A Study in Scarlet - Chapter 02 - B1-B2 Watson’s Profile
Doctor John Watson
Name: Dr John H. Watson, M.D.
Former job: Army doctor (surgeon).
Background. John Watson trained as a doctor in London. Then he joined the British Army as a surgeon. He was sent to India, and then to the war in Afghanistan.
The wound. At the battle of Maiwand, a bullet hit his shoulder and broke the bone. He almost died. A soldier named Murray saved his life and carried him back to safety. Later, Watson became very ill with fever. The army sent him home to England.
Back in London. Watson came home weak, thin, and burned brown by the eastern sun. He had very little money. He needed cheap rooms to live in.
Meeting Holmes. An old friend, Stamford, introduced him to Sherlock Holmes. The two men agreed to share rooms at 221B Baker Street. That is how their friendship, and their work together, began.
His role in your case. Watson keeps the Casebook. He writes down what you find and what you prove. He can explain things, and read your notes back to you. But remember: Watson will never solve the case for you. He is your helper, not your answer.
Who he is. Watson is brave, loyal, and honest. He is a good doctor, so he understands bodies and wounds. He is the steady friend at Holmes’s side.
Dr Watson · how to use this card
- Use. Player-facing profile card. Supports Chapter Two, where Holmes reads Watson’s history (the Afghanistan deduction). It also briefs whoever plays Watson: his fixed behaviour is help system and recorder, and he never solves.
- Canon note (Golden Rule 1): all facts are from Doyle’s text.
A Study in Scarlet - Chapter 02 - B2-C1 Watson’s Profile
Doctor John Watson
Name: Dr John H. Watson, M.D., late of the Army Medical Department.
Former profession: Army surgeon.
Service record. Watson took his medical degree in London and trained for the army at Netley. He was attached as Assistant Surgeon to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers, and later to the Berkshires, with whom he served in the second Afghan War.
The wound. At the fatal battle of Maiwand, a Jezail bullet shattered his shoulder and grazed the subclavian artery. He would have fallen into enemy hands but for his orderly, Murray, who threw him across a pack-horse and carried him to the British lines. Weakened afterwards by enteric fever, he was invalided home.
Return to London. He came back to England “as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut,” his health ruined and his purse nearly empty. He drifted to London, and set about the dull problem of finding lodgings he could afford.
The meeting. Through young Stamford, an old dresser from Bart’s, he was introduced to Sherlock Holmes, and the two agreed to share rooms at 221B Baker Street. From that chance meeting grew both a friendship and a long partnership in the detection of crime.
His role in your case. Watson keeps the Casebook. He records what you observe and what you prove; he will explain a point, separate fact from theory, and read your own notes back to you. He will not, however, solve the case for you. He is your help system, never your answer.
Character. Loyal, courageous, and scrupulously honest, Watson is the reader’s companion and Holmes’s steady foil. His medical training makes him a shrewd observer of the body and its injuries.
“There I was struck on the shoulder by a Jezail bullet, which shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery.”
Dr Watson · how to use this card
- Use. Player-facing profile card. Supports Chapter Two, where Holmes reads Watson’s history (the Afghanistan deduction). It also briefs whoever plays Watson: his fixed behaviour is help system and recorder, and he never solves.
- Verbatim line. The quoted sentence about Maiwand is Doyle’s exact wording.
- Canon note (Golden Rule 1): all facts are from Doyle’s text.