Medical procedures not detailed in the D20M sourcebook

[Felon]

I treat autopsies like Gather Information checks - different information at different DCs. Making a determination of death is DC 10 - identifying mechanism or cause of death can range from DC 15 for 'simple' trauma to DC 30 for poisoning. Each check takes as long as a Surgery check.

I like the notion of achieving a desired difficulty. Perhaps allow the Treat Injury check to be more difficult (by making the autopsy more invasive) in order to make the KS (E&LS) check less difficult. As stated, I dislike overusing synergy bonuses to the point that it's basically the sole function of the skill.

My gut(!) says use Investigate, since it is one of the most narrowly defined skills in the game - this gives it another application. Also, as the skill is unique to forensic-type people, you won't have the odd character with good Search or Treat Injury cutting into cadavers at the drop of a hat.

That's a good point. However, like I said before, not every coroner has forensic training and can perform all of the non-medical tests that it entails--for instance, running tests on foreign matter found within a wound to determine whose gun the bullet came from or where this type of poison can be purchased locally.

 

[arscott]

That's a good point. However, like I said before, not every coroner has forensic training and can perform all of the non-medical tests that it entails--for instance, running tests on foreign matter found within a wound to determine whose gun the bullet came from or where this type of poison can be purchased locally.

But I'd say that's a symptom of the degree of specialization (or lack thereof) in the d20M skill system. I'd say that pretty much everything a coroner does in an autopsy falls under the investigate skill, rather than treat injury.

In real life a coroner and an arson investigator are probably incapable of doing each other's jobs in the same way that a playwright and a technical writer are incapable of doing each other's jobs. But d20 Modern is generic enough that each of the pairs is governed by only one specific skill.

 

[SWBaxter]

Not much to add on the rules front, other than to say that some publishers have gone over this ground. FBI: d20 by Holistic Entertainment has an advanced class to cover forensic investigation, and Crime Scene: Police Investigation by Hogshead covers that ground as well. I like the approach in FBI - forensic investigators use the same skills to find clues as anybody else, but have a class ability to lower the DCs, so they catch things that other folks miss. That does a decent job of handling the fact that a coroner (for example) uses the same skills as any other doctor, but is still better able to figure out causes of death and track down other clues.