The Doctors
The secrets of life are explored in the laboratories of the Doctors, and their research notes plumb and catalog nature’s wonders. Their original mission was to find the Cure. But it has become clear that they must also oversee issues of public health, given that they are the only medical professionals avilable. This has limited their ability to spend the time and resources required for finding the Cure.
The Doctors have come to believe that complete health — of individuals and of society as a whole — depends on the mutual adaptation of nature and civilization to one another. Thus, biological experimentation has always been among its primary concerns. They believe that in achieving the ability to manipulate their nature is achieving the first steps towards becoming a god. The Maker has given them the tools and now they must prove themselves worthy of ascending.
Historically, the faction’s approach to its mission has been one of incremental progress toward finding the Cure. This research has provided them with a great deal of medical knowledge that can be applied in various ways, but has yet to provide the evidence they need to acheive godhood. Thus, those Doctors that continue this tradition are considered to be the most holy and devote worshippers of the Maker.
The Holdfast principle, named for the biological mechanism that keeps kelp and sponges anchored to the sea floor, advises the Doctors never to stray so far from nature that they become “adrift.” It espouses the idea that nature left undisturbed will evolve toward adaptive traits and increased strength. Nature will flourish and grow, and every creature will find its proper niche in the ecosystem where it can thrive. Remaining aligned with nature means that humanity will remain strong.
The Upwelling principle, named for the phenomenon of nutrient-rich water rising to the ocean surface, advocates that the new and enlivened should replace the old and depleted in an unending cycle, bringing constant refreshment and renewal. This principle accounts for the Doctor's analytical bent and its emphasis on knowledge as a means of transformation. Learning the secrets of the universe lets you shape the world as you desire. The Upwelling encourages every creature to discover its full potential. Reaching this potential means finding your place as an equal with the Maker.
Their vision is of an ideal world in which nature and civilization exist in balance, in which natural life adapts to life in the midst of modern civilization and the civilized world adapts to accommodate these creatures. They generally interpret the Holdfast principle as being about staying rooted in nature, and the Upwelling as concerned with slow, predictable, cyclical improvement.
Dipolmacy
Th Doctors are allies with the Church of Hope as they share the religious belief system as the foundation for their faction. They are allies with The Scribes who are the record keepers that make their learning and research possible. In general, they maintain a neutral position with the other factions.
Doctor Characters
- Alignment: Usually neutral, often true neutral
- Suggested Races: Human
- Suggested Classes: Medic, Techie, Face
- Suggested Archetypes: Authority, Field Medic
- Suggested Ladders: Born Leader, Runner
You might enjoy playing a character who belongs to the Doctors Combine if one or more of the following statements are true:
- You are drawn to the image of the mad scientist tinkering with the fundamental forces of life.
- Prying into secrets and mysteries inspires your curiosity.
- You want to make the world a better place through research.
- You want to play a healer who is driven to improve society and save the world.
Background: Doctor
If your character was born and raised in Camp Hope, you can choose this background instead of those listed in the Ultra Modern Redux rule book.
Imagine a perfect world: one in which nature and civilization exist in harmony, adapted to each other; one in which life is shaped to match its environment and the environment is shaped to match life. That’s the world you have been trying to achieve as a Doctor.. Nature is all about adaptation, evolution, and balance — but for it to keep up with the pace of advancing civilization, nature needs some help from science. The reverse is also true. For humanity to continue to adapt to the every changing environment, science is needed.
- Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Investigation
- Languages: Two of your choice
- Equipment: A Medical Insignia, a set of commoner’s clothes, a book of research notes, an ink pen, a bottle of ink, a vial of acid, 10 credits.
- Renown 1 and Rank 1 with the Doctors.
Feature: Researcher
When you attempt to learn or recall a scientific fact, if you don’t know that information, you know where and from whom you can obtain it. Usually, this information comes from a Doctor's laboratory, or sometimes from New Medical Library, or Medical Academy, or an independent scholar or other learned person. Knowing where the information can be found doesn’t automatically enable you to learn it; you might need to offer bribes, favors, or other incentives to induce people to reveal their secrets.
Your DM might rule that the knowledge you seek is secreted away in an inaccessible place, or that it simply can’t be found. Unearthing the deepest secrets of the world can require an adventure or even a whole campaign.
Suggested Characteristics
Contacts
Doctors come into contact with many people as the perform their tasks. They provide medical care to anyone in Camp Hope and require support from scavangers, bounty hunters and others to aquire the resources they need to conduct their research.
Roll twice on the Doctor Contacts table (for an ally and a rival) and once on the Non-Doctor Contacts table.
Culture
Public Agenda
Education
It is the expectation that every Doctor will continue with life long learning. For there is always more to know. They are also expected to engage in life long teaching for there are alway those who wish to learn.
Restoring humanity.
General Biases
These are the biases that are generally held by members of the Farmers Guild.Positive Bias
Favors Humans over other races.Negative Biases
Considers The Awakened and The Others to be lesser races
On PainAnd a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.And he said:Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.Much of your pain is self-chosen.It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.-Kahlil Gibran
The virus has become our new God, our Maker. The one true God for it shall unmake us if we fail to put it before all other things.-Hope's Purpose
