It's not a question of trying to rationalize a difference between logically identical procedures, it's noting the specific method of destruction as outlined in the rules, and it's completely logical.
There is no specific method even mentioned in the skill mechanic description, just the name of the skill, which has proven to not really mean anything by skills such as parry/avoid. The game is thick with skills with name that "sorta kinda" indicate what the skill is about.
While I understand the basis for your interpretation
I am not interpreting anything, just reading whats in black and white so to speak.
... your cognitive misstep...
That's just wordsmithing for mistake, like much of the rest of the the post above post. I made neither a...cognitive misstep...or a mistake.
A lobotomized cupcake with even a small amounts of LARP rules creation experience and a good dash of knowledge of the FH game philosophy would know that those responsible for the creation of the skill wanted the effect to be the DESTRUCTION of shields, weapons and armor without the need to have someone throwing a damage based call that could mimic a channel effect, especially since such a damage call would affect neither weapons or armor on permanent basis like what can be done to shields.
They may even have started with "lets add shatter...to destroy shields and armor n such" or simply decided that " i use a packet to destroy your shit" wasn't a great verbal and settled on SHATTER. Either way there was not a scrap of thought about the specifics you are eluding to. They wanted it to be an item destroying effect not based on a damage number, SHATTER is just the name given.
As such, the fact that the skill talks about destruction in several places, AND that a large enough channel can do the same to shields...AND since the herb protects against the non damage based version, I thought I would clarify. I got my answer.
I didn't even stray into IF the herbal product should or should not work to save shields form the channel effect. I think it should since the herbal product was designed as a one shot resist to such destruction, especially since the FH GMs are all about creative uses for current skills and such. I do however not really care if its changed or not, I just wanted a yes or no...or I would have added the contention to the original post.
comes from your presumption that Shatter is "simply the world used... to indicate a destructive effect". It's more than that - it is a specific effect with specific game mechanics.
This comes from YOUR ...cognitive misstep..that the skill was created with even a tenth of the thought to the in game "physics" related details your trying to throw into the soup to make some rationalization. If those responsible put that kind of thought into the logical functioning of the skills, parry avoid would 100% nullify ALL aspects of the attackers its used to defend against. We all know that isn't the case.
that "Shattered" and "Destroyed" are perfectly analogous.
Never said it was perfectly analogous, I said they meant the same thing and figured I didn't need to add.....in the general FH games rules paradigm.
We could hypothetically differentiate additional mechanical methods of destruction, such as:
"Disintegrate"
"Decay"
"Immolate"
"Annihilate"
"Detonate
...all of which would have the exact same end effect as "Shatter" - the destruction of an item
"
These, while some similar to shatter and/ or destroy, these do NOT all end up with the objects destruction.
"Disintegrate" item destroyed, but turned to "dust" and not broken into small pieces. Id say worse than shattered.
"Decay" doesn't mean the item is destroyed, just aged faster than normal. In an extreme that MAY mean destroyed, but doesn't fit destroyed automatically.
"Immolate" bured...alot...again doesn't mean destroyed, but doesn't automatically. Could simply mean VERY damaged. Again, doesn't fit.
The idea that a mechanic designed to prevent one method of destruction wouldn't work on every other method is perfectly logical.
The source of THIS cognitive misstep is the assumption that any thought was given to that fact that a large enough channel and the shatter skill DESTROYED the shield, and if the herbal item should work on both or not.Id wager that never occurred to anyone involved in the process, especially since the general response has been..."I/WE don't THINK so"