INTERSPECIES MEDICINE
Medical skills are specialized by species group. With rare exceptions, medical professionals are initially trained to treat members of their own species, and only after gaining proficiency do they receive training for other species group. It is assumed that the character learns them first for his own species; exceptions to this must be cleared with the Gamemaster during character creation.
Once a character has received the initial skill training for his own species, application of his medical skills and/or training for other species is handled by penalties for different species groups.
These penalties are canceled out on a group-by-group basis by the Xenomedic feat. When the Xenomedic feat is taken, you must choose which sub-group is considered to be “the same species” as your character, for the purposes of determining sub-group penalties (shown below).
Some species are very similar to each other, while some are very alien. The table below which classifies species into groups and sub-groups was first proposed by Doctor Zorski of New Texas, and has been updated as new species have been discovered. In it, groups are designated by Roman numerals, and sub-groups within a group have letters appended after the group number.
Default Modifiers
When attempting Treat Injury for a different species
than your own for the first time, the DC is increased as
follows:
• within a sub-group: +1 to +3.
• within a group: +4 to +8.
• between Groups I, II, III, or IV: +8.
• between Group V and Groups I through IV: +15.
• between Groups I-V and any of Groups VI-IX: +20.
• between any of Groups VI-IX: +20.
Group “X” species cannot be treated by a non-native
doctor, unless that doctor has specifically taken the
Xenomedic feat for that specific species.
Examples: A Dunkar doctor attempting to treat a
Klingon patient would do so at +2 to the DC of the task.
The same doctor when attempting to treat a Hilidarian patient
would do so at a DC of +15. That doctor could not
treat a Tholian patient unless he had the Xenomedic
(Tholians) feat.
If the patient is of a completely unknown species, then
the modifier is doubled. Note that this doubling is only applied
during unusual circumstances, such as the emergency
treatment of an enemy casualty during a key First
Contact event. (This is sometimes referred to as the “What
the devil is this on my operating table, Captain?” rule.)
A successful roll on an appropriate Knowledge skill
would cut the normal penalties in half; round fractions up.
Notes
Group I species are all moderately compatible in terms of blood and biochemistry. (Alpha-Centaurans are genetically human.) All members of Sub-Group I-b are treated (to each other) as members of the same group, not the same sub-group.
Group II species are dissimilar in biochemistry to Group
I species, and/or have significant internal differences including
extra or unique internal organs.
Group III species all have copper-based blood.
Group IV species are all mammalian with moderately compatible biochemistries but have significant internal and external differences.
Group V are reptilian
Group VI, loosely described as exoskeletal, is a “catch
all” group of unrelated species. Every species in that group
should be considered a separate group unrelated to other
species but still one group for purposes of determining how
many groups apart other groups are.
Group VII species do not have individual internal organs
or their equivalents, and include plantlike species.
Group VIII species do not breathe oxygen and come from sub-zero climate worlds
Group IX species come from worlds with cryogenic temperatures.
Group X species are highly unique, so different from
any others that they defy classification; essentially, “Group
X” is a catch-all equivalent to “none of the above”.
Groups VI through X are simply “general categories”
and reflect totally different biologies rather than a range of
variations such as Groups I through V. As such, any doctor
would treat any species in Groups VI through IX as the
maximum difference (+20 DC).
Some of the sub-groups listed above are currently
empty; they just haven’t been discovered (well, published
in PD20M products) ... yet.
Sub-Group I-ar with the “r” meaning they require ionizing radiation to live.
Medicine is not an exact science and assuming that
an alien who is superficially like some other species is internally
similar to that species can be very dangerous.
Field Dressings and Medical Miracles
Because the Medical Miracle class feature focuses on
obvious injuries and symptoms, and stabilizing characters
at negative hit points relies on gross trauma responses, it
is not penalized as severely as surgery or internal medicine
would be. Any doctor within Groups I, II, III, and IV
could treat any other species within the class feature at +5
to the DC. This includes such things as stopping bleeding,
setting broken bones, or restoring breathing. (Think of it
this way: any Human Boy Scout could manage to bandage
a cut on his own dog to keep it from bleeding to death
until they can reach a veterinarian.) Outside of Groups IIV,
the normal medical penalties would apply to Treat Injury.
Hybrids
These are individuals composed of mixed species, for
example a half-Human/half-Vulcan. The Gamemaster has
two options as to how to handle these characters.
1. Treat the patient (for penalties) as being of the most
different type. Thus, a Human-Klingon hybrid would be
treated as a different group by a Deian.
2. The character in question is a hybrid whose composition
is uncommon and/or unique. In this case, the medical
skill modifier is calculated as follows: calculate the
medical skill modifier for each species the patient is composed
of, and determine the worst-case modifier. Then
double that worst-case modifier and subtract 1; this is the
applicable medical skill modifier for that doctor and patient.
For example, a Deian doctor wishes to treat a Human/
Klingon patient. The modifier for Deian-Human is +2 DC
(both are Sub-Group I-a), while the modifier for Deian-
Klingon is +8 (one group different). Thus the worst case
modifier is +8, which doubled becomes +16, minus 1, gives
a final medical DC of +15.
Group I-a (humans):
Group I-a (near-human):
Group I-b (near-human):
Group II (humanoids):
Group III-a (copper-blooded): Romulans, Vulcans
Group III-b (copper-blooded): Andorians, Orions
Group IV-a (felinoid mammals):
Group IV-b (lupinoid mammals):
Group IV-c (omnivores):
Group IV-d (aquatic mammals):
Group IV-e (flying mammals):
Group V-a (avians):
Group V-b (cold-blooded reptiles):
Group V-b
Group V-c (warm-blooded reptiles):
Group VI-a (crustaceans):
Group VI-b (insectoids):
Group VI-c (invertebrates):
Group VII (undifferentiated):
Group VIII-a (ammonia-breathers):
Group VIII-b (chlorine-breathers):
Group VIII-c (fluorine-breathers):
Group IX-a (methane-breathers):
Group IX-b (hydrogen-breathers):
Group X (uniques):