Treatment and recovery in Fortress

Treatment has to reach the patient

Open the settler's Care panel and check their condition. Turn on Medical work for a settler who can walk, and keep water, dressings and meals in reachable storage. A carer must carry the supplies to the patient and finish treatment there. If a walking settler has Privation illness alone, turning off Rest through recovery can keep them out of the treatment queue. Turn it on to receive treatment.

Keep salt or hide near the water

Wounds, burns and crush injuries normally take 2 water and 1 salt. Colonies with underground levels can use 2 water and 1 hide when forged equipment is enabled, or 2 water alone if neither proper dressing is available. Water alone stops an injury worsening, but heals at half the pace of salt or hide. These alternatives do not treat Blight sickness. Privation illness and Fever use 2 water and 1 meal. Treatment supplies and food for the patient are separate needs.

Food, water, rest and recovery

A condition only makes recovery progress while hunger and thirst are both below 60. Resting without a bed gives the ordinary recovery rate. A dry sheltered bed doubles it, and a dry exposed bed gives 1.25 times that rate. Being up and about still heals, at one quarter of the resting rate. Hardy multiplies these rates by five thirds, and Sickly by one third. The Care panel estimates time from the patient's current health, treatment and resting place. A full starting recovery after treatment can therefore take much longer when supplies run short or the patient leaves bed.

Do not leave a serious injury untreated

In colonies with underground levels, an untreated wound, burn or crush injury is minor at 60 health or more, serious above 25 but below 60, and severe at 25 or less. After more than 8 hours, a serious injury loses 0.2 health an hour and a severe one loses 0.35. Each untreated injury can worsen separately. A minor injury can instead close on its own while fed, at one quarter of the dressed rate, and may leave an aching scar. A new blow can reopen a dressed injury. Colonies without these injury rules keep the older loss of 0.4 health an hour for each untreated injury after the grace period.

Downed settlers need more than a bed

At 25 health or less, a living settler cannot work or treat themselves. Current colonies can carry them to a reachable Medical bed, then a free ordinary bed. On the current colony clock, a roofed room is another fallback when no bed is available, and another able settler may carry them when no free medic can. A bed provides no food or water. Nursing a downed patient starts when hunger or thirst reaches 55 and brings 1 water and 1 portion of food. Current colonies can use food the household eats except raw meat, while older colonies require a meal. A downed settler may try to crawl to supplies before waiting for rescue.

Health and a condition are different

A condition records what is wrong and how far treatment has progressed. Health is the settler's life. In current colonies, reaching full health can end a wound, burn or crush injury before its full recovery time has passed. Sickness keeps its own course even at full health. Once the last condition is gone, a resting settler with at least 50 health can leave the medical bed. Privation illness and Fever can slowly recover without treatment while the patient remains fed. Blight sickness needs treatment to make progress.