Dwarf Fortress > DF Suggestions

Physicians and surgeons

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Brisbane Dave:
Greetings.First off, great game. I actually took a day off from work so I could have more time to play.I went to check the development page to see what other suggestions have been made already but I gave up after browsing around a little. Maybe that should be my first suggestion: an index for the development page. Does it have a search feature?But my real suggestion is to add medical professions. I've read a few posts now where people have mentioned that how dwarves heal up is less than ideal, and I tend to agree. I'd like to be able to do more than decide to lock up hopeless cases.So, my idea is two new skills, surgeon and physician. Dwarf surgeons would amputate mangled limbs, dwarf physicians would be of little practical use in curing anything but their visits to injured dwarves would inspire a positive thought. Possibly visits from either or both types would impact the time spent healing, depending on practitioner skill. Surgury attempted by a dabbler could kill the patient, too. Obviously, getting a limb cut off or undergoing another operation while conscious and without any pain killer beyond alcohol would inspire unhappiness, so the physician balances the surgeon.Another possibility is prosthetic limbs, which would, you'd think, be made of wood, but given that this is a fantasy game could be forged. Sounds sort of cool. I don't think they should be as effective-- as in better than natural limbs-- as they are in IVAN, if you know that game.Also, after the dwarven economy starts, dwarves could spend money visiting healers for services physicians and surgeons historically provided-- bloodletting, cupping, tooth removal, etc. I suppose shaving is out in this case. This could be a safer way to raise skill levels.I suppose this is a good example of what's called bloat, but I was rather taken with the idea. Apologies if there's already a better plan in place to deal with the healing problem.

ReWolf31:
Hmm i'd prefer the profession to to merged into a single profession, say, doctoring, which could cover physician and surgeon + visiting doctor, etc. nice ideas though.(and there's a 'search' thing in the top-right hand corner of the webpage   :)  )

Tamren:
I suggested this earlier in that massive post on nobles most of you didnt have the patience to read.But anyhow, in it it made doctors and physicians nobles. They would be assigned to your fortress soon as you have a small population.For now, we should keep this simple. Doctors heal people, the physicians help dwarves overcome previous injury.Dealing with the plague would not be fun at all, and overcomplicating this with dentists and other specialists would detract from the gameplay.

Brisbane Dave:
ReWolf, you might be right about one skill being better. Still, there's already a good deal of complexity in the game, and I like how the two skills balance each other. It's also more or less how the medical profession was divided during the middle ages. You could always give both jobs to one dwarf.Tamren, I disagree with the idea of making a doctor noble. I don't see a snooty dwarven noble patching up lowly peasants. Also, in pre-modern times, healing wasn't  a particuarly exalted job. Surgeons were called barbers and did many of the things modern barbers do, in addition to surgury and dentistry, and they held much the same social status then as barbers do now. Physicians had higher status, but no better than, say, a merchant. I'm going by stuff I read a long time ago, so I suppose I could be off base.If there weren't already too many nobles, a royal physician might make a good addition to the entourage of royal nobles. It could make interesting demands like gathering a particular plant. But a royal physician would only treat royalty.I don't know why you brought up the plague, but I agree that it doesn't sound like a fun addition to a game. Anyway, if the healer dwarves were as useful as historical doctors, they be of no use at all.I haven't read your post because I never saw it. I might like to, though, if you linked to it.

slMagnvox:
Welcome to the forums Dave.Bloat is the exact descriptor for your suggestion and a medical profession along with improved injury management is a much looked-forward-to suggestion.  I would also like to see it available as a skill or two (the more the better, in my opinion) and have seen Toady mention better wound management a while back ... I think we were talking about Dwarves passing out from pain when missing a limb (or an eye) even after they completed their rest job.  Or in a thread about sparring injuries.  Alot of common ideas are buried in some other topic in some other section of the forum.Meanwhile, there are some gameplay avenues available to you when a dwarf gets hurt.  Namely, filling the vacated position with the next best dwarf and trying to get back to work.  Yellow wounds will heal.  Can take between 1-2 years.  Internal injuries (a brown spine, or light grey brain) will never heal.  Never.  They will prevent an off duty Soldier from sparring but nothing else.  And they often occur during sparring.  Concussion has sidelined your favorite Macedwarf?  There is an honorable position in the Fort Guard for him.  Or maybe you need another Engraver to smooth your massive hallways.  And of course he will still fight enemies, and gain skill from any encounters, just won't spar.  Lastly, that red-wounded dwarf that hasn't got out of bed in over a year and likely never will?  Yet again, there is an honorary position in the Fort Guard for him also.  You can imagine he dispenses lectures and wisdom from his sickbed.  Or just curses and mutters incomprehensibly, whichever.

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