Bonesetting

[Rasputin]

I'm struggling for an answer to why anyone would bother with Bonesetting (GURPS Low-Tech Companion 1: Philosophers and Kings, p. 25; GURPS Bio-Tech, p. 131), as it does not do the benefit of Repairing Lasting Crippling Injuries (p. B424), which is to reduce the recovery time of a lasting crippling injury from months to weeks. Am I missing something, or is there some errata warranted?

[johndallman]

Well, as best I understand it, in the real world, displaced bone fractures have to be set if they're to heal properly (in game terms, avoiding permanent crippling injury). Since GURPS is deliberately vague about what injuries involve broken bones, these rules don't need to be used unless the GM wants them.

[Ulzgoroth]

Bonesetting seems to be a rule that's dependent on some other rule that never actually got published to give it any kind of function.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Well, as best I understand it, in the real world, displaced bone fractures have to be set if they're to heal properly (in game terms, avoiding permanent crippling injury).

Well, game terms here have that happen on a failure. Does there need to be a success to have the injury heal normally? It doesn't say.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Well, game terms here have that happen on a failure. Does there need to be a success to have the injury heal normally? It doesn't say.

Saying "That's a broken bone" is one possible way to interpret a crippling injury. The bonesetting rules provide a way of addressing that specific sort of injury. The healing process is not speeded up by a successful roll from months to weeks, as is normal for Surgery; however, the procedure is fast and noninvasive, doesn't require Physician skill, and can be improved as a technique, which are advantages.

As to when someone has a broken bone, the GM should apply common sense: if someone suffers lasting crippling injury (which takes months to heal) and if the damage was crushing or cutting, it may be a broken bone. If it's permanent crippling injury, it may be a compound fracture.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Saying "That's a broken bone" is one possible way to interpret a crippling injury. The bonesetting rules provide a way of addressing that specific sort of injury. The healing process is not speeded up by a successful roll from months to weeks, as is normal for Surgery

What I want to know is, in game terms, what does a successful roll do? What my reading of the rules tells me is this:

Do nothing, don't bother with the Surgery roll: lasting crippling injury heals in 1d months (p. B422).
Critical success: "needed to avoid cosmetic disfigurement."
Success: All we have is that "success does not reduce recovery time to weeks." Since that's the only benefit of repairing a lasting crippling injury, a success is a big question mark for bonesetting.
Failure: "Any failure results in permanent crippling."

In short, I can't see any reason to bother rolling, since it isn't going to help, which I assume was not the intent of the rule.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Do nothing, don't bother with the Surgery roll: lasting crippling injury heals in 1d months (p. B422).
Critical success: "needed to avoid cosmetic disfigurement."
Success: All we have is that "success does not reduce recovery time to weeks." Since that's the only benefit of repairing a lasting crippling injury, a success is a big question mark for bonesetting.
Failure: "Any failure results in permanent crippling."

I believe the intention is that properly setting a broken bone is required to get that "heals in 1d months". It's just that there's no hard rule about whether a given crippling injury involves a broken bone (aside from educated GM fiat: burning injury certainly won't, crushing injury probably will).

[Anthony]

The problem here is mostly the generous crippling rules. A realistic rule would probably be something like 'At the end of the period, roll HT + (Physician TL -4), or HT-4 if left untreated. Failure means the injury is permanent'.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The problem here is mostly the generous crippling rules. A realistic rule would probably be something like 'At the end of the period, roll HT + (Physician TL -4), or HT-4 if left untreated. Failure means the injury is permanent'.

Realistically, there's a hug spectrum between completely useless crippled and fully functional normal.
There's always technically functional but use of the limb causes pain. See House. That would be interesting, Crippling with a medication mitigator.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I believe the intention is that properly setting a broken bone is required to get that "heals in 1d months".

Yeah, that's my thinking, but nowhere does it say that outright, or even hint it.

Originally Posted by RyanW

It's just that there's no hard rule about whether a given crippling injury involves a broken bone (aside from educated GM fiat: burning injury certainly won't, crushing injury probably will).

That one, however, was easy for me to write:

A bone is broken if it is crippled by a major wound from a crushing weapon, or by a major wound from a cutting weapon that dealt enough basic damage, less DR, to be a major wound before the damage multiplier for cutting damage.

Basically, it has to be crippled in one good, solid smash. You can punch his arm again and again and do enough damage in repeated blows to cripple it, but this won't break the arm unless you got a punch for more than HP/2 damage. A sword blow must do HP/2 basic damage after DR to break the arm; the 50% bonus for the edge doesn't count for this.