[ArM5] Destroying Weaknesses

[Nick Simmonds]

> > Can Perdo cure cancer?  I assume that it would leave the patient with some
> > wounds, which would then heal normally -- just what you'd expect after
> > surgery.
> >
> > If a malady is caused by some agent, could Perdo cure it by destroying the
> > agent?  E.g., if someone's been poisoned with arsenic, could Perdo Terram
> > destroy the arsenic?   Again, it presumably wouldn't cure the damage, but
> > it would keep the patient from getting worse, and let them heal normally.
> >
> 
> I once suggested to Jeff Tidball that Perdo would be useful in rebalancing
> the humors, thus allowing a certain kind of healing without vis. He
> disagreed, saying that only Creo could heal. I suspect the idea of healing
> without vis clashed.

I would think that, like the example of making a sword brittle, this
would fall under the aegis of making the target a better version of
itself.  I don't think you can redefine the way that you do something
to make Perdo able to do what is explicitly forbidden to it.

In other words, Perdo can destroy properties, but only if those
properties are positive or neutral properties, because of a separate
limit that keeps Perdo from making something "better".  Perdo simply
cannot eliminate weaknesses.  All of these are, of course, subjective
and require interpretation from the troupe/storyguide.

--Nick