Magic: Healing
Healing covers everything from basic first aid to brain surgery. Mages are taught how to identify injuries and diseases, to assess their severity, and to bring about a cure. The skill and experience they have at this depends on the degree of specialisation. The basic and partial levels of study are the same for all students. However, once they get to deciding on a full specialisation, they can choose between Human or Veterinary medicine. More specialities are generally taught for Human medicine; Veterinary science has a much broader base of study, given the sheer number of physiologies of potential patients.
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Related Studies
If a mage is planning on taking even a partial specialisation, they need to have basic medical or vetinary training – for example trying to set a bone without some idea of general anatomy is rather difficult. To continue up to a full specialisation, they will effecitvely also take the equivalent of a mundane medical or vetinary degree: the underlying medical knowledge is still required, even if the method of carrying out the cure is a magical one. Therefore, technically, a healing mage with a full specialisation would still be able to practise medicine on a non-magical world.
- Basic Level
- Partial Expert
- Full Specialisation: Human Medicine
- Full Specialisation: Veterinary Science
- Full Specialisation: Chaos Medicine (for the Helgram Game)
- Specific Specialisation: Harming Magic (Human, Chaosian and Animal)
Basic Level
In the course of the normal mage school studies, students will learn healing magic up to the level of basic first aid. They will be able to heal grazes and cuts, find and use pressure points, identify concussions, set simple sprains and breaks, handle artificial resuscitation, stop people choking to death, treat – although not cure – minor complaints such as fevers or heat stroke, undertake CPR, and generally act as the first-line treatment for accidents or illnesses. Simple sleep spells are also included at this level.
Partial Expert
At this level, mages are beginning to be able to relieve minor complaints, for example reducing fevers by bringing down temperatures, curing headaches, and treating rather more major injuries such as stab and gunshot wounds and compound breaks. In addition, the duration and effect (in terms of depth, etc.) of sleep spells becomes longer.
With partial specialisation, mages are beginning to develop the kind of internal sight that mage-healers and mage-surgeons use to diagnose and treat serious injuries and diseases, and can use this to a limited degree, for example to see where a bone is broken so that they can magically set it straight. However, they do not have the skill, for example, to diagnose cancer. They can also put a stasis field (aka the “coatrack” spell) around a patient who is in severe danger – with a major wound, for example.
In addition, with partial specialisation, mages are able to learn the basic youth and longevity spells, although at this level they can only cast on themselves, and the duration is not quite as strong as for a full specialisation. Maximum longevity obtained is between 100-120 years (although this is of less use in the Sable Kingdom, given the longer life expectancies there), although for that time, the recipient of the spell will remain fitter and more functional.
Full Specialisation: Human Medicine
At full specialisation, a mage has fully developed the internal sight they need to fully function as a physician and surgeon. With it they can effectively look inside their patient, to find something amiss, like a shadow on the lungs which might suggest pneumonia, or the abnormal growths that are indicative of cancer. Cures are brought about using the right combinations of magic and drugs.
Youth and longevity spells can be cast on others, and with longer durations. Longevity can be extended to about 150 years (although see also note above).
Specific Specialisation: Magical Surgery
This is one step beyond the usual specialisation – after all, even on earth not every doctor or consultant is also a surgeon. At this level a mage-surgeon can focus his or her sight, and then magically perform surgery in the way a mundane surgeon would: for example, cutting magically into the patient to remove unhealthy tissue, or sometimes even using magic within the patient without breaking the skin.
Specific Specialisation: Mental Magic
Mental magic, unsuprisingly, deals with ills of the mind. This includes mental disorders, which can be helped with magical therapy; curing mental tampering; and dealing with actual brain damage at a suitable degree of skill – finding the injuries within the brain and putting them on the road to recovery, or relieving pressure on the brain from injuries to the skull, etc.
Related Studies: A better than usual knowledge of how the brain and nervous system works, and what can go wrong with it is needed – somewhat above the usual level taught at medical school. Training in psychology/psychiatry is encouraged.
Specific Specialisation: EMT/Paramedic
EMTs and Paramedics serve in emergency situations to give appropriate medical care where needed and, when necessary, transport the patient to the ER. They have some specialist investigative spells to allow them to identify injuries and prioritise a number of casualties at a major incident, plus a specific form of teleport which will allow them to get the patient directly to a hospital facility while causing a minimum amount of additional trauma.
EMT training allows the administration of intravenous fluids, the use of diagnostic spells to help assess the extent of a patient’s injuries and defibrillator spells to give lifesaving shocks to a stopped heart, and the application of advanced airway techniques to assist patients experiencing respiratory emergencies.
Paramedics provide the most extensive prehospital care. In addition to carrying out the procedures described for EMT, paramedics may administer drugs orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform endotracheal intubations, and use monitors and other complex equipment.
Related Studies: Training in a variety of areas of first aid and physical emergency procedures. Also, some specific investigative and transportation techniques, which will be taught within the EMT course.
Specific Specialisation: Genetics (Human)
Genetics mages are often researchers in healing hereditary ailments and conditions. They can look at the human body at the genetic level, working out parentage and hereditary, as well as figuring out what which parts of the genome map to what. It is a highly skilled discipline, and there are comparatively few specialist geneticists.
Related Studies: Genetics mages are also likely to hold at least a partial specialisation in investigative magic, as an invaluable adjunct to their healing abilities.
Specific Specialisation: Genetics (Shapeshifters)
There are even fewer mages specialising in the heriditary ailments and conditions of shapeshifters than there are the human kind.
Related Studies: Genetics mage specialising in Shapeshifters are also likely to be at least full basic shapeshifters themselves, as well as holding at least a partial specialisation in investigative magic, as an invaluable adjunct to their healing abilities, as.
Full Specialisation: Veterinary Science
This is a different field into which a mage can direct his energies as far as healing magics are concerned. The knowledge gained at the partial specialisation level can be modified towards the treatment of animals, with increased ability and a wider range of creatures which can be treated becoming available as the full specialisation is achieved. A full specialisation in Veterinary science usually takes an additional year of study to Human medicine.
Related Studies: Knowledge of the animal biology, rather than human, and an ability to diagnose rather different complaints.Veterinary mages often also have a grounding in Animal-Related Natural Magics, and vice versa.
Specific Specialisation: Genetics (Animal)
Veterinary genetics mages are often researchers in healing hereditary ailments and conditions. They can define bloodlines for breeding, know animal genomes, and can correct genetic flaws.
Related Studies: Genetics mages are also likely to hold at least a partial specialisation in investigative magic, as an invaluable adjunct to their healing abilities.
Full Specialisation: Chaos Medicine
At full specialisation, a mage has fully developed the internal sight they need to fully function as a physician and surgeon. With it they can effectively look inside their patient, to find something amiss, like a shadow on the lungs which might suggest pneumonia, or the abnormal growths that are indicative of cancer. Cures are brought about using the right combinations of magic and drugs.
Of course, this whole process becomes far more complicated within the Courts of Chaos, with its sheer variety of sentient (and other) life. Chaos healing mages will leave their various Mage Schools with a general grounding of the ailments and injuries of the various different denizens of the Courts. However, many then choose to specilise in the healing of different types of Courts denizens. Such specilisations would include both basic front-line medical care, as well as emergency treatment and surgery.
These include (but are not limited to):
- Chaos Specialisation: Cornelians, Lords and Ladies
- Chaos Specialisation: “Demons”
- Chaos Specialisation: Shadowfolk
- Chaos Specialisation: Fixed-form Chaosians (Humanoid)
- Chaos Specialisation: Fixed-form Chaosians (Non-Humanoid)
- Chaos Specialisation: Non-Oxygen Breathing
- Chaos Specialisation: Heavy Gravity
- Chaos Specialisation: Light Gravity
- Chaos Specialisation: Shapeshifter Trauma Care (with a very rare subspeciality of curing Chaos Cancer)
Specific Specialisation: Mental Magic (Chaos)
Mental magic, unsuprisingly, deals with ills of the mind. This includes mental disorders, which can be helped with magical therapy; curing mental tampering; and dealing with actual brain damage at a suitable degree of skill – finding the injuries within the brain and putting them on the road to recovery, or relieving pressure on the brain from injuries to the skull, etc. The Chaos specialisation has been adapted to account for the non-Euclidian nature of many areas of the Courts, and the different stresses that this can put on the mind.
Related Studies: A better than usual knowledge of how the brain and nervous system works, and what can go wrong with it is needed – somewhat above the usual level taught at medical school. It also requires a fundamental understanding of the nature of the Courts of Chaos, so basic Logrus initiation is preferred (but not obligaory). Training in psychology/psychiatry is encouraged.
Specific Specialisation: Mental Magic (Logrus Madness)
This is a sub-discibpline of normal mental magic, and is specifically geared up to treat those who have walked the Logrus, and are suffering from Logrus madness. Specialists in this area work with the afflicted to bring them back to themselves following the profound experience that walking the Logrus represents. Sometimes, there will be a poor unfortunate who never recovers, in which case they will be looked after by Logrus Madness specialists within special facilities. Most of the Major Houses have one of these, while for other victims, there is a specialy facility located in Suhuyways, home of the Keeper of the Logrus.
Related Studies: For someone to truly understand the madness that walking the Logrus can call, they have to have experienced it for themself, and have come to terms with it. Those who treat Logrus madness are usually higher-order Logrus intiates.
Specific Specialisation: Genetics (Courts Denizens)
Genetics mages are often researchers in healing hereditary ailments and conditions, as well as the ins and outs of shapeshifter genetics. They can look at the body at the genetic level, working out parentage and hereditary, as well as figuring out what which parts of the genome map to what. It is a highly skilled discipline, and there are comparatively few specialist geneticists.
Related Studies: Genetics mages are also likely to hold at least a partial specialisation in investigative magic, as an invaluable adjunct to their healing abilities. At least basic shapeshift is also desirable (but not obligatory).
Full Specialisation: Harming Magic (Human, Chaosian and Animal) – BANNED
It is beginning to become apparent that certain mages whod do not share Sable’s/House Helgram’s medical ethics (to whit, Do No Harm), have studied a corrupted form of healing magic, with the intention of causing harm and injury to the subject. This form of magic is banned in Sable and the Commonwealth/House Helgram and those who attempt to study it are subject to the discipline of the Sable Magical Oversight Committee or the Helgram Arcane Oversight Committee. However, elsewhere it would appear that the regulations are more flexible.
Related Studies
Those rare mages who choose to abuse healing magic to cause pain would still need to have undertaken medical training to the equivalent of a mundane medical degree. The medical knowledge is still required, even if the method of causing injury is a magical one.