by John Warren

 

Medicinal Compounds	-	-	-	Chirurgery
Dragon	Classes	-	Druids	Dragon 119

[This article explores an unofficial campaign
variant that gives druidic characters
certain nonmagical medical abilities. While
some of the information is at odds with
the “official” AD&D® game rules, the article
is an interesting and thoughtprovoking
variation, and is presented in
that light. Referees might allow PC druids
to use these medical talents in their campaigns.
— Editor]

A long-neglected aspect of the AD&D
game?s druid character class is the ability
of its members to function as nonmagical
healers for the party. Because of their
special affinity for living things, druids
could have developed a simple technology
" a holistic approach to medicine " -- to
augment their magical powers.

Although Tacitus and other Roman writers
claimed that there were both male and
female druids, recent research tends to
indicate that the druids had male priests,
while the priestesses were members of an
older religion which had built Stonehenge
and Carnac in times past. The AD&D game
tends to follow the Roman approach; for
all practical purposes, there is little difference
between the older religion?s priests
and the druids. As a result, this article
follows the AD&D game?s style.
Before venturing out into the world, 1stlevel
druids undergo a period of training
in the groves and forests of the druidic
priesthood. Unlike magic-users, they need
not be extensively trained in spells and
incantations, since their spells come from
a divine source and are given as a result of

inherent devotion rather than acquired
through learning and memorization.
Beyond the basic combat instruction
required of all adventurers, novice druids
learn the secret druid language and how
to use the tools given by nature to heal.
Most of the techniques are fairly simple
and therefore unaffected by advancement
through levels, but some skills improve
with practice.

Note that in gathering the requisite roots
and herbs, druids take extreme care that
the cutting does not do permanent damage
to plants from which the materials are
taken, and rarely will druids uproot an
entire plant. Another point to keep in
mind is that any compound stored in a
glass vial is vulnerable to breaking during
melee. The DM should consult the savingthrow
matrix for nonmagical items where
appropriate. If the vial is broken, the
results can range from loss of the substance
to the unintentional activation of its
side effects.

Medicinal Compounds

Balm for Burns
This unguent for treating minor burns is
made from cream and honey. It restores 1
hp when up to 3 hp damage have been
taken from either natural or magical fire.
If a character takes more than 3 hp damage
from fire or heat, it is treated as a
chirurgical problem (see below), with the
exception that a druid can restore only
20% of the hit points lost through burns
through chirurgery. This balm takes one
hour to make.

Banisher of fear
This compound of mushrooms and plant
sap takes one day to make and has the
power to neutralize fear-based attacks
resulting from spells like cause fear or
from seeing a fearsome sight (such as a
lich). A single dose lasts 3-18 turns. However,
the user does not attack as a berserker,
since the absence of fear removes
the competitive edge (intelligence is not
affected, however). A character under the
influence of this compound will not initiate
hostilities, but will fight normally
when attacked or when directed to do so
by other members of the party.
There is one chance in ten that a normal
dose will cause the user to immediately go
to sleep and stay that way until the effects
wear off. Stimulants like an odor of wakefulness
(see below) work temporarily to
awaken a character under these effects,
but the character returns to sleep during
the next turn.
__________________________________
Table 1
Probability of an Antidote Working
or Being Harmful
 

Druid's  level	Compounded in  town	Compounded  in dungeon
1	70%/30%	50%/50%
2	85%/15%	65%/30%
3	90%/10%	75%/25%
4	95%/10%	80%/20%
5	99%/5%	85%/15%
6	99%/0%	90%/10%
7	99%/0%	95%/10%

The first figure gives the probability that
an antidote will work. The second gives
the probability if it fails to work that it will
be harmful (requiring a save vs. poison at
+2 to avoid death). After the druid
reaches 7th level, no further improvement
is possible.

Defense against poisons and venoms

Druids use the principle of countervailing
similarity to deal with monster and
animal venoms. This holds that a properly
treated poison makes the best antidote. Of
course, the druid must have a sample of
the poison to create the antidote. There
are two ways to do this ? one of which is
dangerous and expensive, the other being
dangerous and cheap. The first way is for
the druid to purchase a sample of poison
in town (there are always a bunch of
heroes around who would sell their
wyvern-tail trophies for the price of a
night?s carousing). The local apothecary
might have a supply of poisons around for
his customers as well. However, assassins?
guilds often hold sway over poison dispensation,
and purchasing poison often attracts
the attention of the guild (not to
mention the attention of common folk and
paladins).

The prices of animal venoms increase
with the rarity of such animals and the
hazards of the venom collection. A group
of hirelings could be convinced to scour
the town for centipedes for a few gold
pieces. However, an adventurer who had
obtained the head of a medusa would need
considerably more inducement before he
or she would allow a woodsy type to go
mucking about with the trophy.

The other method of obtaining poison is
to go out and get the poison firsthand.
This has a serious drawback: A careless
druid could have the opportunity to study
the effects of the poison close up — much
too close up.

A poison antidote produced in town or
out in the druids grove is likely to be
more effective than one whipped up in a
drafty dungeon. Table 1 gives the probability
of success in either locale for a druid of
a given level. It also gives the chance that
rather than working as expected, the
antidote makes things worse.
An antidote can be used in two ways. A
character can down a shot of the stuff up
to one day prior to the anticipated poisoning,
or it can be taken just after the poisoning.

The first method has a major
drawback in that different antidotes are
often mutually incompatible. If one has
taken an antivenom for giant scorpion
poison, it would be extremely dangerous
to simultaneously take another for the
poison of wasps. To determine if there is a
negative effect in mixing antidotes, the
player throws a 1d6. If the number
thrown is equal to or less than the number
of antidotes taken, a 1d20 is thrown to
determine the number of hit points of
damage taken. If there is any damage
taken, the antidotes? beneficial effects are
neutralized as well.

Waiting until one has been poisoned
before taking an antidote isn?t such a hot
idea either, as the druid can?t administer
the compound until after the melee (and
characters can die in the meantime). However,
this is the safest way to avoid the
multiple antidote problem. Once an antidote
has been taken, later exposures to the
same poison are automatically neutralized
until the effect of the antidote wears off at
the end of the day. Compounding times for
antidotes and antivenoms are up to the
DM and may vary widely in terms of time,
cost, and effectiveness.

Itching Powder
This compound, made from flower
pollen, causes any creature coming in
contact with it to itch violently. Creatures
with better than low intelligence will be
annoyed but otherwise unaffected. Creatures
of low intelligence fight poorly as a
result ( -2 to hit on attacks and +2 on AC
to a maximum of AC 10) and will attempt
to leave the area whenever possible. Less
intelligent creatures lose all interest in
activities other than scratching. For example,
a lurker above would release its prey
and roll about wildly, but an orc would
attempt to combine fighting and scratching
until it had a chance to run. Wine
removes the powder, while water only
makes its effects more pronounced (-3 to
hit and +3 on AC). It takes one day to
make one dose of this powder, and it may
be dispersed like any magical dust (see the
DMG, page 143).

Mask of Clear Air
Druids may gather peach pits and char
them to make a charcoal-like substance,
which is then crushed and placed into
loosely woven, flaxen bags large enough to
cover the nose and mouth. The creation of
a mask takes two hours.

When faced with gas or smoke, characters
can cover their faces with these
masks to add +4 to their saving throw
against any ill effects. Like all nonmagical
devices, the bag is ineffective against magical
gas attacks. Straps are sometimes attached
to hold the bags over a character's
face for an extended period of time; however,
while the bag is in place, the character
attacks with a -1 to hit. The powder
remains effective for 7-12 turns.

Odor of Sleep
Anyone breathing the fumes of this
primitive ether will become drowsy, insensitive
to pain, slightly dizzy, and, for a
period of three turns, will attack at -1 to
hit. Both the liquid and gas are explosive;
if used in a confined area where there is
an open flame, there is one chance in 20
per turn of an explosion that does 3-6 hp
damage to anyone within 20'. This quality
should be kept in mind in the event of

accidental breakage of the vial. The danger
can be avoided by relying on magical
luminescence such as continual light or
faerie fire; however, produce fire, produce
flame, or similar spells where a real flame
is created causes an immediate explosion.
Recovery from the full effects of the
fumes takes three turns. During recovery,
the character attacks at -3 to hit and
defends with a +1 to AC (not exceeding
AC 10). It takes one day to make one vial
of this substance.
 

Odor of wakefulness
Druids use alchemical techniques to
break down coal to create ammonia,
which is useful when a member of the
party has been rendered unconscious by a
sleep spell. Holding an open bottle of ammonia
under the victim's nose results in an
immediate return to consciousness if the
period of unconsciousness (determined by
the DM's secret throw) would have been
less than 10 rounds. If the victim would
have been unconscious longer than that,
then a return to consciousness is 50%
likely to occur. Treatment can be repeated
once a round if it is initially unsuccessful.
A broken vial renders everyone within
20? partially helpless if they fail to save
against breath weapons, giving a -2 on
?to hit? rolls and negating dexterity bonuses
to AC. Creatures of low intelligence
or less immediately flee. A mask of clear
air (see above) is not effective against this
odor. Since an overdose can be dangerous
(although unlikely in any but the closest
surroundings), a druid is most unlikely to
permit the odor of wakefulness to be used
as a weapon. Making a vial of odor of
wakefulness takes one day,

Parasite repellent
Made from animal fats, herbs, and
swamp gas in one day's time, this compound
causes all blood-drinking parasites
to avoid the wearer. If desperate enough
to attack the user, these parasites do so at
-5 to hit. The repellent is slightly soluble
in water, so it can be used to discourage
leeches and lampreys. On land, an application
lasts 20 turns; in water it has to be
readministered after 6 turns.
Due to its odor, this repellent is not a
popular item. Anyone using it loses two
points of charisma until it wears off (to a
minimum score of 3). The repellent can be
removed by washing with at least two
skins of wine.

Wine as a medicinal tool
Druids are sometimes heavily laden
with wine because of its many useful
properties (beyond the obvious ones, of
course). Wine can be used as a kind of
rough-and-ready pain killer (see below:
Chirurgery), or, while not as effective as a
banisher of fear (above), it can add +4 to
a fear-caused saving roll if the subject is
severely intoxicated (add +1 to the saving
throw if the character in question is only
mildly intoxicated).

A quick rubdown in wine defeats attacks
that depend on adhesive qualities (for
example, attacks initiated by the giant
sundew and the mimic). This effect wears
off in 3 turns. Wine has a 50% chance
of killing plant spores that have reached
the skin but have not yet penetrated it.
Treatment must begin within one turn of
the contamination. Spores like those of
yellow mold that seek the throat and lungs
cannot be so treated.

Chirurgery
Druids are also trained to act as chirurgeons
(surgeons). While a dungeon or
battlefield is not an ideal operating theater,
this problem is counteracted to an extent
by the greater inherent survivability
shown by characters. Nonetheless, the
best that can be expected is a sort of
rough-and-ready, chop-and-sew procedure.
A druid purchases most of his or her
scalpels and tools from the local weapons
maker. Since these require more careful
work than a simple dagger, prices are
higher.

A 1st-level druid may start out with the
basic kit, but, as he or she advances, a
more advanced kit is expected as a matter
of course. The basic kit is relatively small
and would encumber the character
slightly more than a dagger, whereas the
advanced kit would be the size of a small
box (12? x 6? x 6?). Both can be carried
in a pack or pouch since speed isn?t a
factor in their use. Bandages are linen
soaked in alcohol and wrapped in dried
animal bladders.

Druids prefer to make their own
chirurgical thread. Closely wrapped linen
thread that has been carefully coated with
beeswax can be used, but silk is a better
material. However, obtaining it presents
druids with a serious dilemma.

When a cocoon is unwound to provide
silk, the larva is killed. If the gatherer
waits until the larva has completed its
metamorphosis, the cocoon is destroyed.
To mitigate this problem, the druid who
wishes to use silk must locate five worms
before they make their cocoons. The five
must be carefully fed and protected until
the cocoons are complete. It is then permissible
to sacrifice one to obtain silk. The
other cocoons must then be protected
until the butterflies emerge. This time
span may necessitate the player sitting out
a few adventures. Since one cocoon yields
2,000-3,000? of thread, a druid needs to
kill only one or two larvae in a lifetime.
Even the simplest medical treatment
takes time. The more complex the procedure,
the longer the process takes. Naturally,
nothing can be done until the melee
is concluded.

A 1st-level druid can repair damage
equal to one-third the damage sustained in
a given melee. This healing is at a rate of 2
hp per turn. The amount of damage that
can be repaired, if an advanced kit is used,
increases by 1 hp per level until the druid
reaches 4th level. After this point, no
further improvement is possible. Speed of
treatment doubles successively at the 3rd
and 5th levels; beyond that no further
improvement is possible. The treatment of
injuries due to burns improves at a
roughly similar rate (see Table 4).

For example, a character has 30 hp, but
takes 16 hp damage. A 1st-level druid can
restore up to 5 hp if he works for five
turns. A 4th-level druid would be able to
restore 8 hp in four turns. A 10th-level
druid could restore 8 hp in two turns.
If the character has been reduced below
one-half of his normal hit points, some
form of anesthesia must be used in the
healing process. The anesthesia is usually
an alcoholic spirit, although some druids
may have compounded a crude ether to
use instead (see odor of sleep above). If
ether is used, there is no direct aftereffect
except as noted. If spirits are used, the DM
should apply the ?Great? column of the
Intoxication Table in the DMG (page 82)
when determining the alcohol?s effects.
If no anesthesia is available, the treatment
can continue, but two or more members
of the party (cumulative strength
must equal three times the injured character
?s strength) must hold the patient down.
No one taking part in the treatment may
roll for surprise. Because of the noise, the
probability of encountering a wandering
monster is doubled.

If the injured character participates in
combat later, there is a high probability of
reopening his wounds. As a result, the
character loses one additional hit point for
each two hit points of damage sustained in
the new combat. The use of silk thread
reduces this to one additional hit point for
every four new hit points of damage.
Obviously, the extra damage taken cannot
be greater than the amount that was repaired.
Treated wounds heal at twice the
normal speed of 1 hp per day, if the character
rests.

This article has just skimmed the surface
of druidic medicine. While druids can be
valuable in repairing direct physical injury,
a DM who chooses to include disease and
mental illness will provide a rich field for
them to practice their nonmagical skills.
Druids are directed to Appendix J: Herbs,
Spices and Medicinal Vegetables in the
DMG (page 220) for other possible curative
substances.

___________________________________

Table 2
C h i r u r g i c a l   E q u i p m e n t
Basic chirurgeon's kit -- 75 gp
    Scalpel
    Needle
    Retractor/clamp
Advanced chirurgeon's kit -- 450 gp
    Scalpels
    Needles
    Retractors & clamps
    Bone saw
    Lancets
    Probes

___________________________________

Table 3
Encumbrance of Antidotes
 

Item	Encumbrance in gp (per treatment)
Antidote (any)	20
Balm for burns	50
Banisher of fears	20
Chirurgeon's kit unused	-
Basic	20
Advanced	50
Itching powder	25
Mask of clear air (each)	100
Odors of sleep/wakefulness	50
Parasite repellant	70
Wineskin	50

___________________________________

Table 4
Chirurgical Healing
 

Druid's level	Maximum amount of lost hp that can be healed	HP healed by druid per turn
1	1/3 of total lost	2
2	1/3 of total lost +1 hp	2
3	1/3 of total lost + 2 hp	4
4	1/3 of total lost +3 hp	4
5	1/3 of total lost +3 hp	8
6	1/3 of total lost +3 hp	9

Note: If the injury is a burn, replace the "1/3"  with a ?1/4" No improvement in ability is
available beyond the druids 6th level.