Damage and Recovery
Whether through the exertion of performing 21 Challenges, or as a result of conflict or direct combat and the results of Versus Challenges against opponents, characters can sustain damage to their Derivatives and to their Stats. In most cases, this damage is temporary, and losses can be recovered over time. In some cases, the damage may be irreversible or even fatal.
Damage to Derivatives
Most loss or damage that your character experiences will be temporary loss to a Derivative caused either by exertion, by lack of sleep, or by damage. The most typical ways each Derivative might be reduced are listed below:
Health
Health is most often reduced by taking damage - usually in combat or through accident. If Health ever reaches zero or goes negative, the player must roll a 21C using Stability every turn at a penalty equal to the negative value of their Health, or they immediately enter the unconscious state. The Indomitable perk allows you to automatically succeed this roll if it is possible to do so. Once Health reaches negative Stability, succeeding the roll is impossible, and unconsciousness is automatic.
The application of any skill or spell that raises Health to a value above zero will bring the subject out of the unconscious state automatically. A 21C using Stability allows the subject to recover and also take their actions in the turn they are revived. If the Challenge is failed, they will be fully recovered for the following turn.
If Health ever reaches a value of -2x Stability, death occurs.
Stamina
Stamina is reduced by physical exertion. Each turn in which you take a second basic action or a combat action costs 1 Stamina. The first eight hours of manual labour or daily travel on foot or steed in a given day cost one point of Stamina per hour, after which, each additional hour costs 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc Stamina. Note that even short breaks taken during such exertions allow you to recover, and can maintain your Stamina at or near its maximum, provided you are properly nourished and hydrated. Other exertions, including many skills, cost a point of Stamina to use, as defined by the individual skill. If Stamina ever reaches zero or goes negative, the player must roll a 21C using Physical every turn at a penalty equal to the negative value of their Stamina, or they immediately enter the exhausted state. The Indefatigable perk allows you to automatically succeed this roll if it is possible to do so. Once Stamina reaches negative Physical, succeeding the roll is impossible, and exhaustion is automatic.
The application of any skill or spell that raises Stamina to a value above zero will bring the subject out of the exhausted state automatically. A 21C using Physical allows the subject to recover and also take their actions in the turn they are revived. If the Challenge is failed, they will be fully recovered for the following turn.
If Stamina ever reaches a value of -2x Physical, death occurs.
Concentration
Concentration is reduced by mental exertion. Every spell has a Casting Cost that reduces Concentration when cast. Additionally, as with physical exertion, the first eight hours of mental labour undertaken in a given day cost one point of Concentration per hour, after which, each additional hour costs 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc Concentration. Also, certain skills may cost a point of Concentration just to attempt to use them. If Concentration ever reaches zero or goes negative, the player must roll a 21C using Mental every turn at a penalty equal to the negative value of their Concentration, or they immediately enter the confused state. The Focused perk allows you to automatically succeed this roll if it is possible to do so. Once Concentration reaches negative Mental, succeeding the roll is impossible, and confusion is automatic.
The application of any skill or spell that raises Concentration to a value above zero will bring the subject out of the confused state automatically. A 21C using Mental allows the subject to recover and also take their actions in the turn they are revived. If the Challenge is failed, they will be fully recovered for the following turn.
If Concentration ever reaches a value of -2x Mental, death occurs.
Composure
Composure is reduced through social or emotional exertion, such as engaging in argument or debate, or even just attending a social function in which there are expectations as to how you might behave. The first eight hours of social or emotional labour in a given day cost one point of Composure per hour, after which, each additional hour costs 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc Composure. Additionally, certain skills can be used to attempt to manipulate people, directly attacking their Composure and potentially putting them into different states. Some of these skills cost Composure to use, as defined by the individual skill. If Composure ever reaches zero or goes negative due to intentional social or emotional exertion, the player must roll a 21C using Social every turn at a penalty equal to the negative value of their Composure, or they immediately enter the exhausted state. Note that many other social interactions or spells can force a character into other, more specific states when their Composure reach zero. The Unfazeable perk allows you to automatically succeed this roll if it is possible to do so. Once Composure reaches negative Social, succeeding the roll is impossible, and exhaustion, or entry into another specified state is automatic.
The application of any skill or spell that raises Composure to a value above zero will bring the subject out of the exhausted state automatically. A 21C using Social allows the subject to recover and also take their actions in the turn they are revived. If the Challenge is failed, they will be fully recovered for the following turn.
If Composure ever reaches a value of -2x Social, death occurs.
Resolve
Resolve is reduced when you choose to spend it to improve your chances of succeeding at a given Challenge. Resolve cannot be attacked or damaged by others, and cannot be reduced below zero. There are no repercussions for having Resolve reach zero.
Morale and Composure
In addition to loss of Composure that can be caused by social conflict or emotional labour, Composure is also a measure of morale. During combat, as the troop strength of a fighting force is reduced, all units will suffer morale loss and damage to their Composure.
Troop Strength and Morale
The combined troop strength of a fighting force is defined as the sum of the Health values for everyone in the group. Every time a unit is killed or incapacitated (regardless of whether they are incapacitated due to loss of Health or due to some other factor), that unit's Health is removed from the troop strength. At each 20% reduction of the total troop strength, the entire group will suffer morale loss, tracked as damage to their Composure derivative.
This morale loss can be prevented by using the Leadership or Rally skills.
If any unit has their Composure reduced to zero due to morale loss, they must roll a 21C using their Social at a penalty equal to the negatuve value of their Composure or enter the afraid state. Those with the Unfazeable perk will always succeed this challenge until their Composure reaches negative Social (at which point they are incapacitated). Creatures without a Composure derivative are immune to morale loss.
| Troop Strength | Morale Loss | Prevented by |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced to 80% | 1d4 Composure | Leadership or Rally |
| Reduced to 60% | 1d6 Composure | Leadership or Rally -2 |
| Reduced to 40% | 1d8 Composure | Leadership or Rally -4 |
| Reduced to 20% | 1d10 Composure | Leadership or Rally -8 |
- Example: Adventurers vs Hobgoblins
- A group of players are fighting a enemy force of 10 Hobgoblins with 10 Health each, and a Hill Giant with 50 Health.
- The enemy troop strength is 150.
- After a few turns of combat, one of the Hobgoblins has been killed, four of them have been reduced to 3 Health each, and the Hill Giant has been reduced to 23 Health.
- The enemy troop strength is 140 (93%), as only the Health of the slain Hobgoblin is removed from the troop strength, so the enemies do not suffer any morale loss.
- The next turn the Hill Giant is hit with multiple criticals and is slain. This removes the Hill Giant's 50 Health from the enemy troop strength, reducing it to 90 (60%).
- All the remaining Hobgoblins suffer 1d4 points of Composure damage for having their troop strength reduced to 80%, and then another 1d6 for having their troop strength reduced to 80%.
- The Director rolls a 2 and a 4 for a total of 6 points of Composure damage. None of the Hobgoblins has the Leadership or Rally skill, so they all suffer the damage.
- The next turn, three more Hobgoblins are slain, reducing the enemy troop strength to 60 (40%).
- All the remaining Hobgoblins suffer 1d8 points of Composure damage. The Director rolls a 6.
- Now all of the six remaining Hobgoblins have suffered a total of 12 Composure damage, leaving them at -3 Composure.
- Each Hobgoblin must roll a 21C using their Social of 9. All of them fail, causing them to enter the Afraid state and flee.
Falling and Collision Damage
More than ordinary folk, adventurers tend to be susceptible to falling from significant heights. Whether stepping into a pit trap, being knocked off a tower, or failing a treacherous mountain ascent, falling damage is a signficant threat. Damage from falling can be very dangerous, and whenever a fall occurs, the director should take care to calculate the fall distance carefully before rolling damage.
Due to the large amount of potential damage from falls, bleeding is also a very likely consequence of a fall, and many high falls that are not instantly fatal are likely to result in fatal bleeding. Protection from armour or other sources reduces fall damage normally, but is not likely to be relevant in the case of a very high fall.
Note that all khat have the Lightfall perk naturally, which mitigates falling damage significantly. Also, skills such as Athletics, Acrobatics and Great Feat can potentially help, and the Float spell will entirely prevent fall damage.
High speed collisions - particularly between creatures or characters who are flying and/or immovable objects - can easily cause comparable levels of damage.
To determine the number and type of dice to roll for fall damage, determine the height of the fall and consult the table below. To determine the number and type of dice to roll for high speed collision damage, determine speed of impact and consult the table below.
| FALL DAMAGE TABLE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| FALL DISTANCE | COLLISION SPEED | DAMAGE | RESIST |
| < 1 hex | < 10 h/t | 1d2 | 21C of Agility to avoid damage entirely. For falls, only actual falls can do damage - intentional jumps are safe. |
| 1-2 hexes | 10-15 h/t | 1d4 | 21C of Agility(-1) to half damage |
| 2-3 hexes | 15-20 h/t | 2d6 | 21C of Agility(-2) to half damage |
| 3-4 hexes | 20-25 h/t | 3d8 | 21C of Agility(-3) to half damage |
| 4-5 hexes | 25-30 h/t | 4d10 | 21C of Agility(-4) to half damage |
| 5-6 hexes | 30-25 h/t | 5d12 | 21C of Agility(-5) to half damage |
| 6-7 hexes | 35-40 h/t | 6d20 | 21C of Agility(-6) to half damage |
| 7-8 hexes | 40-45 h/t | 7d20 | 21C of Agility(-7) to half damage |
| > 8 hexes | > 45 h/t | +1d20, and -1 to the 21C of Agility to resist for each additional hex fallen or +5m/s | |
Lack of Sleep
The minimum amount of sleep required each night to maintain Derivatives is 6 hours. With less than this, the maximum value of all your derivatives is reduced by one for each additional hour missed until a full night’s sleep is taken. This cannot be restored by any form of healing or magic, and can only be alleviated by rest. This means that, for most people, skipping more than one night of sleep will put them in a state where they cannot effectively do anything but rest.
Lack of Essentials
Food, water and shelter are essential to survival. Characters are considered to always have access to the necessary minumum essentials when in a populated area such as a village, town or city, (provided it is not under seige or similar). Even in the wilderness, characters with Adventurer Gear and Travel Rations are considered to have these essentials. However, if isolated from the essentials, things can degenerate rapidly.
After one day without access to food and/or shelter and/or water, recovery of Derivatives is impossible. This means even the simple effort of travelling will soon deplete Stamina. Additionally, after a day without food, Health, Concentration and Composure are all reduced by 1 point every day. After a day without water, Health, Concentration and Composure are further reduced by 1 point every eight hours. Without shelter, these values should be modified by the Director: in a barren desert, or a frozen tundra, the multiple could be very high and death can come quickly.
The Bivouac skill can provide all of these essentials for multiple people, and the Survival skill allows a character to gather these essentials for themself if they do not have them. Additionally, by electing to spend a point of Resolve to roll a 21C using Will, a character can entirely prevent all Derivative loss due to lack of essentials for one day, but without the ability to recover Derivatives, this only extends the inevitable.
Damage to Stats
Outside of the process of aging there are no explicitly defined ways for Stats to be permanently damaged. Similarly, in the case that Stats are damaged, there are no explicitly defined ways for them to be restored, other than for players to spend earned Experience Points to raise them back to their previous value.
Whenever a Stat changes the player must immediately recalculate their impacted Attributes, and if their Attributes change, they will also need to immediately recalculate all Derivatives and Skills based on those Attributes.
While there are no explicit ways to directly damage Stats, this does not preclude the possibility of it happening based on cricumstance and the judgement of the Director. In any case, damage to Stats is very serious, and should not be imposed lightly.
Recovery
Recovering damage to Derivatives can be done in a number of ways. Certain skills, such as First Aid or Infusion will restore damaged Derivatives, and many Restoration spells are entirely dedicated to this purpose.
Aside from the accelerated or instant recovery afford by active interventions, recovery happens naturally over time, barring illness, poisoning, disease, insanity or other overriding factors.
In order to roll for recovery to damage attributes, you must be resting. Resting means either sleeping or sitting or laying comfortably, and performing no task more strenuous or stressful than eating, drinking, or entertaining oneself in a carefree manner (reading, playing or listening to music, playing table games, etc). A day of normal activity provides only 8 hours of rest. Gaining the benefit of 24 hours of continuous rest means total bed-rest and relaxation without any physical exertion or stress.
Note that you may not spend Resolve to rest and recover more effectively.
To determine how much damage to your derivatives is recovered following a rest, you must first determine the maxiumum that could be recovered in the time rested. You then roll a 21C using the Attribute the Derivative is based on. The amount recovered at the end of the rest is equal to 1/2 the maximum, plus or minus the amount you succeed or fail the challenge by. The total amount of recovery cannot exceed the maximum, except in the case of a critical. On a major critical, recovery is doubled, on a minor crit, recovery is +50%. On any critical failure (major or minor) no recovery occurs.
Note that several skills (Bivouac, First Aid, Infusion, Medicine, Meditation, Physician, and Psychology), spells (Sleep, and Id Prison), and perks (Fast Healer, Seven Squares and Socializer) can effect your recovery.
| RECOVERY TABLE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| DERIVATIVE | MAXIMUM RECOVERY FOR REST | CHALLENGE | RECOVERY AMOUNT |
| Health | 1 point for each 8 full hours of rest | 21C using Stability + Rec Health mod | 1/2 max +/- Challenge result |
| Resolve | 1 point for each 8 full hours of rest | 21C using Intensity + Rec Resolve mod | 1/2 max +/- Challenge result |
| Concentration | 1 point for each full hour of rest | 21C using Mental + Rec Concentration mod | 1/2 max +/- Challenge result |
| Composure | 1 point for each full hour of rest | 21C using Social + Rec Composure mod | 1/2 max +/- Challenge result |
| Stamina | 1 point for each ten minutes of rest | 21C using Physical + Rec Stamina mod | 1/2 max +/- Challenge result |
Recovery Calculator Tool
To quickly and easily determine your recovery, you can also use the Recovery Calculator, included in the Tools section.