Hi,

I'm wondering whether orcs or goblins (or other monsters) might kidnap an apothecary (or more general, a healer)? The idea suits me: I'd like to have the PCs looking for a person to help them out - and find that they have to save him first. So far, so simple, but I'm not sure if the "abducted by orcs" makes any sense.

I would say: why not?

isn´t the barber-surgeon a gory "mad medical doctor" anyways? wouldn´t him be interested in any form of anathomy and as such, would know how to heal up humanoids not only humans? and using my last support argument question, if a barber surgeon can heal a dwarf or an elf, why wouldn´t he be able to heal a goblin?

Argumentally, a goblin tribe that have done a lot of damage to a town but got rejected returns to see those badly wounded humies an' stunties back again and fighting can generate at least curiosity, and there you have your argument for the campaing/adventure, they are "investigating before lunch time".

In the sense of a mobile, self-seasoning frankfurter, perhaps (Ich bien …. ).

Maybe a mycologist would be more useful.

Thanks for your answers! I also found a statement in the Player's Guide (p. 133): "They [= greenskins] emerge to burn farms and fields, seizing humans for food or sport - torturing captives is a favourite amusement." In that sense, they would have a use for humans, though not quite as I originally attended.

(Thanks to that paragraph in the PG I now also got the mycologist remark. *grin*)

Negotiating with orcs is out of the question, I think - but as goblins rely more on cunning and on teamwork, maybe you could talk to them (if you knew goblinoid). Or is that out of the question? I don't know the setting well enough…

The orc warlord in the Dragonslayer novel has a human blacksmith chained to pole outside his tent…

Interesting! I guess that greenskins would be less interested in the medical knowledge and do it more for cruelty/ enjoyment. In that sense, they would have a "use" for a human abduction. As long as the human lasts…