Book:Adventures

The dangers are many on the road to death or glory. This chapter deals with elements of the game which you'll need to master in order to survive.

Health and Healing

As mentioned earlier, a character's life-force is measured in Health Points. Most folks start off with 30 of these at character creation, though some characters and monsters have more or less.

When a character rests at the end of a day, chances are that character has lost some Health Points. A character regains a number of lost HP equal to their Endurance score plus their Vitality score for each night they rest peacefully. Injured characters can also be tended by healers and medics overnight, which yields more HP recovery. The character attempting to administer overnight healing to the wounded one rolls either a Lore: Medicine and Healing, Occupation: Healer or Surgeon or Medic, or other applicable skill check against a DL of 10. For each point of success, the attended character regains an additional HP (in addition to Endurance + Vitality). Healers may tend to themselves overnight in this way, but cannot tend to more than one person per night.

It is important to remember that a character can never regain more HP than he or she has in total.

It is said that there exist elixirs which instantly heal wounds and restore life force. Some elixirs are rumored to enhance the prowess of the drinker or to restore youth. The availability of these elixirs is most certainly rare and they would be pricey at best. Only practitioners of magic or experienced alchemists would have the knowledge of the workings of these concoctions, let alone be able to produce them.

The natural world, as opposed to the magical one, however, is rich with verdant energy. Finding herbs and nectars that can help in restoring a character's health is much easier. If an adventurer is seeking it, he or she should be able to purchase things like herbal salves, ointments, poultices, etc. that can be applied to a wound. Other legends tell of flowers that cure specific illnesses. Some say that the fruit of rare trees can heal in much the same way. Generally speaking, these items assist the process of healing when a character rests overnight. The GM should be the final authority on the availability of healing supplements and their price.

Damage and Death

When a character suffers hurts, whether from the actions of foes in combat, bad luck, or naturally occurring hazards, they suffer damage. Whereas Hurt is a term used to describe the lethal power of weapons and the like, Damage means the amount of injury a character sustains in the form of lost Health Points. When a character reaches 0 HP, they die. Cry you may, but die you must.

When a character dies, there's no denying, that kind of sucks. The dead character is not playable anymore and the player has to create a new character if he or she wants to continue playing with that group of gamers. Some GMs will allow for things like resurrection, so maybe it isn't the end for your character. Often, however, these magical rites are costly and rarely performed. The main thing to remember is not to get discouraged. This happens to even veteran gamers innumerable times. There are even some gamers who have come to embrace the fact that their characters never seem to last long. Just draw up a new character and keep playing. The reaper comes for us all, eventually.

Tainted Damage is a form of damage which cannot be healed in the normal fashion of resting and healing. It is so insidious that it must be healed by magical, supernatural or highly specialized means. Forms of healing will always say if they heal tainted damage. Tainted damage is often caused by dark and destructive magic, the natural weapons of monsters, or cursed items and traps. When a character suffers tainted damage the GM should be sure to point it out. The player may want to jot down somewhere obvious how much tainted damage the character has accrued, since those lost HP will not be recovered in the normal way. Some GM's decree that characters who die as a result of Tainted Damage cannot be resurrected, if that sort of thing is commonly practiced.

Diseases

In addition to the physical dangers of the world, characters are often accosted by sniffles and common ailments, as well as many serious bacterial and viral diseases. In Elysium, when it comes to disease and plague, running out of tissues is the least of your worries.

When a character comes in contact with a disease, the character must make a save to avoid becoming infected with the disease. The exact save may vary according to the specific disease, but mostly these are Mutation and Grunt Saves. Some diseases are spread through touch, others through injury and direct contact with the blood, and others still are airborne. The DL of the save is dependent on the level of disease, but GM's may decide that a particularly resistant or deadly strain of the disease attacks the character and so the DL would be higher in this case.

If the initial save is failed, the character is infected and will suffer the effects of the disease. Each time the character rests, he or she must make another save. If this save is passed, the character may ignore the effects of the disease for the following day. If the character makes two consecutive, successful saves the character is considered to have beaten the disease. If a character with ranks in Lore: Medicine/Healing or other medical-related skill is on hand, he or she can make a skill check instead of the character's save. If successful, this works just as if the character had rolled a successful save.

The effects of the disease are dependent on the level. Each day, the infected character wakes at a specific stage of the Knock-out chart. There are also side effects of each disease as well.

1. Level One - Stage One KO
2. Level Two - Stage Two KO
3. Level Three - Stage Three KO
4. Level Four - Stage Four KO
5. Level Five - Infected character is comatose each day the save is failed

Listed below are some simple diseases.

• Minor Malaise - Sniffles, a low-fever, and aches and pains gently pelt the body with slight discomfort. Most employers will ask for a note from the doctor if the character misses work. (Level One, Airborne, DL 10, Mutation)

• Icy Shivers - The infected character begins to shiver violently and suffers from a feeling of extreme cold, dizziness, and numbness in extremities. Fatal if endured for long. Writing legibly is impossible, and tasks requiring manual dexterity or steady hands are extremely difficult. The infected character becomes increasingly dependent on extreme heat, and in bad cases, may attempt to burn themselves (Level Two, Airborne, DL 14, Mutation).

• Rusty Leg - Flu-like symptoms including nausea, weakness, and vomiting accompany a nasty red-orange rash which causes the inflamed skin to flake like rust. Character has a hard time walking faster than a shuffle due to pain in the shins and feet, which is where the symptoms usually first manifest. Speed is halved (reduced to 5 ft./AP for most humanoids) for the duration of the disease (Level Three, Injury, DL 12, Grunt).

• Violet Death - A plague-like sickness which begins with itching and a bile-like taste in the mouth. Purple splotches begin to appear first around the armpits, feet, and crotch of the victim, then appearing on the neck, elbows and knees and spreading outwards. Open sores then appear on the skin, which turn necrotic and begin to rot, causing damage to the infected character. The character suffers 1 damage/hour each day (Level Four, Touch, DL 16, Grunt).

• Hematic Scourge - Three days after becoming infected, the character is wracked by terrible pain. They are considered KO'd, but still conscious, and so are incapable of Skill Checks or Attack and Defense Rolls. The body begins to seep blood out of the pores and orifices (2 damage/hour each day). Screaming and moaning are commonplace, as are last will and testaments (Level Five, Injury, DL 18, Grunt).

Poisons

In the words of the immortal Socrates: "I just drank what?" Be careful of that goblet of wine, friend, it may have worse things in it than cheap merlot. Poison is a common weapon in the political world of kings and pawns. Then there are the exotic animals and monsters of the world with their natural venoms. Anything that poisons the blood and causes impairment is considered a poison. Poisons work in much the same way as Diseases. When a character comes into contact with a poison, a save is required. If passed, everything is fine. If failed, the character has been poisoned. A further save must be passed each round or the character will suffer the damaging effects of the poison and detrimental side effects for the duration of the poison. Some poisons enter the bloodstream through injury, some must be imbibed, and some can simply be absorbed through contact with the skin.

1. Level Zero - 0 damage/round
2. Level One - 1 damage/round
3. Level Two - 2 damage/round
4. Level Three - 4 damage/round
5. Level Four - 8 damage/round
6. Level Five - 16 damage/round

• Webking Venom - The venom of these huge spiders causes a drowsy or unconscious state in its victims. Affected characters move one step down the Knockout Track each round, eventually falling unconscious. (Level Zero, Injury, DL 14, 5 rounds)

• Ginger Ivy Oil Extract- The oils of the Ginger Ivy plant severely irritate the skin, causing small blisters and boils which itch like a sonofagun, but are mostly an annoyance. If the extract of the plant is imbibed, however, it causes the mouth and throat to swell and blister, cutting off airflow. The victim often tears frantically at his or her own throat in a futile attempt at relief, and this sometimes does more damage than the Ginger Ivy Oil. The character suffers suffocation as a side effect for the duration of the poison. (Level One, Imbibed, DL 12, 10 rounds)

• Hag's Blood - This is the actual blood pulled from the veins of slain hags. It is highly toxic and causes short bouts of violent illness and hallucinations. A character poisoned with Hag's Blood is considered Confused (Level Three, Imbibed, DL 16, 10 rounds)

• Mortargore Poison - This alchemical poison is capable of thickening and hardening the blood in a victim's veins, causing rigidity in the body and heart attack. The character is also subect to moving down the knock-out track for each failed save. (Level Four, Imbibed, DL 18, 5 rounds)

• Black Lotus Poison - Capable of killing in a matter of seconds, Black Lotus poison is an assassins' preferred weapon, when they can afford it. It is swift, traceless, and extremely potent. A character poisoned with the Black Lotus is rendered blind. (Level Five, Imbibed/Injury/Contact, DL 20, 5 rounds)

Condition

Sometimes a character can be impaired through causes other than the loss of blood and HP. Often, diseases, poisons, spells, exhaustion, heat, or strong emotions can affect how well a character feels.

• Blinded - Unable to see at all. Blind characters automatically fail Spot checks and cannot benefit from or be harmed by spells, abilities or skill checks that rely on a creature with sight. Characters without the Blind-fighting Trump are at a -8 to combat manuevers.

• Burning - On fire and usually a bit panicky. Characters who are partially aflame can extinguish the flames for 3 AP. A character who is completely engulfed in flames must spend 6 AP to put out the flames. Spells, torches, chemicals, some weapons, and all other sorts of things can start a fire that can spread to a character. While a character is burning, they will continue to take 3 damage each round until the fire is extinguished.

• Confused - Unable to tell friend from foe. Confused characters have a 50/50 chance to mistake allies for opponents.

• Deafened - Unable to hear. Deafened characters automatically fail Listen checks and cannot benefit from or be harmed by spells, abilities or skill checks that rely on hearing.

• Grabbed - Currently held in a Grab by another character.

• Knocked-out - Unconscious as a result of trauma. Characters do not receive the benefits of rest while knocked-out.

• Paralyzed - Unable to move at all. A character who is paralyzed may not engage in actions or checks that require physical movement.

• Pinned - Held in place by a force or opponent. A character who is pinned may not add Dodge or Agility scores into Defense Rolls, and may not parry. Additionally, the character has limited options for action, and may not move of their own volition until they escape the pin.

• Prone - Off your feet and on the ground. Prone characters suffer a -4 to Defense rolls until they stand up.

• Sleeping - Unconscious as a result of rest. While asleep, a character does not benefit from their Dodge or Agility scores in Defense Rolls. Rousing a sleeping ally takes 4AP.

• Suffocating - As a result of lack of sufficient air, the character is unable to breathe. A character can hold their breath one round for each point of Endurance and Vitality they possess. After this, the character is considered to be suffocating. Each round the character is suffocating, an Endurance + Vitality roll must be made in order to keep from slipping one step down the Knock-out track. Once the character reaches unconscious, if the suffocating conditions persist, the character dies.

• Wide-eyed - Surprised and unprepared for the action at hand. A character who is wide-eyed in combat adds only their Armor score and Endurance score to Defense Rolls (i.e. no Cunning, Weapon Skill, Agility, or Dodge).

The Knock-out Track

As a character becomes increasingly exhausted, ill, dazed, or punch-drunk, that character moves further down the Knock-out Track. The further down the track a character is, the more penalties are applied to skill checks, attack and defense rolls, and saves.

Knock-out Track

Status	Penalty
Stage One	-2
Stage Two	-4
Stage Three	-6
Stage Four	-8
Stage Five	Knocked-out

Removing Knock-out Penalties

When a character rests at the end of the day, any and all penalties the character is suffering as a result of moving down the knock-out track are negated as the character rests and heals. A character with ranks in Medecine or Healing Lore or with an applicable occupation may make an Insight + Lore or Insight + Occupation check against a DL of 5 in an attempt to heal themselves or another person of KO penalties. For each five points of success (i.e. on a roll of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30), the attended character moves up the Knock-out Track one stage. The attending character can attempt to negate Knock-out penalties once a day per target.

Environment

Characters and creatures aren't the only thing that pose a threat to PCs in the game; sometimes the world the characters walk in can vastly affect the success or failure of the PCs' actions or threaten their very lives.

Cities

• Crowds - Public assemblies or events that cause large groups of people to gather in one place cause crowds and crowds can slow movement or even stop it, perhaps pinning characters in place as a thrashing mob crushes and suffocates those caught in it. Crowds make it difficult to identify a single person amidst all those bodies, and they are loud and obscure other noises.
• Thieves - There will always be those who want what others have, and won't stop until they get it. Money, jewelry, weapons, and gear the PCs have on them are all up for grabs, literally. Pickpockets favor crowded places to employ their devious craft, and most burglars and second-story-men strike during the night. Some thieves even steal people, so key NPCs traveling with the party might suddenly disappear as well, victims of kidnappers.
• Decrepitude - The whole world seems to be falling apart some days. Gargoyles crumble, ceilings collapse, floors give way, rope rots, and things just break down. Decrepit buildings pose very real hazards to character health. Remember too, that decrepit doesn't always mean old: inept, lazy or cheap craftspersons can contribute to dangerous architecture just as age and erosion can. They just don't build 'em like they used to, do they?
• Construction - Repair of damaged buildings or construction of new ones causes traffic jams, and accidents as onlookers gawk at the site. Construction also drives current occupants and wildlife out, and it is usually loud. Construction often involves lifting of heavy beams and supports, which can crush a man flat if they were to happen to fall, which they surely will. Demolition almost certainly poses a danger to workers and anyone nearby, since explosives are frequently used.
• Famine - In areas where food is not only scarce, but more or less non-existent, food and drink can be more valuable than cash and jewels. In famine-stricken areas, folks are desperate, and capable of things they never thought they might do if it means putting food on the table.
• Military Occupation - Fear of armed soldiers entering one's home at will keeps most citizens in line, but the tension inherent to that situation is palpable. A rift will usually open between the soldiers and the civilians, and the soldiers might begin to take what they want by force. Cities under occupation are also very dangerous for outsiders, active criminals, or deviants of any sort.
• Plague - Nothing keeps folks indoors like a lingering plague. For fear of becoming afflicted, folks shun the company of strangers and sometimes put members of their own family out on the streets. During time of plague, a town or city may be under quarantine with no way in or out. Other cities may not accept visitors or goods from cities under plague.

Hazards

Hazards are environmental dangers which can hurt the characters if they are left exposed to them. This can be anything from severe weather to cunningly devised traps. Hazards have a set DL which must be met or exceeded and if it is not, the character takes the difference as damage. A level zero hazard is one which does not require a save or check, but only presents conditions which affect skill checks made while in the effect of the hazard.

1. Level Zero - DL 0
2. Level One - DL 5
3. Level Two - DL 10
4. Level Three - DL 15
5. Level Four - DL 20
6. Level Five - DL 25

These numbers are just an easy guide, so if the GM wants to set a hazard at a DL of 3, 18, 34, whatever, that's fine too.

Here is an example: f Tim's character Drinnin is navigating an ancient temple loaded with treasures and traps, and the floor collapses beneath him, revealing a pit lined with razor-sharp spikes (a Level Three hazard), the GM might tell Tim to roll a Dodge Defense Roll with a DL of 15. Tim rolls a 12 for Drinnin. The GM tells Tim that Drinnin falls into the pit, but manages to grab a handhold in the rock before he can be thoroughly impaled on the spikes. He escapes with 3 damage, a bleeding leg, and must climb out of the pit. If Drinnin had scored a 15 or more, he would have jumped clear of the pit entirely and would not have to climb out.

Some Hazards aren't inherently or solely harmful, but make certain actions more difficult or impair characters without hurting them. Hazards like these might incur a slide down the Knock-out track. A trap that throws sleeping powder into the room or noxious gases issuing forth from a fissure in the ground provide good examples of this. If the DL for avoiding the hazard is not met, the character moves to the appropriate stage on the Knock-out Track (Stage One for a Level One Hazard, Stage Two for Level Two, etc). Some hazards can hurt characters and move them down the Knock-out track.

When assigning a DL for a skill check, consider any hazardous conditions, like those listed below.

• Fog/Steam - Visibility is limited, so Spot checks are more difficult.
• Thunderstorms - Rain affects Spot checks, thunder and lightning scare animals, so Animal Control checks are harder, and riding goes slowly due to treacherous footing.
• Swamps/Low water - Dropped/disarmed items are lost or hard to find in the muck, speed is halved or impaired.
• Tundra/Ice - The frozen wastes are hard to navigate with all that slippery ice. Fighting on ice requires characters to make an Athletics check each round or fall prone. Heavy snow makes movement difficult. Speed should be reduced in heavy snow.
• Bridges, Ledges, Pits - Fighting on the side of a mountain trail or cliffs next to a sheer drop, on a rickety old bridge, or amidst boiling tar pits present danger to those who don't stand their ground. Trip and overrun attacks made around such hazards push targets off the edge of the precipice and into whatever waits below.
• Extreme Conditions - Desert conditions threaten characters with exhaustion, sunburn, and thirst. Arctic weather is capable of chilling unprepared characters to the core and is usually accompanied by driving snow, sleet, ice, hail or rain. Each hour spent unprotected in extreme conditions requires a Grunt Save or the character moves one step down the Knock-out Track. When the character falls unconscious, it is likely he or she will die. If the character is not removed from the conditions and/or healed and protected from the conditions by the end of the day, the character expires.
• Falling rocks and landslides - Tumbling rocks pelt anyone caught in the area and threaten to knock characters prone or over precipices, or pin and crush them to death. Dodge and Escape checks are common. Climbing becomes perilous, but often necessary.
• Volcanic eruption - The skies are clouded with smoke and thick ash, which obscures vision and chokes those who breathe the air. Spot and Search checks are more difficult, prolonged exposure could cause choking, magma poses a threat to escape routes and personal health. Embers and hot ash can ignite flammable materials. Some items could melt. Tremors require Athletics checks to avoid being knocked prone or off balance.
• Turbulent water - Makes swimming and sailing very difficult and could pull unwitting characters under the surface with riptides and undertow. Drowning is a large possibility.