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Sawbones
By Daniel Carlson,
as appeared in Town Cryer 8. Thanks to Andy for his assistance! PDF at
Downloads!
Medical treatment is far from an exact science in the Old
World, and most people have justly learned to fear a visit to the Physician's
Guildhouse. Patients of an Old World doctor are likely to face bleeding,
amputation, under-anesthetized (a few pulls on a whiskey bottle if they're
lucky!) surgery, and worse in the course of their treatment. Yet, amazingly,
they sometimes emerge from these treatments in better health. Medicine may not
be pretty, but it is occasionally effective... and it is often the only
alternative to death or life as an invalid.
Yet if medical practice is unsightly in the professional
guilds of Old World cities, it is horrendous in the ramshackle butcher shops
that are the surgeries of the squalid settlements around Mordheim. No respected
professional would practice in such a place, and so the task of mending the
wounded is often taken up by wanted men, runaway apprentices, and charlatans out
to make a few coins off of another's misfortune. In the encampments around the
City of the Damned, seeking out a physician is always regarded as a desperate
gamble.
The Medical Tables:
Over the course of a warbands career, it is quite likely that
heroes will suffer injuries that will leave them, to a greater or lesser extent,
diminished in ability. If you wish, you may send a hero to a physician rather
than have him look for a rare item during the recruit New Warriors (trading)
phase of the post battle sequence. Even warriors who went Out Of Action in the
last battle may go to a physician (they are quite possibly in urgent need!).
You may only attempt to get treatment for one wound at a time, and only one
attempt at treatment per hero may be made during each post battle sequence. The
cost for treatment is 20 gold crowns per attempt (one attempt = one roll on the
table), and this money must be paid before rolling on the table - Mordheim
physicians demand payment in advance, while the patient is still capable of
doing so!
The following injuries cannot be treated: Chest Wound, Blinded in One Eye and
Old Bottle Wound. They are permanent damage the afflicted warrior will carry
to his grave.
Limb Surgery Table:
Surgery on a broken limbs (Leg Wound, Smashed Leg, and
Hand Injury) tends to be a straightforward and brutal affair.
2-3 'SOMEONE FETCH A PRIEST.' The unfortunate patient has expired due to excessive blood loss. The hero is
dead and must be stricken from the warband record, but his equipment is retained
by the warband.
4 'THIS HAS GOT TO COME OFF.' The surgeon has felt the need to amputate, ostensibly to 'keep the rot out.' If
a leg was being treated, the model now has its Movement halved (rounding up); if
a hand was being treated, the warrior may only use a single one-handed weapon
from now on.
5-6 'SORRY, LAD. DONE MY BEST.' The surgery was unsuccessful, and the warrior must miss the next battle while he
recovers.
7-8 'NO LUCK' The surgery was unsuccessful.
9-10 'MIND YOU STAY OFF IT FOR A BIT.' The surgery was successful! The warrior may remove the injury and its adverse
effects from his profile. He must, however, miss the next battle while he
recovers.
11-12 'SHALLAYA BE PRAISED!' The surgery was a complete success! The warrior may remove the injury and its
adverse effects from his profile.
Brain Surgery Table:
Surgery to relief mental illness. (Madness and
Nervous Condition.) Treating the ailments of the mind and nervous system
encompasses a variety of methods, from alchemical and herbal preparations, to
the physical opening of the cranium and tampering inside.
2-3 'SOMEONE FETCH A PRIEST.' The physician has been a bit too zealous in his treatment. The hero is
dead and must be stricken from the warband record, but his equipment is retained
by the warband.
4-5 'ERM... THAT'S NOT RIGHT.' The treatment has not only failed to help the warrior, it has actually worsened
his condition! The warrior is now subject to Stupidity. If the warrior
was being treated for Stupidity, there is no change in his condition (except
perhaps, a bit more drooling than usual.)
6 'A BIT UNHINGED, THAT ONE.' The treatment has failed, and the warrior emerges from the treatment as
something of a raving lunatic. The warrior's Initiative suffers a -1 penalty
(down to a minimum of 1.) He is now so unsettling to behold that he causes Fear.
7-8 'SORRY LAD, DONE MY BEST.' The treatment was unsuccessful, and the warrior must miss the next battle while
he recovers.
9-10 'A BIT OF REST, AN YOU'LL BE FINE.' The treatment was successful! The warrior may remove the injury and its adverse
effects from his profile. He must, however, miss the next battle while he
recovers.
11-12 'SHALLAYA BE PRAISED!' The treatment was a complete success! The warrior may remove the injury and its
adverse effects from his profile.
