Factional Redesign of The Gift

[Davin]

I am trying to "round" out the faction making them fun to play and interesting to pursue things if players choose to do so.

Hmmm...  Alchemy might be a fun thing to play with, but unless it can produce tangible results I don't know if it would be something people would want to pursue.

I can see using that as trying to learn about our form of Science, and perhaps something will eventually come from using the "scientific method" to figure out other things.  But I don't see that as a direct relationship with health care and that could be done by anyone (and methodically pursued by any faction we care to "assign" it to).

OTOH, perhaps the Gift could include in their specialties the study of the natural world, improving the scientific method of such study, and looking for new treatments all the time to improve their healing arts.  Discovery of penicillin may be an awfully long way away, for instance, but aspirin might well be within reach.  We also know that sanitation is very important to health in many ways, but in the medieval times disease was considered to be caused by "bad smells".  It'll take some scientific work to make that sort of leap.  (Did you know that Air Conditioning was first invented as a hospital health measure?)  And there are a ton of technological advances related to health care that could be pursued over long periods of time (e.g. microscopes).  I think such things could provide considerable opportunity for fun play.