The Town of Larsen

A character who receives any kind of penetrating injury (i.e. one which breaks the skin, whether from a compound fracture, stab wound, or claw rake) must save vs. poison to avoid infection. Any (even untrained) treatment within 4 hours using antiseptic will negate any need for this saving throw. Infection prevents a wound from healing, temporarily reduces PS, PP and SPD by 10% (round up), and requires a new saving throw vs. poison every 24 hours. Success indicates the infection is dealt with by the body's immune system and the injury can now heal normally. Failure indicates the loss of 1D4 hit points (not SDC).

The GM must decide when injury to muscles, joints, or bones reduces the mobility or attributes of a character. (See Optional Damage Tables, RMB p.11., and Common-Sense Rules on S.D.C. Damage, RCB p.16-18.) Except in the case of blood loss, these reductions last until the injury is at least mostly healed, from 3 days to 3 weeks or more depending on severity. Each day during this period when the character indulges in more than very light exercise will extend the period by 1 day; heavy exercise, like combat, may extend the period by 2D4 days.

In the case of blood loss, cumulative damage occurs until the bleeding is stopped. This can be done automatically by people without any medical skill, if at least improvised bandages are available.

When a character is injured, they fall into one of three categories for healing:

1. No treatment

2. Untrained treatment

3. Trained treatment

A character who receives no treatment for an injury will heal 1 HP and 2 SDC per day. Saves for infection must be made as usual. Some kinds of major injury will not heal properly without treatment; for example, dislocated joints, broken bones, lung or stomach wounds, serious or internal bleeding, etc. However, no character should be written off. Characters who are in a coma and receive no treatment have a base 2% chance to recover consciousness with 1 hit point, usually 12-48 hours (D4 x 12) after the injury was received.

A character who receives untrained treatment for an injury will heal 1 HP and 4 SDC per day. Saves for infection must be made as usual. Some kinds of major injury will not heal properly without professional treatment; for example, dislocated joints, broken bones, lung or stomach wounds, etc. Characters who are in a coma and receive untrained treatment have a base 15% chance to recover.

A character who receives first aid treatment for an injury will heal 2 HP and 4 SDC per day. Saves for infection must be made as usual. Some kinds of major injury will not heal properly without more qualified treatment; for example, dislocated joints, broken bones, lung or stomach wounds, etc. Characters who are in a coma and receive first aid have a base 25% chance to recover.

A character who receives treatment from a paramedic, holistic or psychic healer will heal 4 HP and 6 SDC per day. Saves for infection must be made as usual. Some kinds of major injury will not heal properly without more qualified treatment; for example, lung or stomach wounds, etc. Characters who are in a coma and receive this level of treatment have a base 40% chance to recover.

A character who receives treatment from a doctor will heal 4 HP and 6 SDC per day. Saves for infection must be made as usual. All kinds of injury can be treated, though organs cannot be regenerated. Characters who are in a coma and receive this level of treatment have a base 60% chance to recover.

IRMSS stands for Internal Robot Medical Surgical System. RMK stands for Robot Medical Kit. The IRMSS employs nanorobots to diagnose and treat a wide variety of injuries, using preprogrammed routines or a simple question-and-answer interface which can be used by an untrained person. The RMK is an aid to a trained paramedic or doctor, increasing their chances of successfully diagnosing and treating any medical condition or injury.

The IRMSS can be used manually or automatically. In the automatic mode (for example, some suits of power armour and full-conversion borgs have IRMSS systems installed in them, which function automatically if the user is incapacitated) they provide the equivalent of first aid, with the use of antiseptic, antibiotics, and other drugs as required. A first aid roll of 60% is appropriate. Note that IRMSS systems must have their supplies of drugs and nanorobots replaced, at a cost of 50% of the entire system, after 3D6 treatments.

In the manual mode they can answer simple questions about a person's condition (i.e. "very likely to die within 5 minutes", or "may die within 24 hours", or "will live but requires professional treatment", etc.) and provide instructions (i.e. instructions on placing the subject in the coma position, attaching pressure bandages, clearing airways, CPR, etc.). An untrained person can follow instructions and use a first aid roll of 70% (no experience is gained by success in this case). A trained person gains a temporary +25% to first aid or paramedic skill.

The RMK can only be used manually by a person with paramedic or medical doctor skill. It also uses nanorobots (not to as great an extent as the IRMSS does) and contains drugs, which must be replaced every 3D6 treatments at a cost of 10% of the basic purchase price. It relies more heavily on built in sensors and tools which can be re-used indefinitely, and which it sterilises after every use. A doctor equipped with an RMK gains a temporary +20% to both diagnosis and treatment rolls.