Medicine

Key facts

Ability

WIS

Overview

Medicine is the Wisdom skill for nonmagical healing knowledge: stopping a bleeding ally from dying, recognizing a poison by its symptoms, or telling that the corpse in the hall has been dead for two days. It comes up when a healer's magic runs out, when the party finds bodies, and when a village is sick and nobody knows why. Its key use is the stabilization check that stops death saving throws.

How it works

Ability: Wisdom Stabilizing: A DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check as an action stabilizes a creature at 0 hit points; it stops making death saves but stays unconscious until healed or until 1d4 hours pass. Healer's kit: Using one charge from a healer's kit stabilizes automatically, no check needed. Medicine matters when you do not have one. Other checks: Diagnosing an illness, identifying a poison from symptoms, determining cause and time of death, tending wounds during a rest. Typical DCs: 10 for a common sickness, 15 for a rare poison, 20 for an exotic magical malady.

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Wizards, which list it. Wisdom casters often get it cheaply; a party without a caster needs it more. Character concepts: Field surgeon, plague doctor, herbalist, coroner, army medic. Synergies: Pairs with Nature for herbal remedies and with Investigation for examining a body. Carry a healer's kit anyway.

Frequently asked questions