Okay. Let me start by saying that I've run a few sessions of the Beta so far (one of which, you can actually listen to on the Order 66 Podcast). One of the things I've enjoyed about Edge of the Empire is that it's quite easy for a character to DROP. It can happen easily in one solid hit, actually.

Mind you "drop" is very different from "DEAD". And this isn't a lethal system by any stretch.

As such, I see the need for stimpacks. And I'm fine with their mechanical use.

I just have a serious problem with the name and flavor. Sheesh… I know this is nit-picky. But we don't see stimpacks hardly ANYWHERE in the Star Wars universe. Ever. KotOR had stimpaks/stim-shots, as they're a "part" of a medpac. But we don't see them anywhere else. Why didn't the Empire use them? Or the Rebellion? I just don't feel that the flavor a heroic character jamming themselves with a needle to get stims and healing is very "Star Wars". Am I alone in this?

Again - I'm fine with the mechanic: a quick healing option that restores less and less each time its used in a day. Got it! On board with it! But can we just call it a "Medpac" and be done with it? Maybe call the current version of a medpac a "Med Kit" or somesuch (the full blown first aid kit that lets you do complex medicine on the fly)?

It seems like such a small change, but it really gnaws at me from a flavor perspective. [shrug]

(cough)Regenerating health with an undefined 'revive' mechanic for downed characters. Give in to your destiny …(cough)

It is a game mechanic. Stuff like that tends not to happen in fiction. Calling it some derivation of Stim would work better for me, because, like, if it is instantaneous it would seem to be more a stimulant than, yknow, actual healing.

Imagery -

:0)

(For that matter, in the last level of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Kane has his daughter with him. Now, when Kane or Lynch go down, they can be revived by the other giving them a shot of adrenaline. But if you take to many shots of adrenaline to quickly you overdose, die and it is game over. But Kane's daughter can only survive one shot in the entire level. So if she goes down twice you have to pick up her unconscious (and possibly expired) body and carry it through the rest of the level)

I'm with you, Chris. Never seen Han Solo or Captain Rex constantly jabbing people with needles to keep them up and fighting. This is StarWars, not Trainspotting.

On the other hand, if the "scum and villainy" setting of Edge of the Empire says people use stims, for god's sake, can we put some side effects in there? Can people become addicted? Can too much stim use damage someone?

Id be much more comfortable with going back to expendable medpacs which are a tried and true Star Wars method of healing wounds. It's less of a Han Solo, Renton and Sickboy adventure.

I don't think there are very many expendable medpacs in the movies either.

GM Chris said:

Like you said, it's pretty much a concession to how much easier it is for a character to drop in this game. And it is a very video-gamey thing, much like healing in both the KOTOR games and probably the MMO as well is handled.

I know I've seen the whole "stimpack" thing used in some of the Clone Wars EU, with the main instance that comes to my mind being RepCom: Hard Contact.

It is kind of odd that FFG pretty much changed the naming convention of the "healing kits" in this version.

Perhaps they should be renamed as follows?

Stimpack becomes Emergency Medpac (befitting a one-use item)
Emergency Medpac then becomes Medpac (about the equivalent of a decent first aid kit)
Medpac then becomes Med Kit to reflect that it's a comprehensive medical treatment kit.

In regards to excessive usage of stimpacks, perhaps the rules on those need to be revised as well? Give them a more effective healing boost (restore 10 wounds instead of just 5), but in return limit them to a once per encounter effect? That way, you lessen the chance of players constantly injecting/downing these things to stay up, but when they do use it, it's very effective.

In the NPR radio drama thing for The Empire Strikes Back:-

Luke:- After a fight with a wampa and a stroll through a Hoth blizzard no pal I'm not all right. Think I'll ask the rebellion for a raise.

Han:- Shut up and stay still. I can’t give you another stim-shot; the med-kit says you’re at the limit right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_XVEuvlCpY#t=4m15s

Wookiepedia implies they are pneumatic - so no needles if that matters to you!

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stim-shot

There is at least one book that explains medpacks I have read. It might be "Red Harvest" (which was horrible). It was explained as having an an artificial temp blood supply, stims and various things all combined into a small pack to be used in different ways. One could argue they used one on Luke at end of Empire on the Falcon.

This said, it seems they they should not be actually separate things.

EDIT : yeah even the Wookeepedia entry says they are the same thing:

STIM-SHOT: A stim-shot was a stimulant administered with a pneumatic dispenser. It was one of the main components of a medpac.

MEDPAC: A medpack usually contained diagnostics such as medisensors and also could provide flexclamps, synthflesh, irrigation bulbs, bacta, kolto, spray-bandages, bacta patches, spray hypos, bone stabilizers, antiseptics, medical drugs, coagulants, stimulants such as stim-shots, and other essential medicines for the treatment of wounds.