Heal. Huh. What is it good for? (Definitely Something!)

[LightlyFrosted]

Say it again!

... Seriously though, a notion has occurred to me, and I figured it was better to check it with the highfallutin' high and mighties before I did anything too risky with it.

Sadly (from a certain point of view), the guards of Hempstead engage in racial profiling, in order to perform their duties - that is to say, anyone who is visibly a member of an evil race stands a very good chance of suffering a terrible stabbity doom at the hands of the Silverguard.  Consequently, our collection of visible minorities has swelled to the point that hoods or helms, and long-sleeved shirts and gloves are the fashion RULE for Hempstead.

At least among the countless 'members of traditionally evil races' who frequent there.

This also prevents errant adventurers from performing vigilante justice to thwart the dark elf/goblin/half-giant/troll/tiefling/vampire/goth-kid invaders, but hey, whatever prevents some bloodshed.  Still, what if the blood has already been shed?

If someone were to heal - and in this I mean bandage, actually going and binding wounds, etc. - a collapsed person, even one covered head to toe, who was suffering from some pretty grievous wounds, what is the likelihood that said someone would notice if that collapsed person had, say, the ebon skin of a dark elf?  Or the green and crinkly skin of a goblin?

[Jaigan]

hehe, a bandage needs to be applied after cleaning the wounds, and to do that I would think you would have to remove some clothing. if the char lets you bind their wounds then I would say its a safe bet you know just who they really are.  interesting point.

[Hellblazer]

I agree, to be able to give medical aid, unless it is magically, the there has to be a direct contact with the skin, which would definitely give a good idea of what the person is.

[ShiffDrgnhrt]

You realize you CAN apply a bandage OVER clothes if removing the clothes is too difficult

[LightlyFrosted]

Well yes.  But why bother when it's not difficult at all?  If the choice comes down to 'his clothes or giving him the best medical help I can', I'm going to tear someone's shirt to get at a wound.  Which, come to think of it, was probably caused by someone poking him through said clothing.

[Acacea]

If someone is grievously injured, I think most people even remotely skilled at healing things would go so far as to cut them out of the clothing in order to wash and bind them. In any case, if their clothing is still perfectly intact and that difficult to remove, how deathly wounded can they really be?

Probably most people in urgent need to hide themselves will flee from those trying to heal them, even in life or death situations, in order to prevent their identities from being known. Either that, or acknowledge that they're going to find out and it's worth it.

(Edit - Too slow)

[lonnarin]

If someone is grievously injured, I think most people even remotely skilled at healing things would go so far as to cut them out of the clothing in order to wash and bind them. In any case, if their clothing is still perfectly intact and that difficult to remove, how deathly wounded can they really be?

Probably most people in urgent need to hide themselves will flee from those trying to heal them, even in life or death situations, in order to prevent their identities from being known. Either that, or acknowledge that they're going to find out and it's worth it.

(Edit - Too slow)

There go your 200,000 gp mithral robes!

Seriously though, how does one heal a guy with bandages in platemail?  You'd need the jaws of life sometimes in emergency situations like when its all dented and warped shut from giant clubs and such.

Of course this is not to say "you are a drow, I walked up and healed you randomly in town, therefore I know who you are" since that would imply that you could auto-outwrestle anybody in the world with a healkit... meta-no no.  You'd only figure out the skin color of somebody who ALLOWED you to heal them.   If they don't want you touching them, odds are there's going to be a struggle before you lay the first bandaid, where acacea is right on the money.  Common sense is key here when medical practice comes from strangers.

[DMOE]

*hates the random stranger healing*

A slight slide off topic.....

I don't care what god you worship or how good your alignment....

Common sense states you ASK before healing someone, even magically in a non-battle situation...

Otherwise it's technically assault.....I mean....If someone randomly walked up to you in the street today and hugged you....how many of you would accept it without a word? So why the heck would people heal without asking?

[LightlyFrosted]

Well, in the situation that I was thinking of, the person actually collapsed in front of me, which implies either consent or a situation dire enough that they were willing to waive their resistance.  I generally don't even notice someone's wounds unless they're at 'badly wounded' anyway, because.. well, people are tough.  If they're RP'ing being badly injured, then I'll notice.  If not, they're probably being stoic or something.

[merlin34baseball]

Well... Chaynce was there and really I didn't think of this topic in any sort of way... but the character in question sprinted into town and collapse bleeding at our feet, as in even did the falls forward emote and layed at our feet. So naturally he got a bandage slapped on him immediately...

So deffinatly not a case of random stranger healing, deffinatly more of a case of "oh gods I'm dying! help!" me sorta of healing.

[DMOE]

*rolls eyes playfully*

Did I say *this* instance or did I say I was taking the thread slightly off topic?

I have no idea if this instance was or wasn't not 'stranger healing'

I just decided to hijack the thread slightly to make a point

Should have quoted the bit of lonnarin's post that made me think of random stranger healing but was too lazy!

[Crunch]

To continue the off topic topic...  If someone is near death, I think that might reasonably be viewed as something like the person choking to death or hit by a car and leaking blood all over the sidewalk.  In those cases, it seems reasonable to act first under the assumption that the individual wants to live.

I can see an alternative view, that near death is more like the person wallowing in the final stages of the "killer death flu" who might be happier to just drop dead, but is actually through the worst and about to get better all on his or her own.  

From meta-gaming sense, we know that a person who has 1 of 232 HP left at the end of a fight won't drop dead (unless they do something that lowers constitution).  However, if you saw someone that close to death on the street, you would likely call your local emergency services number.

[miasma_hemlock]

I think the normal response to seeing a bashed and bloody near-corpse staggering towards you is to run, or at get to a safe distance and then try to get help or figure out what to do.  I've seen some horrible things in the city here, like people shot or hit by cars, and the crowd response always seem to be to either get away, or to form a wide circle and gawk.  

Of course healers and experienced adventurers would be trained to go against instinct and rush in to help, but that's from training...

I don't know what the point of saying that was now that I wrote it, except that maybe if your character sees a bloody stranger staggering your way, and you aren't a heroic lawful good healer, maybe screaming and running would be just as appropriate as response as bandaging them up.  After all whatever did that to them might still be around...

[Fatherchaos]

And here I thought a person near death collapsing at another characters feet was their way of saying "here, I brought the contents of my pockets to you!"

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Actually, if someone's got more than 0 HP left, they'll be alright. It may take them a few months of rest and mending to be at their peak again, but physically, they're not doing all that terribly. Sure, they're battered and bloody, but they wouldn't be actively bleeding - at least, not in any significant way. Remember that the HP system is abstract, despite what NWN shows us. (This is why I prefer Grim and Gritty!)
 
 The Heal skill represents one's medical knowledge and experience. Someone with a 40 Heal could look at someone and say, "Hey... Between your limp, your unwashed appearance, and that jagged hole in your boot, I think you may be suffering from a rather infected wound in that foot, there; mayhap gangrene. Let's have a look; I know just the thing for it..." Or someone with just a +15 or so could easily list of major points of, at the very least, humanoid biology, and take the pulse off of anything with a carotid artery.
 
 Heal is used to identify the status of another living thing, help to mend that other living thing through active care, and as a sort of Knowledge [Medicine]. Someone with a few ranks in Heal, for example, might very well know how to properly apply a tourniquet. A few more, and they might even be able to correctly amputate a limb after that tourniquet's applied.
 
 In-game, we have healing kits, that, outside of combat, can heal HP. What we should remember is that these kits are not just bandages and (more importantly) sutures. It's that these kits are alchemically and magically treated to help cleanse and mend wounds. More than that, they help restore vitality to weary and beaten adventurers, who've only taken a few (compared to their HP) points of damage. Their effectiveness is enhanced by the knowledge and experience of the person administering care - knowing that this salve helps to revitalize just a bit better when it's applied over the lymph nodes, or perhaps ingested, or whatever.
 
 In terms of healing someone who walks up, beaten and bruised, consider this: the application of a "healing kit" is a fairly involved business. Sutures to stitch, bandages to apply, salves to go on, mayhap infusions to drink... This isn't so much something you can do for an unwilling person so easily. They'd either have to be willing, or helpless.
 
 In either case, they're not going to be offering much objection to their healer knowing the colour of their skin.
 
 If they do offer objection... Well. They won't be getting healing today, will they?
 
 For items that heal, they're basically batteries for positive energy. Touch the recipient, activate the item, BAM. Positive energy flows, which heals the living and harms the dead. Spells that heal, on the other hand, look much the same as spells that'll knock you dead, or at least maim the heck out of you, to the untrained eye. I can tell you that most dwarves (and seasoned, untrusting adventurers) will knock a man dead before he finishes the chant, if he starts casting something without warning.
 
 In terms of server rules/PvP, I'll ask for a pause from the other player, the first time, and try to work it out with them after explaining that, to my character, spellcasting of any kind is PvP. I'd probably also offer a second warning, and MAYBE third, but anything after that, and I consider them well enough warned to switch to unfriendly and wail away.