Paths & Numina

By this Way, a hedge mage can heal many kinds of injuries and diseases, banish or control pain, and generally treat ills of all sorts. This Numen does not perform miracles (although it may seem to do so). Healing takes time, whether it involves injuries or disease. Healing is effective for relieving pain so long as the healer remains in contact with the sufferer. The healer can also reduce the likelihood of infection when working with a wound.

Practitioners of Healing hedge magic usually need some form of medical knowledge, whether it be dots in the Medicine Ability or non-traditional sorts, such as acupuncture, herbalism, shamanic healing, meditation, reiki, or some other form of medicine. Kinfolk who know veterinary medicine can use Healing magic to treat wolf Kinfolk. Use of this Path consumes the healer’s energy and, without care, can bring about burnout, or cause psychological damage to the healer. Healers often take care to get ample rest, practice relaxation techniques, and even seek psychological counseling when necessary.

This Numen cannot heal aggravated wounds, though it may ease the pain from such wounds.

Roll: Manipulation + Intuition Cost: 1 Willpower per ailment

• This level allows a healer to soothe headaches, backaches, or equivalent pains. While the ailment does not go away, the pain backs off for a while. The number of successes dictates the length of time the pain relief lasts (as a guideline, a few hours per success).

•• This level enables the healer to treat sprains, flu, migraines, minor infections, and the like. With multiple successes, the caster can cut the healing time in half or even better.

••• At this stage, the healer can mend broken bones and spur nasty wounds to heal faster and without infection. Fractures do not immediately mend themselves, but they do take much less time to heal. Relief and healing for the common cold occur at this level. A Healer can help an Incapacitated character get back on her feet so she can move to a safe place, but she cannot completely heal wounds as bad as those.

•••• This level of Healing can fix compound fractures and severe trauma, speeding up the healing process and preventing infection. Such injuries heal 50% faster. The healer’s touch also banishes pain. A healer of this level can also heal chronic diseases such as asthma, arthritis, diabetes, etc. The conditions do not disappear overnight, but take weeks. The cures last so long as the healed individual takes appropriate steps to avoid re-acquiring the disease.

••••• Through a great deal of effort, a healer at this level can cure the most serious diseases, including AIDS, cancer, heart disease and other “hopeless” ailments. Major traumatic injuries and broken bones heal in one to three weeks.