Advanced First Aid
What is First Aid?
First Aid allows a character to use the Biotech skill in order to reduce the damage level of Light, Moderate and Serious wounds, or stabilize Deadly wounds until the character can be taken to a doctor. Biotech Skill only helps heal Physical damage. Stun Damage may be reduced by rest and sleep.
In order to be effective, Biotech must be used on the injured character within one hour following an injury. Regardless of its success, Biotech cannot help once magical healing has been applied.
Applying First Aid
To use First Aid, the player finds the wounded character's condition from Chart A below. Then, modifiers from Chart B are applied and the skill is rolled. Only one success is required for First Aid to be effective, and the amount of time given in Chart A is divided by successes for the final time. If the task is interrupted for any reason, it is aborted and must be attempted again.
First Aid may only reduce the Damage Level by 1, and may only be applied once.
Chart A
| Damage Level |
Target Number |
Treatment Time |
| Light |
4 |
5 Combat Turns |
| Moderate |
6 |
10 Combat Turns |
| Serious |
8 |
15 Combat Turns |
| Deadly |
10 |
Special |
Chart B
| Patient |
Modifier |
| Is Awakened |
+2 |
| Has Bioware |
+(Bio Index/2, round up) |
| Is Cyberzombie |
+(Absolute Essence Value) |
| Is suffering Attribute Failure |
+1 per Attribute affected |
| Has Guardian Angel Nano-Implant |
-2 |
| Has Savior Advanced Medkit |
-1 |
| Patient Body Attribute |
|
| 1-3 |
+0 |
| 4-6 |
-1 |
| 7-9 |
-2 |
| 10+ |
-3 |
| Conditions |
|
| Bad |
+1 |
| Terrible |
+3 |
| No medkit available |
+4 |
| Paramedic does not know cause of injury |
+2 |
Bad conditions are defined as any non-medical or controllable environment.
Terrible conditions are defined as any place where further damage or infection can occur.
Examples: A city street is a Bad Condition. A city street in the middle of a driving rainstorm while two gangs fight all around you is a Terrible Condition.
Deadly Wounds and First Aid
Because the character is suffering terrible wounds, Biotech can stabilize the patient, but cannot heal him. Even with prompt first aid, the character may die while being treated.
As with first aid for less severe wounds, make a Biotech Test. With at least 1 success, the character stabilizes; he or she stops taking an additional box of damage every (Body Rating) Combat Turns (see Exceeding the Condition Monitor, SR3 p. 125). If the test fails, make a Body Test for the wounded character against a Target Number 10. Use the character’s natural Body only; cyberware or other enhancements do not apply. If the test succeeds, the character self-stabilizes. If this test also fails, the character will die once the damage taken exceeds his or her Body Rating.
Once professional help reaches the character, make another Biotech Test and Body Test. Professional help
is a source of medical attention such as a hospital or clinic or with a better Biotech Skill Rating (such as a DocWagon™ paramedic) than that offered by the character who initially administered the first aid.
Trauma Patches
Trauma patches are a last-ditch alternative for stabilizing characters in danger of imminent death. These adhesive patches are placed against the patient’s skin directly over the heart. The patch administers controlled doses of high-powered medicines designed to stabilize an injured body.
When a trauma patch is applied, the wounded character may make an additional Body Test to stabilize. The Target Number for this test is 4, plus the rating of any dermal armor or blood filters present (both of these restrict the flow of medicine). Success leaves the character stabilized, and stops the accumulation of additional boxes of overflow damage.
The trauma patch increases the likelihood of lasting ill effects on the patient and so should be used only as a last resort.
Magical Characters and Damage
Awakened characters have it rough when they get hurt. Doctors and medics have a harder time treating them because
they cannot use their high-tech gear and high-powered medicines without risking damage to the character’s Magic Rating. When an Awakened character suffers a Deadly wound or is treated without the +2 modifier for an Awakened character, the character risks a loss of magic. The character’s player rolls 2D6. If the result is less than or equal to the magician’s current Magic Rating, that character permanently loses 1 point of magic. If the Awakened character is being treated for a Deadly wound and the +2 modifier is not applied, roll 2D6 twice for magic loss.
An Awakened character who requires a replacement limb or organ must have it cloned from the original tissue or risk similar magic loss. Any other DNA pattern, even that of another Awakened, decreases the character’s power-handling capability and thereby automatically reduces the character’s Magic Rating by 1. This reduction can be temporary; for example, a non-cyber substitute part can later be replaced with a limb or organ cloned from the character’s own tissue. Doing so restores the lost magic points; however, organ implants require major invasive surgery, and may pose the risk of even greater magic loss.
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