Wound Conditions

Wound Conditions

Condition

If the Body trait represents shrugging off damage that would otherwise be lethal to non-adventurers, Wounds represent when the damage finally becomes severe enough that a character can't simply ignore it. When a character takes damage that is not prevented by some kind of defense, they become injured which is represented by Wound conditions.

General Information

Most of the time Wounds conditions come from taking damage that isn't prevented in some way. Characters can sometimes be assigned a Wound condition automatically, such as from pit traps or being hit by boulders (which use the 'Torso Wound!' call). When a Wound condition is automatically assigned to a character it isn't damage and can only be prevented by effects which prevent 'Wound!' calls. In these situations no damage is inflicted, the character takes the appropriate Wound condition, but they do not lose any body or armor.

When role-playing remember, Wounds hurt. Whatever the cause of the Wound is, it was probably violent, and it almost certainly wasn't clean.

Limb Wounds

Each arm and each leg can be wounded separately from the others.

Arm Wounds

When you get an Arm Wound condition it means that arm is injured, you must drop anything being held by that arm. You may not transfer an object from the wounded arm to your other arm. Drop the object first. Then, you may then retrieve the object from the ground. Wounded arms do not count as free hands for the purposes of casting spells. A wounded arm may not pick up, manipulate or carry anything at any time.

Should an arm with an Arm Wound take damage that would cause another Arm Wound, you take a Torso Wound condition instead. If however, an effect automatically inflicts an Arm Wound on an already Wounded Arm (such as from a trap), nothing happens - not even a 'No Effect!' call, an effect happened, it was redundant.

Leg Wounds

When you get a Leg Wound condition that leg will no longer support any weight. You can still remain standing on the other leg, but should not start rapidly hopping up and down on the non-wounded leg. Drag your wounded leg slowly across the ground avoiding supporting yourself with it. If forced to support yourself with the wounded leg you should fall over.

Should you get wounded in the both legs at the same time you should immediately drop to your knees. You may also do this voluntarily if only one leg is wounded. In either case, once you are on your knees you may not voluntarily stand up until after any fighting is done or the wound is healed. While on your knees you must avoid hopping up and down to fight. Try to stay at a fixed height from the ground.

When a leg with a wound takes damage that would cause another Wound, you take a Torso Wound condition instead. If however, an effect automatically inflicts a Leg Wound on an already Wounded Leg (such as from a trap), nothing happens - not even a 'No Effect!' call, an effect happened, it was redundant.

Torso Wounds

A Torso Wound is a catch all injury for anything that would result in a character taking enough damage to fall unconscious. When a character first gains the Torso Wound condition they also gain the Bleeding Out condition at the same time. If the Bleeding Out condition is later removed we refer to this as the character being 'stable': they still have a Torso Wound, but are in no danger of dying.

Any damage to a character with a Torso Wound will result in that character dying immediately. This is known as a killing blow. Accidental damage, such as from a tag bag that hits the fallen character instead of it's intended target, will also kill the character.

Bleeding Out

A character that has the Bleeding Out condition will die if they don't receive medical attention. After 10 minutes if this condition is not removed (healed) the character gains the Dead condition.

Any character with first aid may role-play taking care of someone with the Bleeding Out condition to extend the time it takes before they die. This adds an additional 10 minutes (for a total of 20). The first aid doesn't need to be started until the standard 10 minutes are nearly up (though it is good role-playing to do so prior to that). During the additional 10 minutes a person with first aid must maintain steady role-play. If at any point during the additional 10 minutes no one with first aid is actively paying attention to the individual Bleeding Out that person will die immediately.

This condition can be cured with items like Stabilizing Concoction. Anything that removes a Torso Wound condition will also automatically remove the Bleeding Out condition.

The 'Dead' Condition

A character with the Dead condition is dead, just as described. In the world of Novitas this isn't the end for them however. Powerful healing available from the Revive spell can remove the Dead condition returning a character to life.

This condition remains until it is removed. If the Dead condition lasts for 2 convergences the condition can no longer be removed: the character is permanently dead. Tracking these two convergences can get very complicated, and if a character ends a shift while still dead (and will not PCing for the following shift) they should seek out a the plot marshal or second (Ryan Green and Donald Tyson) immediately to let them know. They will give them instructions on how to proceed.

When a character first gains the Dead condition they lose the Bleeding Out condition if they had it.

References

The Sparkless Condition

Categories: Gameplay Rules | Combat Rules | Conditions