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Previous section | Next section | ContentsChirurgeon ability allows the character to treat concussion wounds. Additional fields of medicine which may be learned are:
Break fever. By using this skill and one set of medical supplies, a chirurgeon can speed up the process of a fever, causing all of the effects to occur at once for three hours of game-time, at the end of which the fever will be gone. Alternately, by using one set of medical supplies and spending ten minutes treating the character, the chirurgeon may make the fever-ridden character coherent for one minute.
In some campaigns, the GM will require that players expend a medical supply tag to use this skill. In other campaigns the GM may require a specific component or alchemical treatment.
Diagnose disease. This allows the character examining a patient to tell if illness is caused by disease, and which type of disease, so it may be treated.
Diagnose infection. This allows a character examining a patient to tell if illness is caused by infection, and which type of infection, so it may be treated.
Diagnose poison. This allows a character examining a patient to tell if illness is caused by poison, and which type of poison, so it may be treated.
Forensic medicine. By examining a corpse less than two months dead, for five minutes, the chirurgeon may tell what the general cause of death most likely was; such as stabbing, bludgeoning, drowning, falling or internal injury (though whether it was a heart attack, poisoning, hemorrhaging, etc., can not be determined by the quick examination). Under certain circumstances, the chirurgeon might be mistaken as to the cause of death in his/her cursory inspection -- though this should generally require GM approval or direction, or be the result of more obvious harm which was not the result of death (if for instance a person died of battle wounds, but then the corpse was ravaged by wolves). If a thorough examination is done (taking approximately one hour and requiring the use of medical instruments), the chirurgeon can get more detailed information as to the cause (what general type of weapon, what material it was made of, if the actual killing blow was by something other than what caused the major wounds or unconsciousness, whether the character died of natural causes or of poisoning, etc.).
Knowledge gained through forensic medicine isn't always accurate. Even a thorough examination may (GM's discretion) give the user false or misleading information.
Midwifery. Use of this skill lessens the chance of
permanent health damage in the case of miscarriages or difficult births
(modifying the percentage rolled by the GM). It also allows
knowledge of certain herbal mixtures used for fertility and
miscarriage.
Skill points: 12
Physical therapy. Over time, with regular sessions, a chirurgeon with this skill may help a patient suffering from muscle or nerve damage or from poisons which affect health or fatigue. It requires two sessions for the patient to regain health (one per game day). Additionally, the afflicted character must also get physical therapy tags to turn in to logistics the next two ingame days, or the condition will start to regress. (Health or fatigue lost due to an addiction can only be regained after the addiction is broken.)
Set limb. Dislocations may be fixed immediately, doing one health point of damage in the process.
Fractures may be set. A set limb will remain unusable for the remainder of the event. Broken ribs prohibit any movement faster than a walk and any strenuous exercise (including combat). If properly set, all such breaks and fractures will be healed by the next event.
If a fracture is not set by a trained chirurgeon, it will continue to remain unusable after subsequent events, and will have to be rebroken (doing two health points damage) in order to be set properly.
Use of this skill requires one set of medical supplies.
Treat disease [x]. Talk to the GM to find out what
sorts of
diseases (s)he has existent in the campaign world. Continued
treatments for a disease will give a percentage chance of
recovery or partial recovery. Often part of the treatment will
involve using certain medicinal elixirs.
Skill points: varies with disease; usually between 1 and 8
Treat infection. By spending half an hour with a patient, and administering any alchemical mixture with a "quicken healing" effect, the chirurgeon can effect the severity of infection. All of the probabilities of bad effects for infections are halved if the patient is treated with level one quicken healing and cut to 1/3 if treated by level two or three quicken healing. (Round all fractions down.)
In addition, the odds of recovery are multiplied by 1.5 if level one or two quicken healing is used, and by 2.0 if level 3 quicken healing is used. Round all fractions down. Note that the odds of recovery will never exceed 95 percent.
Veterinary [bovine, equine, canine, feline, reptilian,
aviary, etc.]. Allows use of regular chirurgery upon
specified class of animal. May also be able to treat common
ailments, diseases, etc. Veterinary skill of the appropriate
type may be necessary to remove certain animal components;
including extracting venoms from still living creatures.
Prerequisite: Chirurgeon
Skill points: 18