http://www.rcpsg.ac.uk/hdrg/2006Nov3.htm
A couple of centuries out of M&B's period, but that strikes me as fairly advanced surgery.
Also, 'tis moderately amusing how xenoargh's link about how terrible medieval medicine was doesn't actually imply anything of the sort. And as for being female, I'd let his source speak:
Wow, you mean women would have more opportunities they did in the supposedly patriarchal and misogynist societies of the Middle Ages than they would in more modern times? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but this really doesn't seem to contribute to his line of argument.
There's more crap in his examples, but I do agree with the gist of it. A game that is a total simulation would necessarily be limited to a niche audience and be terrible for a mass market. Unfortunately, he's constructed a total strawman.
The point is that nobody here wants that sort of total realism. If it's authentic and relevant while not really affecting gameplay, it should go in. The devs have already demonstrated that they play fast and loose with this rule by adopting a more inclusive approach, since people get butthurt when they don't see their favourite tropes.
If it's fun or it makes sense in a gameplay context, it goes in. Chamberblocking is a classic example: more risk, more skill, more reward.
If it isn't, it might serve as a punishment mechanic. Getting your avatar killed is part and parcel of the learning process in playing a game. Your guy died from dysentery? Tough ****, maybe you shouldn't be drinking from a river downstream of any settlements. Small beer and watered wine is there for a reason. He caught an arrow in his nuts? Hey, maybe he shouldn't be charging that line of archers in his underpants! Got an infected wound? Funny how there's this thing called armour and an immune system, isn't it? Or hey, maybe some of that primitive medicine might actually help, I dunno, it sure helped that goddamn prince in the link I posted. Maybe that'll teach you not to pick a fight that you can't win, eh?
A couple of centuries out of M&B's period, but that strikes me as fairly advanced surgery.
Also, 'tis moderately amusing how xenoargh's link about how terrible medieval medicine was doesn't actually imply anything of the sort. And as for being female, I'd let his source speak:
Wow, you mean women would have more opportunities they did in the supposedly patriarchal and misogynist societies of the Middle Ages than they would in more modern times? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but this really doesn't seem to contribute to his line of argument.
There's more crap in his examples, but I do agree with the gist of it. A game that is a total simulation would necessarily be limited to a niche audience and be terrible for a mass market. Unfortunately, he's constructed a total strawman.
The point is that nobody here wants that sort of total realism. If it's authentic and relevant while not really affecting gameplay, it should go in. The devs have already demonstrated that they play fast and loose with this rule by adopting a more inclusive approach, since people get butthurt when they don't see their favourite tropes.
If it's fun or it makes sense in a gameplay context, it goes in. Chamberblocking is a classic example: more risk, more skill, more reward.
If it isn't, it might serve as a punishment mechanic. Getting your avatar killed is part and parcel of the learning process in playing a game. Your guy died from dysentery? Tough ****, maybe you shouldn't be drinking from a river downstream of any settlements. Small beer and watered wine is there for a reason. He caught an arrow in his nuts? Hey, maybe he shouldn't be charging that line of archers in his underpants! Got an infected wound? Funny how there's this thing called armour and an immune system, isn't it? Or hey, maybe some of that primitive medicine might actually help, I dunno, it sure helped that goddamn prince in the link I posted. Maybe that'll teach you not to pick a fight that you can't win, eh?
