v1 disease rules

[Legbreaker]

This is the way it appears in the V1 Refs book:

Dysentery

Transmission: Contaminated food and/or water. Infection

Number 60.

Symptoms: Abdominal pain, diarrhea.

Diagnosis: AVG

Misdiagnosed as: Cholera, or minor disease.

Treatment: Replace fluids ( + 30%), relieve pain (+ 10%).

Course of the Disease: Incubation: 1 -3 days (1D6/2). Phase I:

3 days. Phase II: 7 days. Base Recovery Number: 195.

Failed Recovery Death Probability: 5%

Post-recovery Debility: 7 days. With treatment, fatigue at level

1 base; without, level 2

I believe the problem here is formatting. It should read as follows:

Dysentery

Transmission: Contaminated food and/or water.
Infection Number 60.
Symptoms: Abdominal pain, diarrhea.
Diagnosis: AVG
Misdiagnosed as: Cholera, or minor disease.
Treatment: Replace fluids ( + 30%), relieve pain (+ 10%).
Course of the Disease: Incubation: 1 -3 days (1D6/2). Phase I: 3 days. Phase II: 7 days.
Base Recovery Number: 195.
Failed Recovery Death Probability: 5%
Post-recovery Debility: 7 days.
With treatment, fatigue at level 1 base; without, level 2

Note the last line re fatigue is separate to post recovery debility, and should apply from the moment Phase 1 begins, and will continue until the Post-recovery Debility period has expired.
This is on top of any symptoms which would impair the character while suffering the illness - Abdominal pain & diarrhea in the example above are going to make it very difficult to carry out some tasks. Vomiting may invoke the starvation rules, and so on.

Yes, getting sick can be quite nasty if you look at this way, but these diseases have killed many people over the centuries, they are nasty.

[swaghauler]

I agree with Leg's interpretation. I do change the Fatigue DURING the illness by doubling the post-illness recovery Fatigue and applying it during the illness (especially if treatment fails). This Fatigue can be reduced by treatment during the illness. Why? In the real world, good nursing care can go a long way towards reducing both the symptoms and treatment time of a disease.

[Adm.Lee]

That makes vastly more sense, Leg, thank you! As for some symptoms affecting other rules (vomiting = no food), that's the kind of connection I was hoping to find, but not seeing. Ah, and looking at Upkeep, I see that lack of food can also impose fatigue levels.

Swaghauler, you may be on to something as well. So, in the above case, it could be 2 levels of fatigue (2x if untreated) during the Phases I and II, and 1 or 2 during the 7 days of recovery.

[ArmySGT.]

The rules for Dysentery must be assuming modern anti-diarrhetic, analgesics, Intravenous rehydration, and modern nursing for the low transmission rates, rate of recovery, and low mortality.

Dysentery was a primary killer of troops during the American Civil War. The deaths from dysentery were dehydration causing renal failure.

Wipe out that 20th century knowledge and limit supplies and whole villages or refugee camps can be depopulated in weeks.

[Silent Hunter UK]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Yes, getting sick can be quite nasty if you look at this way, but these diseases have killed many people over the centuries, they are nasty.

In fact, it was more common historically for soldiers to die of disease while on campaign rather than enemy action; Henry V is thought to have died of dysentery himself while in France.

The first case where this was reversed was in the Prussian-Danish War of 1864