Medcards

Medical cards (or Medcards) are the means by which a character is afflicted by some medical condition. Medcards may be issued to characters as a result of a number of different gameplay elements, including taking combat damage, interacting with a certain item or person, or exposure to a hazardous environment. These will generally be issued by referees or crew members, but can also be acquired through self-referee game mechanics.

Note that whilst med-cards may be issued in relation to taking ‘a hit’, they are in addition to the hit, and not a replacement of.

Typically, med-cards will feature a combination of roleplay and gameplay mechanical elements, which should be followed by the bearer of the medcard. Note that medcards are not transferable, and ‘ignoring’ a Medcard will be considered cheating.

In Drift, there are three common categories of medcard:

• Injury (I)
• Mind (M)
• Disease (D)

In addition to the medcard category, medcards have a corresponding tier, from 1-3. Combined this could make a medcard D2 (Disease Tier 2), or I1 (Injury Tier 1) for instance.

Medcard Phases

Medcards have five phases of impact on gameplay. 

1. The symptom phase describes roleplay and mechanical symptoms that should be exhibited by the bearer of the medcard.
2. The recognition phase is when a character with the appropriate medical skill can observe the symptoms, and recognise the medcard. 
3. The diagnosis phase consists of any actions that a medic must take in order to accurately diagnose the medcard, and progress to the treatment phase.
4. The treatment phase is any actions the medic must take to treat the medcard.
5. The after-effects phase is any lingering after-effects that the character will maintain following successful completion of the treatment phase.

Note that not all medcards necessarily feature all phases.

Symptoms Phase

Symptoms describe a combination of roleplay and mechanical symptoms that a bearer of a medcard should role exhibit. These may include physical attributes which a medic should be able to observe, or other behaviours. Players should make best effort to roleplay these effects in-character, without direct reference to the wording of the medcard. The intent here is to gain a medics attention in-character; not simply present themselves to a medic and show them the medcard.

Some medcards feature a range of symptoms which are provided with a timeframe:

• Initial symptoms are those that are exhibited immediately on receipt of the medcard.
• Developing symptoms are those which apply, a period of time (listed on the card), after receipt of the medcard.

Symptoms of the medcard continue developing until completion of the treatment phase. Where a treatment phase consists of a Procedure, the symptom development will pause during the conduct of the procedure. If the procedure is stopped for any reason, the medcard symptoms will continue developing. Players are responsible for keeping track of this approximate time.

Note that some treatment options will state “prevents symptom progression”. In this case, after the application of that treatment, the symptoms will cease progression – although any already present symptoms will be maintained.

Recognition Phase

In order for a medic to treat a medcard, they first need to recognise that an injury, disease or other effect is afflicting the bearer. After suitable role play with a medic, the bearer should present the medcard to the medic, who will determine based on their skills and the category and tier of the medcard, whether they have the necessary skill to recognise the condition. 

If a medic does not have the necessary skill, they may refer to another medic who might. For instance, a character presents with a Disease tier 2 (D2) card – a combat surgeon may not have the necessary skill to recognise a D2 card, but could refer to a disease specialist, who might. Again, the intent here is that players role-play this to the best of their ability. Under no circumstances should a character take the medcard from the bearer to show other characters.

Following recognition of the medcard by an appropriately skilled character, the medcard can be turned over to reveal the diagnosis phase.

Diagnosis Phase

The diagnosis phase is the phase in which an appropriately skilled medic is able to undertake actions to accurately diagnose the extent of the medcard, and determine a course of treatment. This may consist of simple procedures, analysing samples, or other roleplay. Typically, the diagnosis phase is reserved for more significant or complex medcards; a simple chemical burn, or open wound is unlikely to require additional diagnosis beyond the recognition phase.

Treatment Phase

The treatment phase is the phase in which the medcard is treated. Typically, the treatment phase will consist of a mix of roleplay, and the usage of resources or equipment. Consumed resources are identified on the medcard with square braces, eg. [Bandage]. 

Some medcards feature one or more ‘Procedures’ to be performed. Procedures are a more complex set of treatment steps, which are commonly known to medical personnel with the required skills. Typically, procedures will require additional resources, equipment and roleplay. The requirements for procedures are defined in the Medical Database, which will be freely available to players for reference during gameplay. During gameplay, characters may discover or create additional procedures. Some example procedures include:

• Procedure: Sealing of internal wound
• Procedure: Cybernetics installation
• Procedure: Neurosurgery

Some med cards might offer different treatment paths, which may have different outcomes. 

In some cases, characters may wish to attempt to treat a medcard with alternative resources, modified methods or improvised environments. In these instances, a referee must be made aware in order that they may determine the outcome.

After-Effects

Following treatment, many medcards will feature after-effects. These effects may consist of role play or mechanical effects, and like symptoms, should be adhered to to the best of the player ability. Typically these after-effects have limited durations, that could be minutes, hours, to end-of-day, or end-of-event. 

Note that some after-effects may be permanent – although this doesn’t mean that they couldn’t be mitigated or resolved through other game play mechanics!

Following the expiration of any after-effects, the medcard should be returned to a referee.