>I loathe tapping in any form in any game. As a narrator I will
>never have it in my Glorantha. I would never play in a game that it
>could be used against players.
Interesting. I'd agree that the metagame presentation (as the other poster pointed out, too), is objectionable. But if Taping were presented in-game well enough, then why not? I mean, it's certainly in genre. Whenever I think of tapping, I think of the scene from The Dark Crystal where they drain the essence from the little muppet people. Or vampires sucking blood going from weak to strong. Or magic that steals youth and gives it to the old witch.
I mean, it's a powerful meme in this sort of fiction. I wouldn't do without it, personally. My only requirement is that it be presented in a good in-game fashion and not in the game terms that it sometimes is.
Now, as for how to balance it, that's another thing. But generally I think that it's just a normal penalty to the target that's healed per the normal rules being used to break the magic. And the benefit to the one doing the tapping should merely be a contest to gain a bonus like any other contest to do so.
So you just do the two contests, and it balances out with the rest of the system. Present it right, and it's all good.
Mike
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