New Rules for the Knack Rolls
First Aid: In addition to its existing application to heal Flesh Wounds, First Aid can be used with a TN of 5 + 5 x number of Dramatic Wounds taken to gain one of two effects: 1) Crippled character can ignore the effects of being Crippled for one scene, or 2) Knocked Out character can ignore the effect of being Knocked Out for one scene. If the character takes a new Dramatic Wound, the effect of the First Aid is cancelled immediately.

Surgery: Base TN for a Surgery check is 15 to heal one Dramatic Wound. The TN goes up by 10 for each additional wound healed, unless a Diagnosis check (TN = 5 + 5 x number of Dramatic Wounds) is made, in which case the TN increases by 5 for every additional Dramatic Wound healed. Surgery always incapacitates the victim, I mean patient, for one day (although a surgeon can perform multiple surgeries in a single day – maybe a number of times equal to Resolve).

If you’re wondering what the official rules say, here it is:

Surgery: Make a Wits + Surgery roll; the TN is 10 x total number of Dramatic Wounds; a successful Diagnosis roll reduces this TN to 5 x the patient’s DW total. Success heals one DW plus one for every two Raises the doctor makes.

In other words, the higher your Resolve, the more DW you took, the harder it was to heal even one single wound. With the new house rules, healing a single wound is always 15, etc., no matter how many you took. In addition, it takes less raises.

Example: Say Bob the Swordsman (from the Generic School) has a Resolve of 3 and was Incapacitated. Assuming the doctor’s Diagnosis roll was successful, under the old rules the TN to heal Bob completely would have been 6×5 + 10×5 = 80. Under the new rules it is now 15 + 5×5 = 40. And to get Bob a single DW back, so he can walk away from the scene (e.g., the party is holed up somewhere recuperating while the enemy is also regrouping, and Bob has to be moved before the Inquisition discovers the party’s hideout) would have been 30, now it’s 15. Isn’t that nicer?

Speading Up Recovery
Surgery is not instant. It requires a full day to undergo surgery, though a doctor can perform multiple surgeries in a single day (getting drunk enough to have the doctor cut you open, then recovering from that, takes at least a day). Recovery of Dramatic Wounds is not instant either, or at least it is not automatically instant. The default healing rate is now one Dramatic Wound per location is healed per week by successful surgery.

Example: Fred the Avalon gets carved up in a fight, and has taken three Dramatic Wounds to his right arm and one to his head (see Hit Locations). He goes to Wilma the surgeon, and she decides that she will try to heal three of his Dramatic Wounds – two on his arm, and one on his head. She succeeds at her roll. At the end of one week, Fred will heal one wound on his arm, and one on his head. A week later the second wound on his arm will heal.

It is possible to speed up the process by taking Raises to your attempt at Surgery. For one Raise, Dramatic Wounds will heal at the rate of one per location per day instead of one per location per week. For two Raises any Dramatic Wounds healed will return after one day (a day after surgery you are fixed up). Remember that Surgery can only be performed once per act.

One added benefit of surgery is that you are no longer considered to be Knocked Out after surgery has been performed on you – you can putz around even if you are suffering from more than twice your Resolve in Dramatic Wounds. However, if you take a single Dramatic Wound in combat you will be Knocked Out – and then of course you will naturally be pretty close to being dead.

Optional Rules: The Perils of Surgery
OK, OK, I admit it – I put this one in here entirely because I really dislike the way that Surgery is used as a “Cure Light Wounds” spell in this game. Surgery wasn’t THAT advanced even assuming that you give Theans a 200 year jump on the real world of that time period. Note that the new Surgery rules have been developed in conjunction with the new Hit Location rules.

An unsuccessful surgery roll can leave you worse off than you were before. If a doctor fails a surgery roll, then make a second diagnosis and surgery roll using the same number of wounds as the first. If the second surgery roll succeeds, there are no ill effects – the doctor simply didn’t make you any better. If the second surgery roll fails, however, there are two effects. First, the character suffers an additional Dramatic Wound unlessthis would kill the character in which case it is ignored. Second, roll on the following table.

1. Lingering injury. The effect of one of the character’s Dramatic Wounds (determine which randomly) will carry over through the remainder of the adventure and the next adventure. The character may regain all of his or her Dramatic Wounds as normal, but will still suffer from the effect of one Dramatic Wound in one location:

2. Weakness. The effects of the injuries weakens the character. The character’s Brawn is reduced by 1 for the remainder of the adventure.

3. Painful scars. The character’s injury gives him or her considerable pain for some time to come. The character’s Resolve is reduced by 1 for the remainder of the adventure.

4. Nausea. The character’s injuries leave him/her intermittently nauseous and dizzy. The character’s Wits are reduced by 1 for the remainder of the Adventure.

5.Stiffness. The character’s injuries leave him or her stiff and sore even after they heal. The character’s Finesse is reduced by one for the remainder of the Adventure.

6. Infection. The character just feels generally run down and weakened by his/her traumatic injuries. The character’s panache is reduced by 1 for the remainder of the Adventure.

7. General malaise – the strain on the character takes a great toll. All of the character’s Characteristics are reduced by 1 for the remainder of the Adventure.

8. Multiple Complications. Roll twice on this table, rerolling if you get this result again.

9. Weakened. One of a character’s traits is permanently lowered by 1 point. The maximum for the trait is not lowered, however. Roll 2d20 to determine which (1-2=Brawn, 3-4=Finesse, 5-6=Wits, 7-8=Resolve, 9-0=Panache)

10. “It’ll have to come off!” – one location that suffered a Dramatic Wound becomes badly infected, and has to be cut off. If this is the character’s torso or head the character dies, but this will only happen if the character has no Dramatic Wounds in any arm or leg locations. Losing an arm means that the character suffers a +10 TN for any actions that normally require two arms. Losing a leg means that the character suffers a +10 TN for any actions that normally require two legs. Having a hook or peg attached lowers this to +5. Needless to say the character can no longer do fine work with his or her missing hand, etc.

Spending Drama Dice on Healing
Players are now allowed to spend their own Drama dice on Surgery rolls that affect them. In other words, if Sara de Grijalva, Queen of the Castilles, is performing surgery on Don Lucas Aldana, then Shawn can spend some of his own Drama Dice to help Marce with her roll.

From a roleplaying standpoint it can include will to live, grit, general toughness and resistance to shock, etc. From a player standpoint it keeps the doctor from having to accept less experience per adventure because the players are now able to spend their own drama dice to give a boost to what’s really only a direct benefit to their own characters. This also allow PCs to visit city or town doctors, have the GM set a skill level for the doctor, and then the PCs can spend drama dice for success if the NPC doctor doesn’t make his roll – less deus ex machina, since the GM won’t have to decide whether or not to ‘allow’ PCs to heal with an in-town doctor. The drama die expenditure in toto for the party remains the same, it might even increase, but they would be spent by the people who gain from them rather than by the one person who decided to take doctor skills for the party’s benefit