Medicine (Fallout 3)

Medicine is a skill in Fallout 3, replacing the First Aid and Doctor skills from Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics.

This skill determines the effectiveness of stimpaks, Rad-X and RadAway.

Initial level

 * $$\text{Initial level}=2+(2\times\text{Intelligence})+\left\lceil\frac{\text{Luck}}{2}\right\rceil$$

Example: A starting Intelligence of 5 and Luck of 5.


 * $$2+(2\times5)+\left\lceil\frac{5}{2}\right\rceil=15$$

The higher one's Medicine skill, the more Hit Points they will replenish when using a stimpaks 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:


 * $$\text{Effect} =\text{Base} \times (1 + \frac{Medicine}{50})$$

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

 * 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)

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, 70 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.