Medicine is a Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas skill that replaces the First Aid and Doctor skills from Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. This skill was called Medic in Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 game by Black Isle Studios, and J.E. Sawyer's Fallout Role-Playing Game.
Fallout 3
Example: A starting Intelligence of 5 and Luck of 5.
The higher a player's Medicine skill, the more hit points they will replenish when using a stimpak and the more effective they are at using any other medicinal item (such as Rad-X or RadAway).
The exact effect of the Medicine skill on such items is determined by the formula:
In basic terms, medical items become twice as effective with a Medicine skill of 50, and three times as effective with a Medicine skill of 100. This progression is linear, meaning at a skill level of 75 medical items are 2.5x as effective.
Ways to increase Medicine
"The smart man knows a bandage only hides his wounds."
- Permanent
- Leveling up (10+INT (+3 with Educated perk))
- Bobblehead - Medicine (+10)
- D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine (+1 or +2 with Comprehension)
- Daddy's Boy/Girl (+5 for each rank, max 3 ranks)
- Tag! (+15)
- Survival Expert (+2, 4 or 6)
- Temporary
- Environment suit (+5)
- The Surgeon's lab coat (+10)
- Wasteland doctor fatigues (+5)
- Wasteland surgeon outfit (+5)
Winterized medic armor (+10)- Mentats (+2-10 depending on Intelligence, a perfect Intelligence of 10 will see no benefit)
Perks that require Medicine skill
| Perk | Required | Level | Additional Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemist | 60 | 14 | - |
| Cyborg | 60 | 14 | Science 60 |
| Chem Resistant | 60 | 16 | - |
Interactions that require Medicine skill
- 30 Medicine will garner information from Doc Church in Megaton about Leo's Drug Habit.
- 30 Medicine is required to properly examine the bodies of the West family for the Blood Ties quest in Arefu. However, the higher the Medicine skill, the more information the examination will yield, with thresholds at 50, 75 and 90.
- 40 Medicine is required to revive Timebomb in Big Town, which is the only way to get his Lucky 8-ball.
- 50 Medicine is required to help a slave in The Mill inside The Pitt, although there is no reward for doing so.
- 50 Medicine is required to convince Vance to deal with Arefu for bloodpacks in the Blood Ties quest.
- 60 Medicine is required to revive Reilly in the Chop Shop in Underworld, which is one of two ways to revive her and start the Reilly's Rangers.
- 70 Medicine is required to explain handling injuries for Chapter 2 of the Wasteland Survival Guide.
Notes
The Medicine bobblehead is the first bobblehead available in the game.
Fallout: New Vegas
Ways to increase Medicine
- Permanent
- Leveling up (up to +15 or +17 with Educated)
- D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine (+3 or +4 with Comprehension)
- Good Natured (+5)
- Skilled (+5)
- Temporary
- Wasteland doctor fatigues (+5)
- Today's Physician (+10 or +20 with Comprehension)
- Followers lab coat (+10)
- Daniel's outfit (+5)
Perks that require Medicine skill
| Perk | Requirement | Level | Additional Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living Anatomy | 70 | 8 | - |
| Chemist | 60 | 14 | - |
| Chem Resistant | 60 | 16 | - |
Interactions that require Medicine skill
- 20 Medicine to convince Dr. Richards that you have "some medical experience."
- 25, 50, and 75 Medicine to heal the first, second, and third troopers respectively in Camp Forlorn Hope for Dr. Alex Richards in Camp Forlorn Hope.
- 30 Medicine or 30 Speech to convince Doc Mitchell to give you three stimpaks before initially leaving his house. Passing both will result in five stimpaks rather than six, and Medicine will always be the first choice (worth 3).
- 30 Medicine to effectively examine the bodies of the thugs in G.I. Blues.
- 30 Medicine to heal the mole rat named Snuffles in Sloan.
- 30 Medicine to realize that Troike's story about blacking out doesn't add up in How Little We Know.
- 30 Medicine to sterilize the Medical Supply Kit with alcohol during Tourist Trap.
- 35 Medicine to convince Dazzle that you know the right dose for her and they can safely just "split a Med-X and have some fun" for free at the Gomorrah.
- 40 Medicine to convince Betsy to seek psychiatric help.
- 50 Medicine to convince Joana to tell her story and trigger the quest Bye Bye Love.
- 50 Medicine to get away with killing Caesar with the autodoc during Et Tumor, Brute?
- 50 Medicine to heal Private Halford during Help for Halford without a Doctor's bag.
- 55 Medicine to find out that your heart, brain and spine were removed.
- 60 Medicine to heal three injured Boomers in Volare! The three Boomers require 40, 50, and 60 Medicine.
- 60 Medicine to communicate with Christine.
- 75 Medicine to heal Caesar during Et Tumor, Brute?
- 75 Medicine to heal all troopers in Camp Forlorn Hope without equipment.
- 85 Medicine to realize that the components you collected could be used to heal you.
Notable Medicine experts
- Elizabeth Kieran (98) - NCR Major providing aid to NCR squatters living in Freeside.
- Lady Jane (98) - a caravan merchant living in Freeside.
