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Episode 2084: Harter Heart

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Many games incorporate some sort of healer character archetype as a common, if not expected, inclusion into parties of adventurers. The justification is clear enough: Heroes get injured in the field, and they may need some form of healing. It's convenient if this can be done in the field.

But compare and contrast to literary and cinematic fiction. Healer characters are very rare in these media. Instead, healing is almost always done during down time, after a return to safety, and often by minor characters (or "NPCs") who play no active part in the main plot. In fact, it's often the case that an injury becomes a minor plot arc, when a character can't be healed and needs to be rushed to someone who can help them. Think Frodo and the Nazgûl blade, Anna in Frozen, or Westley being taken to Miracle Max.

The other factor in favour of including healers in the adventuring group is that if someone needs healing, it means they can't take an active part in the adventuring for a while. In a novel or movie this isn't as serious a problem as in a game where it means that that character's player may have to sit out with nothing to do for a while.

Still, give some thought to an adventuring group without a healer. It changes the adventuring dynamic a bit. You need to be more careful, and if someone gets injured and needs help, you may have to postpone the quest and go find someone who can help them. This gives more opportunity for down time and reflection and character roleplaying, over the more traditional combat-heavy type of game. If that's the feel you're going for, it could be an option.

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

Huh! I'm very surprised they actually dedicated some screen-time in the movie to showing Chewbacca's arm getting fixed. That's a nice touch. It's also interesting to see that it's a person doing the medical work instead of a droid like the ones we've seen before. I wonder if that was an intentional change or something that was forgotten about by the movie makers.

Space Japan, Space France, I wonder how many other places the GM has thought up to use for various accents as more than just a one time appearance. I hope Space Sweden is another such place just for how silly of an idea that would be to have more of this guy around. Hopefully not appearing too much though; it took me three or four tries to get that last speech bubble here parsed.

Commentary by Keybounce (who has not seen the movie)

[Keybounce's comments will appear here when received.]

Transcript

GM: Meanwhile, Doctor Harter Kalonia is treating Chewie’s wounded arm.
Chewbacca: ... pinned down by Guavians and he shoots the control panel! He could have jammed it completely.
Dr Harter Kalonia: Zat sonds verre scarois.
Chewbacca: It pales next to several of the other things he’s done in our decades of misadventures.
Dr Harter Kalonia: You must be verre brahv.
Chewbacca: Brave does not begin to describe it.
Chewbacca: Pardon my presumption but are you... Space French?
Dr Harter Kalonia: Mais oui! Mah oncle was a greht supportair of libairteh, egaliteh, and fratairniteh before ’e dahd. ’e inspahed moi to zhoin ze Resistonce.
GM: Regain 13 hit points, and your arm is no longer Lame.
Chewbacca: My ears may be, though.


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Published: Tuesday, 07 December, 2021; 01:11:05 PST.
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