The Endurance of Destructive Intent

This page details how to determine the impact on a target of a successful Attack. For information on how to determine if an attack is successful in the first place, please see the Attacks and Modifiers page.
Keep in mind that the following system only applies to major character, such as important NPCs and Player Characters. Information on resolving damage to background characters can be found in the Enemies and Allies page.
=Process Outline=
*A successful Attack deals a weapon's highest Damage Type by default, unless it is countered by enough Protection
* Determine the Hit Location (if applicable) and check the Body Part's and/or Armor's Protection for that Hit Location
*Compare the Attack's Penetration to the corresponding Protection Type, and adjust the Damage and possibly Damage Type if needed
*Increase or decrease Damage depending on the Body Part hit
*The Target makes a Resist Test to attempt to reduce the Damage
*Use the total modified Damage to determine the Wound Severity
* Use the Luck Die result from the Resist Test along with the Damage Type and body part to determine the Complication suffered
*Complications reducing an Attribute to 0 results in being Incapacitated
*Complications reducing an Attribute below 0 pushes a character into Dying
__TOC__
=Weapon Stats=
==Damage==
A normal Success on an Attack Test inflicts Damage equal to the weapon’s Lethality.
A Dilemma on an Attack Test can inflict Damage equal to Lethality -3.
==Penetration==
Weapons can have one of three types of Penetration, which is used to attempt to bypass Cover and Armor to ensure the Attack affects the Target. Not all weapons have Penetration, but if they do they only have one type, either Pierce, Crush, or Engulf.
===Pierce Penetration===
Pierce Penetration is used by Attacks that attempt to bypass Armor through sharpness, by punching a very tiny hole in the Armor and then driving through it to reach the target behind. 
Weapons with Pierce Penetration include sharp crossbow bolts, narrow dagger or spear tips, or pointed bullets such as rifle ammunition. 
===Crush Penetration===
Crush Penetration is the method of ripping through Armor by kinetic force transfer, to cause a deformation or tearing of the armor that allows the Attack to reach the target underneath it. 
Weapons with Crush Penetration include hammers, pistol bullets or musket balls, and broadhead arrows. 
===Engulf Penetration ===
Engulf Penetration involves any weapon that tries to bypass Armor by surrounding the target in its damaging ability, afflicting the target through openings or weak points in any worn Armor.
Weapons with Engulf Penetration include fires, corrosive chemicals, poisonous gasses, electric bursts, and shockwaves.
Unlike Pierce and Crush Penetration weapons, Engulf weapons do not target a specific Body Part, and they are resisted by the lowest Engulf Protection of all Armor worn, or by nothing if there is a Body Part that is not protected or one that has Armor with the Opening Trait [ADD HYPERLINK]. There are a variety of Engulf Protection types which only protect from a specific Damage Type using the Engulf Penetration.
Additionally, Engulf Penetration weapons do not have their Damage Type downgraded to Impact if they are reduced enough. They keep their normal Damage Type regardless of the amount of Damage reduction.
=Armor=
x
==Protection==
x
===Pierce Protection===
Pierce Protection is afforded by hardness of material that can prevent a sharp projectile from puncturing through.
===Crush Protection===
Crush Protection is provided by dispersal of force to stop an attack from tearing through.
===Engulf Protection===
Engulf Protection comes in a variety of forms to handle different Damage Types:
*Insulating: Ice
*Flame Resistance: Fire
*Nonconductive: Electricity
*Neutralizing: Acid
*Sealed: Poison Gas (Face only) and Caustic Fumes (whole body)
==Padding==
x
== Protection vs Penetration ==
Compare the Protection of the Armor (and any provided inherently by the Body Part) to the Penetration of the attack, potentially decreased by the distance to the target (reduce Penetration by 1 for every 4 Zones of intervening distance). The final Penetration of the attack cancels out the Armor 1 for 1, but if there is some Armor left over, then the Damage is reduced by 1 for each point of Armor remaining.
If the Damage is reduced by 3 or more, Puncture or Slashing attacks have their Damage Type switched to Impact, at which point Padding is subtracted from the Damage as usual for Impact Damage Type.
 	Protection - Penetration	Damage Type 	Damage Penalty
Protection is entirelybypassed by Penetration	0 or lower 	Original Damage Type	Full Damage
Protection is higherthan Penetration 	1 	Original Damage Type	
Protection is higherthan Penetration 	2 	Original Damage Type	-2 Damage
Protection is higherthan Penetration 	3 or higher 	Impact Damage 	Subtract Armor Padding
==Hit Location==
The body part of the target that has been hit effects the Damage of the attack. 
===Determine Hit Location===
Any Attack that has been Augmented by the Focus Action is automatically targeted at the Chest. Any Attack that has been Augmented by the Aim Action can be targeted at a chosen body part.
An Attack that was not targeted at a specific body part, or one that was yet only achieved a Dilemma on the Attack Test results in rolling on the Hit Location Table below. The specifics of the dice roll depend on if the target is:
*behind Cover, roll 12+d8.
*lying Prone or being attacked from directly above, roll two d20s and take the highest result.
*being attacked from directly below, roll two d20s and take the lowest result.
*not behind Cover or lying Prone, roll d20.
Hit Location Dice	Hit Location Dice
Random 	d20
Cover 	12+d8
Above/Prone 	Highest of 2d20
Below/Trip 	Lowest of 2d20
===Hit Location Effect===
The body part hit can change the Damage of the Attack as well as potentially giving the target a small amount of Armor due to natural protection such as bones, scales, or other forms of physiological defense. 
*Fragile Area: Usually only includes the Head but other volatile parts may be included. A hit to a Fragile Area inflicts +2 Damage, but Fragile Areas have 1 Armor from natural protection. In the Head this is the Skull, but it can be glass, scales, or other bones depending on the nature of the target.
*Critical Area: The Chest is the most common Critical Area. A hit to a Critical Area inflicts +1 Damage, but Critical Areas have 1 Armor from natural protection (such as the rib cage).
*Vulnerable Area: Vulnerable Areas cover everything that is not a Fragile, Critical, or Noncritical Area, such as the Abdomen and Groin. A hit to a Vulnerable Area inflicts normal (+0) Damage.
*Noncritical Area: Includes arms, legs, and other limbs including tails and wings. A hit to a Noncritical Area inflicts -1 Damage.
===Hit Location Table===
(Ignore the hyperlinks in this table, they are for color-coding purposes for easier readability)
Hit Location Table 	Hit Location Table	Hit Location Table 	Hit Location Table
Location Roll Result	Humanoid Body Part	Night Raven Body Part	Half-Horse/ Cavalry Body Part
20 	Head 	Head 	Head
19 	Head 	Head 	Arm
18 	Chest 	Chest/Wing 	Torso Chest/Rider's Chest
17 	Arm 	Arm 	Arm
16 	Chest 	Chest 	Torso Chest/Rider's Chest
15 	Arm 	Arm/Wing 	Torso Abdomen/Rider's Abdomen
14 	Chest 	Wing 	Barrel (use Chest)/Horse's Head
13 	Arm 	Arm 	Flank (use Groin)
12 	Chest 	Chest 	Barrel (use Chest)/Rider's Leg
11 	Arm 	Chest/Wing 	Barrel (use Chest)
10 	Abdomen 	Arm 	Barrel (use Abdomen)
9 	Abdomen 	Abdomen 	Barrel (use Abdomen)
8 	Groin 	Abdomen 	Flank (use Abdomen)
7 	Groin/Tail 	Groin 	Flank (use Groin )
6 	Leg/Tail 	Groin/Tail 	Leg
5 	Leg 	Leg/Tail 	Leg
4 	Leg 	Leg 	Leg
3 	Leg 	Leg 	Leg
2 	Leg 	Leg 	Leg
1 	Leg 	Leg 	Leg
===Determining Which Limb===
For Arms, Wings, or Legs, roll a d2: 1. Right, 2. Left. 
For Half-Horse/Cavalry Legs, roll a d4: 1. Right Foreleg, 2. Left Foreleg, 3. Right Hindleg, 4. Left Hindleg. For Cavalry, use the second body part if two are listed.
For Half-Horse Barrel/Flank hits, use the body part in parentheses when determining Wound Complication.
For Humanoids with tails (such as Fey Cats, Wolfen in Hybrid forms, Dragon Daughters, etc.) and Night Ravens, any result with two entries separated by a slash (such as "Groin/Tail", “Chest/Wing”, etc.) are treated as a result of the first body part if attacked from in front, or the second body part if attacked from behind with a weapon without Piercing. A weapon with Piercing hits the first body part regardless of direction of attack.
==Resist Test==
When hit by an attack, the Target makes a Fitness (Resilience) Test reflecting his natural hardiness mitigating the impact of the trauma. The Difficulty of the Resilience Test is determined by the Weapon's Lethality, with a potential to add or subtract Advances based upon the target's Weakness or Resistance to the Damage Type, if applicable.
=== Weakness/Resistance===
If the target is Weak to the Damage Type being suffered, subtract 2 Advances from the Resist Test results. If the target is Resistant to the Damage Type being suffered, add 2 Advances to the Resist Test results.
=== Resist Test Results===
The Damage is then reduced based on the results of the Resist Test, with Difficulty set by the Attack's Lethality: 
*Victory: Reduce the Damage by 1 for every two excess Advances.
* Success: Reduce the Damage by 1.
*Dilemma: 
** Reduce the Damage by 1 but lose one immediate upcoming Action (if available).
**Full (-0) Damage.
*Failure: Full (-0) Damage.
*Disaster: Increase the Damage by 1.
==Wound Severity==
After everything has been taken into account, the remaining Damage determines the Wound's Severity. Wound Severity also sets the harshness of Complications, the level of Pain suffered, and the Wound’s recovery time:
Injury Category	Received Damage	Wound Severity	Complication Severity 	Pain 	Recovery
Light Injury 	1 	Trivial Wound 	 	 	
Light Injury 	2 	Slight Wound 	Dazed: Lose 1 Focus 	 	
Light Injury 	3 	Minor Wound 	Reeling: Lose 1 Focus-2 Advance Effectiveness penalty to all Tests taken during the next 3 Focus	Distracting (1 Pain) 	Fitness (Resilience) {4, 1 Day} Prolonged Test
Serious Injury 	4 	Moderate Wound	Moderate Complication 	Distressing (2 Pain) 	Fitness (Resilience) {6, 1 Week} Prolonged Test
Serious Injury 	5 	Major Wound 	Major Complication 	Agonizing (3 Pain) 	Fitness (Resilience) {8, 2 Weeks} Prolonged Test
Serious Injury 	6 	Severe Wound 	Severe Complication 	Excruciating (4 Pain)	Fitness (Resilience) {10, 1 Month} Prolonged Test
Critical Injury	7 	Mortal Wound 	Mortal Complicationand Dying 	Disabling (5 Pain) 	Fitness (Resilience) {12, 2 Months} Prolonged Test
Critical Injury	8+ 	Fatal Wound 	Instant Death 	 	
==Wound Effects==
After determining the Wound Severity take this and the Damage Type and body part affected, and consult the page on Complications to see what the ramifications of the Wound are.
==Pain==
Every Wound, no matter what form it takes, causes the ones who suffers it bodily harm that impairs function in some way. The catchall term for this phenomenon is Pain, and the most severe injury taken determines what the sufferer’s current level of Pain is.
Greatest Wound Severity	Pain Level 	DifficultyPenalty
Moderate Wound 	Distressing 	
Major Wound 	Agonizing 	
Severe Wound 	Excruciating	
Mortal Wound 	Disabling 	
 
The Pain Penalty applies to every Test undertaken (except for Fitness (Resilience) Tests to resist additional Damage), increasing the Difficulty on any Tests taken. 
There are several methods to diminish the Pain Penalty: 
*The use of Painkillers [ADD HYPERLINK]
* When a Wound has been Treated, the Pain Penalty is reduced by 1 [ADD HYPERLINK].
*When the Wound is halfway healed, the Pain Penalty is reduced by 1
*When the Wound is fully healed, the Pain Penalty goes with it [ADD HYPERLINK].
*Pain Resistance Test (see below).
===Pain Resistance Test===
At the start of each day, the character can make a Willpower (Resolve) Test to resist the distracting influence of his Pain. The Starting Difficulty is 4 as usual, but the character's current Pain Penalty does apply to this Test. 
*Victory: Reduce the Pain Penalty by 1 for the day, and:
**✠ (1 VP, repeatable) Tough: Reduce the Pain Penalty by an additional 1 for the day
**✠ (2 VP) Adapted: Permanently reduce this Pain Penalty by 1
*Success: Recovering: Reduce the Pain Penalty by 1 for the day
*Dilemma: Choose one:
*#Unsure: Roll another Pain Resistance Test and accept the second result, even if worse
*#Ignore: No change to the Pain Penalty
*Failure: Aching: Increase Pain Penalty by 1 for the day
*Disaster: Something goes terribly wrong. Options include:
**Infection: The injury is becoming infected
**Reopened: Lose 1 Blood
**Tender: Permanently increase this Pain Penalty by 1 until healed
==Multiple Wounds ==
Usually, only a Mortal or Fatal Wound is severe enough to kill someone, though lesser Wounds can cause detrimental effects that may prove deadly. But the situation becomes far greater when a person is suffering from more than one injury. The results of all Complications stack with each other, so if two or more Wounds are applying a penalty to the same Attribute, that Attribute is reduced by the full amount of all penalties.
==Incapacitated==
If the combined Attribute penalties ever exactly equal a character's full Attribute (that is, if the total penalty reduces an Attribute to 0 for even a single Skill within that Attribute), that character is Incapacitated. The exact nature of the incapacitation reflects the Attribute depleted. For example, if Fitness or Intellect drop to 0, the sufferer passes out from physical or mental collapse. Coordination or Intuition dropping to 0 would result in succumbing to paralyzing trauma. And Willpower falling to 0 would reflect debilitating nervous breakdown.
An incapacitated person can be revived back to some semblance of consciousness, but can no longer make any Tests with the reduced Attribute, even if awoken. See Resuscitation in the Medical Guide for more information.
Additionally, any further injuries which affect the depleted Attribute will push the character into Dying or Dead, as below. 
==Dying==
A character who is Dying has been pushed into a moribund condition which will see him Dead in short order.
There are two ways to reach Dying status: 
*Suffering a Mortal Wound
*Suffering combined Attribute penalties from multiple Wound Complications such that the total exceeds the character's Attribute for any one Skill within an Attribute
Upon reaching Dying status, the character must roll a d3 and multiply the result by 5. Unless swiftly treated with emergency triage, the character will expire after that many minutes have passed.
A Dying patient must be Stabilized to avoid certain Death when this duration has passed. Even if Stabilized, the character remains unconscious and cannot move or act until Resuscitated.
If a Dying or Stabilized patient suffers any additional Wound Complications which reduce the already depleted Attribute even further, he is killed instantly.
==Dead==
Death is the end of a character and is final, barring a miracle.
There are multiple ways to meet Death: 
* A character suffers a Fatal Wound
*A Dying character is not Stabilized in time
*A Dying but Stabilized character suffers another Wound which lowers his depleted Attribute further
* A character runs out of his Blood Vitality
Category:Mechanics
Category:Combat