Medical Roleplay and You!
A short and simple guide to MedRP in the Badlands
Looking to expand your horizons when it comes to medical roleplay? Well look no further. In this extremely condensed guide we’ll go over the basics of MedRP, common injuries, and what you can do to spice up your roleplay when you inevitably have to call for the Cunning Folk through the Ether.
The Basics
/me
Use this to showcase your injuries and answer questions that a Healer might be asking you.
Example:
1. Healer: Okay I am going to check over this patient and see what injuries I see!
Healer /me: “Checking patient’s vitals and for any injuries”2. You /me: Vitals are stable. Ankle looks to be twisted.
/freecam
Use this to look around! While most Healers will use vocal cues along with /me this can be helpful while you are down to see what is going on around you.
You are in Control!
We have no mechanics in the game to showcase what your injuries are. It is up to you to guide the Healer treating you. A Healer should never lead what your injuries are or their severity. Listen for cues from Healers to help know how severe or how simple you want to go.
This also includes how your character heals. In the world of the Badlands plenty of castes have different ways their bodies deal with wounds. If you want to have an expedited healing factor, by all means. But make sure to show it so we don’t leave a needle inside your skin!
All Healers are Different!
While some players may want to get back to RPing, if you are down, plenty of Cunning Folk are excited for extensive medical RP scenes. If you want to have an extended medical scene, go for it. Get complex in what we are seeing to challenge us!
Clarification
We know not everyone has extensive medical knowledge IRL. Do not be afraid to use /me for clarification from your Healer if you are confused or want to confirm information or what an injury or diagnoses would entail for your character (Example /me OOC: Which is worse: soft bump or hard bump on the head?)
Common Injuries
Gunshots and Arrow Wounds (Piercing Wounds)
Bullets are always flying so it is inevitable that a bullet might fly your way and knock you out. Here are some ideas of what to do if you are taken out by a bullet or an arrow:
Lodged Bullet
You have been shot and the bullet is still inside! A Healer will have to remove it.Things that could happen:
Muscle damage
Organ damage
Massive bleeding
Debris in the wound
Through-and-Through Gunshot Wound
You were shot and the bullet went all the way through leaving both an entry and a nasty exit wound.Things that could happen:
Muscle damage
Organ damage
Massive bleeding
Intense damage to tissue at exit wound
Arrow Wound
An arrow is sticking out of you! The Healer will have to remove it.Things that could happen:
Muscle damage
Massive Bleeding
Damaged tissue
Arrow debris in the wound
TIPS:
Regardless of how you were shot, you are in control of what the wound looks like. A gunshot could be a graze, it could be right through your guts. But remember to consider the severity before you get shot directly through the chest or in the head, or you run the risk of getting a metal plate installed!
Animal Attacks
You were out in the wilds, or a shifter got particularly upset at you, and now you are bleeding from claw marks and bites. What do you do now that a cougar tried to eat you?
Bites
An animal or shifter chomped down whether to attack or to eat you. What do you do now?
Things that could happen
Teeth or debris in the wound
Muscle and tissue damage
Massive bleeding
Puncture wounds
Broken bones or fractured bones (depending on the location of the bite and how deeply it went)
Scratches
An animal or shifter with massive claws has attacked you out of either defence or offense.
Things that could happen
Claws or debris in the wound
Muscle and tissue damage
Massive bleeding
Snake Bites
A snake has taken a bite. While in-game mechanics will typically take you down without anti-venom, you could have plenty of side effects if you don’t get the venom removed/treated.
Things that could happen
Bleeding from two puncture wounds
Nausea / Vomiting
Dizziness
Difficulty seeing
Sweating / Drooling
Numbness, redness, and fever
Other Animal Related Injuries
Want to spice up your animal attack? Here are some other injuries you can add in to give it ✨Flavor✨
Bruising, scrapes, or lacerations (cuts)
Broken bones or torn ligaments
Facial injury
Broken Bones and Other Extremity Injuries
Made a risky jump but your legs didn't quite get you there? Tripped over a particularly dangerous rock? Your horse decided it was time to throw you? Then these injuries are for you!
Broken Bones
There are 206 bones in the human body. And all of them can break! But how did they break exactly?
Clean Break
The bone snapped cleanly
Open or Closed
Did the bone break out of the skin?
Comminuted / Segmental Fracture
The break area is in pieces
Shattered
Your bone basically exploded
Hairline Fracture
A small crack in the bone but still hurts like hell
As an aside for breaks, you can break all kinds of bones so when wanting to get serious think about how long the recovery time might be for a few cleanly broken fingers verses a shattered hip.
Dislocation
When a bone that meets a joint is no longer in the join. This can be a simple injury to fix but is extremely painful.
Sprain
An injury to the ligament that connects bones together.
Stretched too far
Broken ligament
Arterial Lacerations
This could be a cut to a major blood vessel that would cause a patient to begin bleeding out. You only have so much blood so consider the dangers before going down this path!
Bumps and Injury to the Head
Whether your friend smacked you with a hammer (I won’t tell) or you fell onto a rock, there are different variations of “bump to the head” that mean VERY different thing:
Hard Bump
You’ve got yourself a classic goose egg. Nothing time and some ice can’t fix.
Soft Bump
You have a skull fracture, excessive fluid in the wound, or a brain bleed! All extremely dangerous and can sometimes result in brain surgery. Oh boy!
Skull Fracture
There is little treatment for this besides observation but can still be great longer term MedRP!
Concussion
You bumped your head a little too hard. This will present in a few different ways:
Pupil dilation not matching on either eye
Confusion
Inability to recall or remember information
Headache / Dizziness / Nausea
Sensitivity to light
Burns
Fire hurts. But how bad did it hurt?
First Degree
Mostly superficial! Might sting for a little bit but won’t leave any lasting damage.
Second Degree
Red, blistered, and damaged skin
Will take time to heal
Third Degree
Its bad, could require skin grafts
Blackened, charred or white skin
Little pain due to nerve damage
Forth Degree
You have been burned so bad it’s mostly bone left.
Vitals
When a Healer “Checks your Vitals” they are checking the MOST important functions of the human body to keep you alive. Most players will have “stable vitals” but if you want to spice up your MedRP with some risks use some of these! (Remember you’re in control and your character only perma’s when YOU say so.)
Heart Rate
Your heart pumps blood throughout your body. For everyone BUT Vampires, your heart SHOULD be moving. If it doesn’t then you’re on a
Low Heart Rate - Heart is having a hard time pumping blood, this could result in fainting.
Fast Heart Rate - Your heart is pumping TOO fast and this could result in a heart attack or stroke.
Breathing
Your body needs air to feed itself oxygen! If you aren’t breathing you are not going to live much longer.
Fast Breathing / Respiration - This could be signs of an infection, anxiety, stress, or lung failure.
Slow Breathing / Respiration - This could be signs of lung, heart, or brain problems, or fluid in the lungs.
Fever
Your body keeps a regulated temperature at all times. If it’s too high or too long, your body cannot function correctly. Note that some castes might run hotter or colder than a typical human.
Typical Human
Low temperature
Caused by exposure to cold, sepsis, or shock
High temperature
Caused by an infection or dehydration.
You are now a seasoned MedRP Injury Pro! Go forth and hurt yourself!
Other ways to MedRP
There are plenty of other ways to do medical RP that do not require you to be bleeding out and dying in the woods. If you want to do a medical scene with any Cunning Folk you can simply call on us at an office or set up a time to meet with a Healer. Here are some ideas!
Follow up appointments with injuries
Taking out sutures or popped sutures from activity
Removing casts
An infected injury
Wounds not healing properly
Consultations
Eyesight problems
Dental issues
General illness
Miscellaneous
Caste related treatments, such as as Vampire requiring blood to feed on (the Cunning Folk have blood in clinics!)
Magically impacted issues (such as curses and hexes within lore limitations)
Anything you’d go to a doctor in the real world for! But keep in mind it’s the 19th century and leeches and bloodlettings are still common practice!
If you have any questions, concerns, or want to start long term medical related scenes, please reach out to members of the Cunning Folk via telegram! Happy RPing!