Life, Death, and Health
This is one of the most important sections yet covered. In combat, we noted that various attack forms inflicted various types of damage---a strike with the bare fists inflicts up to the attacker's maximum Strength. This may be modified by Body Armor, tactics, and other stuff, but the end result is a number, which is deducted from your Health score. What happens when Health reaches 0?
Well, your character just might perish.
A character that reaches 0 Health becomes unconscious and stays that way for at least 1-10 rounds. The player rolls an Endurance FEAT for the character and checks Kill on the Universal Table. If the result is no effect, the character is Stunned for 1-10 rounds and may regain consciousness. If the result is Endurance Loss, the character begins to lose Endurance ranks.
A character loses one Endurance rank per turn. The loss is temporary, but for further Endurance checks the rank number is considered to be the highest for that rank. 1 rank is lost per turn until the character reaches Shift 0. When the character slips below Shift 0, that character is dead. Deceased. Pushing up daisies. Beyond the mortal ken. Extreme measures must be taken to bring that character back into play. Fold up the character's sheet and put him in the Hall of Fame. (However, see Immortality.)Note: Their are powers such as Self-Revival, Regeneration, various Vampirisms, and various Bio-Physical Controls that can bring a character back to life.
How do you avoid this situation if your character is the one who may pass from this mortal coil?
- Spend Karma. You can stabilize your Endurance for 1 round by spending 50 points. This is a stopgap measure at best.
- Spend a lot of Karma. You can gain another Endurance FEAT when you slip a level by spending 200 Karma points. If you succeed, you are unconscious.
- Help from your friends. If a friend, ally, enemy, or passerby attempts to aid you, the loss of Endurance is halted. The character is still unconscious, and will be for 1-10 more hours. Aid is defined as first aid, summoning help, pulling the character to safety, or even checking to see if the character is OK. A character with First Aid and/or Medicine Talents may be able to aid individuals who have reached Shift 0 Health.