeding.<br>Sulphur: Psychic damage - Attacks will drain mana.<br>Mercury: Poison damage - extend the next herb balance of the target.<br><br>Note, however, that if your homunculus becomes separated from you, its attacks will revert to its original, weak attacks.<br><br>In addition, you may administer one of the primes with which your homunculus was not germinated in order to temporarily grant the effects of that prime. Note that attacks under the effects of administered primes will be less effective than those of its native type.  

  |detail=By evaluating your target, you may roughly discern his or her fluid level, humour states, health and mana.<br><br>Evaluating your target's humour states alone with EVALUATE <target> HUMOURS will not use any equilibrium.

  |detail=With control over your homunculus's hands, you may now manipulate items from afar. All commands require your homunculus to be in the same area as yourself, with the exception of looking in its inventory.<br><br>HOMUNCULUS INV[ENTORY] will show you what your homunculus is currently holding.<br><br>HOMUNCULUS GIVE <item> TO <person> allows to your homunculus to hand an item to another. The homunculus must be in the same room, on the same elevation, as the target, and the target may not be phased or similar.<br><br>HOMUNCULUS GET <item> will pick up an item from the ground. This can only be done if your homunculus is holding fewer than five items already, and is subject to the same restrictions as picking up an item yourself.<br><br>HOMUNCULUS DROP <item> will drop an item from your homunculus's inventory into its current room. This is subject to the same restrictions as dropping items yourself.

  |detail=Your skill in physiology now allows you to wrack two humours at once. If you do not specify two afflictions, random ones will be picked from the relevant humour pools.<br><br>You can find the lists of relevant afflictions under AB PHYSIOLOGY WRACK.<br>Note: Paralysis may only be delivered once the sanguine humour has been sufficiently tempered (two times).

  |detail=By controlling your homunculus's throat, you may shriek loudly at an opponent, disrupting his or her concentration. This will knock your target off focus balance or increase the timer needed to regain focus balance, as appropriate.<br><br>You must be in the same room as your homunculus to use this ability.

  |detail=By inundating an already tempered humour with additional fluid, you may cause an instant reaction in your opponent. This will cause all fluid to be drained from that humour. The more fluid drained, the greater the reaction.<br><br>The effects for each humour are:<br>Choleric: Health loss.<br>Melancholic: Mana loss.<br>Sanguine: Bleeding.<br>Phlegmatic: Afflict with afflictions from lethargy, anorexia, slickness and weariness. The higher the fluid level, the more afflictions will be delivered simultaneously.