I figure this may be the correct forum simply because I’m looking for facts - or near enough.
I run a weeky StarWars game - RPG - and I’m looking at a group of characters suffering from similar ailments but want to put a “House” kinda thing on it to make it more interesting.
The characters spent more than a week on a waterlogged planet and now they are outside that influence. I am going on the basis that water-loving microorganisms infected their lungs and once they {the characters} moved into their regular environment the OGs, having already raveged the lungs move on downword. I want it to affect their livers, and cause failure.
I have no idea how these Microorganisms would do this, but I have to make it an interesting case to trt to solve for the PCs.
Can anybody throw me some bones here that will sound at least somewhat convinceing, considering the medical technology and differing species in the SW universe?
Aw, crap, I forgot there was a new “gaming” forum under which this might have fallen. At any rate, the deal is the PCs wake to find an NPC had died of liver failure in the night and the doctor/investigator amongst them must find out why.
Well the path of infection should be pretty straightforward. You draw the microorganism into the lungs which contaminates the blood which is then drawn through the liver (purifying blood is a major part of what the liver does). Hepatitis infections are what pops into my mind that attacks the liver directly so google that if you want to see some symptoms of liver damage caused by a virus. Though that wouldn’t be exactly what you’re looking for it’ll give you an idea where to start.
An interesting complication could be that antibodies fighting the infection starting to misfire and attacking the liver directly compounding the problem which I understand can happen with certain liver infections. How that would play out using different races with different immune systems could mean some would get very ill very quickly while others don’t making for some confusion if there are two different types of infections.
Excluded from a dry environment, the microorganisms go south, attacking the liveer. The first person who falls ill actually has another problem (dunno what) that causes him to die quite quickly. That will hopefully keep the PCs pointed at the liver when other start getting ill.
I’ve looked up the liver issue, but was hoping for other complications to distract the PCs and make diagnosing this that much harder. Of course, as they have virtually no medice on thier ship, it will be hard anyway.
And what do you use to fight microorganisms? Antibiotics?
Bacteria (ie: living things) you use Antibiotics and fluids.
But NOT Viruses (non-living things)- you don’t use antibiotics on them- it’d have no effect.
For Toxins, Heavy Metal poisonings, you would use other substances, the name escapes me now, but basically things that would bind to said metals/toxins and if incorrectly injected will prolly cause an allergic reaction (Look up anaphylactic shock- easy thing to Role play if they mess up and mistreat their illness by injecting wierd crap into themselves).
To treat A-Shock, just inject epinepherine/andrenaline of some sort, keep providing respirations for said person (as they’ll be choking during that time), and keep something around (crash-cart) for their heart in case it gives out.
But that’s always a fun thing to keep in mind while they’re just sitting there injecting meds into themselves. That every med has the risk of causing allergic reactions, also TOO much antibiotics can cause problems too (diarrhea, stomach aches, nausea, to the extremes of where it could compromise their kidneys and then they’re REALLY screwed (ie: Renal Failure). God, I love watching House…
Some sort of parasite is always fun. These things seem like they’re alien organisms anyway. For your inspiration:
Human liver fluke - egg hatches in a snail; once sufficiently developed, bores out of the snail’s body and enters a fish; forms a cyst and waits to be eaten by a human; once eaten, they migrate to the liver, where they feed on human bile; eggs are excreted in feces and the circle is complete
Ascariasis - caused by a parasitic roundworm; infection occurs by eating contaminated food; larvae hatch and burrow through the intestine; migrate through the lungs and up the respiratory tract; they’re swallowed and take up residence back in the intestine where they mature
Toxoplasmosis - caused by the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii; primary host is cats but infects other mammals, including humans; causes behavioral changes in rats and mice - infected animals are less fearful of cats; some evidence that it may be behind “crazy cat lady syndrome”
I was kinda thinking the same thing. Is this something that all the PCs can be involved in? How much play-time do you expect to take up with this?
One way to make it more exciting would be to go away from the medical route and toward the ethnobotany route: the doctor is unable to cure it, but somehow the PCs hear of a doctor back in the swamps who might have a cure, and have to adventure back there (past all sorts of dangers) to reach the doctor. Something along those lines, anyway.
Sadly, I’m not much of a D&D Player, but I love the idea of this sorta thing. But I kinda WANT to be a doctor- so I’m familiar with thinking about things like this (from a medical view and examinations and tests- that’s FUN!)
But yeah, for your group of basic hack and slashers this might be kinda… iffy.
But, you could have it as a side quest maybe? In the town or something that they get supplies from, that one of their party infects someone int eh town
and the TOWN gets sick little by little, with various useful people dropping (perhaps the arms dealer is too sick to sell weapons that day), and if they try to help out (by finding various NPC “Doctors” with theories and such, you could combine it. IE:
NPC Doc 1’s Theory is A and requires equipment from castle B
NPC Doc 2 believes its B and wants stuff from Swamp A
NPC Doc 3 says its C and D and will need things from Castle A, and a source of X.
So then only one of the docs is right, but the party can try to figure out does it go with Doc A, B, or C. And can either investigate to fig. out which is the most likley cause, or do they split up and try to EACH tackle the seperate castle to cover their bases, or do they split and go towards 2 only?
That’s the sort of decisions that excite me as a role player- knowing there’s gonna be action and all, but that it requires some brains to figure it out as well.
Man… now i wish i was playing in something like that. You were basically the assistants to a group of Doctors that go around and come up with the theories of A-D or so each time, and it’s up to your band of adventures to get the supplies for 1-3 of them if possible to save lives… That’d be pretty sweet!
This is the Star Wars universe you’re talking about. Have them fight the organisms by using the Force to direct their midichlorians into one-on-one combat!
I would note that perhaps you shouldn’t have the first to get sick just drop dead. Unless it’s an NPC. Yes, this isn’t “realistic,” but neither is “Star Wars.”
Oh, no. The dead guy will be a redshirt NPC. The PCs have only just left the place they’ve been for years and put together a mercenary unit, so they barely even know most of the crew yet.
Also, one of the PCs is both an investigator and a doctor. This sort of thing is right up his alley, and he’s been feeling a little left out lately. This will only last for a single session, and it’s unlikely there will be more than say, two fatalities total amongst the NPCs.
Oh, and there are no Force users currently anywhere nearby.
Still, thanks for the help and suggestions. I just want it to be perplexing and potentially dangerous, then forehead-smakingly simple in the end.
Left Hand, that’s quite an idea, but they just fled a war zone after getting their asses kicked. I don’t think it would be very nice to make them go back. I may be mean, but that’s just awful!
I rather like Left Hand of Dorkness’s idea of a quest for a cure. It gives something for all the PC’s to do. The Star Wars universe uses bacta as a cure-all, replacing the earlier kolto. Maybe bacta isn’t effective against your dread disease, but kolto is. As kolto hasn’t been used for centuries, getting a supply will necessitate a trip to the source - the water planet of Manaan and a dangerous underwater trip to the Hrakert Rift.
As a D&D player this sounds about on par with a good session. In D&D you get to fight all about 3% of the time and then go through long philisophical debates, vendor haggling, diplomacy on nobles who insist on using circular logic or other fun “puzzle games” like this about 97% of the time. This one actually sounds like quite a fun mission.
For an additional wrinkle… maybe this turns out to be a bioweapon, either of recent vintage (in which case mebbe your party needs to track down and extract a cure from the Republic, Imperial, Hutt, Sith etc. evil scientist[s] who conceived it), or of ancient origin (in which case maybe there’s some folklore they can follow up on for a cure).
I love how many times they have all the healing goodies in the universe come from one planet (which usually gets ignored by every othre canon source, but…) As a friend of mine once put it, this is like having all the medical supplies on earth being made by an elderly Chinese man working part-time in the back room of his noodle shop.
Actually, on the game: the players probably wouldn’t have to go to the Hrakert Rift. Kolto can be obtained in many other locations, since it seems to bubble up. Hrakert was just the source point, where the Republic made a hidden refining station. The Selkath apparently just gathered it up and sold it, not wanting to disturb the Rift itself. However, meeting and bargaining with the Selkath would be a delicate adventure in and of itself. The characters might have to find lcoa guides and make some tough social checks to earn the Selkath’s trust.
You can guide them to a couple of options in you want, but it might be more fun to lean back and see where they take you.
