Medical Science
This skill provides a character with the training needed to perform certain medical procedures, including the ability to diagnose common ailments, diseases, and wounds. Skill checks made to determine if a character knows a certain piece of medical information, or if he’s able to research a question and discover an answer, are made the same way as Knowledge skill checks.
A character with just the Medical Science broad skill can’t treat characters who have suffered damage, however. The treatment specialty skill is necessary to heal stun or wound damage, and reducing a patient’s mortal damage requires the surgery specialty skill.
Forensics
Forensics is the study of causes of death and physical evidence at the scene of a crime or accident.
⊗ Increased Effect: As a character attains higher ranks in forensics, he receives a situation die bonus on skill checks that can be assisted by this specialty. The bonus is -1 step at rank 3, -2 steps at rank 6, -3 steps at rank 9, and -4 steps at rank 12.
Medical Knowledge
Medical knowledge is the study of medicine and represents how up-to-date a character is on a particular medical technique or a technique outside his usual field of practice.
⊗ Increased Effect: As a character’s rank in this specialty increases, he receives a situation die bonus to any Medical Science—treatment skill checks: -1 step at rank 2; -2 at rank 5; -3 at rank 8; and -4 at rank 12.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of mental processes and behavior, and the treatment of mental aberrations and disease.
⊗ Increased Effect: As a character attains higher ranks in psychology, he receives a situation die bonus on skill checks that can be assisted by this specialty. The bonus is -1 step at rank 3, -2 steps at rank 6, -3 steps at rank 9, and -4 steps at rank 12.
Surgery
The Medical Science specialty skill surgery is used to heal mortal damage and perform other invasive medical procedures. Any application of this skill requires a complex skill check. Surgery can’t be performed during a combat scene. It almost always takes much more time than mere rounds or minutes, and successful surgery is extremely difficult to perform in conditions such as those found on the typical battlefield.
Surgical Conditions
The conditions for surgery are considered Critical (+4 step penalty) when the procedure must be performed with poor lighting, primitive tools (or no surgical tools at all), and no trained assistance. Marginal conditions (no modifier) are better than Critical, but still below what’s necessary for success. A Good situation (-2 step bonus) is similar to a modern ambulance or spaceship sick bay. Amazing conditions (-3 step bonus) are found in a standard hospital. Optimal conditions (-4 step bonus) include high-tech tools, trained support staff, and the most advanced medical procedures available.
Procedure and Recovery
The complexity of a surgery check depends on the amount of mortal damage the patient is suffering from when the procedure is begun: 1 point of damage is Marginal, 2 is Ordinary, 3 is Good, and 4 or more is Amazing. If the patient is suffering only from wound damage, then 2 points of damage is Marginal, 4 is Ordinary, 6 is Good, and 8 or more is Amazing. For every two successes achieved during the complex skill check, the patient is healed of 1 point of mortal damage and 2 points of wound damage.
▶ Cybernetic Surgery: A character who has achieved at least rank 3 in surgery can use this skill to repair or heal an organism with existing cybernetic implants. At rank 6, the character becomes able to install cybernetic implants.
Treatment
The treatment specialty skill can be used to accomplish all the same tasks that the first aid skill is used for (healing stun damage, knockout recovery).
Treatment Procedures
▶ Heal Wound Damage: When treatment is used to heal wounds, the character must be using either a first aid kit or a trauma pack, and a complex skill check is required. The task is Ordinary with a first aid kit, or Marginal if a trauma pack is used. If the check is successful, 2 wounds are healed with a first aid kit, and 4 wounds are healed with a trauma pack. ▶ Dying: A character with any amount of mortal damage is considered to be dying. A character with treatment and either a first aid kit or a trauma pack can stabilize mortal damage, increasing the time between Stamina-endurance checks from one per hour to one per day. ▶ Treating Disease: The treatment specialty can be used to identify and treat debilitating diseases, with situation die modifiers dependent on the difficulty and virulence.
⊗ Improved Treatment: As a character achieves higher skill ranks, he becomes more proficient at providing aid to injured patients. This is reflected by a reduction in situation die penalties: -1 step at rank 3, -2 steps at rank 6, -3 steps at rank 9, and -4 at rank 12. Note that this benefit only reduces a penalty; it never provides a bonus.
Xenomedicine
This specialty skill involves the medical study of a specific alien species, allowing a character to use his other medical skills on members of that species. The skill must be purchased separately for each alien species a character wants to know about. A character with at least rank 1 in this skill, as well as rank 1 or higher in Knowledge—first aid, Medical Science—treatment, and/or Medical Science—surgery, can administer aid to an alien character or creature of the appropriate species. Initially, the +3 step penalty associated with healing alien characters is applied.
⊗ Improved Treatment: As a character achieves higher ranks in a specific application of xenomedicine, she becomes more proficient at providing aid to patients of the appropriate species. When the character reaches rank 3 in xenomedicine, the initial +3 penalty is reduced to +2; at rank 6, the penalty is +1; at rank 9, the penalty is eliminated; and at rank 12, the doctor receives a -1 bonus.