Life-threatening failures and stress mechanics

Recently I was listening to Sorry Honey, I Have to Take This (an actual play podcast focused on Delta Green) and picked up a nifty idea I don't remember coming across before.

Lover, Fighter, Thief: a simple spying ruleset

So I accidentally started writing a James Bond-y, Zorro-y, Scarlet Pimpernel-y sort of game and I thought I'd inflict it on you. I'm now struggling to remember how it happened.

I was definitely inspired by an episode of Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice - specifically episode 26, at around 48 minutes in. There's a brief discussion of using flavour and quirks to distinguish characters.

I think that I very much like... the idea that you have things that define your character that are not just about how good you are at adventurey stuff. They are about, you're greedy, or you're fond of a drink, or you're particularly smooth with the ladies or whatever. Okay, in some games that's going to be especially relevant...

Travelogues: more granular resting rules

Recently a friend mentioned that he's thinking of trying to do a D&D game that's more in the style of a lot of brick-thick fantasy novels. Which is to say, a large proportion of the pagecount will be devoted to travelling around. Specifically, he doesn't just want to do the kind of nominal journeys that often feature, which are mostly encounters interspersed with occasionally making camp or fording a stream. He wants the journey itself to be prominent. As so often, our discussion led to me saying I'd go away and maybe write a blogpost.

My instinct is that if you want travel to feel real (something you can get your teeth into in a game), you're going to have to pay attention to some things that games tend to (reasonably) gloss over for the sake of adventure, as well as digging out the D&D wilderness rules. Specifically, I think you need to make logistics important. Thinking back on the travel stories I've read - which includes a lot of autobiography, not just fantasy - a lot of the interest and drama and tension comes from the mundane details.

My idea, therefore, is that you probably want to de-emphasise the classic problems of "we are constantly attacked by monsters" and start worrying about things like food supplies, shelter, fatigue, rust and corrupt law enforcement.

Multi-layered stamina

Another day, another quick mechanics idea.

Hit Points (and all other injury models, to be fair) sometimes produce results that seem awkward or unconvincing. You get particular issues when it comes to description - either you describe all fights as a lengthy series of deflections and dodges until someone goes down, or everyone ends up taking gaping chest wounds that heal up in a few minutes. People are basically completely unhurt until they die. And it can be remarkably hard to actually kill someone who's largely defenceless, just because they have loads of HP and magically absorb the damage.

I can't remember what the exact chain of logic was that produced this idea, but I had an idea for a three-level injury system that would result in (let's be honest) a slightly different set of head-scratching. Partly it's because I do exercise myself, and I'm aware of the interplay between immediate energy level, ability to recharge, and actual exhaustion. Anyway, I had the idea, so I'm posting it.

The three levels here I'm going to call Stamina, Endurance and Reserves.

Jaegerausflug

So me and a friend are both great fans of Girl Genius by the Foglios, and last time I visited we were talking about this, and in particular enthusing about Jaegermonsters. Somehow, this ended up with me promising to write and run a game of Jaegers when I next visit.

Part of the reason I felt this was remotely feasible was that old friend-or-foe-undetermined, FATE. I remain troubled by how to actually run it, but pulpy action-adventure is what FATE is made for. I suppose I could have written a game from scratch, but let's be honest: I'm currently writing/wrote but haven't done anything with the following games:

• Monitors (awaiting feedback)
• Feckless Wastrels (awaiting playtesting)
• Into Ploughshares
• Friendly Neighbourhood Necromancers
• Alpha Dregs
• Jacobeans vs. Aliens (awaiting period research)
• Beneath Dark Skies
• In the Darkness Find Them (awaiting playtesting)
• Vessel
• Heartbreaker High (not previously mentioned on this blog)
• A Band of Bunglers (awaiting playtesting)
• Morris
• De Jure (awaiting playtesting)
• The Call of Cthulhu thing where you're all mutants
• Almost certainly some others I've forgotten about

So I felt reskinning an existing game was an acceptable shortcut. And FATE is eminently reskinnable compared to most other games I know. And I've been wanting to try it out again.

Monitors: lingering injuries

The injury model I've been using is intended only to cover individual scenes. A character either stays standing throughout an incident or goes down. However, that doesn't allow much in the way of interesting injuries, poisons, illnesses, psychic influences and so on. A similar argument can be made in the other direction, i.e. enduring benefits.

While that kind of thing can certainly be ruled by a GM, I might as well offer some basic suggestions for integrating these sorts of effects. I would recommend they be used sparsely when the narrative calls for it, rather than for every piddling combat. One use is for incidents that would (in other systems) tend to be crippling - falling off large cliffs, falling into chemical tanks and so on. The other one I'm considering is using them as a possible consequence of going unconscious in combat from loss of Wounds. In this case, lingering effects would be one of several possible consequences, alongside things like being captured, narrative issues like losing time in a case, loss of possessions, and (if it seems a better option) no additional consequences.

Rules

A lingering effect remains in effect until it is treated suitably, or enough time passes for the character to recover. Any number of effects can be created, but some examples are given for reference:

• Sprained ankle: the character's Speed is reduced by one rank.
• Dislocated shoulder: the character cannot use the arm to lift objects (including using weapons) or apply force.
• Hand injury: the character cannot use the hand to manipulate objects, but can use the arm itself to heft objects or exert force.
• Weakened: the character feels weak and unsteady, and suffers a -2 penalty on most physical checks, or -5 on Strength or Endurance checks.
• Feverish: the character is light-headed, mildly delirious or otherwise unable to focus. They suffer a -2 penalty on checks where reason and focus are important, or -5 on Will checks.
• Stumbling: the character is exhausted, drunk, or otherwise unable to control their movements. They suffer a -2 penalty whenever coordination is important, or -5 on Agility checks.
• Mindshadow: the character is under a malevolent psychic influence. During turn-based play, roll 1d20 each turn; on a 1 the character must spend one action fighting off the influence. In turnless segments the GM should allocate effects however seems appropriate.
• Blood loss: the character is hurt and vulnerable after a previous incident. They keep their first Wound box ticked until they recover.

Since it's relevant here: in general, a -5 penalty applies to one-handed attempts at tasks that would normally require two (this was previously mentioned in terms of using rifles and such one-handed). Some tasks, such as climbing ropes, are nearly impossible one-handed and suffer a -10 modifier. A few tasks will be actually impossible unless you come up with a really good plan to compensate.

Lingering effects might also escalate, particularly poisons or diseases, so the penalty increases over time. For example, a mission dealing with an alien plague might feature worsening disease conditions. In these cases I'd want to ensure either that they are quite rare (being more of a plot device/unusual scenario feature) or that there are means in place to alleviate the effects.

More unusual lingering effects might cause hallucinations, memory loss and so on. I’d recommend avoiding things like broken limbs unless the characters are in a situation where they have a lot of downtime or where really good medical facilities are available to fix them rapidly. Cinematic healing is one thing, but broken legs don’t go away in a few hours and it’ll just get silly.

Recovery time and Regeneration

I don't want to provide fixed durations for anything, because the pace of a game can vary wildly. Realism aside, having a week-long injury in a fast-paced alien hunt will be no fun, while having a two-hour injury during a drawn-out exploratory trip through alien jungle is basically pointless.

Basically I think there are two main ways to handle this: arbitrary durations and penalty dice. I also think either one would work, and both could be combined without any particular problem, according to the situation.

Arbitrary durations use handwavey time to determine how long an effect lasts. Assign a number of intervals (I’ll call these ticks for now) and mark one or more off whenever the GM thinks it’s appropriate. Ticks will generally represent either actual time elapsed, spending time to recover (and giving up the chance to do other things), or screen time with the effect in play (which has allowed it to get some use). When the ticks are used up, the effect ends. Intervention or special abilities may modify the number of ticks.

A penalty dice system would, like the Blind Die, have an unpredictable duration. Here the GM would allocate a die based on how lingering they expect the effect to be, and have the player roll for recovery whenever it seems appropriate. On a 1 they shake off the effect. These are basically still using arbitrary durations, but have a random element added.

I would generally think that five or six ticks is the longest an injury-type effect should linger, because it’ll start to get annoying otherwise, especially as they will increase the chance of being knocked unconscious again. I don’t really want it to be a common occurrence for most of the team to be suffering lingering effects, or for anyone to carry several at once, although I’m fine with it as an interesting occasional feature or a deliberate plotting choice. So if a player deliberately pushes their luck and picks up a few conditions while tackling an urgent case, that’s okay. Similarly, if a scenario is based around a lingering influence I don’t mind that hanging on as long as necessary. As a starting point, I’m going to suggest that most lingering injuries last for 2d3 ticks.

As well as a penalty for player characters, the lingering effects rules could grant them benefits. They offer a way to model things like stimulants, preventative drugs, magical buffs and so on. Also, NPCs can take lingering effects as much as PCs, so an escaped antagonist can be left suffering a lingering effect from their earlier encounter if the PCs track them down quickly enough.

Regeneration

Salamanders, amongst others, have the Regeneration ability and can reduce the duration of lingering effects, or modify the die roll if one is required. The size of the ability affects how strongly this is modified; for Salamanders it is Regeneration 1, although I’m tempted to increase that as they seem a bit weak and it’s not a particularly major game mechanic. Some NPC races (specifically, aliens or heavily bionic creatures) may have even better regeneration.

Resistances

There may be some instances where a character has a relevant resistance, vulnerability or trait. In most cases these should be brought into play during the initial rolls to see whether the character suffers a lingering effect at all. However, the GM might also decide to treat these abilities like Regeneration for specific kinds of effects to increase (or decrease) the duration.

Example

Investigating a gang operating from a factory, Xerxes pushes his luck and crawls among some machinery to eavesdrop on an incriminating conversation. Though he gets the information he wants, the toxic fumes seep through the hankerchief he's using as a mask, and by the time he crawls back out he's suffering badly. He gains the Feverish effect for four ticks. Feeling ill, he hides out in an office (while some other PCs get screentime) and marks off a tick. Heading out, he has to take great care to evade security guards, and marks off another tick. The trip back to the office doesn’t take long enough to count, but there his buddy Doc Huatl sizes up the trouble and gets to work with antitoxins and respirator, which rapidly burn through the last two ticks. Unfortunately, while Xerxes was busy, the gang boss left the factory for parts unknown.

Wladimir the salamander ends up falling off a rooftop as he chases a tentacled thing from Axtris IV. When he wakes up, his leg is badly sprained. It'll take six ticks to recover. However, as a Salamander he can cross off one tick immediately.

Pathfinder serious injuries chart

A while ago I was running a Pathfinder game, and started thinking about death and injury in the game. I’ve always been a bit wary of the way D&D-alikes handle this, for several reasons.

The systems tend to combine several things that don’t quite add up: healing spells that can cure diseases, heal wounds and remove mental impairment; resurrection of the dead; and presentation of sickly, crippled and simply dead NPCs. With perfect healing magic, there’s very little basis for characters (PC or NPC) to acquire cool scars, interesting injuries and other characterful features. The hard-bitten pirate with the eyepatch might as well get a Remove Blindness spell and carry on as before. That’s a shame, because those are interesting additions to a character. “I was an adventurer, until a troll killed my friends and took my eye,” but there’s very little support for that in a system with hit-point damage and magical healing. Put simply, there’s no way to lose that eye except by DM fiat or player invention.

Also, it creates a situation where danger has quite binary consequences. It’s all-or-minimal at low levels, where healing dents your gold supply and resurrections are unaffordable; it’s very nearly nothing-or-nothing at higher levels, barring the handful of effects designed specifically to inflict permadeath. Foolish mistakes that get you mangled by trolls will have no lasting consequences, which means being hacked to within an inch of your life doesn’t feel very different from getting slightly scratched, so for low-level characters either you win or you die. Once characters can resurrect their party members, even death is an inconvenience rather than a serious issue. This binary win/die situation makes me a bit uneasy. I worry that either PCs will end up dying because they don’t take injuries seriously (why should they?), or I’ll end up being over-lenient on character deaths because I’m a softie, which also distorts the game.

In older editions of D&D there are hard limits on resurrection, and XP penalties as well. That prevents infinite resurrection, but doesn’t tackle injuries or offer much support for running a world with resurrection magic.

I also tend to be uneasy about resurrection magic, because it seems like making it make sense in game is quite tricky. This is especially true when it’s available to benevolent clerics and allied wizards: why aren’t they just resurrecting all the accident victims and murderees? What exactly do they need that money for? But of course, if you start doing that, you run into other problems.

Anyway, I ended up with the idea that injury rules might either help this, or be an interesting addition to the game, or just be fun to make. I never actually ended up using them, so I’ve no idea how well they work or whether they’re a faff, and it could certainly do with a few more ideas if anyone has any. But here they are, for your entertainment/inspiration/nitpicking.

The idea is that when a character would die by the Pathfinder (or D&D) rules, they instead roll on the chart below to determine the consequences of their injury. Most serious injuries are more stubborn than those incurred in the normal course of the game. These injuries cannot be healed by cure or heal spells, but require specialist magic: essentially it’s going to be down to questing of some kind. For those with a keen eye, this is very heavily inspired by Necromunda’s serious injury chart.

Roll a d100 on the following chart. If a character would be entirely or largely unaffected by a particular result, perhaps due to racial or class abilities, choose another. Some injuries may result in other situational bonuses or penalties not specified here, as the DM thinks appropriate. Bonuses and penalties should be applied with common sense; injury descriptions take priority over flat mechanical rules.

1X: Dead.
Can only be raised with an appropriate ritual.
2X: Head Wound
20	Anosmia	The character’s sense of smell and taste is impaired. They suffer a -4 penalty on any checks to detect tastes or smells, such as scenting an enemy or detecting poison, and their pleasure in eating or drinking is reduced. This may prevent them from gaining the full benefits of certain fine or magical foodstuffs. However, they also gain a +4 bonus to resist negative effects, such as the nauseating stench of a troglodyte.
21	Partial Deafness	The character takes a -2 to initiative, appropriate Perception rolls and -2 on ritual casting rolls.
22	Deafened	A deafened character cannot hear. They take a –4 penalty on initiative checks, automatically fail Perception checks based on sound, take a –4 penalty on opposed Perception checks, and have a 20% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. Characters who remain deafened for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.
23	Sensitive Ear	The character becomes unusually sensitive to certain noises. They suffer a -2 on saving throws against effects with the [sonic] descriptor, and find loud noises in general uncomfortable and unsettling.
24	Blinded In One Eye	The character takes a -4 to Perception rolls based on vision, -2 to attack rolls and -1 to Armor Class. Choose an eye at random. A character blinded in both eyes becomes totally blinded, though may slowly overcome some of their impairments. If the same eye is rolled twice, reroll on the Head Wound chart.
25	Partial Vision	The character takes a -4 to appropriate Perception rolls, -2 to any other skills based on vision, and -2 to attack rolls. They read at half speed and can see half the normal maximum distance.
26	Light Sensitive	The character is blinded if they are exposed to bright light or take damage from spells with the [light] descriptor. They can make a Fortitude save (DC 12 + level) at the start of each round to recover. In ordinary daylight, they are uncomfortable unless their eyes are shaded or protected, and may become dazzled.
27	Hampered Speech	The character suffers a -2 on speech-based Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate and Perform checks, and has a failure percentage chance equal to the spell level when casting spells with a verbal component.
28	Light-Headed	The character is more vulnerable to dizziness and fainting. The character suffers a -2 penalty to Acrobatics checks to keep their balance, to Climb checks, and to saving throws against effects that cause unconsciousness, dazing or stunning.
29	Severe Headaches	The character suffers agonising headaches at times of stress. In any highly stressful situation (DM’s decision) they must pass a Fortitude save (DC 5 + level) or suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks until the situation passes. Pain-suppressing magic, such as delay pain, can alleviate the effects.
3X: Emotional trauma
30-31	Nightmares	The character has regular nightmares, and may scream or behave oddly in their sleep. A character that does not sleep may have flashbacks instead during periods of rest. The character suffers a -4 penalty against any effects that manipulate their dreams (positive or negative).
32-33	Phobia	The character has intense fear of a particular situation, creature or object related to their injury. This might impose a situational penalty on morale, e.g. counting as shaken while the trigger is present; sudden unexpected exposure might make them flee or freeze. The phobia might manifest as flight, violent self-defence, freezing or any other suitable response.
34-35	Revulsion	The character finds a particular item or substance disgusting or hateful. They are distracted in the presence of the trigger object, and will avoid it where possible. A Will save may be necessary to interact with it (DC 12 + level).
36-37	Hatred	The character hates a particular type of creature, defined by the GM (anything from “orcs” to “Bone Islanders” to “elderly male elves with long beards”). The character suffers a -4 penalty on Diplomacy checks towards the target creatures, preferentially targets them in combat (other things being equal), and is likely to misattribute motives or intentions. They may need a Will save to break off an attack or hostile confrontation (DC 12 + level or as DM determines). Hiding their hostility is a matter of roleplaying and possibly Bluff.
38-39	Personality change	The character’s personality changes, either as a response to the near-death event, or due to an injury. They might become more nervous, bitter, irritable, more cautious; they might gain behavioural quirks appropriate to their injury, such as obsessively checking for traps, or always carrying a backup weapon.
4X: Lingering Injury
40-42	Aches and Pains	The character’s ability to withstand hardship is reduced. The character is treated as having 1 permanent point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage does not heal from normal healing, nor from healing magic.
43-45	Weariness	The character is quickly tired by strenuous effort. They suffer a -4 penalty to skill and ability checks made to avoid nonlethal damage or continue strenuous activities (See the Endurance feat). They may need to make checks for physical activities that wouldn’t normally risk fatigue (such as significant climbs, or walking long distances with a heavy load).
46-47	Low Pain Threshold	The character is unusually vulnerable to pain, suffering a -4 penalty on any effect that causes pain.
48-49	Old Battle Wound	Though mostly healed, the injury flares up at odd moments. If the character rolls a 10 for any physical skill check (DM's definition), they immediately suffer the effects of a pain strike cast by a wizard of their level (save applies).
5X: Scarring
50-52	Restrictive Scars	The character has scar tissue, badly-mended bones or damaged nerves that limit their movement. They suffer a -2 to Athletics and Acrobatics checks.
53-55	Impressive Scars	The character has an obvious scar that makes them appear tough or dangerous. They gain situational bonuses or penalties to social skills (usually +4/-4), depending on those involved.
56-58	Horrible Scars	The character has an obvious and disturbing scar. They gain situational bonuses or penalties to social skills (usually +4/-4), depending on those involved.
59	Calloused	The character has reduced sensitivity in a body part (select at random) due to dense scar tissue, but is less sensitive to pain. Apply this ability as appropriate, with a typical -4/+4 modifier. For example, a character with calloused hands might struggle with lockpicking, but be able to shrug off heat long enough to drag something out of a fireplace, or climb a thorny vine without rolling to see if they can maintain their grip. This ability doesn’t necessarily prevent hit point damage, it just suppresses pain.
6X: Leg wound (select a leg at random)
60-61	Missing Leg	The leg is severed or rendered entirely useless. The character can crawl, or walk at -5 speed with support from allies or a crutch. With practice, they can learn to walk on crutches at full speed or run at double speed (speed-and-a-half in heavy armour) but cannot use the crutch arm – which is usually the opposite arm. With an artificial leg and some practice, they can treat this as a Wounded Leg (see below).
62-63	Wounded Leg	The character’s leg is painful and has reduced mobility. They suffer a -4 penalty to Acrobatics and Athletics checks involving the legs. They run at double speed (speed-and-a-half in heavy armour).
64-65	Slow Movement	The character’s movements are slower and more awkward than usual. The character suffers a -5 penalty to Speed.
66-67	Weak Leg	The character's balance and carrying capacity is hampered by a weakened leg.They suffer a -2 penalty on checks to avoid falling prone or being moved, and when attempting to bullrush opponents. Their weight thresholds are calculated on three-quarters of their Strength.
68-69	Limp	The character moves with a distinctive limp and struggles with obstacles. Their overland movement is calculated with a -5 Speed penalty, and they treat difficult terrain as x3 rather than x4.
7X: Arm wound (select an arm at random)
70-71	Missing Arm	The arm is severed or rendered useless. The character may no longer use that arm to hold or manipulate items. In addition, they suffer a -4 penalty to most Dexterity- and Strength-based checks using the arms, including combat manoeuvres where appropriate.
72-73	Lost Fingers	The character loses 1d3 fingers from the chosen hand. The character suffers a -2 penalty to most Dexterity- and Strength-based skill checks using the hands, and finds it hard to hold or grasp objects. They suffer a -2 penalty on attack and damage rolls using that hand.
74-75	Wounded Arm	The character’s arm is weak or difficult to control. The character suffers a -4 penalty to most Acrobatics and Athletics checks involving the arms, and a -2 penalty on melee attack and damage rolls using that arm. They may suffer other appropriate disadvantages.
76-77	Shakes	The character’s movements are shaky or clumsy. They suffer a -2 penalty to most Dexterity- and Strength-based checks using the hands.
78-79	Muscle Lock	The character's hand muscles are damaged, leaving them strong but barely mobile. The character can hold items, but must force their fingers open and closed using their other hand: for example, they can use their left hand to grip a bow in their right, then fire left-handed. They can't pick up most items, or use the hand for any task requiring manual dexterity; this imposes a -2 penalty on tasks such as grappling, lockpicking, playing the lute or forgery because they must rely on a single hand. Tasks such as climbing are very difficult (-4 penalty). Spells with somatic components may suffer a failure percentage chance equal to the spell's level (DM's decision per spell). The character can still attack using that hand, suffering a -2 penalty on ranged and melee attacks.
8X: Intellectual trauma
80-81	Memory Loss	The character struggles to recall and use information. They suffer a -4 penalty to any checks requiring recall of information, most importantly Knowledge checks. They may forget names and messages, or get lost easily. Deciding the parameters of a character’s memory loss is a matter for negotiation.
82-83	Attention Deficit	The character struggles to focus on a task. They suffer a -2 penalty to Concentration checks. In addition, any time they need to spend more than a few minutes on the same task, they are liable to become distracted and a Will save may be called for.
84-85	Disjointed	The character’s intellect is unimpaired, but they struggle to marshal arguments or arrange ideas in a logical order. They suffer a -4 penalty to Diplomacy checks, as well as any attempts to explain or discuss complicated topics.
86-87	Lightminded	The character’s resolve weakens, leaving them inclined to stare at lights and easily lulled by soft voices. The character suffers a -4 penalty against fascination effects.
88-89	Befuddled	The character becomes unusually prone to psychotic episodes. They suffer a -2 penalty on confusion effects. Narratively, the character may suffer from mild panic at stressful moments, or suffer occasional hallucinations.
9X: Complications
90-92	Liver Damage	The character’s ability to handle toxins is reduced, leaving them unusually susceptible to poisons of all kinds. The character suffers a -4 penalty on all saving throws against poison effects, including alcohol and other drugs.
93-94	Lung Damage	The character's lung capacity is reduced, making it harder to breathe and leaving them more susceptible to airborne hazards. The character suffers a -4 penalty on saving throws against gases of any kind, or any roll relating to controlling their breath, including appropriate Perform checks.
95-97	Weak Stomach	The character is unusually sensitive, suffering a -4 penalty against any effect that causes sickening or nausea. They are likely to find certain foods, perfumes and other strong scents unpleasant.
98-99	Sleep Disorder	Lingering pain, emotional trauma or metabolic damage disrupts the character's sleeping patterns. They may struggle to stay awake for long periods, or find it difficult to sleep. They suffer a -4 penalty on any effect that effects sleep in any way.
0X: Special
00-01	Anomaly	Something very strange happens: the character is saved by an alternate-universe duplicate; an apparently-inert bracelet erupts into a miniature golem that absorbs the killing blow; a spirit or deity revives the character with a message, offers a bargain, or places a geas on the character; the character becomes a ghost, shade or other intelligent undead.
02-03	Wandering Soul	The character's spirit goes astray and must be brought back before they can reawaken.
04-05	Soul Infestation	Evil influences or psychic predators latch onto the character as they lie unconscious. It may take some time for their presence to be noticed, even once the character reawakens. Use any suitable monster, or invent your own.
06-07	Spiritual Acquaintance	Drifting in unconsciousness, the character encounters wandering spirits that may try to steal their body, become parasitic, befriend the character etc.
08-09	Awakening	The character develops unexpected abilities, but usually at a cost... for example, they might gain a minor spell-like ability or a lesser feat, but lose a point of statistic. They might begin to speak visions, without knowing their meaning. This may be a good opportunity to introduce features from another setting in a very limited way.