Combat and Healing Guide

Combat Rules
Author's Note: At this stage I think we're all pretty familiar with the basic mechanics of a round of combat, so I've elected not to include that information here. Those who are new to the game should check out the full combat breakdown which begins on page 236 of the revised core book.

Initiative

 * If two character achieve the same initiative score, the one with the highest initiative rating (Dex+Wits) goes first. If even those are the same, then they take their turns simultaneously.
 * Characters may choose to delay their actions until later in the round, at which point they can take their turn before any character with a lower initiative automatically.
 * Defensive actions may be performed at any time during a round, regardless of initiative, as long as the character has a free action.

Multiple Actions

 * Characters may choose to split their turn into multiple actions. When splitting an action, the first action takes a dice penalty equal to the total number of actions being taken. Each successive action subtracts another die (this is cumulative.) Examples:
 * A single split, or two actions, would be rolled with the first action at -2 dice and the second at -3.
 * Three actions would be rolled with the first at -3, the second at -4 and the third at -5.
 * When using Time or other magical Effects to give a character additional actions, these are full actions that are rolled normally, at no penalty. However, these additional actions cannot be split.
 * Any split or additional actions (including those from magical Effects) that occur after the first are rolled at the end of the round, in the order of initiative.

Aborting Actions

 * A character may abort to a defensive action at any time with a successful WP roll (diff 6) or the expenditure of a WP point.

Flank and Rear Attacks

 * Attacking from the flank gives +1 die to the attack pool, and attacking from the rear gives +2.

Targeting

 * Targeting a specific location with an attack will raise the attack's difficulty, but may do more damage if successful (and can be used to bypass armor.)

Movement

 * Characters may move up to one half their maximum running distance (20 + [3 x Dex] yards per turn) and still act without penalty.
 * Acting while moving is possible, but the character subtracts one die per yard from the action's dice pool.
 * More complex maneuvers, such as jumping over obstacles or leaping down from a building may be considered separate/split actions.

Complications

 * Blinded: Blinded characters incur a difficulty penalty of two to all actions. Also, add two dice to all attack rolls made against blind characters. Blinded characters cannot make ranged attacks unless they succeed at a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 8,) at which point the attack can be made at +3 difficulty. Certain magical Effects negate these penalties.
 * Dazed: If a character takes more than his Stamina in damage from a single attack (Stamina +2 for supernatural monsters,) the character is dazed. The character must spend his next full turn shaking off the affects of this attack. Only actual damage levels that the character does not soak can daze him.
 * Immobilization: Add two dice to any attack rolls made against an immobilized target (i.e., targets who are clinched, handcuffed or otherwise restrained) who is still able to struggle. Attacks hit automatically (and all dice in the attacker's attack pool are added to damage) if the target is immobilized completely (hog-tied, unconscious or otherwise paralyzed.)
 * Knockdown: The victim falls down, and the player may make a Dexterity + Athletics roll. If successful, the character may get to her feet immediately, but her initiative decreases by two for the next turn. If this roll fails, the character must spend her next action climbing to her feet. If this roll botches, the character lands badly and takes an additional level of bashing damage. Attacks directed against a prone character add one die. All Brawling or Melee attacks made by knocked-down characters take a penalty of two. Maneuvers like a sweep, tackle and throw are all intended to knock targets down. However, any especially forceful attacks may send the victim sprawling to the ground. Such cases are best left to the Storyteller's discretion, and they should occur when they are most dramatically appropriate.

Ambush

 * During an ambush, the attacker rolls Dex+Stealth against the target's Per+Alertness. If the attacker wins, they get one free attack on the target and add any extra successes from the stealth roll to their attack pool.
 * On a tie, the attacker still attacks first, but the target may make a defensive maneuver. If the attacker loses, the target spots them and they both roll initiative and enter combat normally.
 * Targets already in combat cannot be ambushed.

Soak

 * Without the assistance of armor or magical Effects, mages can only soak bashing damage.
 * Armor adds its rating in soak dice against bashing, lethal and many types of (purely physical) aggravated damage.

Close Combat Chart
(C): The maneuver carries over on successive turns. (K): The maneuver causes knockdown. (R): The maneuver reduces an opponent's attack success.
 * All attacks using Brawl do Bashing damage, except when striking the head (then it is Lethal.) Damage from weapons is determined by the weapon used.
 * Accuracy equals the number of dice used in the attack roll. So "normal" means you roll the attack as usual, whereas +3 would mean that you add 3 dice to the roll.

Defensive Maneuvers

 * Block: A Dexterity + Brawl maneuver that uses the character's own body to deflect bashing had-to-hand attacks. Lethal or Aggravated attacks cannot be blocked unless the defender is wearing armor, using magic or using some sort of specialized training (like the Do of the Akashic Brotherhood.)
 * Dodge: A Dexterity + Athletics maneuver where the character simply jumps, bobs or weaves out of the way of a hand-to-hand attack. Dodging requires several feet of space, and characters must block or parry if there isn't room to maneuver. Dodging missile weapons is also possible, but the character must move at least one yard and end up prone or in cover. At this point, cover rules apply against further attacks by guns and other missile weapons. Unlike the other two maneuvers, you do not need to specify the attack being dodged. Choosing to dodge means that the character dodges the first attack directed at her in a turn, unless you choose specifically to dodge a particular attack.
 * Parry: A Dexterity + Melee maneuver that uses a weapon to block a hand-to-hand attack. If an attacker makes a Brawl attack and the character parries with a weapon that causes lethal damage, the attacker can actually be injured by a parry. If the defender rolls more successes in the resisted action to parry, the defender may make a normal attack roll plus any remaining successes against the attacker.
 * Desperate Defense: Sometimes all a character wants to do is to avoid being hit. Instead of using defensive maneuvers as part of a multiple action, you can state that your character spends the entire turn defending using a single defensive maneuver. The normal multiple action rules are not used for all-out defense. Instead, your character has her full dice-pool against the first attack, and loses one die (cumulatively) for each subsequent defensive action made in that turn. Remember also that all actions, including defensive actions, suffer difficulty penalties against multiple attackers. Avoiding multiple attacks is more difficult than avoiding one, and avoiding attacks from several different targets is even harder.

Close Combat Maneuvers

 * Clinch: On a successful attack roll, the attacker grabs the target and begins to squeeze. One the first turn the attacker rolls Strength dice in damage. On each succeeding turn, both attackers act at their normal initiative. Each combatant can either inflict damage automatically (roll soak normally) or attempt to break the clinch. No other actions are possible until one combatant breaks free. To escape a clinch, make a resisted Strength+Brawl roll. If the escaping character succeeds she breaks free, otherwise the clinch continues for the next turn.
 * Traits: Strength+Brawl | Difficulty: Normal | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Strength (Bashing)
 * Close: It is difficult to attack with a short weapon like a knife or a punch when facing someone with a sword or baseball bat. A character facing an attacker with a longer weapon must close in one yard and then strike. Closing causes the character to lose one die from the attack roll.
 * Disarm: When striking an opponent's weapon, the attacker must make an attack roll at a difficulty penalty of one (typically 7.) If successful, the attacker rolls damage normally. If the successes rolled exceed the opponent's Strength (with no soak roll,) the opponent takes no damage, but is disarmed. A botch usually results in the attacker dropping her weapon instead, or taking normal damage if attempting a disarm while bare-handed.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Melee | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Special
 * Hold: Intended to immobilize a target, this attack inflicts no damage. On a successful roll, the attacker holds the target until the subject's next action. Then, both combatants make a resisted Strength+Brawl roll. The subject remains immobilized and unable to take any physical action until the player rolls more successes than the attacker.
 * Traits: Strength+Brawl | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: None
 * Jab Pistol: On a successful roll, the character jabs a pistol directly against the opponent's body and pulls the trigger. When used at this range, the damage is considerably higher; add two dice of damage to all such attacks. (If using rubber bullets, the damage is not increased, but it becomes lethal.) This maneuver is not for the faint of heart, and it often results in the character being covered in gore. Also, a skilled opponent can disarm someone using this attack. Since the gun is being used as a hand-to-hand weapon, the Melee skill is used. Only pistols can be used for this maneuver.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Melee | Difficulty: Normal | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: By weapon type +2 (Lethal)
 * Kick: Kicking covers everything from a simple front kick to a leaping side kick. The base attack roll incurs a difficulty penalty of one, and the base damage equals the attacker's Strength plus one die. Both ratings may be modified at the Storyteller's discretion, depending on their difficulty or potential damage. Steel-toed boots and similar foot gear usually raise kick damage by one or two.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Brawl | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Strength +1 (Bashing)
 * Multiple Opponents: Characters fighting multiple opponents in close combat suffer cumulative attack and defense penalties of one per additional opponent (to a maximum of four.) A character who battles three opponents at once suffers a difficulty penalty of two to all attack and defense rolls.
 * Strike: The attacker lashes out with a fist. The base damage is the attacker's Strength. At the Storyteller's discretion, more complex or difficult punches may do more damage.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Brawl | Difficulty: Normal | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Strength (Bashing)
 * Sweep: The character uses her own legs to trip an opponent. The target takes Strength damage, and the player must roll Dexterity+Athletics (difficulty 8) or suffer a knockdown. The attacker can use a staff, chain or similar weapon to perform a sweep. The effect is the same, but the target takes damage based on the weapon used.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Brawl/Melee | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Str/per weapon type (Bashing), knockdown
 * Tackle: The character rushes her opponent, tackling him to the ground. This attack roll for a tackle incurs a difficulty penalty of one, and it inflicts Strength +1 damage. Both combatants must roll Dexterity+Athletics (difficulty 7) or suffer a knockdown. If the target (but not the attacker) is not knocked down, he is unbalanced and suffers a difficulty penalty of one to all actions for the next full turn.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Brawl | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Strength +1 (Bashing)
 * Weapon Strike: A stab, slash or overhead swing, depending on the weapon used. See the Melee weapons chart for further information.
 * Traits: Dexterity+Melee | Difficulty: Normal | Accuracy: Normal | Damage: Strength + Weapon (see Melee Weapons Chart)

Ranged Combat Maneuvers

 * Aiming: Attackers add one die to their attack pool for their next shot for every turn spent aiming. The maximum number of dice that can be added in this way equals the character's Perception. Characters must have at least one dot of Firearms to aim. A scope or laser sight adds two more dice to the attacker's pool in the first turn of aiming (in addition to those added from Perception.) Attackers may do nothing but aim during this time. Also, it isn't possible to aim at a target moving faster than a walk unless the character is using a laser sight.
 * Automatic Fire: The weapon unloads its entire clip of ammunition in a single attack against a single target. The attacker makes an ordinary attack roll, adding 10 additional dice. However, the attack gains a difficulty penalty of two due to recoil from the weapon. As always, extra successes add to the weapon's damage dice pool. When using automatic fire, the attack cannot target specific parts of the body. Only weapons capable of fully automatic fire can use this maneuver.
 * Dexterity+Firearms | Difficulty: +2 | Accuracy: +10 | Damage: Weapon Type
 * Cover: Hiding behind large objects makes you harder to hit. As such, taking cover increases the attacker's difficulty to hit a target, as well as the target's difficulty to fire back. All cover types list both the increased difficulty for someone attacking a target in that type of cover and the increased difficulty caused by firing from such cover. Note that difficulties for combatants who are both under cover are cumulative. If one combatant is hiding behind a telephone pole and the other has ducked behind a wall, attacks by either one against the other have a difficulty penalty of two.
 * Multiple Shots: An attacker may take a multiple action and fire several shots in a turn. As always, the first shot's die pool decreases by the total number of shots fired, and the dice pool of each subsequent shot decreases by an additional die, cumulative. The attacker can fire any number of shots up to the weapon's maximum rate of fire. See the Ranged Weapons Chart for details.
 * Dexterity+Firearms | Difficulty: Normal | Accuracy: Multiple Action | Damage: Weapon Type
 * Range: The Ranged Weapons Chart lists the short range for each weapon. Attacks made at this range are versus difficulty 6. Twice this range is the weapon's maximum range. Attacks made up to maximum range are versus difficulty 8. Attacks made against targets within two meters are considered point-blank. Point-blank shots have a difficulty of 4. Actually shoving a gun against someone's body is considered a close-combat maneuver.
 * Reloading: Reloading requires one full turn, but it does not require a roll. Like other maneuvers, reloading can be performed as part of a multiple-action sequence.
 * Strafing: Instead of aiming at a single target, weapons capable of fully automatic fire can affect an entire area. Strafing adds 10 dice to accuracy on a standard attack roll and empties the weapon's clip. The attacker divides any successes gained evenly among all targets within the area being strafed (these successes add to the target's damage pools normally.) A maximum of three yards can be strafed with this maneuver. The large amount of recoil from this maneuver increases the difficulty by two. Once successes have been divided evenly, the attacker assigns any leftover successes as desired. If fewer successes are rolled than there are targets, only one may be assigned to each of the targets who are affected. If only one target is within this area, only half the successes affect him.
 * Dexterity+Firearms | Difficulty: +2 | Accuracy: +10 | Damage: Weapon Type
 * Short Burst: The attacker gains two additional dice on a single attack and expends three to five shots from the weapon's clip. Only specially designated weapons may perform this maneuver; see the Ranged Weapons chart for details. Attacks incur a difficulty penalty of one due to recoil. As with automatic fire, the damage dice are based on a single bullet from the weapon.
 * Dexterity+Firearms | Difficulty: +1 | Accuracy: +2 | Damage: Weapon Type
 * Two Weapons: Firing two weapons does more damage, and it looks very intimidating. Sadly, it is also more complicated. Attacking in this fashion is considered a multiple action. In addition, the attacker suffers a difficulty penalty of one for her off hand (unless she is ambidextrous.) By performing even more multiple actions, the attacker takes multiple shots with each weapon, up to their fire rates.
 * Dexterity+Firearms | Difficulty: Normal/+1 off hand | Accuracy: Multiple Action | Damage: Weapon Type

Melee Weapons Chart
P: Pocket J: Jacket T: Trenchcoat N: Cannot Conceal

Ranged Weapons Chart
Damage: Indicates the damage dice pool. All firearms, bows and crossbows do Lethal damage. Tasers do Bashing damage. Range: This is the maximum normal range in yards. All ranged weapons can be used at twice this range, but such long-range attacks are at +2 difficulty. Rate: The maximum number of bullets or short bursts that the gun can fire in a single turn. This rate does not apply to full-auto or spray attacks, only one of which can be made in a normal turn. Clip: The number of shells a gun can hold. The +1 indicates that a bullet can be held in the chamber, ready to fire.
 * # 5 yards is also the maximum range at which a taser can be used.
 * * Indicates the weapon is capable of three-round bursts, full-auto and sprays.
 * ^ Indicates that this weapon requires a minimum Strength 3 to use.

Armor Chart

 * Armor adds its rating to the character's soak dice pool against Bashing, Lethal and Aggravated damage.
 * The armor's penalty is subtracted from Dexterity rolls related to bodily coordination and agility.
 * Attackers may target unprotected parts of the body and thus ignore the Armor rating. The Storyteller assigns a difficulty for such attacks, usually +1 for class one-three armors and +2 for class four and five.

Special Weapons

 * Butterfly Swords: Looking like wide sabers or short cutlasses, these weapons are normally used in pairs, and they're designed for chopping and hacking your opponent into many pieces. When using two of these weapons in a multiple action (to make two attacks, two parries or one attack, one parry,) trained characters gain one additional die for each attack or parry. This benefit results in the loss of only one die from the first action and two dice from the second.
 * Fighting Chain: Known as a manrikigusari in Japan, this weapon is a heavy chain that is approximately one inch thick and six to eight feet long with plum-sized weights on either end. While this weapon does not do enormous amounts of damage, its flexibility means that all attempts to parry or block it suffer an increase by two in difficulty. In addition, the chain wraps around either the opponent's body or weapon if the block or parry fails (respectively.) At this point, the attacker can use the chain to knock an opponent down or disarm her if the attacker can succeed in a Strength + Melee roll resisted by the target's Strength + Athletics.
 * Nunchaku: A Japanese weapon composed of two heavy sticks joined by a short chain. They are twirled rapidly spinning and striking from unexpected directions. While nunchaku are more difficult to use than most weapons, they can be used in pairs like butterfly swords (one extra die to multiple attacks.)
 * Sai: This Japanese weapon was originally adapted from a short, three-pronged pitchfork. It was designed as a sword-catcher, and it aids a disarming maneuver greatly. Using this weapon to attempt to disarm someone reduces the difficulty of the attack roll by two (typically down to five.)
 * Shuriken: Also known as throwing stars, these small weapons do little damage. However, they can be thrown in groups easily. Instead of using the normal multiple attack rules each additional shuriken thrown adds one to the difficulty of the roll and one die to the damage dice pool.
 * Tonfa: Derived from an Okinawan rice-grinder, a tonfa is an L-shaped piece of wood that can be used both as an effective club and a blocking aid. To block, the tonfa is held by its short side so that the longer portion protects the user's forearm. When used to aid a block, the difficulty of the block roll decreases by one. The tonfa also allows the user to block weapons (even ones that do lethal or aggravated damage) safely.
 * X-5 Protector: This weapon is the premier handgun used by the Technocracy. Made entirely of composite material, it is effectively invisible to metal detectors, although X-ray and other sensors will still reveal its presence. This weapon can hold a wide variety of different types of ammunition, including all of the special ammunition listed. All polycarbonate ammunition for the X-5 is caseless, which allows the weapon to hold more shots. This property prevents the bullets from being detected by metal detectors as well. The X-5 comes as either a revolver or a semi-automatic, both of which are equipped with laser sights. When using the revolver, the character can select any of the different types of ammunition loaded in the weapon at the touch of a button. The semiautomatic lacks this feature, but it is capable of both automatic and burst fire. When using gas or explosive shells, a computerized firing mechanism allows the user to cause tear gas and explosive shells to explode anywhere along their flight path. It is possible to cause a shell to explode above or beside a target that is impossible to hit directly.
 * Taser: Tasers shoot tiny darts that are connected to the gun by thin wires. Tasers are quite easy to use, generating a reduction in difficulty. Also, once the darts have hit, the attacker can shock the target repeatedly on the following turn, unless the target either moves more than five meters from the attacker or uses a full action to remove the darts.

Alcohol and Drugs

 * Alcohol: Every two drinks taken causes one die of bashing damage. The dice-pool reductions fade as the character recovers. Extremely heavy drinking can produce effects that last for many hours after the last drink; this damage represents hangovers and similar effects.
 * Cocaine/crack/speed: Characters taking strong stimulants receive an extra action every turn, just as if they had used a Time Effect to speed up (but without the danger of Paradox.) However, taking cocaine and similar drugs also tends to make characters recklessly overconfident, and the character takes two levels of bashing damage for every dose she has taken once the drug wears off. Repeated dosages will put off this backlash, but the result will be even worse once the drugs wear off. One dose of cocaine or crack generally lasts for only an hour, while one dose of speed lasts up to six hours.
 * Hallucinogens: Drugs like Peyote, LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms produce mildly to radically altered perceptions depending on the drug taken and the dosage. At minimum, your character reduces all dice pools by one to three dice because the character is distracted and has difficulty concentrating. In addition, stronger hallucinogens will actually cause your character to perceive sights, sounds and other sensations that are not actually present. At the Storyteller's discretion, hallucinogens may also increase or decrease the difficulty of performing certain magical Effects. While a Son of Ether may simply be less able to work her inventions, a Dreamspeaker or Ecstatic may receive a temporary reduction to the difficulty of all magic involving Spirit or Time. All of these effects generally last between six and 12 hours. Hallucinogens cause no direct damage.
 * Heroin/morphine/barbiturates: Each dose subtracts one from the character's Dexterity-based dice pools and inflicts one level of bashing damage. However, these drugs also deaden pain significantly. Each dose taken also subtracts two from all die-pool penalties caused by injuries.
 * Marijuana: Pot alters your character's sense of time, produces a moderate feeling of euphoria and reduces all dice pools involving Perception by one die. However, marijuana does not outright damage your character, and the effects fade within an hour or two.

Diseases and Toxins
Toxin Rating: The amount of damage caused in health levels by one dose of the toxin or the full-blown manifestations the disease.
 * Damage from multiple toxin doses is cumulative.
 * Most diseases that do lethal damage will continue to affect the victim until the victim is treated (or dead.)

Electrocution

 * Characters suffer the listed damage amounts for each turn of contact with the electrical source.
 * Contact with electric current locks a character's muscles, making it more difficult to pull away. In applicable cases, roll Strength (difficulty 9) to pull away.
 * Lethal damage from electricity is not soakable by armor.
 * Characters reduced to Incapacitated due to electrical injuries may suffer permanent consequences from burns and nerve damage. This may take the form of physical impairment (reduced Physical Attributes,) brain and nerve damage (reduced Mental Attributes,) or disfigurement from burns and scarring (reduced Appearance.) The degree and type of this damage is up to the Storyteller.

Falling
When climbing or jumping, a botched Dexterity + Athletics roll normally results in a fall. The character takes one die of bashing damage for every 10 feet (round down) that she falls before hitting something solid. Falling damage may be soaked normally, but landing on sharp objects usually causes lethal damage. Falls of more than 100 feet result in the character reaching terminal velocity. The maximum damage from a fall is 10 dice. However, falls of more than 100 feet are considered lethal damage unless the character lands on something specially cushioned. Even worse, any armor your character wears in a terminal-velocity fall functions at only half its rating (round down,) since armor is not designed to cushion falls.

Fire

 * Characters suffer the listed damage amounts for each turn of contact with the fire source.
 * Fire does aggravated damage.
 * This damage is unsoakable unless the character is wearing armor specifically designed to protect from heat or has some form of magical protection. In these cases, see the soak chart below.

Suffocation and Drowning

 * Characters can extend this time by spending WP points. Each point of WP spent provides an additional 30 seconds.
 * If the character cannot obtain breathable air when this time runs out, they will suffocate or drown at the rate of one health level per turn.
 * This damage heals like bashing damage, but it cannot be soaked, and the character will die one turn after reaching Incapacitated (as with lethal damage.)
 * However, anyone trained in first aid (Medicine 1+) can resuscitate the character if the resuscitation is supplied within 5 minutes.
 * If the character drowns in cold water, this time is extended by up to half an hour.

Applying Damage

 * Bashing Damage: Bashing damage takes longer to kill a target than lethal or aggravated damage. When a character takes 7 levels of bashing damage and has reached Incapacitated, any further levels of bashing damage, rather than immediately killing the target, will convert the character's wounds into lethal damage. This is marked by beginning at the top of the health chart and working down, until all of the character's health levels have been converted. At this point, any further damage taken will result in death.
 * Lethal and Aggravated Damage: When a character reaches Incapacitated from lethal and/or aggravated wounds, the next level of damage (regardless of type) will kill them.
 * When a character suffers multiple types of damage, the most dangerous types go on the top of the health track, while the rest moves down and fills up the character's health chart. So a character who has already suffered two levels of bashing damage would add a level of lethal damage by changing the top health level from bashing to lethal, then moving the two levels of bashing another notch each down the chart.

Healing Bashing Damage

 * Total recovery time for all health levels is cumulative. This means that a character at Injured would take one hour to heal their Injured health level, one to heal the Hurt health level, and one to heal the Bruised health level (three hours total.)
 * Bashing damage beyond the Wounded level will not heal until the character has received necessary medical attention.

Healing Lethal and Aggravated Damage

 * Total recovery time for all health levels is cumulative. This means that a character at Injured would take one week to heal their Injured health level, three days to heal the Hurt health level, and one day to heal the Bruised health level (11 days total.)
 * Lethal or Aggravated damage beyond the Hurt level will not heal until the character has received necessary medical attention.
 * Furthermore, Lethal or Aggravated damage beyond the Hurt level will also begin to degrade at a rate of one level per day if medical attention is not received.
 * Characters at the Crippled or Incapacitated health levels will require frequent medical attention in order to recover fully, and those at Incapacitated will require regular care while they remain unconscious.

Healing with Medicine

 * Even one success on an Intelligence + Medicine roll is enough to stabilize a wound so that it may heal.
 * All recovery times listed on the charts assume that the character is receiving only rest and basic first aid. More advanced treatment will cause wounds to heal more quickly.
 * Being treated by a physician with at least 2 dots of Medicine and the full range of modern drugs and treatments means that the character will heal all health levels as if they are one level higher on the healing chart.
 * Being treated by a highly skilled physician with at least 4 dots of Medicine and access to the best modern medicinal techniques means that the character will heal all health levels as if they are two levels higher on the healing chart.
 * If treatment is interrupted, normal healing rates apply.
 * Without magical assistance, wounds cannot heal faster than their minimum healing time. So bashing wounds will still take at least an hour to heal, and lethal wounds will take at least a day.

Healing with Life Magic
(*Healing with Life and Prime in order to make the process easier is a Judgment Call specific to Denver Mage.)
 * All successes scored in healing effects (beyond that required to target) heal two levels of damage per success.
 * Characters may only be healed via Life magic once per 24-hour period.
 * These effects are usually vulgar.