The text makes a suggestion that rolling a Despair during a Medicine check may result in inflicting wounds unintentionally through 'a truly terrible accident'. What do you think of adding the line "or even causing the death of the patient"?

We see this happen in RL especially during an already risky surgery and it certainly would add an increased amount of tension and drama to the task providing for perhaps some good role-playing opportunities related to the check itself and/or its results, positive or negative.

Maybe? Depends. It's not really a good thing to let such randomness cause player character death, even on a failed roll that produces a Despair. I mean, the Despair can cause an additional Critical Injury, which in itself can, potentially, kill the PC... so it's there already, that is if the PC has already suffered 5+ critical injuries, none of which has been healed.

So, for healing wounds I would let a Despair result in (another) critical injury, while healing a critical injury I'd let the Despair cause wound damage instead, equal to threats or failure symbols... whatever seems the most reasonable, this could of course cause another Critical injury (and potential death) if the PC has taken a lot of wound damage too.

Yeah, I'm Jegergryte. I'd let the Despair trigger a Critical Injury, either directly or indirectly (by causing Wound Damage in excess of the target's WT).

The risk should be there, and the dice to a great job of simulating and resolving that risk.

You're me?! when did I get split personalities living in different time-zones?! *scuttles off*

Agree, death is too severe. It's hard to die even in combat, it shouldn't be re-introduced on the medical slab. Give them a nasty infection from a tainted stimpack, or ...

Good ideas, folks. I suppose technically speaking, depending on how many Wound points remain, such a skill might cause death anyway. As a GM, if the target is an NPC, I might be more inclined to allow this very tragic event to occur. For PCs, however, one or more critical injuries is probably the more reasonable route to take.

I suppose technically speaking, depending on how many Wound points remain, such a skill might cause death anyway.

Remember, you're only unconscious when you go over your wound threshold, not dead. Death is only from a coup de grace, or something incredibly nasty on the critical chart. You recover one wound a day, so assuming you get decent hydration and maybe a nutritional IV, you'll eventually "wake up" even if you're way over your threshold.

I suppose technically speaking, depending on how many Wound points remain, such a skill might cause death anyway.

Remember, you're only unconscious when you go over your wound threshold, not dead. Death is only from a coup de grace, or something incredibly nasty on the critical chart. You recover one wound a day, so assuming you get decent hydration and maybe a nutritional IV, you'll eventually "wake up" even if you're way over your threshold.

Riiiiight. Thanks.

You're me?! when did I get split personalities living in different time-zones?! *scuttles off*

Lol, sorry, I meant "I'm with Jegergryte." Apparently the key verb was omitted. I'm inclined to blame iOS spell correction in tandem with this site, but I think I may have been on the laptop when I typed that So there's really no excuse.

Unless I actually AM Jegergryte. Maybe my subconscious is telling me something I have been trying to deny.

I suppose technically speaking, depending on how many Wound points remain, such a skill might cause death anyway.

Remember, you're only unconscious when you go over your wound threshold, not dead. Death is only from a coup de grace, or something incredibly nasty on the critical chart. You recover one wound a day, so assuming you get decent hydration and maybe a nutritional IV, you'll eventually "wake up" even if you're way over your threshold.

Yes, but if someone is trying to perform surgery or the like to get you back into shape and something goes horribly wrong—that's what we're talking about here. So if extra wounds are suffered over and above a PC's WT, the PC immediately suffers one Critical Injury (as per page 215). I take this to mean, if you get kicked (or otherwise significantly damage) when you're down and unable to defend yourself, you can go into shock and/or die much more easily than when you're in good fighting form.

So, what I was trying to say was that if a Medicine check causes wounds that exceed a target's WT, by the simple RAW, they could well die. And I think this is very fitting.

You're me?! when did I get split personalities living in different time-zones?! *scuttles off*

Lol, sorry, I meant "I'm with Jegergryte." Apparently the key verb was omitted. I'm inclined to blame iOS spell correction in tandem with this site, but I think I may have been on the laptop when I typed that So there's really no excuse.

Unless I actually AM Jegergryte. Maybe my subconscious is telling me something I have been trying to deny.

I knew it, I've had such strange dreams lately. Better call Psi Corp and Bester, we need to have a talk...

A crit might even be too severe, but is well within the realm of fitting. A permanent maiming would be several despairs, IMO, not one.

This is because Heroes don't normally die in bed in the hospital. THey die in the arms of a comrade on the battlefield.

Yes, but heroes do save lives in surgery as well. Though not using a blaster, the medic in this game could certainly receive some well deserved spotlighting, so to speak.