Damage, Conditions, & Recovery

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Red Age > Rules > Damage, Conditions, & Recovery

Damage

Hit Points, Life, & Wounds Hit Points HP represents stamina, poise, morale, luck, and general action-hero resilience to harm. To prevent serious harm, absorb damage by spending HP, 1 for 1. Loss of HP represents scrapes, bruises, fatigue, pain, loss of morale, and other cosmetic injury. Temporary HP (tHP) represents additional stamina, defensive posture, ablative magical protection, etc. These function the same as normal HP. When you gain tHP, if the amount is greater than your current tHP, replace it (i.e. tHP doesn't stack). By default, unused tHP go away after 10 minutes. Reserve HP (rHP) represents the degree to which you can bounce back from repeated beatdowns over the course of days. Reserve HP is converted to HP through rests and natural healing. Life Loss of Life represents genuine injury; deeper cuts, sprains, concussions, blood loss, etc. When you take damage and can't soak it with HP, you lose Life. Any time you lose Life, roll d20+(remaining Life) vs DC 18+(2 x number of Wounds). If successful, you've lost the Life but nothing worse. You remain active and on your feet. If you fail, you suffer a Wound, roll to see what it is. This can leave you unconscious, bleeding out, maimed, or instantly dead. On a natural 20, you stay on your feet, and may choose to gain a cool scar and +2 max HP (as long as you keep the scar). If reduced to 0 Life, you are mortally wounded and almost certainly die. Wounds A Wound has specific effects, short or long term, and it "ties up" a certain amount of Life, measured in Wound points. Until these are healed (more slowly than mere lost Life), the Wound and its effects persist, and you cannot recover to your full Life total. The DM may roll Wounds in private, so when someone falls, their allies may not be certain whether they've just been knocked out or are rapidly bleeding to death. In combat, you usually don't lose Life or take Wounds while you still have HP. Traps, attacks against helpless targets, and similar sources often deal damage straight to Life. Taking Life while you have HP calls for a Life roll, as above, but with different consequences. Some harm may directly target a part of the body, causing a Wound (e.g. sticking your hand into a trap designed to chop off hands).

Damage Damage Types Physical (slashing, piercing, crushing) Fire (flame, lightning, radiant) Frost Acid Health (poison, necrotic, bleeding, etc): harms living creatures by disrupting their life processes. Undead and constructs are generally immune to health damage; creatures like oozes might be immune to some forms but not others. Spirit: has full effect on supernatural beings who might be immune to non-magic harm, incorporeal, etc. Usually a property of magic which is combined with another form of damage (e.g. fire/spirit). Pure spirit damage doesn't damage inanimate objects, but will harm living creatures or other beings with a spiritual / magical aspect (including magical constructs and undead).

Resistance, Vulnerability, Immunity, and Threshold Resistance to a given form of damage halves it (rounding down), and Vulnerability doubles it. Apply this to damage before spending HP to absorb it. Immunity reduces a given form of damage to 0, and usually negates any rider effects that came with it. A damage Threshold completely negates damage (of the specified type) equal or below its value, but has no effect on higher amounts. It can be combined with Resistance for larger amounts, and the Threshold is applied after Resistance is applied. Subduing When you make a Strike against your target, using a fictionally suitable form of attack, you may declare that you are trying to make it non-lethal. Lethal area attacks are too indiscriminate to make non-lethal. The DM may require a lethal weapon to used as a club to deal crushing damage to justify being used non-lethally. Roll damage with +D. When the target makes Life checks to acquire Wounds, they roll Wound type with 2x +A, taking the least severe outcome. Dropping to 0 Life is still fatal. Critical Hits & Massive Damage Crit: an attack or effect roll with margin 2+. Deal your maximum normal damage, then roll an extra damage die (without adding fixed modifiers) and add it. Massive Damage: taking damage (after Resistance and tHP) equal or higher than your Bloodied value. The DM may apply an extra Inflict Condition rider to the attack, causing Dazed, Stunned, Disarmed, damage to a weapon, armor, or shield, or some similar effect.


Wounds

Roll Wound Type Wound while you have no HP: d20 Mortal Wound: d8 Wound while you still have HP: 1d6+17 Wound Types 23+) No Effect 21-22) Collapse Roll Only (+A on collapse, no worse than Momentary) 20+) Collapse Roll Only (+A on collapse) 17-19) Mild Break (+A on collapse) 13-16) Break 11-12) Maimed (+D on collapse) 9-10) Bleeding Out Slow 8) Bleeding Out Fast 7) Bleeding Out Fast (+D on collapse) 6) Bleeding Out Fast + Broken (+D on collapse) 5) Bleeding Out Fast + Maimed (+D on collapse) 4) Dead Adventurer Walking + Broken (+D on collapse) 3) Dead Adventurer Walking + Maimed (+D on collapse) 1-2) Death Collapse Roll (d10) 1-3) Long Collapse (every 10 min, roll 1d6+(1 per 10 min unconscious). Wake on a 6+) Each magic healing effect adds +(Power) to subsequent waking rolls, and grants an immediate reroll. 4-6) Brief Collapse (as above, but rounds instead of 10 min intervals) 7-9) Momentary collapse (fall prone, drop stuff, and stunned 1 round) 10) No Collapse

Wound Types Mild Break (roll location) 1 Wound point Break (roll location) Wound points = Life lost in the hit that inflicted this Wound. Maimed (roll location) Wound points = Life lost in the hit that inflicted this Wound. Once "healed", the wound is no longer raw (it doesn't count as a wound, non-permanent penalties removed), but the maiming is permanent. Bleeding Out Slow (1 Wound point, 10 min interval) or Fast (2 Wound points, 1 round interval) Each interval, lose 1d4-1 Life and roll a Vigor save DC 13. You die if you reach 0 Life. Life lost to bleeding doesn't cause a Wound roll. If you roll a natural 20, or you lost 0 Life and succeed on the save, stabilize. If you lose more Life but succeeded, reduce Life lost by 1. A stabilized Fast bleed is treated as a Slow bleed, and must stabilize a second time. If you exert yourself (combat, running, climbing, carrying a Medium or heavier load, etc), +D to the save and +A to the damage roll. If you exert yourself after stabilizing, but before a Short Rest, there is a 2-in-6 chance of reopening your wound. If you suffer a new Bleeding Out wound while you already have one stabilized but not yet fully healed, it reopens. When Bleeding Out Fast heals 1 Wound point, it become Slow. Bleeding Out can be stabilized with magic or medicine. Medicine (treatment takes 1 interval, Wits DC 16 check, requires a usage from a Healer's Kit, +D w/o a Kit): Each point of negative Margin inflicts 1d4 damage. Magic (grants a medicine roll as above, using the casting stat + Power, and no Healer's Kit is required). Success turns a Fast bleed into a Slow one, or fully stabilizes a Slow bleed. Dead Adventurer Walking Treat as Bleeding Out Fast, but the wound can't be stabilized without extremely powerful magic. If somehow stabilized, this has Wound points = your entire Life. Until you heal this, you remain at 0 HP, 0 Life, 60 Fatigue, bed-ridden. Once this is healed, each further Wound point healed removes 5 Fatigue and restores 1 Life. Treat yourself as stabilized Bleeding Out Slow, with a chance of reopening your wounds until under 30 Fatigue. Death Immediate death. Wound Location (d10, for broken / maimed) 1) Arm / Hand Can't use the hand. +D to tasks that wound normally take 2 hands. If the 3d4 roll is 7-, the wound affects only a hand, otherwise an entire arm. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d3 Dex. 2) Leg / Foot Slowed. +D to athletic tasks (running, swimming, climbing, balance, etc) and Dex saves. If the 3d4 roll is 7-, the wound affects only a foot, otherwise an entire leg. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d3 Dex. 3) Eye +D to vision, attack, Dex effects, and Wits saves. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d3 points between Dex and Wits. 4) Ear / Nose Ear: deaf in the ear. +D to hearing checks. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d2 Wits. Nose: can't smell, +D to social checks. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d2 Spirit. 5) Mouth / Face Slurred speech, +D to social checks. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d2 Spirit. 6-8) Torso Gain 20 Trauma (10 Trauma if mild broken) and take +D to Vigor saves. Remove half the Trauma when the wound is half-healed. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d4 Vigor. 9-10) Head +D to all checks except intrinsic things like Vigor saves against poison. If maimed, also permanently lose 1d4 points between Wits and Spirit. A concentration check DC 13+Power (with +D) is required to cast a spell, and every round a conc duration spell is maintained.


Recovery

Rests

  • Brief Rest
    • Requirements: 10 minutes of no more than light activity (resting, talking, reading, easy searching, routine gear maintenance). Interruption restarts the count.
    • Allows the performance of an average spell as a ritual.
    • Regain use of Brief Rest abilities.
  • Short Rest
    • Requirements: 1 hour of no more than light activity. Interruption restarts the count.
    • Includes the benefits of a Brief Rest.
    • Restores all cantrip mana. Allows spell preparation / exchange of spells between vessels.
    • Regain use of Short Rest abilities.
    • Once per Long Rest, a character can convert up to (level+VIG) reserve into HP and (level+SPT) into Mana.
  • Long Rest
    • Requirements: 8 hours of mostly light activity (brief exertion is okay), as well as adequate sleep, drink, food, and shelter. Can be taken no more than once per 24 hours.
    • Includes the benefits of a Short Rest.
    • Restore HP and Mana from their respective reserves.
    • Regain use of Long Rest abilities.
    • If you have gained no Fatigue since your last Long Rest, remove 5 Fatigue.
    • Regain 1 Life (+1 if resting in civilized comfort).
    • Serious privation or multiple lesser privations prevent any benefit from a Long Rest (besides preventing sleep deprivation). One Moderate Privation prevents you from restoring HP or Mana above 50%, removes no Fatigue, and heals no Life.
      • Moderate Privations: half Life or lower, squalid Lifestyle, poor accommodations, half water ration, no food ration, poor / short / interrupted sleep
      • Serious Privations: no water ration, no sleep, miserable accommodations, 2+ forms of lesser Privation
  • Extended Rest
    • Requirements: 6 consecutive, successful Long Rests, without any adventuring, rough travel, non-Lifestyle privations, or other hardships during the entire period.
      • This usually requires more security and shelter than a normal campsite (good basecamp, settlement, unusually safe / serene wilderness site, etc).
      • You can face a brief mishap or combat encounter, but if you are forced to flee, besieged for hours, or it otherwise becomes a protracted / painful / stressful event (including an unexpected number of such events for a normal week), the count resets.
    • Includes the benefits of a Long Rest.
    • Regain all HP, Mana, Life, and reserves.
    • Regain use of Extended Rest abilities.
    • For each Wound, remove 1 Wound point + 1 if you make a DC 13 Vigor save.
    • Expeditions into wild and dangerous places are stressful. Unless the party has pressing reasons to immediately go back out, they must take an Extended Rest after returning to civilization.

Healing Effects

  • Healing effects (spells, medicine) generate points of healing.
    • 1 healing restores 1 HP.
    • Once HP is full, every 2 healing restores 1 Life after the subject's next Long Rest is completed, when they would normally regain Life.
    • Once Life is full, 20 healing removes 1 Wound point after the subject's next Long Rest is completed.
      • This healing can come from multiple applications (spells, healing feat, potions, etc), but they must all come within the space of a single Brief Rest, otherwise the power is too diffuse to accelerate healing of serious injury. A given Wound can't be healed this way more than once per Extended Rest.

Fatigue & Exhaustion

  • Fatigue points are accumulated from various sources. There are different types that are summed for their effect, but removed in different ways.
  • Every 10 points of Fatigue is a level of Exhaustion, inflicting the following effects:
    • -1 to all checks (attacks, effects, skills, saves, defenses)
    • -(Speed / 6)'
    • Fill 1 encumbrance slots
  • At 60+ Fatigue, immediately and each hour thereafter, roll a Vigor save DC 16 or else collapse unconscious, possibly dying soon after, if not aided.

Types of Fatigue

  • Fatigue
    • Loss of stamina from exertion, stamina draining effects, and general hard use.
    • Remove 5 with a Long Rest, if you haven't gained any kind of Fatigue since your last Long Rest.
  • Hunger & Thirst
    • Gained for going without food and/or water.
    • A normal ration of food removes 5 Hunger, and extra ration removes another 5.
    • A normal ration of water removes 5 Thirst, and drinking up to 3 extra rations removes 5 each.
  • Sleep Deprivation
    • Gained from going without sleep.
    • Every full 8 hours of sleep, convert up to 20 Sleep Deprivation into Fatigue (which may be cleared as part of that rest, or on subsequent Long Rests).
  • Wind
    • Gained from lack of air or intense, short-term exertion, such as sprinting.
    • Each Brief Rest, convert 10 Wind into 2 Fatigue.
  • Heat / Cold
    • Gained from exposure to heat-stroke- or hypothermia-inducing temperatures without suitable protection.
    • Each Short Rest at comfortable temperature (merely "not extreme" temperature only halts the gain), convert 10 Heat/Cold into 5 Fatigue.
  • Drain
    • Gained from magical life drain, poison, disease, etc.
    • Removal depends on the nature of the cause (often like Fatigue, Wind, or Heat/Cold; sometimes only through medicine, magic, or Extended Rets).

Conditions

Most Conditions effects do not stack, but they may be applied by multiple sources, in which case all will have to be removed to remove the Condition.

Blinded

You fail any check requiring sight. You have +D on initiative, attacks, defense, Dex saves, and many skill checks.

Charmed

You can't use harmful abilities or spells to target, endanger, or impose upon the charmer. The charmer has +D on social checks with you.

Dazed

Unreactive, Slowed, and you lose your bonus action.

Deafened

You fail any check requiring hearing. You have +D on checks hindered by your lack of hearing.

Exposed

You have +D on defense, Dex saves, and Vigor saves against forced movement.

Frightened

You have +D on skill checks and attack rolls while the object of fear is in sight or obviously nearby. You can't willingly move closer to the object of fear. If you stand and fight against the source of your fear, +D on defense and saves.

Grappled

Immobilized. Maintained as long as the grapple continues. Forced movement of you or the grappler creature can allow a chance to escape the grapple. If the escape fails, either you don't move, or the grappler moves with you. Forced movement by the grappler does not risk breaking the Grapple, and can drag you with it.

Helpless

You automatically fail defense, Dex Saves, and Vigor saves against forced movement. Any hit from an attacker within 5' gains +1 margin (making normal hits into crits).

Immobilized

Your Speed is reduced to 0, and can't be increased. You have +D on Dex Saves to evade, and automatically fail if you would need to move to avoid the effect.

Immune

May apply to all damage, or damage of certain types, from certain sources, etc. May also apply to conditions. Damage from relevant sources is negated, usually along with any rider effects it had. Relevant conditions are not applied.

Incapacitated

Unreactive and cannot take actions, but can move. Lose the benefit of shields, DEX, and other active defense bonuses.

Invisible

You have +A on defense and saves against attacks or effects that are successfully directed at your general location, unless they are AoE. If your general location can't be guessed (by the sound of movement, steps in the dust, inference, or other clues), attacks and effects automatically miss. You have +A on attacks and effects that target Dex Save against creatures that can't directly perceive you (a general location is not enough).

Marked

The opponent that marked you gains advantage on OAs against you, and does not expend an OA to attack you.

Paralyzed

Incapacitated, Immobilized, Helpless, and can't speak.

Petrified

Transformed into inanimate material (stone, wood, ice, etc), usually along with worn and carried possessions. Weight increases by 10x (assuming stone). Resistant to all damage. Gains Hardness and other properties suitable for the material. It is Paralyzed, unaware of its surroundings, and incapable of thought. Subject is not alive, and doesn't eat, drink, breath, or age. Immune to poison and disease, but preexisting conditions are suspended, not removed.

Poisoned

You have +D on stat and skill checks and attacks.

Prone

You can drop Prone as a free action any time you can move. You can move by crawling, with +1x movement cost. You can't convert movement into a shift. You don't threaten and take +D on attacks (excepting crossbows or other weapons that can be fired prone). You do not obstruct movement. Melee attacks against you, and ranged attacks from within 10', have +A. Ranged attacks from farther away have +D. The DM may grant +A on Dex saves against blasts (more of the force passes over you) and/or Vigor saves against forced movement, if deemed appropriate to the situation. You can stand at a cost of (Speed / 2) movement (normally 15'). Rising provokes. You can't shift using movement, but can Dodge or Dash and use the option to shift as bonus action, then spend movement to stand. Being hit by an OA prevents you from rising, as it halts other forms of movement.

Resistant

May apply to all damage, or damage of certain types, from certain sources, etc. May also apply to conditions. Take half damage (rounding down) from relevant sources, and gain +A on Saves or defense against relevant conditions.

Restrained

Immobilized You have +D on defense and Dex saves. You have +D on attacks and effects targeting Dex saves.

Slowed

+1x movement costs. Slow stacks.

Stunned

Incapacitated and Immobilized. Can only speak falteringly. Automatically fails Dex saves and Vigor saves against forced movement. You have +D on defense and Wits saves.

Unbalanced

Unreactive Disadvantage on attacks and Vigor and Dex checks.

Unconscious

Paralyzed and unaware of your surroundings. You drop anything held and fall Prone.

Unreactive

You cannot take reactions or make Opportunity Attacks. Lose your reaction and OA for the turn.

Vulnerable

May apply to all damage, or damage of certain types, from certain sources, etc. Double damage taken from relevant sources, or +D to save against non-damage effects.

Weakened

May be Physically Weakened, Spiritually Weakened, or both. Physical Weakness halves damage (rounding down) from weapon attacks and gives +D on effect rolls for things like Grapples, Forces, or other martial maneuvers. Magical Weakness halves spell damage (rounding down) and gives +D on spell effect rolls.


State Conditions

Scratched and Bloodied

You currently have equal or less than 50% or 25% of maximum HP. These are evident to onlookers from wear and tear, fatigue, etc.

Battered

You are out of HP, possibly having taken Life.

Wounded

Has 1 or more Wounds.

Mortally Wounded

TBD - once per dungeon turn (even in combat), you can fortify yourself with some strong booze, like a cut rate healing potion; restore 1d6 resilience (vigor DC 11 or stacking -1 to checks for intoxication). W/ brief rest, 2d6? - life drain can directly cause Wounds (or force a Wound save), steal reserve, impose fatigue Ongoing Damage - on fire - venom Afflictions Diseases, poisons, creeping curses. Contracting: when exposed to the affliction, there is usually a save to avoid being affected. This may be the same as the affliction's interval save, or different. Properties Magnitude: every point is +5 DC to treatment efforts. the DC of the saves used to fight the affliction. Interval: a span of time. Every time an interval passes, roll a save (usually Vigor). Suffer the effects of the affliction (sometimes nothing on a successful save, sometimes reduced). If a healer treats the victim, they can roll WIT+Scholarship against the Virulence (sometimes a generalist task, sometimes specialist). If either this roll or the save succeeds, the save is considered a success. Duration: once a number of saves equal to Duration have been successfully made, the affliction abates. It may take a while for harm done to heal (if it does), but it grows no worse. Treatment Examples Breakbone Fever: Vir DC 13, 2 day Interval, Duration 3. No symptoms until 2 failed saves. After 3rd fails save, become Stunned while the affliction persists. After 5th failed save, Death's Door. Sand Rot: Vir DC 17, 1 day Inverval, Duration 2. Each interval, lose 1d6 Vigor. Death at Vigor 0. Recover 1 Vigor per day once cured. Viper Toxin: Vir DC 16, 1 round Interval, Duration 1. Poisoned on affliction. Each interval, take 1d6 health damage. At 0 HP, become Unconscious. If still poisoned, after 1 hour, at Death's Door.

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