The Doctors have some new creations, but what are they?

That’s what we’re going to answer today in a little Carnevale lore-dive!

The Esoteric Investigations box is out this Friday, and with it are five brand new models for the Doctors, with 4 new character types! Want to know a little bit more about how they fit into the Ospedale? You’re in the right place!

Doctor of the Firmament

This newcomer actually dates back to before the Rent in the Sky! The Doctors had previously discovered that there was a magical aether running through the world, and were struggling to figure out what exactly it was.

Their experiments to produce magic weren’t really leading anywhere, even with Faust in charge. However, that all changed on that fateful day when the Rent tore open the Heavens and magic poured into the world.

The Doctors of the Firmament really came into their own then. Under the banner of Firmantic Observation this team led the way! Studying the Rent in the Sky has led this particular branch of the Ospedale to become well-renowned both on San Servolo and indeed on the mainland. Their bizarre instruments tick and whirr as they walk around, following the magic wherever it goes.

With observation comes wisdom, and these Doctors have become exceptionally good at managing the streams of magic. They can confidently stride through dimensions, opening doors on a whim to move between worlds. Their sole purpose is to learn everything they can about the Rent, and about magic itself. Of course this makes them particularly potent in a skirmish, as they have some of the most complete knowledges of magic in all of the ranks of the Doctors.

Doctor of Poisons & Apprentice Doctor

The Doctor of Poisons is a fairly obvious name for these practitioners! The titles of Master of Medicine and Master of Detrimental Elixirs in 1795 are actually both the same person! The two fields work together more often than one might think. Or more often than one might hope at any rate.

The Doctor of Poisons is an example of one of the researchers under these fields, and has turned her craft into a particularly deadly science. Able to coat her precision surgical tools with all manner of deadly concoctions, she just loves to see what effect they have on human physiology.

With all this research comes some more wholesome uses, and she’s not above asking her subordinates to test her philters. Sometimes they even help!

The Apprentices run through the entire Ospedale, not limited to any particular discipline. Indeed, it is common practice for newly welcomed Apprentices to try several different areas of study, learning everything they can before deciding on their own scientific pursuit.

All new workers into the Doctors start off fairly limited in their exposure, and are gradually brought in to see more and more of the inner workings. Some practices won’t open their doors to anyone they don’t trust innately (looking at you, Necromantic Studies), while others will welcome newcomers with open arms (Zoology comes to mind, although also with open jaws). Apprentices spend time learning from their mentors before either moving onto different areas or joining the team properly.

Hollowmen

But what about these new experiments? Time to answer the title question!

As anyone who has studied science at a basic level knows: magic comes from madness. The Doctors figured this one out early on, and since then have been offering complete package deals to those affected by the Rent. And others that are less effected but won’t be missed.

The Doctors and Wardens spend time torturing and experimenting on these poor souls, extracting their very sanity using a series of gemstones. These gems are linked to bizarre devices worn by the Doctors and situated throughout the entire island of San Servolo, forming the Nexus. This linked network allows Doctors to siphon magic for their own uses – something they have come to rely on more and more.

This leaves the Madmen in the cells as living batteries, brought out and tortured until all humanity is stripped from them. As time goes on, the gemstones will cease working. Doctors and Nurses will implant more gems until the subject is almost covered in them. When the last one shatters, the patient has nothing more to give.

Or so they thought.

For several years the Doctors would dispose of the drained Madmen, either sending them for experiments of the flesh or releasing them back into the populace of Venice to wander the streets until their dying days.

Recently though, a new technology has been developed to make the most of these empty shells. A new type of gem is implanted directly into the subject’s heart, and their very life force is pulled from them. The energy of the Hollowmen is different in essence to pure magic, but can be used to give a little more life to the Madmen, keeping the figurative (and literal) lights on for a bit longer!

The fatality rate among these Hollowmen is naturally very high, but that’s just more bodies for the Necromantic Studies department!

So there we have it! A little information about what exactly these newcomers to San Servolo are all about.

We’ll be back later in the week to have a look at how they perform on the tabletop, and of course to have a peek at all the new goodies for the Vatican too! Has this tickled your fancy for Doctors? Check out the full range here!