Medicine

Key facts

Characteristic

Reason

Overview

Medicine is the reasoned study of bodies: identifying a plague by its progression, recognizing which poison is in a victim's blood, prescribing a course of treatment, telling the Director's murder scene what killed the man on the floor. It is a Reason skill because it rests on trained knowledge. It comes up in outbreaks, at poisonings, over unfamiliar corpses, and in the long recovery after the party takes real damage.

How it works

Characteristic: Reason. Skill group: Reason skills. Test: 2d10 + Reason; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. How it is used: Tier 3 identifies the cause and the correct treatment. Tier 2 narrows it down and buys the patient time. Tier 1 gives a wrong diagnosis, and treating for the wrong illness can make matters worse. Edges and banes: A clean examination, known symptoms, or reference texts grant an edge (+2). A nonhuman patient, a magical or supernatural ailment, or a corpse days old imposes a bane (-2).

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Investigative parties and heroes who want the aftermath of violence to be readable. Character concepts: Sage career physician, Artisan apothecary, an academic upbringing spent in a hospital ward. Synergies: Heal for the field version, Alchemy to brew the antidote you just identified, Monsters when the venom came from something unnatural.

Frequently asked questions