08 - Harm & Healing

Harm is a consequence represents a physical or mental debility. When you suffer harm, record the specific injury or affliction on your character sheet equal to the level of harm you suffer.

If you suffer lesser harm (aka Level 1 Harm), record it in the bottom row.
If you suffer moderate harm (aka Level 2 Harm), write it in the middle row.
If you suffer severe harm (aka Level 3 Harm), record it in the top row.

Your character suffers the penalty indicated at the end of the row if any or all harm recorded in that row applies to the situation at hand.

If you need to mark a harm level, but the row is already filled, the harm moves up to the next row above.
So, if you suffered moderate Physical Harm (level 2) but had no empty spaces in the second row, you’d have to record severe Physical harm (level 3), instead.

If you run out of spaces on the top row and need to mark harm there, your character suffers a catastrophic, permanent consequence (loss of a limb, mental break, sudden death, etc., depending on the circumstances).
If this happens, the Director will have you roll on a Critical Injuries Table.

Harm like “Distracted” or “Tired” can be a good fallback consequence if there’s nothing else threatening a PC (like when they spend all night Studying those old books, looking for any clues to a Noble Lord's weaknesses before he strikes).

No matter how much Harm you accumulate, you may always roll at least one die.

Types of Harm vs. Levels of Harm

(THIS SECTION IS BEING UPDATED)

Lesser, Moderate, and Severe Harms

If the amount of Harm you take is an an amount, you can distribute that Harm how you see fit.

For example, if you take 2 Mental Harm during a Fear test, you can take either 2 Lesser (Level 1) Mental Harms or 1 Moderate (Level 2) Mental Harm.

Lesser

When you're impaired by harm in the bottom row (lesser harm, Level 1), you get -1 to all tests for each slot filled.
So, if you have “Drained” and “Battered” in the bottom row of Physical Harm, you’ll suffer a total of -2 to your tests when you try to run away from the guards.

Moderate

When you're impaired by harm in the middle row (moderate harm, Level 2), you can choose if you want to take a worse outcome or -1 to a roll (you must choose -1 if the outcome is already Desperate).

Severe

When you’re impaired by harm in the top row (severe harm, Level 3), your character is incapacitated and can’t do anything unless you have help from someone else.

If you have Severe Harm, you cannot make any successful die rolls by yourself, whether physical or mental.

Additionally, you sustain a Critical Injury.

Physical

Having Severe Physical Harm (Level 3) or being physically broken can mean that you are exhausted beyond your limits, or have sustained a serious wound. You might be unconscious or dying. Perhaps you have had your leg crushed or been shot in the gut, writhing in agony.
While at Severe Physical Harm you cannot move or do anything but utter a few words at a time. The Director decides whether you are able to crawl away, roll to safety, or cry for help.

Mental

Having Severe Mental Harm (Level 3) or when you are mentally broken you might be terrified, shocked, or completely lost. Perhaps you have lost all hope of getting through the situation alive, or lost faith in yourself or your companions. Maybe you can no longer make sense of the world and collapse in tears.
While at Severe Mental Harm you may move and flee the scene, should you wish to do so, but are unable to engage in any kind of sensible dialogue. At best, you can scream or whimper in monosyllabic bursts.

Suggested Harms

Mental Harms:

Level
3	Broken	Hopeless	Stunned	Despair
2	Shocked	Frightened	Panicked	Drunk
1	Angry	Confused	Distracted	Seduced

Physical Harms:

Level
3	Broken	Impaled	Badly Burned	Concussed
2	Cut	Bleeding	Smashed	Sprained
1	Bruised	Exhausted	Battered	Tired

Critical Injuries

When you take Severe Harm, you sustain a critical injury. Immediately roll on the table for either Physical or Mental Critical Injuries table. You roll a D66, that is two six-sided dice, after deciding which die represents the tens and which represents the ones.

There is a fatal column for Physical injuries, and a chronic column for Mental ones.
Some critical injuries must be treated by someone else within a certain time limit or else you will die or the critical injury will become permanent.

The Critical Injuries table states the effect.

You gain 3 XP each time you take a critical injury.

Insight

Insights are caused by the thinning of the veil between your Thaumic Wellspring and the rest of the world. Insights are abilities that help you, for example by giving you visions of the future or infusing you with power that makes it easier for you to pass a certain skill test.

Insights only last as long as you are conscious.

Critical Injuries Tables

Mental

d66	Injury	Chronic?	Time Limit	Effect
11	Confused	No	-	Dazed, Track -1
12	Overwhelmed	No	-	Sensitive to stress, Sneak -1
13	Pushed too far	No	-	Fanatic, Charm -1
14	Incapacitated	No	-	Clumsy, Finesse -1
15	Exhausted	No	-	Claustrophobic, Sneak -1
16	Panic attack	No	-	Skittish, Fear -1
21	Sees her true self	No	-	Compulsive liar, Persuade -1
22	Frozen facial muscles	No	-	Mask of terror, Charm -1
23	Whitened hair	No	-	Aged, Read -1
24	Feelings of worthlessness	No	-	Shattered confidence, Persuade -1
25	Paralyzed	No	-	Lacks initiative, Track -1
26	Trembling	No	-	Tremor, Shoot -1
31	Confronted with mortality	No	-	Fear of death, Strike -1
32	Fighting and screaming	No	-	Impaired impulse control, Sneak -1
33	Divided attention	No	-	Hears voices, Study -1
34	Disgusted	No	-	Hates filth, Endure -1
35	Shaken	No	-	Sentimental, Charm -1
36	Stressed	No	-	Weakened immune system, Force -1
41	Extreme muscle tension	No	-	High-strung, Finesse -1
42	Traumatized	Yes	1D6 days	PTSD, Fear -1
43	Furious	Yes	1D6 days	Capricious, Charm -1
44	Abandoned	Yes	1D6 days	Lack of trust, Charm -1
45	Overwhelmed by vulnerability	Yes	1D6 days	Paranoid, Intimidate -1
46	Crushed	Yes	1D6 hours	Impaired empathy, Persuade -1
51	Ashamed	Yes	1D6 hours	Self-loathing, Charm -1
52	Detached	Yes	1D6 hours	Egocentric, Endure -1
53	Out-of-body experience	Yes	1D6 rounds	Dissociating, Shoot -2
54	Dream state	Yes	1D6 rounds	Nightmares, Fear -2
55	Return to childhood	Yes	1D6 rounds	Regressing, Study -2
56	Horrifying realization	Yes	1D6 rounds	Mortified, Endure -2
61	Hypersensitive	Yes	1D6 days	Insight: Healer, Endure +3
62	Possessed	Yes	1D6 minutes	Insight: Haunted, Study +3
63	Obsessed with detail	Yes	1D6 minutes	Insight: All-seeing, Track +3
64	Supernatural experience	Yes	1D6 minutes	Insight: Divine messenger, Persuade +3
65	Invaded by other people's emotions	Yes	1D6 rounds	Insight: Absolute empathy, Read +4
66	Broken consciousness	Yes	1D6 rounds	Insight: Enlightened, Study +4

Physical

d66	Injury	Chronic?	Time Limit	Effect
11	Foot injury	No	-	Limp, Finesse -1
12	Broken fingers	No	-	Crooked fingers, Strike -1
13	Ruptured tendon	No	-	Reduced mobility, Finesse -1
14	Knee injury	No	-	Skewed walk, Finesse -1
15	Fracture	No	-	False joint, Force -1
16	Splinters in the body	No	-	Ulcer, Endure -1
21	Skin lesion	No	-	Disfigured, Charm -1
22	Damaged throat	No	-	Wheezing, Sneak -1
23	Eye injury	No	-	Impaired eyesight, Track -1
24	Injured arm	No	-	Crooked arm, Shoot -1
25	Facial injury	No	-	Deformed face, Charm -1
26	Crush injury	No	-	Tremor, Shoot -1
31	Dislodged teeth	No	-	Toothless, Endure -1
32	Ear injury	No	-	Impaired balance, Strike -1
33	Jaw injury	No	-	Drooling, Endure -1
34	Back injury	No	-	Hunchback, Finesse -1
35	Severed fingers	No	-	Finger stumps, Shoot -1
36	Nerve damage	No	-	Pain, Force -1
41	Torn ear	No	-	Impaired hearing, Track -1
42	Abdominal injury	Yes	1D6 days	Stiff body, Strike -1
43	Dirty wound	Yes	1D6 days	Sepsis, Force -1
44	Bleeding wound	Yes	1D6 days	Gangrene, Finesse -1
45	Crushed genitals	Yes	1D6 days	Incontinence, Finesse -1
46	Punctured eye	Yes	1D6 hours	One-eyed, Track -1
51	Ruptured bowel	Yes	1D6 hours	Severe Bleeding, Endure -1
52	Deep arm gash	Yes	Yes 1D6 hours	One-armed, Force -1
53	Burst artery	Yes	1D6 rounds	Phobia of blood, Fear -2
54	Internal bleeding	Yes	1D6 rounds	Anemia, Force -2
55	Caved-in forehead	Yes	1D6 rounds	Altered personality, Read -2
56	Cracked skull	Yes	1D6 rounds	Brain damage, Study -2
61	Coma	Yes	1D6 days	Insight: Prophetic vision, Read +3
62	Spinal injury	Yes	1D6 hours	Insight: Living dead, Sneak +3
63	Torn abdomen	Yes	1D6 hours	Insight: Supernatural focus, Shoot +3
64	Torn body	Yes	1D6 minutes	Insight: Champion, Strike +3
65	Punctured lungs	Yes	1D6 rounds	Insight: Guardian angel, Finesse +4
66	Crushed chest	Yes	1D6 rounds	Insight: Supernatural strength, Force +4

Healing Harm

After violent or frightening encounters, you and your friends may need to heal your Harm.

Physical Healing	Time	Description	Successes Required
Heal Lesser Harm	Turn	Medicine Finesse test.	1
Heal Moderate Harm	Hour	Medicine Finesse test in a fairly safe location. (Up to 2 tests.)	2
Heal Severe Harm	Day	Medicine Finesse test in a very secure location. (Up to 3 tests.)	3
Stabilize Critical Injury	Turn	Medicine Finesse test.	1
Rest	Scene	Describe a scene where you and others tend to your injuries. This scene takes at least 2 full days.	0
Services	Scene	Use Resources and describe a scene where you and others

Mental Healing	Time	Description	Successes
Heal Lesser Harm	Turn
Heal Moderate Harm	Hour
Heal Severe Harm	Day
Stabilize Critical Injury	Turn
Rest	Scene
Services	Scene

You can use a Medicine Finesse test to heal other people’s Physical Harm, but not your own.
Additionally, you and your patients must spend a full day on treatment, in a secure location where you can drink, eat, and rest. You cannot do anything else that day.

Likewise, you can use Persuade to cure others of their Mental Harm. In addition to spending a day, and having access to a safe place, food, and beverages, your friends must willingly engage in close contact and dialogue with you.

If the Action test succeeds, your patients heal a total of 3 levels of Harm which you distribute between them. They decide which Harm is healed.

Each extra success can be used to heal another 3 levels of Harm. A failed Action test usually means that a day has been wasted, and may also give an enemy time to take further action against the characters.

A patient cannot have their Physical or Mental Harm treated by more than one person at a time.
However, it is possible for one person to treat the Physical Harm while another treats the Mental Harm.

While you are treating the Harm of others, you yourself may not receive treatment. That goes for both Physical and Mental Harm.

Activities

See Activities.

Services and Establishments

See Services.

Treating Critical Injuries

When you have sustained a critical injury that might either kill you or become chronic, someone must treat you with a Medicine Finesse or Persuade test before the time limit expires.
If it succeeds, you treat the Critical Injury, while retaining all other Harm.
Extra successes can be used to heal Harm.

If the attempt fails, the person treating you must either find help, gather more medical supplies, or move you to a safer location before they can try again.
If no one has successfully treated you before the time runs out, you either die or become permanently Critically Injured.