Of all the roles in Cyberpunk Red, Medtech is the one that is brand new to the game. In earlier editions they were a sometimes mentioned subset of tech, but nothing about the role was set in concrete. The core of the role, however, is as old as tabletop roleplaying, but with a slight twist.
What is a Medtech?
As mentioned above, the core of the Medtech is healing and mitigating damage. Their role ability is called “Medicine” and has four main mechanics. Each mechanic is a sub-category that can be raised as the primary Medicine ability is advanced.
The first, and most obvious, is called Surgery. Surgery is used to install/uninstall cybernetics, stabilize damage, and treat critical injuries. While both the First Aid and Paramedic skills can also stabilize damage and treat critical injuries, Surgery has lower difficulty values and can treat even the most serious injuries while the other two medical skills are more limited.
The second and third categories are tied together under a subheading titled “Medical Tech”. Underneath this are:
- Pharmaceuticals: Used for applying and fabricating medical grade drugs that are helpful in various treatment and healing applications. Only a Medtech has the expertise to use and manufacture these kinds drugs.
- Cryosystem Operation: Used to operate cryotanks and cryopumps to place mortally wounded patients into temporary stasis; saving their lives so that they can be stabilized later. Technically, this could be used to operate other advanced medical equipment as well, but that would be up to the GM to make a ruling.
The final category for the Medicine role ability is called “Therapy”. Therapy is used to treat addiction, administer therapy and restore lost humanity from cyberware installation.
Anyone from CERTAIN other gaming systems would think that the Medtech role is a Cleric/Druid class analogue. They would be wrong. This being a stat/skill based system the player has a great deal of control over exactly how they specialize within the role as well as decisions of how capable they are within other skills. One Medtech can be significantly different from the next depending on the player. The Multiclassing rules can also help define the type of Medtech a person wants to play.
Media
Medtechs are not necessarily doctors, but they can be. They stand at the precipice of where healing/medicine and cutting edge technology meet. In some media they are portrayed as altruistic medical professionals, while in others they may be completely amoral. Rather than having a central character, much fiction has been produced that addresses the ethics of medical technology and how it is handled. Here are a few ideas:
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Anime)
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Television, animated)
Sector General Series (Novels)
Homebrew
The Medtech role, as written, is a pretty tight and flexible rule set. It does exactly what it was intended to do (here comes the “but”), BUT there are a few little niggling details that a GM might want to streamline if they feel the need.
Rules as written, a Medtech has access to a list of the basic pharmaceuticals (Speedheal, antibiotics, rapid detox, etc…). However, how much access is based on their Medicine rank. My take was that this was a silly rule and I gave access to all of these to my party’s Medtech (they still have to manufacture or procure those medicines on their own). If they add something like Chemistry as a science skill the ability to create street drugs opens up as well.
The Tech role has the ability to invent new technological items in the game, but I feel that not allowing Medtechs the same native ability in terms of pharmaceuticals was a great opportunity missed. I allow my Medtech to invent their own, with the same caveats that cover the Tech’s invention ability.
The ability to easily multiclass can really help to define a Medtech. Adding solo can transform them into a combat medic, Rockerboy or Media can flavor them as celebrity doctors and spiritual teachers, adding Tech to Medtech is a natural synergy. It’s really up to the player how they want to portray their character.
At my table, our Medtech has put points into Rockerboy and most recently into Nomad. They post public health information on their Garden Patch (its like the main social media application of Cyberpunk Red), and have reconnected to their roots in the Nomad community they grew up in.
Conclusion
Most Tabletop RPGs include a character type that excels at healing or helping the healing process. Medtechs typically can fill that role, but shouldn’t be told that this is the only task they should be doing.
Like most of the roles in Cyberpunk Red, the fun and effectiveness of a Medtech comes from imagination and tools given to the player to “play” with. They can bring a lot to the table beyond healing whack-a-mole. The ability to create and administer enhancing drugs as well as being able to salvage cybernetics cleanly can provide revenue streams for parties who are strapped for cash. The potential ability to be able to work forensically shouldn’t be over looked either, particularly in an investigative capacity.
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