Pray for Me, Sinners 😂😬

[doctorbadwolf]

So, I’m at the ER today, getting many tests and a neurologist consultation, possibly a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

Hopefully the care here goes up to 11, as it were.

Anyway, anyone ever given extensive thought to medical care in fantasy worlds?

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

Best stay away from drum kits for a while.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

So, I’m at the ER today, getting many tests and a neurologist consultation, possibly a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

Hopefully the care here goes up to 11, as it were.

Good luck

Anyway, anyone ever given extensive thought to medical care in fantasy worlds?

Cast: greater restoration
Not in the context of rpg games because that is not the kind of gameplay I want to worry about.

But I do wonder that a world that had magic, would they come to scientific theory a lot sooner than in our world but from a practical anatomy and germ theory of disease direction rather then celestial mechanics.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

My general view of medical care in fantasy worlds is that, in general, it resembles the movie Hard to Be a God.

In other words, the world is brutal, incomprehensible, and bleak. Dirt pervades everything. Is there some amount of magical healing? Sure. Some. There are clerics here and there. Home remedies. But for the most part, life is filthy and grimy, and the lack of sanitation ensures the continued existence of plagues.

If the monsters don't get you, the viruses will.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Good luck

Cast: greater restoration
Not in the context of rpg games because that is not the kind of gameplay I want to worry about.

But I do wonder that a world that had magic, would they come to scientific theory a lot sooner than in our world but from a practical anatomy and germ theory of disease direction rather then celestial mechanics.

Yeah I think with stuff like detect disease, and such, it would make sense. Hard to imagine Druids and wizards don’t have a better grasp of biology than real world medieval folks, too.

 

[TwoSix]

My general view of medical care in fantasy worlds is that, in general, it resembles the movie Hard to Be a God.

In other words, the world is brutal, incomprehensible, and bleak. Dirt pervades everything. Is there some amount of magical healing? Sure. Some. There are clerics here and there. Home remedies. But for the most part, life is filthy and grimy, and the lack of sanitation ensures the continued existence of plagues.

If the monsters don't get you, the viruses will.

I agree that's probably the default way for most D&D-adjacent fantasy worlds.

For me personally, I pretty always sketch my worlds as having abundant magical healing for diseases, infections, and other generic ailments. I just don't like the aesthetic when I'm playing, and I'd rather not imagine my PC, or the PCs of my players, wading through filth and disease.

 

[Dioltach]

Is it a Cure Light Wounds, Cure Medium Wound, Cure Serious Wounds or Heal level issue? Or are we talking True Resurrection?

 

[Alzrius]

So, I’m at the ER today, getting many tests and a neurologist consultation, possibly a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

Hopefully the care here goes up to 11, as it were.

Fingers crossed it all goes well!

Anyway, anyone ever given extensive thought to medical care in fantasy worlds?

I once postulated a low-fantasy take on medical spells, whereby a given healing spell could fix an extremely-specific ailment to an extremely-specific part of the body. So repair aorta puncture was a completely different spell from soothe epidermal burn, etc. The idea was that "magical doctors" could only know so many spells, and so you had large groups of specialists for various treatment gathering together in "fantasy hospitals," while out in the boonies you had a practitioners with a few minor spells who mostly relied on non-magical techniques.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I agree that's probably the default way for most D&D-adjacent fantasy worlds.

For me personally, I pretty always sketch my worlds as having abundant magical healing for diseases, infections, and other generic ailments. I just don't like the aesthetic when I'm playing, and I'd rather not imagine my PC, or the PCs of my players, wading through filth and disease.

What level Cleric does it take to cast, Create Major Sanitation System?

 

[TwoSix]

What level Cleric does it take to cast, Create Major Sanitation System?

It's 5e, it's just Create Sanitation System. The level of sanitation system depends on the spell slot.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

It's 5e, it's just Create Sanitation System. The level of sanitation system depends on the spell slot.

YOU'LL PRY THE PURPLISH GYGAXIAN VERBIAGE AND DESIGNATIONS OF CAPACITY FROM MY BOREAL INANIMATE EXTREMITIES!

 

[Umbran]

If the monsters don't get you, the viruses will.

I prefer my fantasy worlds to not get into real-world biology. You don't know from viruses or bacteria before you have compound microscopes.

If the monsters don't get you, the imbalance of humors will.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Is it a Cure Light Wounds, Cure Medium Wound, Cure Serious Wounds or Heal level issue? Or are we talking True Resurrection?

They’re still doing the divination ritual, but it’s a lesser restoration issue most likely.


Very small chance I could peanemtly lose some vision. Very very small. Not worth thinking about.

Definitely not worth dwelling on…

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I prefer my fantasy worlds to not get into real-world biology. You don't know from "viruses or bacteria before you have compound microscopes.

If the monsters don't get you, the imbalance of humors will.

Trust me- my humor is distinctly imbalanced!

 

[ersatzphil]

They’re still doing the divination ritual, but it’s a lesser restoration issue most likely.


Very small chance I could peanemtly lose some vision. Very very small. Not worth thinking about.

Definitely not worth dwelling on…

Dude, please do feel better soon. Hoping for a swift and complete recovery!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Dude, please do feel better soon. Hoping for a swift and complete recovery!

Thanks. It's hard to not catastrophize while waiting for test results, just a little.

Probably the lumbar puncture is the worst potential thing in the pipeline.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

My general view of medical care in fantasy worlds is that, in general, it resembles the movie Hard to Be a God.

In other words, the world is brutal, incomprehensible, and bleak. Dirt pervades everything. Is there some amount of magical healing? Sure. Some. There are clerics here and there. Home remedies. But for the most part, life is filthy and grimy, and the lack of sanitation ensures the continued existence of plagues.

If the monsters don't get you, the viruses will.

Do not agree if you have any healing magic.
you have a spell cure wounds. if seals any cut.
If you apply it to shallow muscle cuts, they heal up no scar and no problems. Sometimes with deep cuts the patient dies. The symptoms can vary but people without magic used honey to some success in healing so you dap in some honey before casting the cure wounds and those issues went away. Now you have learned something.

Then you start running in to issues relating to ruptured and cut blood vessels. Further experimentation and some anatomical study later and you have a better success rate. Still with the same basic spell. Some anatomical knowledge and some simple herbalism.

More time and observation can reveal that some other stuff can substitute for honey and that wine or vinegar, tincture of iodine and so forth can clean wounds. That dirt and fingers can cause infections. You can get a long way with a trick that works and some time and observations.

Then some wizards discovers a spell to mend his broom handle, wonders if that would work with broken bones and realises he would nee to see the bones. Makes a note of it on the margins of something or other.
Later another magic user reads the spell and the note and thinks they can adapt something to see the bone, tries it out and lot its works at least for simple breaks.
Now we have a basic diagnostic and 2 healing tricks.

 

[Umbran]

Trust me- my humor is distinctly imbalanced!

Here, have a leech.

 

[payn]

I've been spending way too much time at hospitals the last few weeks with my Father. He is recovering slowly from a major surgery. I wish you good tests and speedy recovery friend!

 

[aco175]

Hope things go well.

I do not think too much about medicine in a fantasy setting. The campaign circles around the PCs and they never get sick or need cares from common colds and such. They may get a plague or sickness from a magical disease, but rarely since cures and healing is so common to the PCs.

Other problems such as sanitation is not brought up much either. Large cities have a sewer system mostly for places to make a dungeon, but small towns that dump their filth into the river or onto the street is passed over.