Well, I'm part of the general consensus. Only problem with making the stims "run out" is now you're dealing with a tangible item in relative terms. I'm really not a fan of the "you can use this item sometimes, but only when I feel like it" approach. How is a doctor unable to just look inside the kit and see how many are there? My players are going to be on a strict equipment budget, and this like this makes it hard to manage.

It's not that the character(s) *can't* look inside the kit to see how many there are.

It's that they didn't, thus they get surprised when they discover they've run through the stims in the kit.

If, on the other hand, they did think to check how many stims the medpac had 'on board' then you (the GM) simply tell them there's X stims left in the kit, and when they run through that, it's done until they've had a chance to refill/refresh the kit.

And a stims don't take care of critical injuries. Accumulating *those* is what makes combat risky for PCs.

The assumption here is that all wounds are given the same amount of stim pac bacta. Likely some wounds take more than others. That's how I'd describe it to my players.

I picture the stimpacks that come from the medpac to be like the chemistry set from Fallout 3. It makes the stimpacks but only at the rate of one per scene (or per day, if I want a specific in-game time). One free dose per day is hardly going to be abusive.

Edit: I don't allow the 'free stimpack' to be removed from the medpac, and if the resevoir isn't empty, the kit won't distill another dose. IOW, these freebies can't be stockpiled or distributed.

HD, that is an excellent way to explain the free medpac stim!

I imagine Stims similar to powerful opiates. If not taken while your adrenaline(upper) is pumping from combat to neutralize the effect, you will suffer downer effects (setback dice), possible coma/overdose and risk of addiction (as others have mentioned).

I'll prob houserule 2 stim uses per encounter

The game's healing rules have perplexed me almost from the start, so I feel your pain.

"In addition, the internal stim storage grants the user the equivalent of one stimpack per scene (although the GM can rule the device has run out of stims if the supplies are used continuously.)

So, the GM can cut that off if the players use it too frequently.

The game's healing rules have perplexed me almost from the start, so I feel your pain.

However, note the text on medpacs that reads

"In addition, the internal stim storage grants the user the equivalent of one stimpack per scene (although the GM can rule the device has run out of stims if the supplies are used continuously.)

So, the GM can cut that off if the players use it too frequently.

I don't have an issue with it, here's why. The phrase "once per scene" means, to me, in the scene (encounter) you are in, not an after combat solution, that's what the bacta tank is for. Even if I did allow them to be used after combat, the next scene (out of combat) lasts until the next encounter, meaning one use until something else happens in the adventure. You control the scenes and length, not the players.

Just my thoughts

In film a scene is generally thought of as the action in a single location and continuous time. So if we use the Beginner Game as an example the Cantina fight would be one scene, leaving the Cantina and the whole junk shop another scene (although if something happens on the way to the junk shop that could be a scene as well but in this case transitions would generally not considered scenes if nothing really happens), the getting into the the control center, the control center, the encounter with the stormtroopers on the way to the Krat Fang, etc.

The whole beginning adventure would be 7 to 10 scenes. If it was a real movie it'd be more because they would generally count getting from one place to another a scene as well.

In film a [/size]scene is generally thought of as the action in a single location and continuous time. So if we use the Beginner Game as an example the Cantina fight would be one scene, leaving the Cantina and the whole junk shop another scene (although if something happens on the way to the junk shop that could be a scene as well but in this case transitions would generally not considered scenes if nothing really happens), the getting into the the control center, the control center, the encounter with the stormtroopers on the way to the Krat Fang, etc.

The whole beginning adventure would be 7 to 10 scenes. If it was a real movie it'd be more because they would generally count getting from one place to another a scene as well.

Yes, in a movie that would be correct. In a table top game, which there are a lot that use scene concept, a scene is an encounter of interest. That doesn't mean a scene is only combat, but it does mean that the group saying "oh, while we're here we grab some supplies." That's not a scene to me.

A scene normally has something to do with the plot, characters roleplay interactions, and normally a skill check is made.

A scene is a unit of game time lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour or more, during which the players try to achieve a goal or otherwise accomplish something significant in a scenario. Taken together, the collection of scenes you play through make up a whole session of play, and by extension, also make up your scenarios, arcs, and campaigns.

So you can look at it as the foundational unit of game time, and you probably already have a good idea of what one looks like. It’s not all that different from a scene in a movie, a television show, or a novel—the main characters are doing stuff in continuous time, usually all in the same space. Once the action shifts to a new goal, moves to a new place related to that goal, or jumps in time, you’re in the next scene.

As a GM, one of your most important jobs is to manage the starting and ending of scenes. The best way to control the pacing of what happens in your session is to keep a tight rein on when scenes start and end—let things continue as long as the players are all invested and enjoying themselves, but as soon as the momentum starts to flag, move on to the next thing. In that sense, you can look at it as being similar to what a good film editor does—you “cut” a scene and start a new one to make sure the story continues to flow smoothly.

When you’re starting a scene, establish the following two things as clearly as you can:

What’s the purpose of the scene?

What interesting thing is just about to happen?

Answering the first question is super-important, because the more specific your scene’s purpose, the easier it is to know when the scene’s over. A good scene revolves around resolving a specific conflict or achieving a specific goal—once the PCs have succeeded or failed at doing whatever they are trying to do, the scene’s over.

Scene = resolving a specific conflict or achieving a specific goal, to me players hanging out saying we want to use a medpac to heal is not a scene. Just how I define it.

http://fate-srd.com/fate-core/scenes-sessions-scenarios

Scene = resolving a specific conflict or achieving a specific goal, to me players hanging out saying we want to use a medpac to heal is not a scene. Just how I define it.

http://fate-srd.com/fate-core/scenes-sessions-scenarios

I agree, characters just hanging out in this context would not count as a change of scene. In any case I believe my examples are correct. The Cantina is a specific conflict, so is the acquisition of the part from the junk shop. The control center getting in and achieving the ship's release could be one and I'd rule is as such, but In movie terminology it would be described as a sequence. The encounter with the Stormtroopers, especially if it involves combat, would not be the same as getting the ship so it would be a scene as well.

The point I'm making is that these are all natural breaks in the adventure arc that can be opportunities to have "scene" specific actions reset.

I've houseruled it that players can receive a medicine check once in combat, and once in between combat encounters (and if they didn't get healed in the encounter, then they missed out and don't get two heal checks out of combat). With a skilled doctors, that's more than plenty to keep people alive and mostly well without going too crazy on the overusage.

So far it hasn't been a problem.

I've houseruled it that players can receive a medicine check once in combat, and once in between combat encounters (and if they didn't get healed in the encounter, then they missed out and don't get two heal checks out of combat). With a skilled doctors, that's more than plenty to keep people alive and mostly well without going too crazy on the overusage.

So far it hasn't been a problem.

That's pretty much how the RAW medicine check works already .