First time posting. I couldn't find anything about medical modifications. I'm currently playing a support character that is generally long-medium range from the actual fight as my team is made up of mostly melee characters. I find it a bit dangerous to get up close to heal them or boost them with the stimpak application so I was looking to modify a bowcaster to shoot stimpaks sort of the way tranquilizer darts might work except with medicine instead or I guess tranquilizers could be used as well.

Anyone have any ideas of what kind of mods or limitations something like that should have? My GM said I could do it but only if I could explain it completely including some legitimate, non-OP, rules.

That's an awesome idea!

Here's what it takes normally:

1 maneuver to "draw" or "ready" a stimpack

1 maneuver to "use" the stimpack

The stimpack can be used by anyone, so doesn't really require any medical knowledge. Just inject and away you go.

So...for this, I would think you'd be looking at some sort of simple attachment for your bowcaster, allowing it to fire "stimquills" at a non-lethal speed. Stimpacks cost 25 credits, so maybe these "stimquills" could cost 50 apiece. Or maybe 75.

At the minimum, you should need to make a Ranged (Heavy) skill check, using the aim maneuver and taking 2 setbacks in order to target a specific part on your ally's body (assuming the stimpack needs to be injected at in some general area, like the thigh).

That's how I'd do it.

This may just be me, but I'd say it's up to the rest of the group to keep you safe. Maybe some of the Melee characters need to take some ranks in the Bodyguard talent.

If you're still interested in the stim-gun, I'd say the bowcaster works fine, but you can't have the auto-reload attachment, so it takes a Prepare maneuver to load each stimpack. The "called shot" aim maneuver as above also works to help keep it balanced.

Also, remember that bowcasters are heavy (encumbrance 5). Assuming your Brawn is pretty low (since your worried about damage and thus probably a low-Soak), it may be difficult for you to carry much else.

"Hold still! I'm going to shoot you until you feel better!"

Rebels have the WORST medical insurance

How'd this interact with the Stim Application talent?

How'd this interact with the Stim Application talent?

If I allowed it at all, I'd have the character make the check using the worse of his Medicine & Ranged combat skills and the worse of his Intellect and Agility. So an Int 5 Agi 2 character with Medicine 2 and Ranged (Heavy) 3 would make a skill check using YY.

Either that...or maybe increase the difficulty of the check. But it's already Hard enough IMO. The above ruling would be more appropriate in that the character needs good medical knowledge and needs to be a crack shot to get the stim where it needs to go.

At a minimum, I think it should require both a successful ranged heavy check with significant setback and difficulty, and then an additional very difficult medical check.

Realistically, it wouldn't work at all. Stimpacks aren't like tranquilizer darts, you can't just stick them in anywhere.

I'd say if you were completely changing a bowcaster into a ranged stimpack launcher - as opposed to just a bowcaster that works as both a weapon and stimpack thrower - I'd say dropping the range down to short, which would signify the fact you're firing things not meant to be used as projectivles. Then require a maneuver to Aim for a specific part of the target if they're wearing anything thicker than Heavy Clothing, which adds the 2 setback. Checks are done with Ranged (Heavy).

Then you can still allow the Re-cocker attachment as-is. And maybe adjust the Accelerator attachment where adding it and further modifications can remove the need to aim for a specific spot for more armored characters.

But as Col. Orange's makeup shotgun picture so eloquently points out - you're still firing something at somebody - and stimpacks have pretty pointy needles - which should probably hurt.

I'm more wondering what happens if someone else picks up this weapon loads it with what they think are tranks and starts shooting foes who look like they're actually recovering rather than dropping from the other PC's firing...

I'm trying to picture this...

I imagine using an airgun to to shoot a wad of smelling salts (ammonium carbonate) into the face of an ally in order to wake him, and the idea sounds absolutely ridiculous to me.

I would be adding a minimum of 4 Setback dice per shot in combat.

1 Moving target

2 Firing a slow moving projectile (relative to kenetic or energy Rounds)

3 Trying to hit a flailing limb that is trying not to get shot and not hit armor!

4 Projectile itslef getting blown off course or failing to penetrate. THis is a needle that neets to enter the target square.. Any rolling or shift of entry point or trajectory will cause a fail.

I would be adding a minimum of 4 Setback dice per shot in combat.

1 Moving target

2 Firing a slow moving projectile (relative to kenetic or energy Rounds)

3 Trying to hit a flailing limb that is trying not to get shot and not hit armor!

4 Projectile itslef getting blown off course or failing to penetrate. THis is a needle that neets to enter the target square.. Any rolling or shift of entry point or trajectory will cause a fail.

I'm trying to picture this...

I imagine using an airgun to to shoot a wad of smelling salts (ammonium carbonate) into the face of an ally in order to wake him, and the idea sounds absolutely ridiculous to me.

Yes it sounded pretty ridiculous to me too.

I would up the difficulty AND use upgrades due to the heightened possibility of something going completely wrong. Despair? You just caught that stim needle in your eye. The odds of successfuly planting a stim needle in someone AND the bacta being released properly should be extremely low.

Just to have a chance at it working, you couldn't be using the hand deployed stims. Those would have some sort of plunger or button in order to release the bacta. When shooting one of those, the bacta isn't going to be released automatically. So, a new stim needle is going to need to be designed. Does the PC need to enlist a medical corporation to design the launchable stims? That would get very expensive for them to do the R&D, come up with a prototype, etc. How come such hasn't been invented previously? Probably because it hardly ever worked.

Even with an expensive prototype launcher and prototype stim darts, I would still make it very difficult to land a dart which releases its bacta correctly.

I'm trying to picture this...

I imagine using an airgun to to shoot a wad of smelling salts (ammonium carbonate) into the face of an ally in order to wake him, and the idea sounds absolutely ridiculous to me.

Yes it's ridiculous and that's exactly what a Jawa outlaw tech would do, IMO.

Guess everyone conception of what a stimpack is can really vary!

Accoridng to the CRB, the stimpack takes no Medical expertise to administer, comes in the form of a hypodermic auto-injector, and contain a cocktail of various substances designed for quick healing in the field.

Assuming that you need to hit somewhere specific on a target (a good assumption IMO), the aim maneuver, which I've already suggested, is already in the rules.

Maneuver: aiming takes at least a maneuver, imparts 2 setback dice (or two maneuvers for 1 setback)

Action: taking the shot should be one skill check, not two. This game is not designed for multiple checks per action.

I'm gonna revise my previous answer and say that, based on the stimpacks being autoinjectors, you just need to know where to aim and that is already covered in the Ranged combat skill of choice. So make a "Stimquill" attachment, take a Ranged combat check to fire it after aiming, and hope for a success

Next we'll have characters throwing stimpacks with Ranged (Light) and Strong Arm.

Bowcasters shoot out big ugly energy bolts plus a physical projectile, which would probably hurt quite a lot. Bit like a bandaid on a broadhead.

The Model 77 air rifle we've had some fun with loading up with various concoctions to sedate, stun and humiliate the enemy with- favourite so far is the 'tranqsitive' which is a combo of tranquilisers and laxatives. I dunno about something like a stim-pack being squeezed into it, but its probably slightly more user friendly than a crossbow bolt in the back.

Next we'll have characters throwing stimpacks with Ranged (Light) and Strong Arm.

That's so last year. Anyone who's anyone is a force user that uses Force: Move's fast objects Control Upgrade to auto-fire stimpacks into his allies at long range..

Despairs could be spent on Healing Enemies also

Despairs could be spent on Healing Enemies also

Yeah, just reverse the rules for shooting into melee. If your target is engaged with an enemy, upgrade the difficulty once. On a hit + despair, you stim the enemy.

WHOA! Keep it simple. Simple is the subtitle of the game!

As a GM I would rule it:

A.) Using Stimpacks at distance (thrown or shot at target): Take an Aim maneuver to add two setback to the check. For each Range Band beyond short to the target, upgrade the difficulty of the combat check by one.

B.) Loading a Stimpack into a Bowcaster or other capable weapon:

1.) Stimpacks should be made into ammo for that weapon beforehand with a mechanics check OR purchased as ammo.

2.) Should be a maneuver to load the "stimpack ammo" (unless it is the default ammo or already loaded of course)

SO FOR EXAMPLE:

Bob the Wookie has a bowcaster with an auto loader full of stimpak ammo (so it is his weapons default ammo) that he makes on his downtime. During a combat encounter his friend Bill is in trouble at Medium range from him. Bob takes an Aim maneuver to aim at Bill and adds two setback to his Ranged Heavy check. Also Bill as one range band beyond short range so Bob also upgrades his Check. To make things easier but instead of moving closer, Bob is going to take two strain to take a second maneuver and Aim again to bring the penalty down to one setback instead of two.

So Bob the Wookie takes an action and two maneuvers (so two strain) to roll his Ranged Heavy skill against:

1 Red 1 Purple and 1 Black to heal his friend Bill 5 wounds at Medium range.

Any extra success wouldn't do anything and any advantages/threat/triumphs/despairs could be spent normally.

BOTTOM LINE:

Stimpaks are not that powerful they cant cure critical hits and they become less effective with each one.

3 stimpaks (that is three turns of that players Actions spent doing this...) could heal one ally 12 whole wounds over the course of THREE turns assuming they succeed each time! (again actions not maneuvers spent doing it this way..) They are not that strong!

ALSO!!! ABOUT THE STIM APPLICATION TALENT

You cannot use the Stim Application talent with this method because that talent is always used as an action not a maneuver or incidental, it also says "range engaged" in the talent's description. Since It takes an action to fire a weapon or throw something and you cannot use two actions in a round you cannot use Stim Application in this way unfortunately.....

BOTTOM LINE:

Stimpaks are not that powerful

They're actually really powerful. Most characters go down to exceeding a threshold, not to critical hits, and stimpacks can strip away wounds so fast that many groups won't have much need for Medicine unless they do get critical hits.

Stimpaks are useful and they can and will keep you alive but they are not powerful.
They are nearly essential in combat heavy adventures/campaigns but not powerful
1 move to recover 5 wounds a 2nd move to recover 4 more wounds for a total of 9.
Thats TWO moves to recover from the same amount as the base damage of a blaster rifle.

A player of mine has a character with 15 soak and 28 wounds.
If he uses 5 stimpaks he can heal 15 wounds in a 24 hour period thats useful not powerful.
Another player of mine has a character with 6 soak and 16 wounds. If she uses 5 stimpaks
she can heal 15 wounds in a 24 hour period thats useful but still not powerful.
These characters have more than 1600 xp each.

Even with lower XP characters with lower soak and wound thresholds using a stimpak or two can recover a character after a hard hit
but after the third stimpak of the day they are nearly worthless.

BOTTOM LINE
How powerful is that stimpack gonna be after a hit from a missile tube? or a disruptor weapon, lightsaber, tricked out vibroax, etc, etc....

Healing more than two weeks worth of wounds in a single day is powerful in my eyes.

BTW, have you considered that your "Bottom Line" bit might look condescending?

Yeah two weeks worth of natural healing through rest in a day is pretty **** good, I just don't think stimpaks are powerful enough for the GM to disallow a player from using the Stimpak bowcaster that's all I'm saying.

No I never did considered that my "Bottom Line" might look condescending. I have a pretty bad cold I was just trying to sum up

my opinion on stimpaks. Sorry for any misunderstanding. I mean no disrespect to yours or anyone else opinions.