How does a first aid kit work?

[Nimue]

I'm playing A2 right now, but I still wonder how this first aid kit thing works. Does it simply improve first aid skill without using it directly or whatever?

[Nioca]

First Aid kits aren't needed to perform first aid, but they improve the odds of success greatly. As you use first aid, however, it will slowly use up your First Aid kits. The benefit of First Aid kits, and the better Fine First Aid kits aren't cumulative.

[Fort]

My suggestion is not to worry about it. First aid is practically useless until A4, wherein the skill recovers health for you after every battle.

[Randomizer]

Unless you want to spend lots of skill points in training to avoid damaging yourself, then skip it. It's also limited in how often it can be used per day. It's easier to use spells and/or potions.

[Bowlnik]

First aid is sort of useful really early on in the first three games, when you have a weakling priest without much mana; other than that however, it is a waste of time.

[The Mystic]

I don't bother with First Aid. Since all 4 of my PCs can cast healing, curing, mass healing, and mass curing, I don't really need it.

[Nimue]

Nioca, thanks a lot! This is the very thing I needed to know!

Garrison, I hope I'll check it someday

Originally by Randomizer

Quote:

It's easier to use spells and/or potions.

Here I should agree with Bowlnik. What if you are short of mana and potions, but want a good fight? In this case First Aid will help, I think=)

The Mystic, good of you!

[Lazarus.]

I've always found first aid to be pretty much useless. Just carry energy potions-- or even better put the points you'd spend on first aid in alchemy so you can make energy potions.

[Thaeris]

Bit of a necro here - hope no one minds.

 

I recently decided I'd start a new game of A2, and opted to create a character that was supposed to be a bit of a technical or scholarly type, that was also a sort of soldier in a former life. As such, this character has fairly high starting tool use stats as well as a high first aid stat. I'll try and run some tests later, but does anyone know if tool use boosts first aid? I was surprised at how well first aid has worked so far - the only shortcoming is the original Avernums' sense of time and space, which limits the frequency at which you can use first aid. I cannot remember the stats off-hand, but starting off with a new party on Torment, the skill has been better than a L1 priest in most cases - when you can use it, of course.

[Randomizer]

Tool Use shouldn't boost First Aid, but there may be a coding error since Jeff in the past has entered the wrong number. No one has mentioned it before, but most players don't use it for long because of number of times per day limit and the need to replace the kits for better results.

[Thaeris]

Thanks, Randomizer!

 

Turns out I just had a really good spat of luck when using the kits when I started the game. There was ultimately no boost with higher or lower tool use levels when testing the efficacy of the first aid skill. This is actually a bit disappointing, really: it would make sense if being better with tools made you better at first aid! However, that's just the way it goes. :)