What's a mishap

[RobW]

As we know, physickers heal 2 wounds for different "mishaps".
I can only suppose the language was deliberately changed from the ITL TOS to be vague.
I'm interested in what others are calling a mishap. We are still doing one combat == one mishap.

[Anaraxes]

"Combat or accident", as in the last PDF I happen to have.

"Mishap" saves some words, which they might have done not for vagueness, but to avoid cutting content when they added words elsewhere. Simply saying "combat" would mean that Physickers couldn't heal accidents -- but combats are not the only way adventurers are likely to get injured. That might be less vague, but it's also far less useful, as well as creating an odd world where sprained ankles or scratched arms can't be treated, even though sword thrusts and axe blows to the skull can be.

[Skarg]

The new Master Physicker text also uses the word "wound".

I think that's all the more reason to allow healing each wound separately, if you have enough physickers/time to do so.

The "per combat" of the original ITL was immediately unacceptable to us as making no sense. We didn't think the physical body would really have any reason to respond to "combats" - wounds are what happen to the body, so how they're distributed into "combats" would have no effect on whether they can be healed or not. That was at about age 11. My desire for things to make sense has only increased over the decades, not decreased.

[RobW]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

"Combat or accident", as in the last PDF I happen to have.

Yes to rephrase. If in a single combat you are hit three times, is your physicker's healing based on the number of combats (1) or the number of wounds (3).

[Helborn]

ITL pg 76. Combat example. Physicker can only heal 2 hits at the end of combat.

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Helborn

ITL pg 76. Combat example. Physicker can only heal 2 hits at the end of combat.

If you read the combat example (ITL pg 128-129), you'll also find that each PC was only injured once.

[Helborn]

Originally Posted by Skarg

If you read the combat example (ITL pg 128-129), you'll also find that each PC was only injured once.

Nope. Heniochus takes two separate damages from the trap and from the troll. But gets to be healed only 2 pts

[warhorse11h]

ITL LE, pg 9, "First Aid. A Physicker can give you first aid after an injury, healing two points of damage. A Master Physicker can cure 3. This takes 5 minutes."

ITL LE, pg 10, "First aid A Physicker can heal 2 points of damage from any injury; a Master Physicker can heal 3. If a “dead” figure can be restored to ST 0 or above by first aid, he didn’t really die."

ITL LE, pg 40, "Physicker (2): Healer’s ability. A Physicker can heal up to 2 new points of damage on any humanoid figure (wounds only – not exhaustion) within an hour after any combat or accident. He must have a physicker’s kit to do so. Efforts of more than one Physicker on the same wounded figure are not cumulative. Example: A figure takes 5 damage. No matter how many Physickers there are in the group, he can only be cured of 2. However, if he later suffers a different mishap, he can be cured of 2 of those new hits by any Physicker. It takes 5 minutes to heal 2 damage."

ITL LE, pg 44, "Master Physicker (2): You must already be a Physicker. A Master Physicker can heal 3 damage (instead of 2) if he has a kit, or 1 damage even without a kit. Either way, it takes 5 minutes. Treatment by a Master Physicker is not cumulative with treatment by a Physicker for any one mishap – that is, if you have both a Master Physicker and a Physicker in your party, you can’t use them both together to cure a 5-hit wound. The Master Physicker can cure 3, and the Physicker can watch and learn. Note: Either a Physicker or a Master Physicker can work on his own wounds just as he can another’s. A Master Physicker can also make the Healing Potion (see p. 147) as though he were an Alchemist."

Glad I went back and read the relevant materials. There seems to be very little that is vague here. Physicker seems to indicate that a "mishap" is any accident or combat. Further, if the intent was to mean that different wounds from the same combat could be treated separately, the wording in master physicker would be inappropriate. It does not seem that the rules support the desired intent of those who feel that multiple hits in the same combat can each be treated.

Having said all that, i will say that you paid for your game just like I did mine and you can house rule it any way you want to. have fun, that's what this is supposed to be all about.

[Skarg]

Er, I still see mentions of mishaps, injuries, and wounds as what gets healed, not combats.

I don't see anything saying I'm supposed to do it by combat, except in original 1980's ITL.

And ya, we all can and will play how we want.

[Helborn]

I think we're overthinking. The point is that a physicker is faced with a wounded individual. How many times the person was hit does not matter. It is the sum total of wounds that matter.

In RL a doctor will treat each injury separately. But in combat situations even the doctor will triage and treat most serious first.

SJ made the physicker a limited healer, the equivalent of First Aid in GURPS. He is not a doctor. This is the same issue with the Heal Spell. There is only patching up in TFT no real healing. Healing requires down time.