I'd put the dras last in the order. Since they are least affected by diseases, why would they have even bothered meddling with medicines and healing?

Kypiqs might know the herbs, but not surgery that well, since they would not be so familiar with cutting up animals and knowing what is inside and where.

I'd go with Janoa (hunters, poison resistance), Neran (+20% learning) or Waerd (communality, sharing, etc.).

Kypiqs could possibly be surgeons and cut up their own kind for the sake of saving them. I understand what you say about Dras when it comes to their own disease but they can still be injured. Unlike the Brudvir, Dras are more sociable so they could heal other tribes and due to their ability to not obtain disease from these operations it could make this situation even more likely.

Interesting question! I guess each tribe has some qualities which could be beneficial for these professions.

I guess we all will find out Soon™ whether they implement teeth as bone saws, kypiqs that can climb inside bodies, and which tribe will actually be the best medic.

Posted By Araborn at

Greetings Elyrians

Every tribe comes with their own unique set of advantages and disadvantages of course; however, none of which discuss the certain professions such as nurse, physician, and surgeon. Thus...

Which tribe is the best at practicing medicine?

I'm not looking for the easiest answer like, "Dras are the least effected by disease making them the best option." I'd appreciate some creative answers which may be wrong, but I'd love to hear them. Who knows, maybe Kypiqs can preform surgery by climbing into the larger injured folk.

I once shared your opinion on Dras and the physician profession. Since that time, lore accounts of the Searing Plague, et al., have indicated that the physician profession is considered almost like a religious vocation among Dras.

I don't think there will be any discernible difference between the tribes from a player perspective.

From an NPC cultural perspective I think some tribes may be quicker to perform surgery or even euthanasia to sickly people compared to others especially those tribes that value strength above all else and perceive illness/sickness as weakness and liability,

Others tribes may be more inclined to treat ailments with pills and potions, but when it comes to ability and competence I think it is a pretty level playing field and it will be up to the individual player whether they excel as a medical practitioner.

Furthermore, a physician, as someone who's job entails the practical application of health related scientific advancement, they will only be as good as the level of said health related scientific advancement. In other words, if the pharmacologists, alchemists, apothecarists, herbalists and/or research focused physicians (as opposed to clinically focused) etc are not advancing health related knowledge and understanding, then medicine in general is going to be pretty useless and physicians will be ineffective.

I think Brudvir shamen are going to be pretty prevalent as healers. It's what I'm intending to do, anyway. Well, that and acting as a lorekeeper.

Just for the fun of it - some of many possibilities that see pockets of skills dotted about:

Colder regions: (K1/2) The Hrothi value age and wisdom above all and have a tight adherance to Virtori values, caring for all. The value the studious and learned by nature. These inclinations make it far more likely to encounter aged and experienced physicians, with a pious religious outlook. Their healing might be inspired by prayer to the divines and combined with well studied methods and bandages. A broken leg could be prayed for to remove the worst effects and treated to speed up recovery.

Transition regions (K3) The Kypiq are known for their inquisitive and creative natures and are the most likely, in their well known burst of inspiration, to develop devices or contraptions to aid with healing and recovery. A broken leg might be treated with a splint.

*Temperate regions: (K4/5) * The Dras are well studied in their swamp homes and familiar with much of the native live. With their resistance to many harmful substances, their history has led them to experiement more willingly than most, accelerating their knowledge of alchemical healing methods. A broken leg might be treated with a poultice and wrapped.

*Tropical regions: (K6) * The Janoan have recently developed stronger interests in meditation and dreamstates. Their healing initially could be assisted through such training, the trained being able to speed up the recovery process in others by initiating that state while present and meditating.

These are just possibilities - there are infinite paths and many fun possibilities. How well different techniques are distributed and known by other tribes is yet to be established. Combining multiple approaches (if you can do them well) could increase their effectiveness. It is possible that some tribes may simply not have effective means to deal with specific problems initially and their benefits will be minimal until they learn new methods.

We will have to wait and see which path Elyria takes this time :)

I don't think physician would have to do with tribes at all. Physicians seems like it would primarily rely on player skill and the information their character has. If potions can heal most things we could go with the best alchemist, if you need to perform surgery, then I don't think there any tribes that jump out as "the best". Even going with the best alchemist, most of it would depend on what they experienced. Getting ill from the swamp would be different from getting ill in the mountains, at least I would think so.

Looking at it pragmatically, we know that the Surgery and Pharmacology skills, while reliant on Knowledge (as all skills are), will also utilize attributes in determining both performance quality and growth rate of the skills themselves (though, of course, player skill remains chief in import, but I would argue that these other factors should not really be ignored). As such, and given that the tribes have varying minimum/maximum possible scores as well as different growth rates for the various attributes, it seems fairly apparent that tribe choice would probably play a role in prospective Physicians, as it would for someone of any profession.

Obviously this enters the realm of speculation in at least two primary ways: What attributes are used for the skill(s)? and what tribes are "good at" what attributes? To provide my own opinion on these two questions, and to give my own answer to the question posed by the OP, I think the safest assumption is that Surgery uses Agility and Reason, at least, and Pharmacology uses Reason. The latter probably has some other attribute associated with it (perhaps Will or Intuition, or perhaps both), but it's hard to say and as such I personally wouldn't rely on that. Given what we "know" of the tribes, then, and using only these criteria, I would lean towards the Kypiq/To'resk, depending on region. Kypiq seem most inclined towards it, given that they have the highest predisposition to Agility, and have one of the highest Reason. To'resk might beat them in the Reason department but they probably don't come even close when it comes to Agility.

However, I would also posit another prominent choice here: Dras. Per their writeup, they are very much into natural philosophy, alchemy, and "bardic skills" (an old part of the skill tree which has since been divided between Art and Lore, and the two medicine skills are found in Lore). Furthermore, they seem to have quite a few associations with the idea of healing, ranging from the altruism espoused by their true faith and their response to the Searing Plague (going out and acting as plague doctors among other tribes, even though their disease immunity didn't protect them from this particular illness). It seems likely to me that being a physician would be a fairly common profession among the Dras, and there may be plenty of Knowledge of the medical arts among them. While Dras don't really get sick much, nor do they get hurt by poison much, they seem to have studied both of these things highly extensively, which would be helpful to healers seeking knowledge of Pharmacology.

EDIT: In retrospect, an interesting pattern emerges with these three tribes being looked to as physicians. These three tribes are the least inclined towards warfare and hostilities, by design at least. In some ways this makes sense. Peacemakers being adept at the practice of healing and aiding others, etc. The Kypiq and Dras faith are both fairly oriented around nurturing others (whether they be beasts or mann), and the To'resk are there too I guess. Something else to consider, though, is that these tribes may not need the services of a physician quite so much as other, more martially inclined tribes would. Perhaps Kypiq physicians accompany Neran soldiers as they march off to war, To'resk doctors consult the Janoa shamans and aid in dealing with the wounds inevitably endured by the brutal hunters, etc. Seems like hanging around those who cause more conflict and damage would be ideal for growing your medical skills, anyway, instead of hanging around a place more about diplomacy and whatever people do instead of murdering each other and everything around them.

I think the Tribes that mostly is out there in a dangerous biome to Hunt or fight will have the best Doctors. They will have plenty of practice in healing everyone. So I say the Janoan will be the best Doctors. In the rainforest we will have so many herbs as well to use to create medicine. In my Duchy profession I got quite few Doctors as well.

Posted By Epicface at 08:36 AM - Sat Nov 09 2019

I think the safest assumption is that Surgery uses Agility and Reason, at least, and Pharmacology uses Reason.

... Given what we "know" of the tribes, then, and using only these criteria, I would lean towards the Kypiq/To'resk, depending on region. Kypiq seem most inclined towards it, given that they have the highest predisposition to Agility, and have one of the highest Reason. To'resk might beat them in the Reason department but they probably don't come even close when it comes to Agility.

I 100% agree with this. I also 100% disagree with a lot of peoples comments here, who think your tribe selection would have no impact on performance as a Physician. The most important thing to consider first is what attributes are most useful. I would write down the most useful tribes and then compare their traits to determine the winner/best physician for my playstyle.

Kypiq have the most suitable attributes for the profession (in my opinion). So now we analyze their traits and other important pieces of context. In addition to their biome (which is suitable for alchemists) the Kypiq have a natural affinity with animals, which is very likely to come in handy (some animals may heal, or help gather, etc). Another interesting note is that they can see in the dark and therefore can perform at peak performance at night... or even in a dungeon.

Now for the curve ball. If we put aside the obvious remainders (Dras, To'resk, Neran, Hrothi) we are essentially left with combat tribes, who can make up for a lack of compatible attributes and traits with an increased amount of practice, thereby improving their player skill if they suit the task. I think the Janoa physicians will surprise people in this field, especially surgery. I've said it a thousand times, I'll say it a thousand more. Janoa are not stupid. Coupling their average mental attributes with an insane amount of agility and movement speed makes them top tier combat medics. They even have the strength to drag people to safety more easily.

Physician: Kypiq

Combat medic: Janoa

Strong remainders: Dras, To'resk, Neran, Hrothi

Heh, and I thought I was being clever in bringing in Dras lore to explain their potential strength as healers! Didn't consider Janoa strength coming into play there, their ability to drag patients to places more safe to operate and treat them sounds exceptionally useful for a doctor operating in thick of combat. They're also automatically going to be close to plenty of action instead of needing to move around and perhaps migrate closer to tribes as, uh, "active" as the Janoa or Brudvir. Also good points on why else Kypiq would make for good doctors. Perhaps a tracking hound could alert them to the presence of a nearby wounded creature (which may well end up being some poor mann), and they could practice just fine in the dark.

Another thing I just thought of: the way Bolstering is projected to work with Stamina (anyone influenced by the Bolstering effect immediately gets the highest level of Stamina held by anyone caught in the Bolstering group). A Waerd doctor may end up training their Stamina harder than most in order to retroactively make their patients hardier. Definitely a niche concept, but it seems like a pretty amusing twist.