This page collects rules about a character's health, survival and well-being. There are generally two types of damage in ReQuest: Hit Point damage and characteristic damage. Hit Point damage is usually caused by physical trauma to a location (such as being hit in the head with an axe). Characteristic damage is caused by other types of trauma such as thirst, exposure, disease and so on and usually reduces a character's CON characteristic. Having any characteristic reduced to 0 is fatal.
Hit Point Damage
Whenever a character takes damage from an event (such as being struck by a weapon in combat) the damage is deducted from the Hit Points of one or more locations. If the location(s) to be damaged will be determined randomly (as is often the case in combat) roll 1D20 and compare the number rolled with the relevant Hit Location table. The amount of damage is deducted from the hit points of this location. So long as the location has at least 1 hit point remaining, the character will suffer no further ill effects. If the location is reduced to zero hit points or less, then the character is injured more severely.
There are three aspects to any damage that are important
- The total amount of damage a location has received.
- How important the location is to its owner.
- Whether a single incident of damage was great enough to kill instantly.
Hit Locations and damage
There are two categories of hit locations for most creatures: normal and vital. Damage to vital locations is more dangerous than damage to normal locations. For humanoids the normal locations are limbs while the vital locations are the chest, abdomen and head.
This can be expanded to most creatures. Generally anything that is a limb, tentacle tail or wing is a normal location, anything which is a torso or head is a vital location. Some creatures that have really unusual morphologies may vary from this.
Taking Damage
- Minor wound. Whenever a location is damaged, if it has been reduced to zero or more Hit Points remaining, then the character has received a minor wound. There is no other effect of a minor wound.
- Serious wound. Whenever a location is damaged, if it has been reduced to negative Hit Points, the character has received a serious wound to that location and the location becomes disabled.
- Major wound. Whenever a location is damaged, if it has received a total amount of damage that is more than double its normal Hit Points, then the character has received a major wound and becomes incapacitated. If the character survives, the location will be permanently scarred. A character that suffers a major wound to a vital location is likely to die. Example: Fahir has 5 HPs in his arm location. He takes 3 points of damage there leaving him with +2 HPs - a minor wound. Later he takes 4 more damage to the same arm which leaves him with -2HPs - a serious wound which dazes him for a short time. A few seconds later, he takes another 1HP damage reducing him to -3HPs - another serious wound. Finally he takes another 3 HPs damage, reducing him to -6 HPs; this is a total of 11 HPs damage which is more than twice his normal number of HPs in the arm so he suffers a major wound that incapicitates him.
Under this system, it is the effect that a damage has on the location that determines its severity - not necessarily the force of the actual blow. To a person with a badly damaged leg, one last little bit of damage may be far more dangerous than a person who is completely healthy having his leg broken in a single blow. That said, particularly savage blows have extra effects.
- Major Injury. Any blow that does more than twice the location's normal HPs in a single go a will kill a person instantly if it hits a vital location. If the wound is inflicted by a slashing weapon or fearsome natural weapon (such as teeth and claws) the location will be severed otherwise it is mangled beyond all hope of healing. In some circumstances, a major injury from a crushing weapon (such as a mace) may knock a location straight off if it is a limb, head or equivalent.
Location Damage Effects
Whenever a location is injured, consult the effects below.
- Minor wound. No additional effects.
- Serious wound. (Location has been reduced to negative Hit Points.) Whenever a location receives a serious injury, the location becomes disabled and the character must make a resilience test :
- Normal Location (Limbs, tails, wings etc). If the character makes the resilience test there is no further effect but if it fails, the character becomes DAZED.
- Vital Location (Abdomen, Chest or Head): If the character succeeds at the resilience test, the character becomes dazed. If they fail, they fall unconsious for 1d6 minutes.
-
Major wound. (The location has received a total amount of damage greater than twice its normal Hit Points.) Whenever a location receives a major wound, if the character is not already dead then it becomes incapacitated, and the following happens.
- Normal Location (Limbs etc). The character drops prone, totally incapacitated and must immediately make a Resilience test or fall unconscious. If they pass the test, the character is dazed instead. If the location is not treated within a number of minutes equal to the character’s Resilience score it dies from blood loss and shock.
- Vital Location (Abdomen, Chest or Head). The character drops prone, unconscous and totally incapacitated. It must immediately make a Resilience test or die. If the character makes the test it dies at the end of a number of combat rounds equal to half of its normal Resilience score unless the location has beenrestored to 0 hit points or more or the character has received successful medical assistance.
Dazed (stunned)
Various effects can cause a character to become dazed (or stunned). While a character is dazed it cannot take actions except to move at half normal rate. The character can still react normally however. Normally a character recovers from being dazed automatically at the end of the combat round after it happened. A Player Character may spend a Hero Point to avoid becoming dazed.
Unconscious
An unconcious character is one that is, surprisingly, unconscious. At the GM's discretion a player character can spend 1 Hero Point at the end of a combat round in order to make a resilience test which, if successful, allows the character to wake up. This can only be attempted once per period of unconsciousness. Unconsciousness caused by serious wounds generally lasts for 1D6 minutes.
Incapacitated
An incapacitated character is completly helpless and is either unconscious or barely conscious but unable to act or react. At the GM's discretion, a player character can spend a Hero Point when the character becomes incapaciated to act "heroically" for one combat round before lapsing into unconsciousness and possible death. In this case the character cannot take any physical actions and all skills are capped at their base score. The character can still trigger reactions.
Recovering from Major Wounds
A location that has received a major wound will never recover fully without magical assistance. If the location was maimed then although it will eventually return to full Hit Points it can never be used properly again. If the location was severed then although it can eventually return to full Hit Points there is just a stump remaining.
Ongoing effects of Injured/missing locations
A location is injured while it has been reduced to negative Hit Points. Once the initial crisis of a wound is passed, it is possible that the character may still have negative HPs in a location. In that case, life goes on though the location is essentially useless until it heals enough to reach zero hit points or more.
In some cases, the character may have a had a limb severed but survived the wound. In that case, when the location is finally returned to positive HPs some or all of it will be missing, rendering that location useless. If the character has had a vital location severed then, it is rather unlikely that the character is still alive. To find out how much of the limb is missing, roll D100 to get a value for the percentage of the limb that has been lost.
As a general rule of thumb, each location suffering from a serious injury causes a minus 20% penalty to physical actions. If a location is missing then once the character has recovered from the pain they can begin to learn ways to avoid the penalty.
One Injured or Missing Arm
The character cannot use any weapon that requires two hands, such as great axes or bows. The character also suffers a –20% penalty to any Skill that normally relies upon using two arms or hands, such as Athletics tests to swim or Boating tests to paddle.
Two Injured or Missing Arms
The character may not use any weapon though sarcastic GMs may allow unarmed combat if the character wishes to headbutt. Many Skills based on STR or DEX are impossible, though some (such as Athletics and Dodge) only suffer a –40% penalty.
One Injured or Missing Leg
A character that has one leg rendered useless may only stumble along. This halves their Movement score. The character also suffers a –20% penalty to any Skill that relies upon physical mobility, such as Athletics, Dodge, Stealth and Weapon skills.
Two Injured or Missing Legs
A character that has both legs rendered useless may only crawl – their Movement is reduced to 1 metre and they will be prone until at least one leg is restored. Most Skills that rely upon physical mobility are impossible, though some (such as Dodge and Stealth) only suffer a –40% penalty at the GM's discretion.
Injured chest or abdomen
A character that has a disabled torso location is probably suffering broken ribs, internal bruising or something similar. The character can only move at half rate with the help of walking aids. Skills that have DEX or STR in their base score suffer a -20% penalty.
Injured Head
A character with an injured head may be concussed, suffering blinding headaches, or occasionally blacking out. All skills suffer a -20% penalty. Additionally, all actions requiring concentration be capped by the character's Persistence score (which itself will have a -20% penalty.)
As ever, for characters with non-humanoid body plans such as centaurs, these penalties have to be modified to fit the situation.
Negative Physical States
Tiredness
A character can stay awake for its CON in hours before it becomes tired. When a character becomes tired it gains a Fatigue Level. While a character remains tired it cannot recover from being fatigued. A tired character gets -10% to all skills (this is in addition to any modifiers due to fatigue). Tiredness can be removed by gaining a night's uninterrupted sleep in a sheltered location (8 standard hours or equivalent for non-human species). While Tired, "light activity" counts as "medium activity".
Exposure, Starvation and dehydration
An exposed character can survive for a number of hours equal to its 2*CON before entering a state of exposure. Once a character is exposed, it loses 1 CON at the end of each hour it remains exposed.
A character can survive for a number of days without food (if drink is available) equal to its CON/2 before entering a state of Starvation. Once a character is starving, it loses 1 CON after every 5 additional days of being starved. In addition, all characteristics except SIZ that are greater than its CON are reduced to its CON while it remains starved.
A character can survive without food or drink for a number of hours equal to its 2*CON before entering a state of dehydration. Once dehydrated, a character loses 1 CON after each hour of dehydration. In addition, all characteristics except SIZ that are greater than its CON are reduced to its CON while it remains dehydrated.
Whenever a character enters a state of exposure, starvation or thirst the character gains a level of fatigue. While a character is suffering from any of these states it cannot gain recover fatigue. In addition, all activity counts as one level greater than usual. As well as this, the character may suffer some CON loss. A character that is reduced to an amount of CON less than its species minimum or 2 (whichever is lowest) falls unconscious. A character with 0 CON dies within an hour or two of reaching 0 CON (roll d100 and count it as that many minutes). Normal healing spells cannot recover CON lost in this way – only sufficient shelter, food or water can remedy the problem. See below for a description of characteristic damage and how to recover from it.
Many non-human beings have different tolerances, e.g. camels can go for a long time between drinks of water. These rules suffice for most humanoid species but you will have to ajudicate on a case-by-case basis.
Characteristic Damage & Penalties
Some effects in ReQuest cause losses of characteristics. Most times such damage is "temporary" and the characteristic will recover over time. Occasionally the loss is "permanent" and the characteristic will not recover without being improved. Whenever characteristic loss is mentioned, it is by default temporary.
A characteristic recovers at the rate 1 point plus of 10% of its original value per day (round down fractions as normal) providing the character did not get involved in anything other than light activity and rest that day and did not suffer any negative physical states during the day.
If at any time, a characteristic is reduced to below its species minimum or to 2 or less (whichever is lowest) then the character becomes helpless. This is even true of CHA. Someone who has their CHA reduced to one has become incapable of interacting with others and, because CHA measures "verve" among other things, the character will become listless, incapable of rousing itself, perhaps even comatose.
If at any time a characteristic is reduced to zero, the character dies.
Characteristic Penalties & Bonuses
Some magic gives penalties or bonuses to characteristics. Similarly some poisons give a penalty while it remains in the body. A penalty cannot reduce a characteristic below 1 thus it cannot kill. A bonus cannot increase the characteristic above twice its current value. Penalties and bonuses can cancel each other out. Example: Fahir has a Dex of 14. The Rune Magic spell Coordination could give him a bonus of up to +14 Dex but no higher.
Healing
A character can recover through natural healing, assisted healing (such as first aid and the Healing skill) and magical healing.
Natural Healing
Given time, a character can recover Hit Points.
- A character with a location suffering from a minor injury recovers 1/2 of its normal HPs per day (rounded up) that the character engaged in nothing more than light activity and the character received no damage nor suffered any negative physical states.
- A character with a location suffering from a serious injury recovers 1/2 of its normal HPs (rounded up) per week that the character engaged in nothing more than light activity and the character received no damage nor suffered any negative physical states.
- A character with a location suffering from a major injury will not naturally heal. The injury must be treated with the Healing skill or a magical effect.
Assisted healing
- First Aid can be used to recover 1/2 of a location's normal HPs for any location that is suffering a minor injury. This action can only be performed once on any injury (even if the attempt is a failure) and can only be performed on an injury that happened in the last few minutes.
- First Aid can be used to recover 1/2 of a location's normal HPs for any location that is suffering a serious injury but it cannot raise the location's HPs above zero. This action can only be performed once per day on a location and can only be performed on an injury that happened in the last few minutes.
- Healing Skill can be used to reduce the severity of a major injury into a serious injury.
Magical healing
- Any healing effect that cures at least 1HP damage to a location counts as medical assistance for that location and thus will stabilise an injured location.
- Any healing effect that cures at least 2HPs damage can also be used to prevent imminent death - a character that is "dying" stops dying. The character will remain incapacitated if they are still suffering from any major injuries. However, unless the magic can specifically cure major wounds then no hit points are regained and the character will start dying again after its CON in minutes.
Medical Assistance
Medical assistance refers to any type of healing which can stabilise a badly injured location.
Activity Ratings
Physical activity is divided into three MAIN categories; light, medium and heavy. The length of time a character can engage in physical activity without running the risk of becoming Exhausted is determined by its CON. Once this time has elapsed, a character must begin to make Resilience skill tests in order to resist the effects of exhaustion.
Light Activity: Characters do not risk Fatigue while engaging in light activity.
Medium Activity: Includes running, ranged combat and most agility skills (climbing etc.). A character can engage in medium activity for a number of minutes equal to his CON before risking Fatigue. Once this time has elapsed, the character must immediately make a Fatigue Test. So long as the character continues engaging in medium activity, it must make another Fatigue Test every time a number of minutes equal to the character’s CON elapse. Each subsequent test is at a cumulative -10% modifier. E.g. first test is at normal, then -10%, then -20% and so on. Resting for a period equal to (30-CON) minutes resets this. A character who is using the same agility skill for the whole period (e.g. climbing, swimming) may substitute its skill at -20% rather than use Resilience for the Fatigue Test.
Heavy Activity: Includes close combat, back-breaking manual labour, sprinting and climbing at a rapid rate. A character can engage in heavy activity for a number of Combat Rounds equal to its CON score before risking Fatigue. Once this time has elapsed, the character must immediately make Fatigue Test. So long as the activity continues, itmust make another Fatigue Test every time a number of Combat Rounds equal to the character’s CON elapse. Each subsequent roll is at a cumulative -10% modifier. As soon as a test is failed the modifier is reset to zero. E.g. first roll is at normal, then -10%, then -20% and so on. Resting for a period equal to (30-CON) minutes resets this.
Extreme Activity: Heavy Activity while heavily loaded or overloaded. Make a Fatigue Test at the end of every combat round. So long as the activity continues, the character must make another Fatigue Test at the end of each combat round. Each subsequent test is at a cumulative -10% modifier. E.g. first roll is at -20%, then -30%, then -40% and so on. Resting for a period equal to (30-CON) minutes resets this as does failing a Fatigue Test.
Encumbrance
A method of indicating how carrying stuff around affects adventurers. There is a simple system which is used when the Armour Skill Penalty system is being used and an advanced system - "The Load Penalty" - which can be used instead of the Armour Skill Penalty.
Simple Encumbrance system
A character carrying total ENC greater than his STR+SIZ is Overloaded.
Overloaded characters suffer a –20% penalty to all tests that require physical actions, including Weapon skill tests and most tests that have DEX or STR as a Characteristic.
Overloaded characters have their Movement halved. They also suffer a –20% penalty to all Fatigue tests.
A character cannot carry more than twice his STR+SIZ in ENC.
Load Penalty
If this system is used it should be used instead of the Armour Skill Penalty. As the Equipment section shows, every item in the world has an ENC rating. There are four categories of load.
- Trivial Load: ENC up to 1/10 the character's STR+SIZ (rounded down to a minimum of 1). E.g. a character with a STR+SIZ of 23 can carry 2 ENC or less and be carrying a Trivial Load.
- Light Load. ENC up to 1/5 of the character's STR+SIZ (rounded down to a minimum of 1).
- Medium Load: ENC up to 1/2 of the character's STR+SIZ (rounded down to a minimum of 1).
- Heavy Load: ENC up to the character's STR+SIZ.
- Overloaded. Carrying more than a Heavy Load.
As with the simple system, a character cannot carry more than twice its STR+SIZ.
The effects of the load pealty are:
- Trivial - no effect.
- Light - 10% to all AGILITY, STEALTH, RESISTANCE and MAGIC skills (Notably Dodge but not Parry), -1SR
- Medium - 20% to all AGILITY, STEALTH, RESISTANCE and MAGIC skills (Notably Dodge but not Parry), -2SR, -1 MOV.
- Heavy - 50% to all AGILITY, STEALTH, RESISTANCE and MAGIC skills (Notably Dodge but not Parry). -5 SR, -2 MOV. Carrying a Heavy load causes all activity to be treated as one level harder: e.g. all Light Activity is treated as Medium Activity.
- Overloaded. Character cannot take actions or reactions other than movement or concentration. All skill tests are at -50% but capped at at Base Score. MOV -5 and cannot sprint. All activity two levels harder.
Pack Animals and CARRY
Double the amount that can be carried for all creatures with 4 or more legs. A rider counts as ENC equal to its (SIZ plus ENC). Example: average horse is STR 25, SIZ 25. A light load for such a horse would be 50/5 then doubled which equals 20. A Human rider of SIZ 13 carrying 15 ENC would count as 28 ENC. This is an amount equal to a medium load for a horse.
Fatigue
Use standard MRQ system for now.
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