explaining medicine

[Dangerious P. Cats]

One thing I always like in my campaigns is good medicine. Whether it be magic, high tech, or something else. I'm otherwise happy with lower techs and general roughness. One thing I'm always needing is excuses to have better medicine in my campaigns, has anyone else come against this problem? What are ways I can slip good healing into the campaign?

[vicky_molokh]

Esoteric skills like Esoteric Healing and Alchemy and Herbalism.

[Tommi_Kovala]

No matter what your TL, there's always a real-world example of a contemporary culture with advanced medicine. Read about it and cannibalise for details. I was surprised to find one for my TL 2 game, even. In the Aleutians, some Indian tribes apparently managed some fairly daring surgical operations even before contact with Russian explorers.
In a fantasy world without a dominating religious authority like the Catholic church, you're actually better off not importing European medieval medicine. Since autopsies were illegal and the theory was rigidly centred around Hippocrates' ramblings, our continent at the time is a bad example of TL3 medicine. Look at what Muslims did then if you want doctors to be more than worthless. Also, you're not breaking anyone's suspension of disbelief if you simply decide that medicine is at one TL higher. In-game, it would mean a normal medieval fantasy world with proper anatomy charts, theory of circulation and basic anaesthetics.

[Highland_Piper]

In my campaign I'm using the Net Book Guide to Herbs & Poisons for those that like to use Herbalism and Alchemy.