Book:Life and Death

Optimists are known to repeat the tag line: "at least you still have your health!" On the road to adventure, there are many ups and downs. The "downs" come in the form of enemies, aches, pains, and bludgeonings. The "ups" come in the form of allies, rest, healing, and relaxation. This chapter details them both. It explains how creatures live and die, as well as the numerous physical conditions that can befall them in-between.

Death Has Consequences
When your character dies, there's no denying, it kind of sucks! Your dead character isn't playable anymore; you have to create a new one if you want to continue playing with the rest of the group. The main thing to remember is not to get discouraged. This happens to even veteran players innumerable times. There are even some players 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. And yet, 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. Maybe it was your clone that died. Maybe the Immortals brought you back to life. How you want to treat death in your game is up to you, your GM, and the other players.

Losing Consciousness

Many things can cause you to black out, like a good sucker punch, complete exhaustion, high g-forces, illness, or tranquilizers. Some of these are lethal, like starvation, suffocation, or hypothermia. This section details the loss of consciousness.

The Knockout Track

The Knockout Track consists of five stages. Creatures who become increasingly exhausted, ill, concussed, or sedated move down the stages of the Knockout Track. Each consecutive stage instills harsher penalties to all skill checks, including Attack Rolls, Evasion Rolls, Damage Rolls, Guard Rolls, Casting Rolls, and Focus Rolls. Creatures who move down all five stages gain the unconscious condition (see the Conditions section below).

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

When your body takes a beating, you carry the fatigue until you get a good night's sleep. With a little rest, creatures can move back up the stages of the Knockout Track (see the Resting and Recovery section below). You can also shake exhaustion with drugs (see the Contaminants section below) or by calling on the powers that be (see Chapter 17: Spirit Arts).

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).

Illness

Illness is an acute condition — it comes on suddenly and puts a strain on your body. Whether you're combating the flu, shock, motion sickness, or a hangover, illness can make even the simplest of tasks difficult thanks to symptoms like pain, fever, nausea, and fatigue. In this game, illness quantifies the burden imposed by afflictions, regardless of their causes, impacts, or cures. For instance, influenza is infectious, radiation sickness is environmental, and scurvy is dietary — wildly different pathologies, but they all take a toll on fragile mortal creatures.

The debilitating effects of an illness are represented by its severity, a number from 1–5. When a creature is subjected to an illness, it must make a Vitality check (see Chapter 6: Skills). If it fails the check, the illness imposes one Death Mark for each level of severity. In addition, an illness can impose other effects on the unhealthy creature, like conditions, Continual Damage, or penalties to specific skills.

Any illness in this game will list the initial DL to resist, and could list one or more of the following properties:

Progressive – Increases in severity over time if left untreated. A progressive illness in this game will list the frequency of increase (e.g. progressive every week).
Fightable – Creatures can eventually overpower the illness after successive Vitality checks (see Resisting Illness in the "Vitality" entry of Chapter 6: Skills). A fightable illness in this game will list the frequency a character can make an attempt to fend it off (e.g. fightable every 6 hours).
Limited – A creature may be able to ride out the illness and fully recover without any assistance. A limited illness in this game will list the duration (e.g. limited to 10 days).
Curable – An environmental, dietary, or medicinal cure exists that can eradicate the illness. A character can ascertain the cure with a successful Lore check and Craft medicine from raw ingredients. Each curable illness will list these DLs.
Treatable – There is an environmental, dietary, or medicinal remedy that treats the symptoms of the illness and lifts the penalties imposed by some or all of the Death Marks for a brief time. As with cures, a Lore check formulates the remedy and a Craft check assembles the goods. Each treatable illness will list these DLs.
Operable – A specific medical procedure, like surgery, can correct the illness. A character can operate with a successful Healing check (see Chapter 6: Skills). Each operable illness will list this DL.

The illness remains in place until it's fought off, cured, past its limit, or surgically corrected. Upon eradication of the illness, you release one Death Mark. Any remaining Death Marks forced upon you by the illness can be removed with one night of restful sleep for each.

A creature can suffer from multiple distinct illnesses simultaneously, for instance, you could be seasick with bronchitis. However, you cannot receive more than five Death Marks from illness, no matter how sick you may feel. That said, you're a sitting duck if anything else hands you a Death Mark.

Resting and Recovery

When your character rests peacefully, he regains a number of lost HP equal to his Endurance score plus his ranks in Vitality. Resting peacefully requires at least six hours of sleep in a non-hostile environment. Characters can never regain more than their maximum HP.

Poorly rested characters regain only half the normal amount of HP (rounded down). This occurs when your character sleeps less than 6 hours or is roused to arms during the night. Their body is simply too exhausted to heal correctly without a little help.

As mentioned in the Wakefulness entry, you can only regain HP when you rest. If you stay up all night, you can't regain any lost HP.

Healers

Injured characters can 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. A healer cannot tend to more than one person per night. Their services can be paid for like any other trade.

Healing Items

The natural world is rich with verdant energy. Finding natural ingredients, like herbs and nectars, that can help in restoring a character's health is possible if you know what to look for. Legends tell of flowers that cure specific illnesses. Some say that the fruit of rare trees can heal in much the same way. If an adventurer is seeking it, she should be able to purchase things like naturally-derived salves, ointments, and poultices that can be applied to wounds (see the Gear section of Chapter 11: Equipment). A character who regains HP from a healing item still needs to rest that day unless the item specifically states that it is a substitute for rest.

Magic Points and Spirit Points

A well-rested character awakens to fully replenished MP and SP. Characters who rest poorly regain only half of their lost MP and SP.

“Mana,” as some characters refer to their MP scores, manifests physically in crystalline, liquid, or gaseous form throughout the world. If the character manages to locate mana, it can be used to regain MP. You can use crystalline mana in place of your own MP. Liquid or gaseous mana can be consumed or inhaled to replenish missing MP. Your GM can tell you how much MP each amount of mana restores.

“Qi,” as some characters refer to their SP scores, sometimes permeates spiritual places. Since the world is blanketed by the fabric of spirit power, folds and creases in this fabric cause concentrations of spiritual energy. You can regain SP by meditating peacefully in such a place. The longer your character does so, the more SP regained.

Taking Damage

The world is filled with dangers that can injure your characters. Many times, these dangers are other characters. This section explains the loss and recovery of Health Points. 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.

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.
Crushing damage results from an application of heavy force, which compresses the body like a tube of toothpaste.
Burning damage is the product of acute exposure to extreme temperature, voltage, radioactivity, or corrosiveness. Accident-free for zero days.
Draining damage comes from the depletion of vital resources: profuse hemorrhaging, desiccation, or energy-sucking alien parasites.

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.

Continual Damage

Continual Damage inflicts HP loss at a recurring interval — it's the gift that keeps on giving. Unlike acute physical trauma doled out by sword thrusts and axe swings, Continual Damage is caused by more persistent circumstances, like bleeding to death or catching fire. As a result, most Continual Damage is considered either burning or draining damage.

Any effect in this game that imposes Continual Damage will list the amount of damage incurred, the duration between each occurrence, and the type of damage. For example, catching on fire (detailed later in this chapter) causes Continual Damage [4 HP per round; burning]. Even more if it spreads!

When each interval elapses, the damage comes directly out of the creature’s HP, and no amount of Endurance, Guard, or Armor can help. Most effects that impose Continual Damage allow for the creature at risk to make a skill check to stave them off entirely or to neutralize them once active, and some effects expire on their own. A creature can be subject to several different types of Continual Damage at once, possibly with different intervals (for instance, one effect repeats every round, another every hour). Some effects can be compounded to impose more damage upon each occurrence.

Tainted Damage

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.

Adventurers Beware

Lots of things can go wrong out there on the road to adventure.

Bleeding Out

A creature can sustain a wound so grievous that blood will continue to pour from it after the initial injury. Left untreated, a bleeding creature will eventually die of blood loss.

Only certain types of attacks can deliver a bleeding wound. A creature subjected to such a wound takes Continual Damage [1 HP per round; draining]. Every subsequent bleeding wound the creature receives compounds the problem and increases the damage per round by 1.

Characters can make a Healing check to apply pressure to the wounds and stop the hemorrhage. See the Healing entry in Chapter 6: Skills for more details. In addition, natural remedies exist, and characters can leverage any item which restores HP to immediately treat a bleeding wound.

Catching Fire

Some like it hot, however most folks don't enjoy burning to death. All kinds of things can catch a creature on fire, for instance torches, chemicals, doctored-up weapons, or magic spells. When your body, hair, clothes, or equipment catch fire, you begin taking Continual Damage (4 HP per round). Every round you remain aflame, the fire spreads and increases the damage per round by 2. This is obviously considered burning damage.

Next comes the business of extinguishing oneself. Creatures who are partially aflame (i.e. taking 6 or less Continual Damage per round) can pour water over the affected area or cover it with heavy cloth and pat out the fire (which takes 3 AP). A creature who is completely engulfed in fire (i.e. taking 7 or more) must drop to the ground and roll around or leap into a body of water (Which takes 6 AP).

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.

Falling

Being high above the ground isn't bad for your health on its own, but falling over the ledge sure as hell is. If you drop from a great height, death may greet you at the bottom.

One of the most important factors in falling damage is how you land. Make a Gymnastics check. For every 5 points of the result, subtract 5 feet from the distance fallen.
Another factor is your body's ability to resist injury. Make a Guard check. For every 5 points of the result, subtract up to 10 feet from the remaining distance in exchange for one stage on the Knockout Track. You cannot subtract more than half of the remaining distance. Once you reach stage 5 on the Knockout Track, you cannot deduct additional distance, no matter the total of the Guard check.
Use the remaining distance to calculate the damage you take. For every 5 feet, you take 5 points of crushing damage.
Your own mass is a factor as well. For every 10 feet, you take damage equal to your Size.
The final factor is what you hit. If you land on a soft surface, you take half damage.

Falling Example
You fall 70 feet. You make a Gymnastics check of 22. You can subtract 20 feet. 50 feet remain. You make a Guard check of 17. You can subtract 25 feet in exchange for 3 stages down the Knockout Track. 25 feet remain, so you take 25 damage. If you're playing a human, your Size doesn't change the damage. A kulgeri would take a total of 27. A firna would take a total of 23. If you landed in freshly tilled earth, you would take half damage.

Hunger and Thirst

Characters can live the better part of a month without food, but you won't last a week without water. Starvation and dehydration are just as life-threatening as armed combat. You can survive a full day without any food or water and not accrue penalties. Anything past that amount of time and your life begins to ebb away. You fight lethal Stamina Drain so long as you go without sustenance.

The dehydrated condition (see below) causes Stamina Drain (DL 20; +1 every 12 hours; lethal). When you begin dying of thirst, all sorts of bodily processes begin breaking down. Once you reach stage 5 on the Knockout Track, you fall comatose. If no one comes to your aid and you gain six Death Marks, you succumb to dehydration and die, leaving behind a withered husk.

The starving condition (see below) causes Stamina Drain (DL 10; +1 every day; lethal). Without sufficient caloric intake, you begin to waste away, staring from sunken eyes and scratching the tight skin stretched over your protruding bones. Once you reach stage 5 on the Knockout Track, you fall comatose. If no one comes to your aid and you gain six Death Marks, you die of starvation.

If you locate food or water (as needed), you lose the dehydrated or starving condition and release a single Death Mark. Any remaining Death Marks imposed by either condition may be released one at a time per night of restful sleep.

Suffocation

When a creature’s body is deprived of oxygen, its brain starts shutting off. That’s generally considered bad. If you can’t breathe, you can hold your breath one minute for each point of Endurance you possess (thirty seconds per point if performing strenuous activity such as swimming or underwater combat). After this length of time, you quickly black out and asphyxiate. You gain the suffocating condition so long as you go without air.

The suffocating condition (see below) causes Stamina Drain (DL 15; +1 every round; lethal). The lack of oxygen to the brain pulls a creature into a permanent slumber. If you can't take in a breath and you receive a sixth Death Mark, you turn an odd shade of blue and die, grasping at your throat, probably.

If you regain the ability to breathe, you lose the suffocating condition and release a single Death Mark. Any remaining Death Marks imposed by that pesky hypoxia can be released one a time per restful night of sleep.

Wakefulness

When the sandman pays you a visit, you can tell him to come back later. We've probably all had to pull an all-nighter to get some vital task completed before a deadline. You can resist sleep one full day without any penalties. Afterwards, your body and will are at odds as you battle the urge to rest.

You fight Stamina Drain so long as you forsake sleep. However, the longer you stay awake, the more difficult it is to do much of anything.

Wakefulness causes Stamina Drain (DL 10; +1 every 12 hours; tiring). In addition to the physical and cognitive strain this puts on you, staying awake prevents you from regaining HP, MP, and SP as you normally would when you rest.

Contaminants

Pathogens, parasites, fungi, toxins, poisons, drugs, and tranquilizers are all substances which can invade your body and dish out pain and suffering. A Vitality check (see Chapter 6: Skills) is necessary to keep these forces from harming you.

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. Some diseases are spread through touch, others through injury and direct contact with the blood, and others still are airborne. When it comes to sickness and plague, running out of tissues is the least of your worries.

When a character is exposed to a disease, the character must make a Vitality check to avoid becoming infected. If you fail the Vitality check, you gain the infected condition and suffer the effects of the disease. Each time your character rests, you must make another check. If you pass this check, you may ignore the effects of the disease for the following day. If you make two consecutive, successful checks, your character is considered to have beaten the disease. Rare diseases might only be curable with medicine, if a cure is even possible.

The effects of the disease are dependent on the level. Each day, the infected character wakes at a specific stage of the Knockout Track. These Knockout Track penalties cannot be removed by any means other than curing the infection. More bad news: each disease can have side effects as well.

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.

Level One – Stage One KO
Level Two – Stage Two KO
Level Three – Stage Three KO
Level Four – Stage Four KO
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. The character gains the hampered condition (see Conditions, below) and 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 (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. She gains the paralyzed condition (see Conditions, below). 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 wills and testaments (Level Five, Injury, DL 18).

Curing Disease

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 15 + 2 for every Level of disease (so for example, the DL to craft a medicine for a Level Three disease is 21). 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 take two hours per level of disease to create. You can create a batch of any size in this time given a sufficient amount of required ingredients.

Consuming medicine removes the infected condition only for a specific disease or family of diseases. Medicine cannot cure the infected condition imposed by magic spells.

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. Some poisons enter the bloodstream through injury, some must be imbibed, and some can be absorbed through contact with the skin.

When a character is dosed with poison, a Vitality check is required. If you fail the Vitality check, you gain the poisoned condition and are subject to the effects of the poison for its duration. Each poison lists its duration in rounds. You must make another Vitality check each round for the duration of the poison to resist its detrimental effects for that round.

The effects of a poison depend on its level. Level Zero poisons don't cause any damage, but impose other effects, such as Knockout Track penalties or paralysis. Poisons of Level One through Five cause damage every round.

Level Zero – 0 damage/round
Level One – 1 damage/round
Level Two – 2 damage/round
Level Three – 4 damage/round
Level Four – 8 damage/round
Level Five – 16 damage/round

Webking Venom – The venom of these huge spiders causes a drowsy or unconscious state in its victims. Affected characters take no damage, but move one stage down the Knockout Track each round, eventually falling unconscious (Level Zero, Injury, DL 14, 8 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 her own throat in a futile attempt at relief, and this sometimes does more damage than the Ginger Ivy Oil. The character gains the suffocating condition as a side effect for the duration of the poison (Level One, Imbibed, DL 12, 8 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 preceding death. A character poisoned with Hag's Blood gains the distracted and confused conditions (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 victim gains the immobilized condition for the duration as their limbs stiffen painfully (Level Four, Imbibed, DL 18, 6 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, undetectable, and extremely potent. A character poisoned with the Black Lotus gains the blinded condition permanently (Level Five, Imbibed/Injury/Contact, DL 20, 5 rounds).

Curing Poison

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 15 + 2 for every Level of poison (so for example, the DL to craft an antidote for a Level Four poison is 23). 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 take one hour per level of poison to create. You can create a batch of any size in this time given a sufficient amount of ingredients.

Consuming an antidote removes the poisoned condition only for a specific poison or category of poisons. Antidotes cannot cure the poisoned condition imposed by magic spells.

Condition

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.