The Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG is a favorite of mine. I am currently playing a technician in one campaign and preparing to run one of my own. As the technician I have been acting as the crew’s Q, proposing equipment, creating my own, and making plans for cool tech when the big money comes in. We recently updated the ship’s medbay with some cool tech, some of it custom designed be me.
Before I post a bunch of custom gear, I just want to note that I am not entirely in love with all of the gear that has been printed in the supplement books. While much of it is very cool and feels balanced within the game, there are a few pieces I feel could have used a little more consideration and work before being printed.
For example, the medpack is a great item that costs 400 credits. For that amount you gain one free stimpack per scene and a boost die when making Medicine checks. Another example of an item I think is fairly priced and balanced is the military medpac in the hired gun book. It too is 400 credits but the only benefits that it gives are the ability to make Medicine check in the field and untrained users count as having a single skill point in Medicine checks. Trained users don’t really benefit from these, but these packs aren’t really meant for them.
An example of an item I do not feel was properly priced is the Medical Backpack in the explorer’s book. For 450 credits you gain a boost die on Medicine checks and you lower the difficulty of removing critical wounds by one. For me, this should be more expensive. The rarity is slightly higher, but I don’t look at that stat as the best way to balance out items. If my character was able to choose between a normal medpack and this one I would always choose this one. The benefit is just that much better, and the trade off isn’t high enough to make me think more about it. In my opinion, this should have been at least 800 credits, double the price for a normal medpack. I also probably wouldn’t make it an item that can be easily carried by a character, giving it an encumbrance of at least 4
That said, let’s get on to some custom gear for your medbay. All of this is too large or too bulky to carry around. The items presented are all meant for a medical station or medbay, be it permanently on a ship or temporarily set up in a camp.
Recovery Bed
Cost: 500 credits; Encumbrance: 6; Rarity: 3
These medical beds are commonly found in hospitals, medical stations, and medbays. They are adjustable, comfortable, and easy to keep clean. If someone resting in a recovery bed receives basic medical monitoring from another they will heal two wounds with a nights rest. The bed also grants a boost die to Medicine checks made to heal the wounds of a patient using it.
Medbay Computer Database and Application
Cost: 800 credits; Encumbrance: 6; Rarity: 5
This helpful tool consists of a dedicated computer, medical sensors, and helpful applications. It can assist anyone, even those without medical training, in treating nearly every sentient species in the galaxy. Applications are easy to use, providing simple step-by-step prompts and providing easy to use medical information. This was designed to help the crew without a dedicated doctor, allowing anyone without training the Medicine skill to use it as if they had a single skill point in it. Those trained in the Medicine skill can use it to help them remove critical injuries from others, lowering the difficulty of such checks by one to a minimum of 1 die.
Full Stock of Improved Medical Equipment
Cost: 1,200 credits; Encumbrance: 10; Rarity: 7
Going beyond the basics that can be found in a medpack, this collection of tools, scanners, and equipment is almost never found outside of hospitals and the medbays of capital ships. This includes whole cabinets full of supplies, a whole suite of scanners and medical imaging devices, everything needed to analyze and test tissue samples, and precise surgical equipment. Anyone using a medbay stocked with this equipment has all Medicine checks improved by 1 step and can remove one setback die from their check. You must be trained in the Medicine skill to benefit from this equipment.
Improved Bacta Tank
Cost: 5,000 credits; Encumbrance: 12; Rarity: 4
These tanks were designed for medbays where space and recovery time may be limited. Instead of pulling the recovering patient from the top, these tanks drain completely and open from the front, sliding the patient gently down into a bed using a harness and mechanical arm. The tank also comes with an improved bacta filter and an advanced monitoring computer. Anyone using this is considered to have 1 additional rank in Bacta Specialist. The tank also adds 2 boost dice to Medicine checks made to remove Critical Injuries from patients who have spent at least the last day in the tank.
The Ressurection Machine
Cost: 10,000 credits; Encumbrance: 12, Rarity: 9
This massive machine consists of a horizontal bacta tank filled with specialized bacta kept at near freezing temperature, a cage like device that clamps down and drills into the skull, a dialysis machine, and a whole suite of medical life support devices. This device may be applied to a character suffering from a Bleed Out or The End is Night Critical Injury, or a character who as died during the last 24 hours. Applying the device requires an Average Medicine check. Once Applied, the character is stabilized. If he died, he is brought back to life and counts as suffering a Grusome Injury critical injury (and all of the its effects). Otherwise, his critical injury effects are canceled, though he still suffers from the injury itself. The bacta this device uses can only be used once to revive a dead creature. It costs 1,000 credits to completely replace the bacta after it has been used, but it can still be used in a normal bacta tank.
Elements Nine 