Page 62 - World of Darkness

Robert was slumped on his side in the back seat, a thin, or operating room, where science and technology does
keening moan escaping his lips. Jenny clambered out of the much of the work of healing injuries. Typically, Dexterity
passenger seat and looked him over. There wasn’t much she + Medicine is rolled when a patient is dying while being
could see in the shifting bands of light from the street lamps. cared for. Intelligence + Medicine is rolled once a patient
Biting her lip, she ran her hands over Robert’s chest and has been stabilized and can undergo long-term care.
back. When she held them up to the light, they were red- Achieving sufficient successes (equal to the total,
black with blood. “Shit,” she said, noting a froth of bubbles overall Health points lost by the patient) restores one
in the blood on her palms. “The bullet’s hit his right lung. I Health point lost to bashing damage, in addition to any
need a credit card!” healing that the character already does under his own
“What?” power. A patient may regain no more than one “extra”
Health point by this means per day. Alternatively, a pa-
“Plastic! I need something stiff and waterproof that I tient who’s bleeding to death or in a coma is stabilized if
can use to plug the hole or his lung will collapse! Give me one success is achieved on the roll. (The loss of Health
your damn wallet!” points to aggravated damage each minute is stopped; see
The Medicine Skill reflects a character’s training and “Incapacitation,” p. 173.)
expertise in human physiology and how to treat injuries Round-the-clock, intensive care diminishes a patient’s
and illness. The trait represents knowledge of human injuries, downgrading the nature of wounds by one de-
anatomy and basic medical treatments. Characters with a gree. Thus, a lethal wound can be downgraded to bash-
low level in this Skill (1 to 2) often possess only rudimen- ing, and an aggravated wound can be downgraded to le-
tary first-aid training, while characters with high levels thal. Such treatment can occur only in a hospital or other
(3+) are the equivalent of physicians or surgeons. intensive-care facility. An extended Intelligence + Medi-
Possessed by: Medical students, paramedics, physi- cine roll is made. The number of successes required is five
cians, psychologists, surgeons for a lethal wound and 10 for an aggravated one. Each roll
Specialties: Emergency Care, Pathology, Pharmaceu- requires an hour.
ticals, Physical Therapy, Surgery This kind of treatment always focuses on the worst of
the patient’s injuries first. Thus, an aggravated wound is
Roll Results downgraded to lethal before a lethal wound is downgraded
Dramatic Failure: Your character has made an im- to bashing. No more than one wound can be downgraded
proper diagnosis of a patient’s condition and his treatment per day of treatment.
makes the condition worse. The more serious the condi- Note that this treatment does not eliminate wounds.
tion, the greater the harm. Misdiagnosing a cold instead It simply minimizes them. A patient must heal downgraded
of a virus might only make the sickness last longer, while injuries completely by himself or receive other treatment
improperly treating a gunshot wound may result in infec- to eliminate them.
tion or death. Example: Someone has beaten the crap out of Emir.
Failure: Your character’s diagnosis or treatment has He has lost all of his 7 Health points to lethal damage and is
no effect on the patient’s condition. now bleeding to death (acquiring an aggravated wound per
Success: Your character’s diagnosis and treatment minute). Landers discovers Emir and performs first aid.
improves the patient’s condition. Landers’ Dexterity is 2 and Medicine is 2. He must
Exceptional Success: Your character’s treatment and accumulate seven successes to stop the flow of blood and
diagnosis is so effective that the patient’s recovery time is save Emir’s life. Three rolls (and minutes) pass before
decreased. Landers accumulates the required successes, at which point
Emir stops incurring aggravated injuries. That leaves him
Healing Wounds with three aggravated and four lethal wounds. (Until
Dice Pool: Dexterity or Intelligence + Medicine + Landers accumulates the number of successes required to
equipment stop the bleeding, Emir continues to gain one aggravated
Action: Extended (one success is required per Health wound per minute as he keeps bleeding — see “Incapacita-
point of damage suffered; each roll represents one minute tion,” p. 173. If Landers’ rolls were repeatedly unsuccess-
of work (first aid) or one hour of work (long-term hospi- ful, Emir could have died while being treated.)
tal treatment)) Later, in the hospital, the attending physician puts Emir
Application of the healing arts can help restore a in intensive care to alleviate the worst of his injuries. The
patient’s lost Health points. Treatment can occur in the doctor has 4 Intelligence and 4 Medicine, and gains four
field through first aid or in a doctor’s clinic or ER. While bonus dice for tools and facilities. In three hours, 10
medical treatment can stabilize a patient or alleviate his successes are rolled for him and he reduces one of Emir’s
pain, it isn’t usually capable of miraculous cures or recov- aggravated wounds to lethal damage. At least two more days
eries. That requires time and rest on the patient’s part, of such successful treatment must pass before Emir’s
and prolonged care. remaining two aggravated wounds are reduced to lethal, one
Dexterity + Medicine may be rolled in the field or per day. After that, Emir is allowed to recover on his own
ER, while Intelligence + Medicine may be rolled in a lab with rest. It takes two days before he heals one of his lethal

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MENTAL SKILLS- MEDICINE