Medic special ability: Not today

Forged in the Dark Band of Blades
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NOT TODAY You can spend a doctor use on a Legionnaire who has taken level 4 harm on a mission, but you must do so quickly before they die. You treat them and reduce the wound to level 3 harm instead.

Your quick actions can stabilize the dying, but not those completely torn asunder by level 5 or greater harm. You may apply Not Today after resistances and armor, but only if the final result is lethal harm exactly.

  • Has anyone found this ability useful?

It only triggers in a very specific scenario, but I suppose it’s a big deal when it does. Our medic hasn’t been able to use it yet and they’re wondering if it was a good pick. I suppose it will be useful when it saves a PC.

  • It can’t be applied to squad deaths, right?

Since they don’t strictly take Level 4 harm, they just die. However, the Marshal has space on their sheet to track harm for Rookies and Soldiers. I suppose that’s mainly intended for tracking when they’re played as PCs, not as NPC squad members.

I wonder if this ability would be too powerful to use to save a squad member or other NPC, bringing them back from death but with terrible injuries.

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It’s a weird ability in terms of just how limited it is in comparison to other Medic abilities (or the other Specialist abilities I can think of). It only triggers for one very specific Harm level that isn’t going to come up a whole lot – or if it does come up a whole lot, you’re probably losing Legionnaires (and Morale) left-and-right. Personal preference would be it’s more a second-pick ability for use during the later missions, rather than a first-pick ability at creation or upon advancement to Medic.

If you feel it needs more value as a first-pick ability, perhaps append it to include:

  • If the Medic is sent on a Secondary Mission wherein any Rookies die, choose one of the Rookies to survive and they take Level 3 Harm instead.
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