Book:Life and Death

An optimist's oft-repeated tag line: "at least you still have your health!" On the road to adventure, there are many downs in the form of aches, pains, and bludgeonings. There are also many ups in the form of rest, healing, and relaxation. This chapter attempts to detail them both and explain how characters live and die.

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 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.

Suffering and Death

The world is filled with dangers that can batter, maim, and slaughter your characters. Many times, these dangers are other characters. This section contains all you need to know about the various ways your character can get roughed up.

The Knockout Track

As a character becomes increasingly exhausted, ill, dazed, or punch-drunk, she moves further down the Knockout Track. Each additional step down the Knockout Track instills harsher penalties to all skill checks, including combative rolls like attacking and defending.

Knockout Track

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

Many options are available to remove knockout penalties. For instance: rest (see below), a Healing check (see Chapter 6), an item (see Chapter 11), or a spell (see Chapter 14).

Stamina Drain

Exhausting actions and harsh environmental effects that chip away at your energy reserves cause Stamina Drain. Once your body surpasses its natural limits, you make a Stamina check (see Chapter 6: Skills). As long as the cause of the Stamina Drain persists, you must repeat the Stamina check at regular intervals, and the DL increases each time. The results of a failure depend on whether the Stamina Drain is tiring or lethal.

Physical exertion which saps your energy imposes tiring Stamina Drain. If you fail a check against tiring Stamina Drain, you move one stage down the Knockout Track. Denying your body something it needs (e.g. air, food, water) imposes lethal Stamina Drain. Failing a check against lethal Stamina Drain hands you a Death Mark.

Any effect in this game that imposes Stamina Drain will list the initial DL, the frequency of Stamina checks, the amount the DL increases each time, and whether the effect is lethal or tiring. For example, the suffocating condition described later in this chapter causes Stamina Drain [DL 15; +1 every round; lethal].

A creature can be subjected to several different causes of Stamina Drain at once, possibly with different intervals (for instance, one effect repeats every day, another every hour).

Exertion

You can knowingly push your body past its limits when the need is great and your will is strong. Characters can decide to power through any act of physical exertion longer than their body has any right to. Walking, jogging, sprinting, swimming, climbing, laboring, or even performing rituals. If you keep on doing whatever it is for too long, you fight Stamina Drain (and a whole bunch of lactic acid)..

• Marching more than 8 hours causes Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every hour; tiring).
• Jogging more than 4 hours (accounting for short rest periods and additional water intake) causes Stamina Drain (DL 18; +2 every hour; tiring). You'll be sore as hell the next day.
• Sprinting more than 1 minute (see the Dash skill in Chapter 6: Skills) causes Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every round; tiring).
• Performing a ritual longer than 8 hours (see Chapter 15: Rituals) causes Stamina Drain (DL 10; +1 every hour; tiring).
• Carrying a great deal of weight more than 1 round (see the Might skill) causes Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every round; tiring).
• If you're performing physical labor, the DL and frequency of increase varies depending on the job at hand.

Extreme Temperatures

The wilderness is a harsh mistress, and those who venture too far from civilization without sufficient protection from the elements assume the risk of dying before they reach their destination. Whether it's extreme heat or extreme cold, characters subject to the weather must fight lethal Stamina Drain.

The exposed condition (see below) causes Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every hour; lethal). Without the ability to regulate your body temperature, death comes quickly as hypothermia or heat stroke set in. Once you reach stage 5 on the Knockout Track, you fall comatose. If you remain unprotected from the extreme temperatures and you gain six Death Marks, you perish in the great outdoors.

If you seek shelter and heat up or cool down your body (as required), you lose the exposed condition and can remove a single Death Mark. If your experiments with temperature have imposed additional Death Marks, each can be released with one night of restful sleep.

Hunger and Thirst

Malnourished. A creature who hasn't consumed enough food is subject to Stamina Drain (DL 10; +1 every day; lethal).

Suffocation

Unable to breathe. Once a creature's oxygen supply is cut off, it becomes subject to Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every round; lethal).

Damage

When a character suffers injury, whether from the actions of foes in combat, bad luck, or naturally occurring hazards, they suffer damage. Whereas harm is a term used to describe the lethal power of weapons and spells, damage is the amount of injury a character sustains in the form of lost Health Points. When a character reaches 0 HP, he falls comatose. When a character drops below 0 HP, he dies. Cry you may, but die you must.

Tainted Damage is a form of damage which cannot be removed through the normal fashion of resting and healing. It is so insidious that it must be healed by magical, supernatural, or highly specialized means. Tainted Damage is often caused by dark and destructive magic, the teeth and claws of certain legendary monsters, or cursed items and traps.

When a character suffers Tainted Damage the GM will point it out. The player should 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 GMs decree that characters who die as a result of Tainted Damage cannot be resurrected, if that sort of thing is commonly practiced. Worse yet, too much Tainted Damage may cause you to rise from the grave with an unholy appetite.

Bleeding Damage

Slowly hemorrhaging to death. Bleeding creatures take one point of damage directly from their HP every round. Each additional bleeding wound increases this damage by one point.

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 this game, 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 Vitality check to avoid becoming infected. Some diseases are spread through touch, others through injury and direct contact with the blood, and others still are airborne. The DL of the check is dependent on the level of disease, but GMs 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 Vitality check is failed, the character is infected and will suffer the effects of the disease. Each time the character rests, the player must make another check. If this check is passed, the character may ignore the effects of the disease for the following day. If the player makes two consecutive, successful checks she is considered to have beaten the disease. If a character with ranks in Healing is on hand, 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 check.

The effects of the disease are dependent on the level. Each day, the infected character wakes at a specific stage of the Knockout Track. 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]).
• 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).
• 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).
• 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).
• 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).

Using the ingredients in the natural world, a character can craft medicines such as salves, pills, and teas, which combat or cure disease. To craft medicines, the character needs access to a space that can be used as a laboratory, as well as fire and containers to boil or distill liquids, and a mortar and pestle for grinding ingredients. They also need to be familiar with the materials used in the creation process: which herbs, plants, seeds, or fruit lessen which ailments. To create a medicine, the character must make a Craft check against a DL of 20 + 1 for every Level of disease (so for example, the DL to craft a medicine for a Level Three disease is 23). As noted in the Craft skill, a character with a roll above or below the DL creates a medicine of differing quality. Below are the details of different quality medicines.

Difference	Quality
−10	Awful (extra Knockout penalty)
−5	Not great (ineffective)
0	Normal (Knockout penalties removed, but symptoms persist)
+5	Good (symptoms slightly lessened, +2 to save)
+10	Outstanding (symptoms masked, +4 to save)
+15	Perfect (character automatically passes save for 1 day)
+20	Legendary (instantly cures the disease)

Medicines generally take two hours per Level of disease to create. A character cannot create medicines which combat diseases introduced through magic.

Diseases make starvation and dehydration much more difficult to survive. For example, if you're infected with a Level 3 disease (which puts you at stage 3 on the Knockout Track), you only need to fail two Stamina checks to fall comatose. A third failure means death. If you're infected with a Level 5 disease (which makes you comatose on its own), a single failed Stamina check means death.

Poisons

In the words of the great 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 Vitality check is required. If passed, everything is fine. If failed, the character has been poisoned. A further check 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 subject to moving down the Knockout 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 assassin's 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).

A character can create a poison antidote, antitoxin, or antivenom using a chemical countering agent. To create an antidote to a chemical poison, the character must have the ingredients available to create a compound that can counter it. To create an antivenom, the character must be able to locate and identify natural ingredients (possibly the venom itself) which can be processed. In addition to a space to create this compound, the character may require equipment such as syringes, mixing containers and instruments, and heat sources. To create an antidote, the character must make a Craft check against a DL of 20 + 1 for every Level of poison (so for example, the DL to craft an antidote for a Level Four poison is 24). Antidotes are straightforward: they neutralize the agent in a victim's body, so one of greater quality has no additional effects. If the Craft check fails, the character makes an antidote of lesser quality, and it may actually harm the victim of the poison. A critical failure results in no antidote, and will ruin any materials. Antidotes generally take one hour per Level of poison to create. A character cannot create antidotes which counter the effects of magic poisons.

Health and Healing

As mentioned in Chapter 3: Character Creation, a character's life force is measured in Health Points (or HP). A creature's Size determines its total HP. Most characters begin the game with 30 HP.

Rest

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 his Endurance score plus his ranks in Vitality for each night he rests peacefully. Resting peacefully requires at least six hours of sleep in a non-hostile environment. In addition to gaining back HP, a rested character awakens to replenished Magic Points and Spirit Points. It is important to remember that a character can never regain more HP than he has in total.

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 a Healing check. See the Healing entry in Chapter 6: Skills. Healers cannot tend to more than one person per night.

Poor Rest

Poorly rested characters do not regain HP on their own. They can still be tended to overnight and regain HP that way, but their own bodies are too exhausted to heal correctly without a little help. Characters who get poor rest still regain MP and SP.

No Rest

This means that the characters have been going strong for over 24 hours, without reprieve, without a chance to rest at all. Characters who get no rest in a given day obviously have no chance to regain HP while resting and will begin to grow tired the longer they remain awake. For each day a character does not rest at all, he moves one stage down the Knockout Track. Characters who get no rest do not regain MP or SP.

Healing Items

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. 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.

A character who regains HP, MP, or any other similar score from a healing item still needs to rest that day unless the item specifically states that it is a substitute for rest.

See the sections below on Diseases and Poisons for information on creating healing items.

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. A Condition is a status that remains applied to your character for some length of time. This could be measured in rounds, minutes, hours, days, or years. Some conditions are permanent. Each condition could be caused by any number of factors, so this section will list a condition’s effects but not necessarily its causes or means of removal.

Blinded

Unable to see at all. Blind creatures automatically fail visual Perception checks and cannot benefit from or be harmed by spells, abilities, or skill checks that rely on a creature with sight. Creatures without the Blind-Fighting trump take a −8 penalty to combat maneuvers.

Confused

Unable to tell friend from foe. Confused creatures have a fifty-fifty chance to mistake allies for opponents.

Deafened

Unable to hear. Deafened creatures automatically fail auditory Perception checks and cannot benefit from or be harmed by spells, abilities, or skill checks that rely on hearing.

Dehydrated

Dying of thirst. Without sufficient water, your body begins to desiccate. Dehydrated creatures are subject to Stamina Drain (DL 20; +1 every 12 hours; lethal).

Distracted

Unfocused on the present situation. A distracted creature is focused on something other than its surroundings and takes a −4 penalty on Perception checks. It’s more difficult for them to realize someone is pickpocketing them, hiding near them, or sneaking up on them.

Exposed

Dying of extreme heat or cold. Once you're at the mercy of the elements and risk heat stroke or hypothermia, you become subject to Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every hour; lethal).

Formless

Without discernible anatomy. A formless creature lacks a solid body, behaving as if composed of gas or liquid. Formless creatures are only susceptible to burning damage — they cannot be harmed by bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, crushing, or draining damage. Formless creatures are also immune to the grabbed, immobilized, and prone conditions. A formless spellcaster cannot perform gestures and cannot recite incantations.

Grabbed

Held in a Grab by another creature, object, or force. A grabbed creature cannot use its movement Speed and takes −4 on Evasion Rolls.

Hampered

Unable to move at full speed. While a creature is hampered, its movement Speed is halved (so a creature with a Speed of 10 can only move 5 feet per AP). It must also divide the results of its Dash checks in half.

Immobilized

Heavily restrained by another creature, object, or force. An immobilized creature cannot use its movement Speed. It automatically fails Attack Rolls and Evasion Rolls. An immobilized spellcaster cannot perform gestures.

Incorporeal

Without physical matter; totally insubstantial. An incorporeal creature is not subject to normal laws of physics: one can pass through any substance and move in any direction at will. Since matter passes through them, physical attacks against them or from them always miss. However, magic spells which they cast or which target them function normally.

Invisible

Visually undetectable. Invisible creatures are nearly imperceptible to the naked eye thanks to uncanny camouflage or complete transparency. Invisible creatures receive a +10 bonus to Stealth checks made to hide (and they can do so in plain sight or while in motion).

Mindless

Lacking conscious thought. A mindless creature operates solely on natural instinct. It possesses no discernible sentience and no sense of reason. Mindless creatures are denied the use of any skill that requires some semblance of consciousness. It automatically fails any roll involving Intellect, Insight, Charm, Presence, or Persuasion. A creature with the mindless condition also gains the unfeeling condition.

Muted

Completely unable to speak. Creatures usually denied the use of the following skills at the GM's discretion: Taunt, Seduce, Leadership, Bluff, Negotiate, and sometimes Perform. A muted spellcaster cannot recite incantations; those who use Spellsong cannot cast at all.

Paralyzed

Unable to move at all. A paralyzed creature is completely still and may not engage in any action that requires physical movement. A paralyzed creature is also considered muted (see above).

Prone

Off your feet and on the ground. Prone creatures suffer a −4 penalty on Attack Rolls and Evasion Rolls until they stand up. It takes 2 AP to stand up from a prone position.

Rattled

Severely frightened, annoyed, angered, or upset. A rattled creature is disconcerted to the point that it negatively affects their actions, so they take −2 to all rolls.

Starving

Malnourished. A creature who hasn't consumed enough food is subject to Stamina Drain (DL 10; +1 every day; lethal).

Stunned

Physically stalled or in shock. Stunned creatures automatically go last in the Reaction order on their next turn.

Suffocating

Unable to breathe. Once a creature's oxygen supply is cut off, it becomes subject to Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every round; lethal).

Unconscious

Out cold or fast asleep. An unconscious creature is oblivious to its surroundings; its mind and body are disconnected. Unless the creature is animated by an outside force, it tends to remain stationary. An unconscious creature also gains the wide-eyed condition.

Unfeeling

Without emotion. Unfeeling creatures lack any capacity for feelings. They are immune to mental manipulation and can be neither crazed nor demoralized. An unfeeling creature automatically passes Guts, Mind Control, Sanity, and Virtue checks (meaning they are immune to the distracted and rattled conditions).

Disposition

A creature's Disposition describes its intent towards you. Any character you interact with or animal you encounter along your adventures operates under one of these seven Dispositions. With a successful skill check or clever role-playing, you can improve another creature's Disposition. With a Critical Failure or detrimental behavior, you can worsen it. Aside from eventful in-game choices, several different skills can be used to alter Disposition (see the Animal Control, Negotiate, Perform, Seduce, and Taunt entries in Chapter 6: Skills). You can only try to change a creature's Disposition once per day, but if you do it well enough (or poor enough), you can push them more than one level at a time. The list below explains each level of Disposition starting from most positive to most negative.

Enamored

An enamored creature exists to bring you happiness. It would probably sacrifice itself if it could bring you an ounce of safety.

Friendly

A friendly creature will go out of its way to give you aid. Sometimes, it will help you at dire consequences to itself.

Benign

A benign creature is amicable and pleasant to you, and will lend aid, but won't help in any way that overly inconveniences it.

Neutral

A neutral creature has no disposition towards you; it doesn't wish you harm, nor does it wish to help you.

Malign

A malign creature generally wishes you ill will, but won't attack you without provocation.

Hostile

A hostile creature will go out of its way to harm you. In fact, it will most likely disregard its own safety to bring you pain.

Hateful

A hateful creature has one purpose in life: to end yours. It is almost a certainty that it will put its own life in danger to kill you.

Nature

There are many different kinds of creatures which may be encountered in the Immortal Legacy game. A creature's Nature details its immunities and vulnerabilities. Creatures which do not eat cannot be starved. Creatures which do not breathe cannot be suffocated. Creatures which do not sleep are productive. Creatures without notable intelligence cannot be reasoned with and are typically immune to spells and effects that target the mind.

Bestial

A bestial creature is a common animal: vertebrate or invertebrate. Their Intellect is usually 1, definitely no higher than 2. They can be influenced using Animal Control and Intimidate.

Elemental

An elemental creature is artificial intelligence composed of a pure element. When killed, elementals return to the Sea of Thought. Magic attacks of the opposite element deal Tainted Damage.

Immune to the following conditions: dehydrated, exposed, paralyzed, starving, suffocating, unconscious. Immune to Knockout Track penalties and Stamina Drain. Immune to bleeding damage, illness, and contaminants. Immune to Called Shots.

Fabricated

A fabricated creature is a nonliving, moving object. Many fabrications are programmed with responses to certain stimuli. They do not naturally heal damage, but they can be repaired. Some fabrications cannot regenerate MP naturally, but many have a pool of MP "installed" at their creation. This pool may or may not be rechargeable. If the fabrication has an Intellect of 1, it gains the mindless condition.

Immune to the following conditions: dehydrated, exposed, paralyzed, starving, suffocating, unconscious. Immune to Knockout Track penalties and Stamina Drain. Immune to bleeding damage, illness, and contaminants. Immune to death effects.

Humanoid

A humanoid creature is roughly person-shaped, but can vary in size. Every race detailed in Chapter 5: Races is humanoid. They usually have few or no magical abilities.

Legendary

A legendary creature is a flesh-and-blood supernatural or extraordinary being with magical powers. All legendary creatures, regardless of appearance, have intelligence greater than that of beasts, therefore Animal Control is not used to influence them.

Plantlike

A plantlike creature is one which grows, often rooted and engaging in photosynthesis. If the plant has an Intellect of 1, it gains the mindless condition. They can be suffocated in an airless environment, but their physiology doesn't allow for strangulation. They do not sleep.

Immune to the following conditions: paralyzed, unconscious. Immune to Knockout Track penalties except for lethal Stamina Drain.

Undead

An undead creature was formerly-alive. Undead creatures with an Intellect of 1 gain the mindless condition. They do not naturally heal damage (unless they possess Regeneration), but can be repaired. They cannot regenerate MP, but may acquire them by other means (e.g. feeding on the living).

Immune to the following conditions: dehydrated, exposed, paralyzed, starving, suffocating, unconscious. Immune to Knockout Track penalties and Stamina Drain. Immune to Tainted Damage. Immune to bleeding damage, illness, and contaminants. Immune to Called Shots. Immune to death effects.