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[NewoTigra]

Given that dwarves worship an actual God of Blood, bloodletting could be as much a ritual / spiritual cure as a medicinal one.

just my two cents anyways.

[Neonivek]

That isn't true. To my knowledge beyond possibly actually being the game itself, Armok doesn't seem to appear in the games.

[Winterbrass]

The arguments against magic are pretty weak, I do have to say. Making the statement that "magic is bad" because one is able to say "a wizard did it" is about as thoughtful as saying "mechanisms are bad" because one is able to say "a mechanic did it" when explaining how the floodgate is controlled by the lever on the opposite end of the map. After all, three mechanisms and you can hook anything up to a lever, so long as it's capable of moving - it's MAGIC!

In any case, one could simply define certain types of 'healing' magic - some don't have to even be conciously used.

Imagine, if you will, a dwarf who has the ability to unconsciously speed the healing of those around him. If we want to get technical, that could be his soul utilizing magic to speed up the healing process through an increased metabolism in both himself and others, with a result of faster aging for the wounded dwarves.

Alternately, a dwarven cleric of a god of Fire curing a patient of a disease could be invoking the deity to, at an atomic/molecular level, provide the energy necessary within all of the cells/structure of the virii/bacteria/fungi present in the dwarf's system, to disintegrate the organisms into their component atoms.

It's really not hard. Think of a natural step in the process of healing that you want to start from, and then instead of the antecedent occuring, simply say that "magic did it". The implication there would be that magic is necessarily more intelligent than dwarves and performs the dwarf's will (heal this dwarf of disease) even if the dwarf himself is unaware of how to accomplish his goal (kill the bacteria/virii/fungi).

[RavingManiac]

Alternately, a dwarven cleric of a god of Fire curing a patient of a disease could be invoking the deity to, at an atomic/molecular level, provide the energy necessary within all of the cells/structure of the virii/bacteria/fungi present in the dwarf's system, to disintegrate the organisms into their component atoms.

We all know what happens when it backfires, don't we?

[Funk]

why not just have the cleric try to heal them by Cauterization in some kind of " the fire of god X will help drive the wound from X body" type of thing

[irmo]

The arguments against magic are pretty weak, I do have to say. Making the statement that "magic is bad" because one is able to say "a wizard did it" is about as thoughtful as saying "mechanisms are bad" because one is able to say "a mechanic did it" when explaining how the floodgate is controlled by the lever on the opposite end of the map. After all, three mechanisms and you can hook anything up to a lever, so long as it's capable of moving - it's MAGIC!

The difference is that these are dwarves. Their mechanics and artisans are supposed to be capable of awesome stuff that looks like "magic" to the casual observer. Their medics, not so much.

[Winterbrass]

Alternately, a dwarven cleric of a god of Fire curing a patient of a disease could be invoking the deity to, at an atomic/molecular level, provide the energy necessary within all of the cells/structure of the virii/bacteria/fungi present in the dwarf's system, to disintegrate the organisms into their component atoms.

We all know what happens when it backfires, don't we?

Well, in my roleplaying system, the cleric's head explodes due to failure to control the magic. ;p

The difference is that these are dwarves. Their mechanics and artisans are supposed to be capable of awesome stuff that looks like "magic" to the casual observer. Their medics, not so much.

The similarity is that these are dwarves. Their clerics and religious figures are supposed to be capable of incredible devoutness that permits them to use magic.

Of course, that's only if we're being incredibly stereotypical.

[eerr]

say aye if you realize toady is working on healthcare currently

[Winterbrass]

say aye if you realize toady is working on healthcare currently

Aye.

[Rowanas]

Aye. Doesn't stop us from arguing how we want it done though. It would not be the first time that he's done something different because we came up with a good suggestion.

[irmo]

say aye if you realize toady is working on healthcare currently

This brings nothing to the discussion. You're just inviting meaningless spam.

[Silverionmox]

Canon Of Medicine - Avicenna

Why it changed the world: It brought together the knowledge and theories of Ancient Greek, Persian, and Indian medicine (largely forgotten otherwise) and combined it with contemporary 11th century understanding. It laid the foundations of modern medical science.

The Canon of Medicine is a 14-volume Arabic medical encyclopedia written by a Persian scientist and physician Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) and completed in 1025. It is considered the first pharmacopoeia, and among other things, the book is known for the introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology, the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, and the introduction of evidence-based medicine, experimental medicine, clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, efficacy tests, clinical pharmacology, neuropsychiatry, physiological psychology, risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases.

[Granite26]

awesome

[ChairmanPoo]

The Surgeon, in ancient times, was a technician-more like a blacksmith or armourer-while the (diagnostic) Physician was the real deal, the main healer, and kind of on the same level as your Dungeon Master--a noble, but one who's actually very useful and important.

Not everywhere. In ancient Egypt surgerons were physicians.

[Granite26]

The Surgeon, in ancient times, was a technician-more like a blacksmith or armourer-while the (diagnostic) Physician was the real deal, the main healer, and kind of on the same level as your Dungeon Master--a noble, but one who's actually very useful and important.

Not everywhere. In ancient Egypt surgerons were physicians.

And 'useful' really depends on your definition.  Who do you want helping you with Labor?  A midwife who's primarily familiar with how cows and sheep work, or a Kellogg who knows all the latest 'advances'?  (Although the Road to Wellville parody could certainly fit right in with our beloved nobles... Physician has mandated teetotaling as a health measure for all dwarves