“The 2-1B Is In” is an occasional segment focusing on various aspects of healing and medicine in Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars RPG.
Recently, on the forums, Saronian was asking about the medical specs, and I sort of promised to write about them. (I already covered F&D’s Healer and Protector.) My first FFG SW character, back in the days of Edge of the Empire beta, was a Doctor, A’Lura Vao, and that game lasted through several arcs. One of the PCs in my own Age of Rebellion campaign is also a Doctor. So I have a bit of experience with the spec, on both sides of the table.
Talents
The Colonist/Doctor, unlike AoR’s Soldier/Medic, is not really a first responder–although Doctors do a lot of healing during encounters. But the medical talents in the tree are definitely skewed towards post-combat and long-term care with 2 instances of Bacta Specialist and 3 of Surgeon, but no Stimpack Specialist. While Medicine checks can be made in combat, and often are, they are Actions, whereas with a stimpack the PC can treat a companion (or themself) and still attack or do something else that round as well. Stimpack Specialist makes that faster method more potent by increasing the amount of wounds healed. But lack of that talent is only a minor drawback at most. And Doctors more than make up for it with the tiered Stim Application set of talents.
In my experience, the Stim App/Improved Stim App/Supreme Stim App trio is second only to “Keeps us alive” as a reason to have a PC Doctor in the house (or the ship). Stim App gives you or another character +1 to a characteristic for the remainder of the encounter with a successful Medicine check and 4 strain to the target. Improved drops the strain with a Hard check, and Supreme enables you to increase a second characteristic by spending a Triumph. When playing a Doctor, I used these talents nearly every combat. My GM was kind enough to allow me to do 1 or 2 Stim Apps as part of the preparation, if we knew we were probably going into a fight. This meant I could take another action during the first round of combat, including using Stim App again. I would advise against using it on the same character more than once in an encounter, especially if you don’t have the Improved version. Not only would they be losing a lot of strain just when they need it, but if you roll several Threat or a Despair on the Medicine check, I can see the GM inflicting Wounds, more Strain, or Setback dice on the target…
As for the other talents in the tree, I don’t consider any suboptimal. Unless you are playing a truly pacifistic Doctor (more likely in AoR than EotE), don’t neglect the right column of the table. And even a pacifist should seriously consider taking one or both of the Resolve talents on the right. You can’t patch your friends up–and they probably have to rescue you–if you exceed your Strain Threshold. If you intend to buy into more combat-oriented specs, or just want an edge for those cantina brawls, invest in the more expensive right column talents–Pressure Point, Anatomy Lessons, Dodge–as well.
Where To Go Next?
What to buy as a second–or third–spec is going to depend on how your PC has grown or where you see her going in the future. There are many options. Far Horizons, while primarily focused on “frontier” campaigns, has suggestions that are usable in a wider variety of campaigns. “Is There a Doctor In the House?” (p. 63) has some backstory ideas. GM’s, “Doctor: Applied Pressure” (pp. 66-67), is your go-to for upping the stakes and excitement (not to mention the doc’s adrenaline!) while she attempts to put her friends back together again.
Some Doctors don’t want to be anything else, and if that’s your PC, you might stick with just this spec, particularly if the campaign is unlikely to go past 200-300 xp. But you don’t have to, even in a short campaign. Scientist (AoR) or Scholar (EotE) are obvious for a more research-oriented PC. Or fill an empty niche in the party or become a backup. Since they usually have a good Intellect, the ship’s doctor, even untrained, can be a great help with co-piloting, making Astrogation checks, or damage control in a pinch. If he takes a spec that gives him access to some of those as career skills, he’ll be an even bigger help.
Don’t forget, especially in EotE, the less “respectable” specs. Remember the Medicine skill isn’t just used for treating injuries and illnesses. It also covers using poisons or recreational drugs. A Doctor who gains a little too much in the way of Criminal Obligations, or just isn’t a good being, might find himself smuggling glitterstim in his medical gear, or developing more addictive/potent forms of it. Or doing worse things…Perhaps Scoundrel or Thief is a better fit? Assassin, even?
Because they have access to most of the social skills as Colonists, most “face” specs, like Politico or some of the Smuggler specs are good second choices, if you want that party role, which isn’t for everyone. Even in the real world, doctors sometimes go into politics. Gambler has possibilities for an outgoing Doctor. For the same reason, leadership specs are a possibility. The Doctor in my AoR game stepped up to lead the PC SpecOps team, when the Tactician was killed in action, and has done a very good job, buying into Recruit to quickly address a few deficits.
Scout is the only other EotE core spec with Medicine as a skill, and one of the things that was mentioned by Saronian is how well Pressure Point might “dovetail” with the Scout Disorient and Quick Strike talents. I can see that. But most Doctors don’t get involved in frontline combat if they can help it, and their companions are usually invested in keeping them out of it as well. But, while I probably wouldn’t go that route, picking up those Scout talents would work for a character who can handle themselves in combat. If a lot of your adventures are in the out of the way parts of the galaxy, there are lots of other utility talents there.
The Cyber Tech Technician spec from Special Modifications might look promising for a Doctor who wants to expand their skillset–but only the righthand column. The other talents are aimed either at Technicians who want to do this kind of work for fun and profit or PCs who have multiple cybernetic implants.
So if fellow PCs have (or want) cybernetics or you want to specialize in cybernetic medicine, yes, then spend the 30+ XP to buy into it. From top to bottom–not a straight shot–you get Toughness, an instance of Cyberneticist, 2 of Surgeon, and Dedication. Two more ranks of Surgeon and an ability increase are pretty good, but that “not a straight shot” might be a deal-breaker for you.
Toughness, Cyberneticist, and the 15 XP Surgeon are linked, but to get to the second Surgeon and Dedication, you will need to buy a rank each of Durable and More Machine Than Man. Durable is great, reducing the Critical Hit roll by 10/rank, which just may keep you alive and more or less well. However, More Machine Than Man is useless for a PC who lacks implants and doesn’t plan on getting them. I will leave it up to you to decide if that Dedication and potentially having 5 ranks of Surgeon are worth paying 20XP for a talent you won’t ever use. (Unless the Force isn’t with your PC in the long run.)
So, Doctors, you don’t have to feel out of your element just because bad luck or personal beliefs have taken you out of the aseptic operating room and bacta ward. And now you’re aboard an ill-maintained YT-Whatever bound for some Outer Rim dirtball, no doubt full of badass bounty hunters, slimy Hutts, and/or immoral Imps (all of whom are after your gluteus maximus). Have a shot or two of Whyren’s Reserve while you consider how to make the best of your new life.
Linda Whitson
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