>>6103055>I wish there were more Medicine related Quests; fantasy, modern, horror or drama... I just want it semi-realistic, rather than 'i can't healing magic!' or 'bandage, gooo!'.Interesting. I am also one for a larger or more in-depth look at healing, magical or otherwise. In my multiplayer fantasy quest, Night Without Stars, there was an entire player class dedicated to healing (as well as magic in general) which encompassed my views on healing and its importance in tabletop games as a mechanism for resource management. I once created a semi-complex first aid healing system for tabletop games which was meant to fully flesh out a dedicated doctor/non-magical healing role though with a fantasy twist; players keep track of each damage type and cure them through fantasy-appropriate means, such as curing cold damage or the touch of a ghost by eating spicy foods and warming up by a fire, and healing miasma/toxic damage by incense and good-smelling flowers as a way to counteract the toxins and so on. While keeping track of bandages to cure 90% of wounds isn't a bad mechanic, the main issue with healing was pointed out by a player during one of my tabletop games who basically criticized the system as being purely reactive. As a GM, I thought the concept of having to manage and create resources on the fly would be interesting; tearing up valuable silk you looted as treasure to make bandages would be an interesting choice, finding a "fat" monster to kill and boil its fat to make ointments to treat burns and acid damage would be a cool moment as well, but this dips into overly-complex resource management and inventory auditing which most people don't find fun. D&D's biggest complain is the magic system and unbalance of the magical to non-magical characters, both in terms of power as well as narrative weight and space in the rulebook. If you simplify combat and skills down to simple die rolls but have healing be a massive section it's basically the same thing. If you made a Quest focused around healing, you would also need to explore more, as otherwise the process is too repetitive and simple.
Of course with that being said, I personally don't mind the convenience of "bandage, gooo!" because to me it fits the ton of the sort of action-adventure vibe most fantasy stories and quests are going for. Realistically if you get stabbed anywhere you're going to be out of commission for at least a few days, not just to keep the wound clean but because of the various body responses to weakness like lethargy, weakness, loss of blood pressure, etc. In a more high fantasy adventure just wrapping a bandage on it should be enough for the next scene. It's been "treated" and while it's not really healed up as it would be IRL it's more fun as a mental image to just have the characters be running around carrying all their cool wounds and scars IMO.
Now if you want a GOOD example of gritty healing? For me- it's Dark Cut 2, the best medicine related flash game.
