Damage

When a character suffers an injury, he takes damage. Damage can be caused by the actions of foes in combat, bad luck, or naturally occurring hazards. Whereas harm is a term used to represent a weapon's lethality, damage represents the extent of a character's sustained injuries.

Bodily trauma can be inflicted using any of the following methods, however, some creatures may be resistant or immune to one or more of them.

• Bludgeoning damage results from the impact of a solid object, which causes blunt trauma. Hammer, meet nail.
• Piercing damage is caused by thrusting attacks with pointed objects, which inflict deep penetration wounds. Organ perforation, impalement, the works.
• Slashing damage follows chopping or slicing attacks with edged objects, which deliver wide incised wounds… or amputations.
• Burning damage is the product of acute exposure to extreme temperature, voltage, radioactivity, or corrosiveness. Accident-free for zero days.
• Crushing damage results from an application of heavy force, which compresses the body like a tube of toothpaste.
• Bleeding damage comes from profuse hemorrhaging, whether it's a wound that won't clot or a huge, thirsty mosquito.

You make a Guard check to resist lethal injuries. See the Guard entry in Chapter 6: Skills. The amount of incoming damage minus the result of your Guard check equals the amount of HP lost. 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.