Clarification on Paladin Mercy ability.

[Zarius]

So, my GM and I are looking at the Paladin's mercy ability, and have a minor disagreement. If I'm reading the ability correctly, starting at level 3, regardless of what mercy the paladin selects, his lay on hands will suspend any curse, poison, or disease effect for one hour, period. It requires the respective sixth or ninth level Mercies to actually REMOVE these afflictions, correct?

Also, does the timer on these afflictions keep rolling, like your buffs in an AMF? Or does the mercy basically pause them?

[wraithstrike]

1. Yes. The condition is only suspended for one hour until you get the mercy that removes it. Otherwise there'd be no need for the ones that remove it.

2. I see it as them being paused. I say that because poison durations tend to be measured in rounds barring strange exceptions, and there'd be no reason to select the mercy that removes poison if only maybe 2 or 3 poisons need it. It would be easier to just have a few neutralize poison potions, and call it a day.

Also unlike AMF the paladin ability doesn't say the ability that is being paused still has the clock running for the purpose of duration.

[blahpers]

1. Not quite. It will suspend the effects of such curses, poisons, diseases if those effects correspond to the selected mercies. For example, a 6th-level paladin who selects the sickened and staggered mercies can suspend the sickened effect and/or staggered effect of any curses, poisons, or diseases on the target for an hour. This won't suspend other effects of curses, poisons, or diseases such as ability damage or other conditions.

2. The afflictions continue. This can be good or bad. Using the above example, a poison whose only effect is sickening the victim might run its course in that hour; further failed saves will not re-sicken the player during that hour since the mercy prevents it. A disease that gets progressively worse, however, will continue to get progressively worse regardless of whether the current effect is merely sickening. And any effects other than sickening or staggering will continue to occur normally.

[Zarius]

Well, Blaphers, while you're agreeing with my GM, I still feel that that ISN'T what it says. The line about it suspending them comes BEFORE the quantifier that it resume in one hour, unless the ability removes it, and is it's own separate line.

[Cavall]

I read exactly how Blaphers reads it.

You could remove the status effect, and if the effect comes from something that could potentially continue to afflict the person based on disease or poison or curse, then it will not afflict them with that effect until one hour.

For instance a curse that causes blindness. Or a disease that sickens. You could (assuming the right mercies) delay the sickness and blindness for up to an hour before what causes them comes back.

I feel your GM is 100% in the right.

[merpius]

Quote:

A mercy can remove a condition caused by a curse, disease, or poison without curing the affliction. Such conditions return after 1 hour unless the mercy actually removes the affliction that causes the condition.

This is saying that certain mercies remove conditions NOT afflictions (there are also those that remove afflictions, mind you). If a mercy removes a condition but the affliction (disease, poison, or curse) is still there in an hour, the condition resumes.

So, for an example, let's assume that the paladin has a mercy that removes the staggered condition. Now let's say we have a curse with a duration of 24 hours that gives you the staggered condition. If the paladin lays on hands for someone under that curse, then the recipient would no longer be staggered for an hour; however after that hour, since the curse is still there, the person would be staggered again.

Technically, by RAW, even if they got a remove curse the staggered condition would resume (since the mercy didn't remove the affliction), but I doubt anyone would play it that way; or at least they'd say "well it resumed, then went away because the curse was what maintained it."

[Mysterious Stranger]

What it is referring to is the fact that some diseases, curses or poisons cause other effects. For example Blodwine causes you to be sickened for 1d4 hours. If you had the sickened mercy it would remove the sickened condition for an hour. After an hour any remaining duration of the sickened condition would return. It would not have any effect on the deafened condition of Alchemical Isolation since you do not have the deafened mercy.

[wraithstrike]

I misread it as removing the affliction. So I say that if you're cursed and the curse makes grants a permanent confused condition that you'd not be confused for yhe next hour.

If you're poisoned then the poison would not pause, but it could run out.
Since most poisons don't last for hour this effectively cures most of them. I'd rather it say the affliction is suspended, but it doesn't say that. More questions that likely will never get official answers.