Fantasy adventure worlds are dangerous places, and sooner or later your character is going to get hurt. The following rules explain how to handle injuries in a Cool Name RPG Adventure.
Vitality #
When any of your Vitality Scores (Body, Mind, or Spirit) reach zero, you are Incapacitated and suffer a Wound. Vitality loss stops at zero. It is not possible to have a negative Vitality Score.
Incapacitated #
When you are Incapacitated, you are awake and aware, but you are prone, disoriented, and communication is difficult. At best, you can say a few words each Turn, but complex sentences and thoughts are impossible. Incapacitated characters may not make Action Checks except to perform a “catch your breath” Recovery Action. With the Gamemaster’s permission, they may perform Minor Actions like digging a potion out of their pack or fumbling a door open.
Movement is limited to a slow crawl. Depending on the situation, you may be able to lurch to your feet and, again with the Gamemaster’s permission, stumble along a few feet at a time.
The exact nature of the Incapacitation depends on which of your Vitality Scores were reduced to zero.
Body Vitality 0 #
At zero Body Vitality you might be seeing stars, have the wind knocked out of you, or be punch drunk. You are physically exhausted and everything hurts. You might be suffering from numerous minor cuts and bruises, and you are likely feeling more than a little light-headed.
Mind Vitality 0 #
At zero Mind Vitality you might be catatonic, deeply disassociated, or hopelessly confused. Making decisions is nearly impossible, and activities requiring higher thought are out of the question. You might also suffer from temporary memory loss and debilitating confusion. Often, you lack the will to act at all.
Spirit Vitality 0 #
At zero Spirit Vitality you might be emotionally broken, overcome with terror, or suffering from a soul-searing existential crisis. You are probably only vaguely aware of your surroundings, and you might even suffer from hallucinations. You struggle to make emotional connections, and you likely appear pitiful to friends and enemies alike.
Attacking Incapacitated Characters #
Incapacitated characters cannot defend themselves. The base Difficulty Score for Attack Actions against an Incapacitated character is zero. If your character is hit with an attack that would reduce a Vitality Score already at zero, instead of losing Vitality, the character automatically suffers another Wound of that Vitality type.
Recovering Vitality Points #
You may make a Recovery Action to restore lost Vitality Points of a particular type. If you are Incapacitated, you may only use the “catch your breath” form of Recovery. See Recovery in Chapter 5: Action Types for more information.
An hour of uninterrupted rest restores all your character’s Vitality Scores to their maximums.
Wounds #
Whenever one of your Vitality Scores reach zero, you suffer a Wound. Wounds are serious, lingering injuries that may lead to death. Each time you suffer a Wound you must make a Death Check (see Death and Dying below).
Healing Wounds #
Healing a Wound requires an Intellect Action Check and has a base time of 1 hour. Each move up the time chart (for example, 1 hour to 12 hours) adds a +1 modifier to the Action Check.
Wounds are healed by Type (Body, Mind, or Spirit), and you may only heal one Type of Wound with each Action Check. A successful Action Check, regardless of Effect, heals 1 Wound of the chosen Type.
Difficulty Score #
Healing Wounds is a task for a Skilled healer, so the base Difficulty Score is 6. You must also add the number of Wounds the character has of the Type you are attempting to heal to the Difficulty Score.
Healing Difficulty Score Example
Aria is attempting to heal one of Wargar’s Body Wounds. Wargar has 2 Body Wounds and 1 Mind Wound. The starting Difficulty Score for the Action Check to heal his Body Wounds is 8 (6 + 2 Body Wounds).
The following may add modifiers to the Difficulty Score:
- Environment: Is the environment appropriate for healing? For example, Body Wound healing requires a clean, dry, safe place. Access to clean water is a must, and the patient must be kept warm.
- Tools: Wound healing requires a proper set of tools. For Body Wounds this means Healer’s Tools or a Surgeon’s Kit. A simple first aid kit is not enough.
- Self-Care: If you are healing your own Wounds add +1 modifier to the Difficulty Score.
- Time: Each move down the time chart from 1 hour (for example, 1 hour down to 15 minutes) adds a +1 modifier to the Difficulty Score.
Natural Healing #
A character that spends a week resting may automatically check to see if any of their Wounds heal. At the end of the week, the character makes one Action Check for each of the types of Wounds they are suffering from.
The Primary Attribute for the Action Check depends on the type of Wound the character is healing:
Body Wounds = Toughness
Mind Wounds = Willpower
Spirit Wounds = Resilience
The Difficulty Score is equal to the number of Wounds the character has of that type. On a success, the character reduces the number of Wounds of that type by 1.
Negative conditions, such as filth or cold, may add one or more modifiers to the Difficulty Scores. Participating in more than light activity at any point during the week restarts the clock, requiring the character to wait another week before they may make natural healing Action Checks.
Death Checks and Dying #
A character cannot die from Vitality loss, but each time the character takes a Wound they must immediately make a Death Action Check. The Death Action Check does not require the use of an Action. The Primary Attribute used to make the Action Check depends on the type of Wound the character just received.
Body Wound = Toughness Action Check
Mind Wound = Willpower Action Check
Spirit Wound = Resilience Action Check
The Action Check has a Difficulty Score equal to the total number Wounds (Body Wounds + Mind Wounds + Spirit Wounds) from which the character is suffering. There are no other modifiers to the Difficulty Score or Action Score for this check.
On a successful Action Check, the character survives and may continue on with the Encounter. On a failure, the character collapses to the ground and is Dying.
Dying #
A Dying character is unconscious with their life slowly ebbing away. The character will continue Dying for a number of Rounds equal to the Primary Attribute Score used to heal Wounds of the type they just received. After their Turn on the last Round, the character dies.
Stabilization #
You can stabilize a dying character by making an Intellect Action Check against a Difficulty Score equal to the character’s total number of Wounds (Body Wounds + Mind Wounds + Spirit Wounds).
On a success, the treated character stops dying, but remains unconscious for the remainder of the current Encounter. At the end of the Encounter, they regain consciousness and may continue their adventure.
A failed stabilization Action Check does not make things any worse, but the character is still dying. Assuming the character is still alive, you may try to stabilize them again on your next Turn.
Dying Example
Wargar is in trouble. He already had two Body Wounds, and on Round 5 he takes a third Body Wound. Wargar must immediately make a Death Action Check based on his Toughness with a Difficulty Score of 3 (+1 for each Wound). His Toughness is 3 so his Action Score is 3, which means he is rolling a d8. Wargar rolls the d8 and gets a 2. He failed!
Wargar collapses to the ground and is dying. Since his Toughness is 3, Wargar has 3 rounds starting with the next round before he dies. This means that if no one stabilizes Wargar, at the end of his Turn on Round 8, he dies!
Non-Lethal Attacks and Wounds #
Certain types of Attacks are considered Non-Lethal. Attacks made with a blunt part of the body (fist, feet, head, tail, knee, etc.) are Non-Lethal Attacks. The Harm Action is also a Non-Lethal Attack. Finally, a few weapons have the Non-Lethal property. Attacks with these weapons are Non-Lethal Attacks.
If a character’s Body Vitality is reduced to 0 by a Non-Lethal Attack or the character is hit with a successful Non-Lethal Attack when their Body Vitality is already zero, the character takes a Wound as per the rules but does not make a Death Action Check.
Claws, fangs, tail spikes, and other natural edged and piercing weapons inflict lethal damage. A Wound taken from an attack with a weapon like this follows all the normal rules for Wounds and Death Action Checks. It is possible to perform a Coup de Grâce Action with a Non-Lethal weapon.