Freelance Traveller
Freelance Traveller asked Robert to write up an introduction explaining how he came to write this series. His reply...
Why did I write this stuff?
I suppose I didn't want medicine in Traveller to have too much of a 'Star Trek' feel too it.
There has been some very good material written in the past (particularly the Traveller's Digest stuff) but there were a few items here and there which didn't ring true from a professional standpoint.
The Trauma rules were my first attempt at writing any sort of game rules. My aim was to give non-medically-trained players with characters with medical skill some idea of what is important in literally life-and-death situations, and a little insight into the medical mindset (I don't think the process of 'assess, resuscitate, diagnose, and treat' will disappear regardless of tech level).
Trauma seemed to be an appropriate place to start because PCs tend to get on the wrong end of bombs, bullets, and knives all too often (at least in a lot of the games I've played in or witnessed).
- Introduction Definitions and an overview of medical developments
- Trauma (1) Defining what Trauma is, and its causes
- Trauma (2) Assessment and management of Trauma
- Regulating Body Temperature Frostbite, hypothermia, burns, and hyperthermia
- Radiation Types of radiation, exposure, and treatment
- Cryobiology Using low temperatures for medical purposes
- Drugs The effect of drugs and poisons
- Psychiatry and Mental Illness Types of mental illnesses and treatments
- Equipment The tools of the medical professional