Question for the GMs, writers, and worldbuilders out there; What do you think about practical medicine existing in a fantasy world? You think germ theory has a place in fantasy, or is it all magic and miracles for your setting? #TTRPG - ThreadSky

dicefunctional.bsky.social • 13 days ago

Question for the GMs, writers, and worldbuilders out there;

What do you think about practical medicine existing in a fantasy world?

You think germ theory has a place in fantasy, or is it all magic and miracles for your setting?

#TTRPG

Comments

godot9.bsky.social•12 days ago

Since most healing magic is from the divine, the question would be 1) what level of interference from the divine do you allow? Remember this also applies to the "evil" god of plagues/poison. 2) If _every_ village has a priest, what prevents them from essentially cure/healing EVERYONE all the time?

godot9.bsky.social•12 days ago

Also, how does the healing work? Reverse time, accelerated time, boost vitality, boost natural healing, miraculous replacement, removal of "evil" influence, transfer of injuries, fill with divine power until replaced by natural healing, necromantic animation with illusion, etc.?

theoddrpg.bsky.social•13 days ago

I've been reading Stormlight and it's got quite an interesting take on fantasy germ theory, actually. Helps a lot to put the fantasy into the world.

I mean, I guess it also depends on culture. Ancient Greeks, then Romans, then Arabs, got a lot more right than wrong centuries ago, so it's a model.

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

Imagine a setting that uses the four humors.

theoddrpg.bsky.social•13 days ago

Sounds like the perfect system for medieval slice of life.

"Ok, so I get +4 to convince the innkeeper's wife to sleep with me because I am Choleric..."

graigmarx.bsky.social•13 days ago

I like the variety of ways to solve problems in D&D. That is where this fits for me. If you are sick or poisoned, roll medicine check. Then there are ways to get over the poisoning or illness. Not everyone is a caster with those spells, but a combo or creativity and luck with dice can find a way

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

Certainly. I do think that it tends to be a detail that gets overlooked when worldbuilding though.

I'll put it this way, how many times have you seen a setting where they've mentioned roughly where medical knowledge and capabilities fall?

graigmarx.bsky.social•13 days ago

In typical fantasy, it isn’t ‘sexy’ to the avg player nor do the DMs or Players have that kind of requisite knowledge to understand or use it. But, get some science nerds (I am one of them) together and purposely make that the focus of the campaign….could be awesome, unless INT is your dump stat.

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

Oh certainly, it isn't sexy.

But it is relevant.

That kind of information shapes how a world behaves. I'll go back to the example I regularly use.

If there is a limit to who has access to healing magic, then the wealthy will have healing magic, while the poor do not.

dartagnantt.bsky.social•13 days ago

I recall a thread once, where it said that having remove disease spells would make simple illnesses be an almost non issue, but it'll make plagues way worse.

wulfynrir.bsky.social•12 days ago

I play where most spells make great first aid bandages/battlefield medicine, but that's about it

"I can stop you from bleeding out, but you need to see a DOCTOR if your organs need sewn together"

"If you had mummy rot I could help you, but where in the nine hells do i even begin with leprosy??"

dicefunctional.bsky.social•12 days ago

So quick fixes and that's about all, so if someone loses a limb, they may just be completely boned?

wulfynrir.bsky.social•12 days ago

Basically. Although something like that, if its recent and you had a skilled enough cleric then regen is on the table. Or maybe dr frankenstein up the road could break out his sewing kit for cheap, if looks arent a primary concern!

wulfynrir.bsky.social•12 days ago

I play with people who have chronic illness and disabilities, so i try to make sure those can be represented in the game world. Maybe by the time you found a lvl 13 cleric the wound was just too old, or maybe your condition means that much strain on your body would cause other complications

bobbonsall.bsky.social•12 days ago

I think the answer, like so much else, comes down to "do I find this interesting?" Not just from a story perspective, but from a mechanics perspective. If it enhances the game, then definitely include it. If it bogs down the game or reduces the fun, then no.

nuggetthenonbiner.bsky.social•13 days ago

I want the nonmagicals to have health too thank you.

kennymai.bsky.social•12 days ago

I’m a history nerd so I always love pacing all technological and medicinal progress about the same as our world. If my fantasy world is 13th century-ish, their wacky ideas of medicine will be too!

dicefunctional.bsky.social•12 days ago

Oh yeah. My medicine is close to the patent medicine age, which is.

Mental.

marcblochead.bsky.social•13 days ago

After a certain point how different are germs from 'tiny invisible demons that are vulnerable to penicillin' really?

whatatravesty.bsky.social•13 days ago

The point where science ends and magic begins is nebulous. A disease could be mundane but caused by magic or mundane bacteria could spontaneously mutate into something magical.

Same for cures, whether they're magic or not is not understood in-universe. What matters is it works.

pastaparade.bsky.social•13 days ago

I think practical sciences are 100% valid to put in them, and put them in my own. Not everyone is magical, and not everyone LIKES magic. Ive got normal doctors, engineers, etc etc. I never dug on waving everything away cause magic, and i even think spells that cure diseases make them less viable

pastaparade.bsky.social•13 days ago

for DMs to use in games as hazards or plot hooks

wanderingvoron.bsky.social•13 days ago

💯 I blend magic and science

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

Same, and in my mind, it would just make sense that magic has it's own limitations that would prevent it from being used for anything and everything.

Like. Even if magic can be cast without slots or points or whatever, shouldn't it exhaust the caster?

wanderingvoron.bsky.social•13 days ago

So forbidden lands is great for middle earth where gandalf spends most of his time with a sword and staff

wanderingvoron.bsky.social•13 days ago

Another way is like that used in forbidden lands by free league in how willpower points are gained and the high risk of mishap making most casting dangerous so casters rarely cast spells unless the need is great

wanderingvoron.bsky.social•13 days ago

The exhaustion thing is just a game balancing concept that can be achieved in other ways

wanderingvoron.bsky.social•13 days ago

It depends on a the paradigm that is used for the type of magic. For example in one world build a style of magic that is similar to druidism channels life energy leaving the caster energized but disoriented and sometimes hypomanic.

quartermasterc.bsky.social•13 days ago

I mean, I absolutely think you can get a mundane disease, but I also think that you can easily be cured of it with magic.

so I don't really lean into it.

Especially because my wife is fighting lyme disease, and as such we REALLY don't need that bullshit in the game I run.

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

See that's totally fair, and I think that magic would be able to handle mundane diseases.

quartermasterc.bsky.social•13 days ago

i love the concept of "real world" additions, but in a lot of cases, i stop and go "but does it really need this?"

sometimes yes, like details about crafting. sometimes no, like physics. give and take.

nopipbutcpip.bsky.social•13 days ago

And of course, every worldbuilder (be it author or gm or table of players) will have a different answer to that.

kobolds-keep.net•13 days ago

It's interesting to see how some authors handle this idea.

Brust had a healer character who knew some sanitary practices, but a few wrong ones, and attributed it all to spirits.

Sanderson also has a setting where magical microbes are visible and can indicate the presence of normal ones.

dicefunctional.bsky.social•13 days ago

I need to read Sandersons stuff tbh...

lithrian.bsky.social•13 days ago

I generally don't get into it in my games. but do think that there would be conventional medicine

There are very few high level clerics and the average one can heal wounds maybe 4x a day. that's not much

And the amount of clerics that can revive the dead are even fewer

lithrian.bsky.social•13 days ago

And those cure wounds spells aren't for diseases, then you're getting into Restoration. And you might have a single cleric in a small sized city that can cure 3 people a day? Less if Greater is needed. That won't stop an outbreak so there has to be mundane practices available

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