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Ned The Impaler

Member

Registered: 2018-03-04

Posts: 6

Ideas for injury and healing

I've studied a small bit in anthropology of medicine. Just as health is a normal part of human existence, so too is illness and injury. In weakening us, it makes us vulnerable and dependent upon our fellow humans for care. These abstract ideas got me thinking that this game can show a lot about the roles of illness and health in the human condition, just like it does for the roles of family and community.

Concretely, I was thinking this could manifest as wild animals maiming you instead of instantly killing you. After a period of time, you may lose consciousness or some other bodily function, whereby others would have the opportunity to revive you. Milkweed could be used for bandages; and an herb could be harvested which heals general illnesses (say if you ate a raw rabbit or rancid gooseberries; or if goose pox swept through a blossoming town) when prepared in specific ways. Towns and hamlets could have medici, who could discover things like inoculating BBs with sheep pox prevents goose pox plagues.

Stuff like that.

Doctor Flintrock

Member

Registered: 2018-03-03

Posts: 34

Re: Ideas for injury and healing

Yeah, that's interesting idea, and it's been done in other survival games! The only iffy part is it might be incredibly burdensome for any number of reasons. Especially for players who are just getting started and can barely tell when babies might starve, etc.

But you could also make an argument that it doesn't really make sense that someone made it to 60 on a diet of berries, carrots, and life-long literal nakedness. There's no real way of knowing how prehistoric humans dealt with diseases (specifically I mean, they surely used plant-based medicines).

There's also the likelihood that is just wouldn't be any fun. Finding ways of not starving or not being cold (which affects hunger) is a good enough motivator, as is worrying about being stabbed by other players (the worst illness) or eaten alive.