So, I've played EP a couple times now in short campaigns with DMs trying out new systems, and have a character I played in both who I'd like to use if I get a chance to play again. I may ask for more specific advice on him in another thread, but he's basically a doctor who deals with shady individuals.
Unfortunately, his main defining role is the one I have the hardest time finding a use for. Most everything it seems I can do with medical skills appear to be covered by medichines. In fact the only real things I can think of are implant surgery and repairing mental stress (which is more psychology). Is there any real point, gameplaywise, to having skills like Medicine: Paramedic and Medicine: Trauma Surgeon (which I assume are the two main "lifesaving" skills), or is it basically blowing points on a background?
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Playing a medic
Wed, 2014-03-05 21:25
#1
Urthdigger
Playing a medic
Wed, 2014-03-05 21:29
#2
ORCACommander
paramedic can see real use
paramedic can see real use use on a fire team that is good at getting shot up most of the time. trauma surgeon i see more RP value in than practical use.
Thu, 2014-03-06 13:20
#3
DivineWrath
I recall asking for a book
I recall asking for a book that was all about skills. A book to fill in all the gaps and stuff. There are times when you don't really know how to use a skill, or even know if a skill is redundant if you have other skills.
If I recall correctly, the devs ended up agreeing that such a book would a good thing to make. I'm not sure if they have done anything with it yet (they are not a large company so they can't write books fast). I think that a number of special traits and skill traits that were cut from the Transhuman book will make it into the skill book (there were problems trying to include those skill tricks and stuff).
Thu, 2014-03-06 13:44
#4
nezumi.hebereke
I'd recommend focusing more
I'd recommend focusing more on nanomedicine. Firstly, you can still use med kits and optimize medichines, so you can play the paramedic role (although perhaps not as much as a dedicated healer). But you also get to be more useful in investigations, which frequently rely on swarms, medicine, or some combination of the two. Toss in psychosurgery and hacking and you're a catch-all character hacker.
Thu, 2014-03-06 18:41
#5
Urthdigger
Well, I'm wondering more
Well, I'm wondering more about how to make a doctor's skills useful rather than how to make the character useful. He had good scores in various social skills like persuasion, kinesics, and deception so he worked well as the party's diplomat and de facto leader. He was also scary good at combat, I gave him a 60 in kinetics so he would be of use in a fight... and promptly discovered that a scurrier with 4 light pistols and taking Ambidexterity 3 times can quickly create a wall of bullets. I may lower his kinetics skill next time.
Anyway, looking over everything again, as well as the thread, I'm wondering if perhaps my best option is to work with the DM so I have more opportunities to use my skills on NPCs: Treating survivors of an attack and such, folks who aren't lucky enough to be PCs and may not be able to get medichines.
Thu, 2014-03-06 18:50
#6
ShadowDragon8685
Medicine is like
Medicine is like Bodysculpting.
It's the sort of skill that [i]will not be useful[/i] in a firefight.
Anything an instantiated medic can do, 250 credits worth of Medichines can do, [i]without[/i] taking up an action that could be better spent air-mailing hot lead at your enemies.
The only real use for a Medicine skill in a firefight is so you can pop stacks quickly and efficiently. Medichines can't do that.
So, if your game is being run like D&D and there's 1d4 exsurgents behind every door popping a squat over a cargo crate of loot, your medic isn't going to be very useful.
Trauma surgeon, likewise, is the sort of skill that would only be useful when the group is like, [i]completely[/i] isolated from civilizations, and you [i]have[/i] to take care of the morphs you have. Otherwise, you can just throw someone's severed head into a healing vat and if they had medichines to keep their brain from dying, they'll regrow.
They'll regrow [i]faster[/i] if there's someone with a relevant medical skill greater than 40 (the limit for dumb AIs, as would be included in the vat,) to man the device, but they'll still be good.
On the other hand, you don't seem to have a problem. Your trauma surgeon seems capable of saving and taking life equally well, so I wouldn't worry about it. Sooner or later, you'll get to that point where the GM will say "Well, it would be good if you guys had a surgeon right about now," and you can pull out your scalpels and say "Step aside: I AM A DOCTOR!"
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Mon, 2014-03-10 02:04
#7
Urthdigger
Yeah, I kinda figured the
Yeah, I kinda figured the skill wouldn't be useful during combat, but when I originally made him I anticipated needing to patch up my crew between fights.
Anyway, I have a few more rules questions, and figured I'd ask them here instead of making a new thread.
1: I've made my character under the assumption that it's unusual for scurriers to wear clothes (based on the pic in Gatecrashing), and as such having to find alternative ways to deal with armor and carrying capacity. So, my question is: assuming my gear is scaled down to my size, if I store a silenced light pistol in a skin pocket, how much ammunition could I likely store with it, if any? I'm currently going with 25 rounds each.
2: Certain mods and drugs, mostly ones involving pheromones and appearance, state that the bonuses do not apply to uplifts and xenomorphs. What if a uplift or a pod with alien biochemistry takes it? Are they sculpted and scented to appeal to humans? Or should that be changed to "Bonuses don't apply outside of your own kind?"
Mon, 2014-03-10 02:24
#8
Erulastant
1. Scurriers are going to be
1. Scurriers are going to be pretty unusual anyways. So feel free to wear clothes if you want, I think that would probably be a matter of personal preference (Depending on where you are of course).
2. Appearance will probably affect you iff you have a human ego. (Human tailored) pheromones are not going to affect you if you have alien biochemistry. You probably will not be able to get most pheromone-type implants at all because they are designed for earth biochemistry, which you don't have.
—
You, too, were made by humans. The methods used were just cruder, imprecise. I guess that explains a lot.
Fri, 2014-03-21 01:09
#9
Hoarseman
Healing Vat availability
You may want to find out how common healing vats and medichines are in setting, if they are hanging on every wall Medicine is less useful. If there are fewer of them or there is a cost associated with there use Medicine could be a way to save credits/rep. Also a good way to build rep might be to act as emergency medtech after a disaster, when healing vats are at full capacity a physician could be very desirable so people don't die and have to replace their now bodies or get a case, etc.