Hit Points (HP)

HP represents your character's tenacity, luck, vitality, and will to live. Most HP loss is bruises, scratches, exhaustion, close calls, and superficial injuries. Critical wounds and bleed can still happen before a character runs out of HP.

When you have taken damage equal to half your maximum HP, you gain the Bloodied condition.

Out of HP

When a character is reduced from positive HP to 0HP or less:

  • Make an SDF check or be knocked prone.
  • Record the damage past 0HP as Wounds. If you were on 1HP and took 7 damage, record 6 wounds.
  • If your total wounds exceed your maximum HP, you die.
  • While conscious and out of HP, you are treated as impaired.
If you are conscious but out of HP and an aggressor hits you:
  • Make an SDF check or be knocked prone.
  • Make a LIF check to avoid becoming Mostly Dead.
  • Make one LIF check per multiple, or part multiple, of your Hit Die in damage taken:
- Knave/Mage (D4): LIF check per 4HP damage - Varlock (D5): LIF check per 5HP damage - Zealot/Avowed (D6): LIF check per 6HP damage - Warwager (D8): LIF check per 8HP damage
  • A level 0 character who fails this LIF check dies.
  • A critical failure on this LIF check kills the character, though they may remain alive briefly enough for final words.

Example

A 1st level Knave with +0 LIF takes 5HP damage while out of HP. They must make 2 LIF checks (4HP + 1HP = 2 checks). If they fail both, they are Dead.

Mostly Dead

  • Failed LIF check when out of HP: Gain Mostly Dead condition
  • Failed LIF check when Mostly Dead: Dead
If you are unconscious, you are incapable of action. A quick attack against an unconscious target is a critical hit and telling blow and provokes threat. A full-round action to kill an unconscious target provokes threat and gives the target the Mostly Dead condition, or Dead if they were already Mostly Dead.

Wounds

Damage taken when out of HP is recorded as Wounds:

  • Wounds reduce your Maximum HP
  • Wounds create a penalty equal to the wound total when attempting to recover those HP
  • Wounds must be healed to recover Maximum HP

Healing Wounds

To recover wounds:

  • Natural healing: Make LIF check with penalty equal to Wounds
  • Magical healing: Healer makes LIF check with the same penalty
  • Critical failure: 1HP becomes permanent scar tissue OR roll on warwounds table

Warwounds

Grizzled veterans accumulate warwounds that tell the story of their battles. Warwounds can be gained from:

  • Critical failure on wound recovery
  • Choosing warwound instead of permanent HP loss
  • Certain powerful attacks

Warwound Effects

Minor warwounds are cosmetic scars that tell a story:

  • Crooked nose from a broken nose that healed wrong
  • Crooked finger
  • White hairs
  • Scar (minor)
  • Taut tendon
  • Twitch
  • Bulb on bone
  • Hair doesn't grow where wound was
  • Aches in cold weather
  • Bones that creak
Major warwounds can have mechanical effects and may require replacement limbs:
  • Spectral limbs
  • Psionic limbs
  • Clockwork limbs
  • Mandrake limbs
  • Stitch golem limbs (flesh, clay, stone, iron)
> In the game, loss of limb should be an inconvenience. People who lose limbs and keep adventuring are in demand for having exactly the desired attitude.

Strain and Fatigue

Your character can perform primary actions for 6 rounds before becoming strained:

  • After 6 rounds of strenuous action, make CON save each round
  • Failed save: Lose 1HP
  • Some abilities recover rounds of strain (e.g., Heart of a Fighter)
  • Receiving a wound increments your strain condition

Movement and Strain

  • Hustle: Move 50% extra (3 squares, rounded up)
  • Sprint: Double movement, but Steadfast save or burn extra strain round