D&D 5E Where is the point of medicine as a skill?

[Joshua Tellier]

Its your challenge to make boring things interesting. There is a large toolbox we have to play with, if you want a skill used make it useful, if not, let it atrophy. I make my players role medicine checks for knowledge about anatomy, or investigating a gruesome murder. It can be used to identify medicines and their uses if your healer wanted to role play as a more gritty battlefield medic instead of some hippy druid or holy cleric. Maybe your player only wants to be familiar with medicinal plants and not some wild edibles guru. Or use it to identify a poison or its antidote. If you or your players find that not useful, then don't use it. Just like if your group didn't care about animals they well never use animal handling.

 

[Sadras]

One of my groups does not have a healer, Medicine is a pretty invaluable skill to have at that table.

EDIT: Necro thread.

 

[Blue]

It is a (wis)skill to roll for stabilizing a dying. Nothing more.

What's the use of knowledge (arcana)? It can't even stabilize the dying so it must be even less useful that Medicine.

Oh wait, for skill roles. For you know, using the skill. As a skill. As opposed to an extension of combat. You know, non-combat rolls? The other pillars of the game?

"I investigate the body to figure out cause of death."
"I show the guard that the wound was made by a long blade, not the rogue's dagger."
"I diagnose why the villagers are wasting away."
"Is the rash and boils the goblins have contagious?"
"Is he really sick of just faking it?"
"He took deadly nightshade! Quick, an emetic to make him vomit it up."


Nobody will ever pick this skill, because you can do the same thing without even rolling, using a 5gp healing kit (or cast a spell, use a potion etc) The number of skills is limited anyway and this one in its current form is pointless.

There might be selected occasions... yes, but no player would ever choose this skill normally. They should have just made this one a toolset thingy as they did with pick locks, use poison and such. Why adding redundant medicine?[/QUOTE]

 

[Caliban]

In my home campaign I've house ruled that proficiency in the Medicine skill grants you the Healer feat automatically. And still none of my players took the skill.

 

[Shiroiken]

Since the thread's already been resurrected...

I've removed the ability use of the Healer's Kit (other than with the Healer Feat, which I'm fine with). Instead, you have disadvantage on the check if you don't have a Healer's Kit. This makes the skill very valuable, unless the party has magic (Potions of Healing are not available for purchase), and even then it might be needed to save the healer.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I found Medicine to be useless enough comparatively that I removed it as its own skill and rolled all its functions into Survival.