Chilling Touch (creature power, pag150 GMguide)

[galafrone]

hi all
a lot of question around this "power" that is incredibly non detailed and possibly the ultimate killer

1) the creature need to touch the target but the power requires a standard action
are the attack (for touching) and the use of the power combined in a single attack ?
if yes, how you deal with the fact that an attack needs a melee weapons/unarmed combat standard action and the power a second standard action to be in effect ?
for example, the demiwraith.
does he just need to touch (spell defense of the power against spell defense of the target) ?
the power is simply an effect of the regular attack (so isnt a standard action at all) ?

anyway, if the power hits, the creature is... what ? chilled
ok. but what does this means ?
from the power writeup, i read "severe cold, freezing the victim in his track, the victim takes 1 strain point each round and can take NO ACTION until the chilling touch effect is dispelled or the character overcomes the effect by making a WIL test against the resul of the chilling touch test.

ok: i am helpless ? i cant move ? i am harried ?
can i do things like putting myself in full defense ?
i cant take actions, so i am basically "frozen". that means what ?

also, the effect goes on indefinitely ? so if nothing can help me and the demiwraith (rolls a 20 on his effect test) i am dead ?
can i still roll a WIL test even if i am unconscious ?
can my friends give me a potion to drink to help me regaining hit points (so buying time) ?
how can i dispel it ? only wizards ? also elementalists ? and shamans ?

really a bad power write up... seriously
any help on how you deal with this is appreciated
thanks in advance

[slayride]

The range of this ability is touch, so like the touch spell Spirit Grip, the creature must be adjacent to the target. The demiwraith makes a Chilling Touch Test against a character's Spell Defense. If successful, the character takes 1 Damage Point per round from cold, no armor protects against this damage. The character can take No Action. Therefore he cannot make a a Free Action, a Move Action, a Simple Action, a Standard Action or a Sustained Action except for a Willpower Test in order to overcome the effect. They are frozen in place until they can make a successful Willpower Test against the result of the Chilling Touch Test. If you think that the test result is too random, you can replace the Difficulty Number with the creature's Chilling Touch step number. In the case of Demiwraiths that would be Difficulty Number 12. Characters with the Dispel Magic spell may attempt to dispel the spell. The Game Master may at his discretion allow Dispel Elementalism Magic or Dispel Nethermancy Magic to dispel the effect, as the power is based on chilling darkness, which covers both water for Elementalists and the cold/darkness for Nethermancers (Chilling Circle is an example of this). An Illusionist cannot dispel the power as they have no understanding of it at all as it is not an illusory spell or any of the real spells that they know.

So Chilling Touch works as a complete lock down power such as the Horror Power Terror. Terror does not allow the character to take any action until it is either dispelled or fought off with a successful Willpower Test. Additionally, Terror works on mutliple targets for mass lock down. It also has a range of 10 hexes making it much more brutal. The character can take no action except piteous wailing and the Willpower Test to escape.

The Dragon power Fear works similarly. It is not as strong as Terror, except that its range is 20 hexes. The character cannot perform any action that requires an Action Test while afraid except for a Willpower Test to resist the Fear. However, the character can perform any action that does not require a test such as opening an unlocked door, moving, speaking, etc.

[galafrone]

so if i attack the creature "frozen" he cant defend at all ?
i have to treat them as helpless ?
if the demiwraith attack this way, the use of this power consumes the standard action it has, so cant do anything else
but the strategy should be attacking with the chilling touch, then "kill" the helpless victim in this way, i am right ?

[slayride]

As for Combat Options I do not allow Chilling Touched or Terrorized characters to take combat options, as being Immobilized prevents them from doing so. However, it isn't technically prohibited by the powers as Combat Options are not actions to perform (However, a character cannot use a Combat Option if Knocked Down, I consider being Immobilized to be similar for my campaign, for an example see the Pain spell which Immobilizes a character and they are considered Knocked Down when affected).

[slayride]

Being helpless isn't as bad in Earthdawn as in DnD. No coup de graces. The Demiwraith still has to hit the character. Since they cannot move, they take a -3 Physical Defense penalty. But the Demiwraith can still whiff on the attack.

[galafrone]

ok so no full defense and such. but if i am frozen (immobilized) how are my defenses penalized ?
i mean, if i have phisical defense 11 but i am frozen, the next attack i get what has to hit to score on me ?

[slayride]

Also note that the minimum Difficulty Number is 3, regardless of modifiers (ED3r).

[slayride]

But taking on a demiwraith in single combat in melee is suicidal. Such a character probably deserved it for wandering off alone. In a group, the demiwraith will generally need to Chilling Touch all the characters to win. Also another party member can give you a potion as this is an Effect Test and not an Action Test. However, this does cost the assisting ally their Standard Action for the turn.