Oddball_E8
Topic Author
Posts: 442
Joined: Sat 14 May 2016, 20:13

I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 07:48

So, considering the content of a Marine IFAK is pretty extensive, I'm considering having the players flip a coin each time a personal medkit is used, thus letting them last nominally longer than one use.

Would this make them too powerful, in your opinion?
If so, why?

In my world, personal medkits are very rare to find since most would have been used up during the war.

Thus, I'd like for them to not just be a completely disposable one-time use thing (which they aren't in real life, really), but also not something that lasts forever.

The alternatives would be to have them have a certain number of uses (which I don't like, since a severe injury could use up the entire kit, IRL).
Or, to make it so that if you have additional successes on your First Aid roll, you can use those to have the medkit not be used up in the treatment.
 
baldrick0712
Posts: 671
Joined: Fri 28 May 2021, 12:29

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 09:16

What would a real personal medkit contain? I would imagine it contains some items that can be used more than once but also some items that are one use only.

[EDIT] Found this...

Image

Weighing one pound, the IFAK consists of the following expendable medical items packaged inside of a modified MOLLE 100 round SAW ammo pouch.

1 Utility Pouch
1 Tourniquet
1 Elastic bandage kit
1 Bandage GA4-1/2” 100’s (don't understand 100's here)
1 Surgical adhesive tape
1 Nasopharyngeal airway kit
4 Surgical gloves
1 Combat gauze dressing
 
baldrick0712
Posts: 671
Joined: Fri 28 May 2021, 12:29

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 09:37

How about rolling a d6 each use: 1-3: mark with * on char sheet, 4-5: mark with ** on char sheet, 6: completely used. If marked with ***, completely used (i.e. maximum of 3 uses depending on rolls).
 
Oddball_E8
Topic Author
Posts: 442
Joined: Sat 14 May 2016, 20:13

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 10:40

What would a real personal medkit contain? I would imagine it contains some items that can be used more than once but also some items that are one use only.

[EDIT] Found this...

Image

Weighing one pound, the IFAK consists of the following expendable medical items packaged inside of a modified MOLLE 100 round SAW ammo pouch.

1 Utility Pouch
1 Tourniquet
1 Elastic bandage kit
1 Bandage GA4-1/2” 100’s (don't understand 100's here)
1 Surgical adhesive tape
1 Nasopharyngeal airway kit
4 Surgical gloves
1 Combat gauze dressing
That's the Army kit. The Marines kit is bigger. And since my campaign is set in Sweden I'm using the Marine one.
 
Oddball_E8
Topic Author
Posts: 442
Joined: Sat 14 May 2016, 20:13

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 10:41

How about rolling a d6 each use: 1-3: mark with * on char sheet, 4-5: mark with ** on char sheet, 6: completely used. If marked with ***, completely used (i.e. maximum of 3 uses depending on rolls).
Considered that but it's just my 3 use idea with more steps.
 
baldrick0712
Posts: 671
Joined: Fri 28 May 2021, 12:29

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Thu 15 Sep 2022, 13:29

How about rolling a d6 each use: 1-3: mark with * on char sheet, 4-5: mark with ** on char sheet, 6: completely used. If marked with ***, completely used (i.e. maximum of 3 uses depending on rolls).
Considered that but it's just my 3 use idea with more steps.
I didn't see mention of 3 uses in your original post. I read it as being, it has a 50% chance of not being consumed each use (so you could in theory use it 3, 4, 5 or 10 times if very, very lucky).
 
Oddball_E8
Topic Author
Posts: 442
Joined: Sat 14 May 2016, 20:13

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Fri 16 Sep 2022, 07:28

How about rolling a d6 each use: 1-3: mark with * on char sheet, 4-5: mark with ** on char sheet, 6: completely used. If marked with ***, completely used (i.e. maximum of 3 uses depending on rolls).
Considered that but it's just my 3 use idea with more steps.
I didn't see mention of 3 uses in your original post. I read it as being, it has a 50% chance of not being consumed each use (so you could in theory use it 3, 4, 5 or 10 times if very, very lucky).
Sorry, I see now that I didn't put a number on it, but I was thinking about 3 uses when I wrote this:
"The alternatives would be to have them have a certain number of uses (which I don't like, since a severe injury could use up the entire kit, IRL)."
 
Oddball_E8
Topic Author
Posts: 442
Joined: Sat 14 May 2016, 20:13

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Fri 16 Sep 2022, 07:30

I'm leaning more and more towards the "number of successes" on the First Aid roll.

I'd say requiring 2 additional successes after the first one would be a decent limit, I think.
 
baldrick0712
Posts: 671
Joined: Fri 28 May 2021, 12:29

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Fri 16 Sep 2022, 08:52

In a solo campaign I was doing a while back one of the characters used a personal medkit to treat a civilian who was ill with fever in exchange for some help. I am wondering now if that would even be feasible. These personal medkits appear to be only useful for trauma.
 
Vcutter
Posts: 133
Joined: Sat 23 May 2020, 09:55

Re: I'm considering making Personal Medkits last longer.

Fri 16 Sep 2022, 13:41

I thought about this personally as well, having attended several "tactical medicine" courses and having tested several first aid kits. They definitely do contain materials for more than one wound. Thing is, that it usually is materials for one type of wound. There aren't multiple needles for pneumothorax decompression for example, also there usually is only one hemostatic bandage, one tourniquet (which normally can be reused" etcetc.
Of course there are larger kits available as well, but in general yeah, they are one use. Except that in apocalyptical scenarios you of course would save the stuff you didn't use and it MIGHT be of assistance, depending on what the next wound is like.

I prefer to have single use kits and as a GM I can easily control the amount being found in the wilds. Also if you want to simulate the larger kits maybe weight needs to be adjusted as well.

If you decide to go with multiple uses for simple kits I'd go with something like this: When re-using a medkit roll d6: 1-3 it cannot be used for this type of wound, 4-5: it can be used and is gone for good, 6: It can be used and kept. Nothing like keeping them guessing until the crucial moment they have to use it...

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