Rules / Encounters / Defense, Damage & Death
Defense, Damage & Death
Reaction Attacks
A reaction attack happens in specific circumstances set by its trigger; such actions have the REACTION trait and list their trigger. Unless an action says otherwise, whenever its trigger occurs and you have Reaction Points, you can perform it for its RP cost, on your turn or anyone else's.
The most common reaction attack comes from critically succeeding on a Parry (or Block) against a melee attack: you get a free reaction strike (no RP cost) with your weapon or shield against the foe you parried.
Being Attacked
Enemies will try to hit you back. Each time you're attacked, you choose how to respond:
| Parry | Dodge | |
|---|---|---|
| Roll | Might save, opposed by the attack roll | Reflex save, opposed by the attack roll |
| Requires | A melee weapon or shield equipped | Speed above 0; not Grappled or Restrained |
| Usually against | Melee attacks. To Parry a ranged attack you need a shield equipped and 2+ ranks in Shields. | Ranged attacks. To Dodge a melee attack you need 2+ ranks in Acrobatics. |
| Meet or beat the attack | You parry it, usually taking no damage. | You dodge it, usually taking no damage. |
| Critical success (natural 20, or beat the attack by 15+) | Make a free opportunity attack with your weapon or shield against the attacker. | Move up to half your Speed (rounded down to a multiple of 5 feet). |
| Critical failure (natural 1, or the attack beats you by 15+) | Counts as the attacker's critical success: you take double damage. | Counts as the attacker's critical success: you take double damage. |
Taking Damage
When you take damage, reduce your HP by what's left after Soak and Resistances. At 0 HP you fall Unconscious and are Dying (see Character Death). If a single hit would take your HP below 0 by more than your Max HP, you die instantly, and Blood of Vengeance is your only death option.
Soak
Armor, natural armor, magical protection and some abilities give Soak, which reduces damage before Resistance or Vulnerability apply.
- Physical damage (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing): reduce it by your full Soak.
- Energy damage (acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, poison, necrotic, radiant, psychic, force): reduce it by half your Soak, rounded down.
- If an effect deals both, apply Soak separately to each type.
Damage While Dying
If you take damage while Only Mostly Dead, reduce your Death Timer by 1, or by 2 if it was a critical hit, and you lose Stable if you had it.
Immunity, Resistance and Vulnerability
Some creatures and objects are very hard, or unusually easy, to hurt with certain damage types. Immunity reduces that damage to 0; Resistance halves it (rounded down); Vulnerability doubles it. Resistance and Vulnerability apply after Soak.
Hard Targets and Heavy Damage
Anything with the Fortified trait resists all non-Heavy damage and is a hard target: large objects, vehicles, structures and creatures of massive size usually have it. A weapon or attack with the Heavy trait deals Heavy damage, which ignores Fortified's resistance. Anything Fragile is vulnerable to Heavy damage (it takes double), and anything Impervious resists Heavy damage and is immune to non-Heavy damage.
Temporary Hit Points
Some abilities, gear and effects give Temporary Hit Points (THP). When you take damage, it comes off your THP before your HP (Soak still applies first), and anything left over goes to your HP. THP from different sources don't stack; use the highest. Unless the source says otherwise, THP last until you finish a Short Rest.
Hit Points and Wounds
Max HP = (Fortitude + 5) × (level + 2). It's retroactive: if your Fortitude changes, your Max HP changes with it. Example: a level 5 character with Fortitude 2 has (2 + 5) × (5 + 2) = 49 HP.
Light Wound threshold: ¼ of Max HP, rounded down. Heavy Wound threshold: ½ of Max HP, rounded down. Whenever one reduction of your HP is at least your Light threshold but less than your Heavy threshold, succeed at a DC 10 flat check or take a Light Wound. Whenever it's at least your Heavy threshold, succeed at a DC 15 flat check instead or take a Heavy Wound. The location declared for the attack decides which:
| Location | Light Wound | Heavy Wound |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Dazed | Stunned |
| Torso | Chest Trauma 1 | Staggered |
| Arm | Weakened Grip 1 | Weakened Grip 2 |
| Leg | Slowed 10 | Prone |
Character Death
When your character's HP reach 0, choose one of these:
- Heroic Death: your character takes one last action that automatically critically succeeds, then dies: a powerful, memorable exit.
- Blood of Vengeance: as your character dies, one of their items is infused with the blood of their vengeance and gains a magical upgrade. The rune or effect must be of your character's level or lower, and the item must meet the normal requirements to gain it.
- Only Mostly Dead: you cling to life, hoping an ally saves you. Gain 1 level of Exhaustion, roll a Death Timer, and gain the Dying condition.
Death Timer
Roll 1d4 + your Fortitude − your levels of Exhaustion. If your Death Timer ever reaches 0, you die.
Dying (condition)
- You have Dying whenever your HP is 0.
- At the start of each of your turns while Dying, roll 1d20: on a natural 20 you regain 1 HP (and Dying ends); otherwise reduce your Death Timer by 1, unless you're Stable.
- If your HP rises above 0 for any reason, Dying ends.
Stable (condition)
- While Stable, your Death Timer doesn't drop at the start of your turns.
- You lose Stable if you take damage or your HP rises above 0.
Exhaustion
Besides Only Mostly Dead, some special abilities and environmental dangers (starvation, long exposure to freezing or scorching heat) cause Exhaustion, which comes in four levels; an effect says how many levels it gives. You can recover from Exhaustion if you have food and water and complete a Long Rest or Short Rest (see Exploration).
| Level | Disadvantage | Speed | Max Strain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 level | — | — |
| 2 | 2 levels | ½ | ½ |
| 3 | 3 levels | 5 ft | ¼ |
| 4 | Death |
Strain
Strain is a mix of stress and fatigue, the wear on body and mind that makes you worse at what you do. Many talents, maneuvers and abilities cause Strain, as their stat blocks say. Your Strain limit is 5 + your level + your Fortitude. Once you reach it, any further Strain becomes Exhaustion:
| Strain past the limit | Exhaustion |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | 1 level |
| 4–6 | 2 levels |
| 7–9 | 3 levels |
| 10+ | 4 levels |
A Short Rest recovers Strain equal to half your Max Strain; a Long Rest recovers all of it (see Exploration).
Incorporeal
- An incorporeal creature has no solid body. It can move through creatures and objects, but can't end its movement inside a solid object or another creature.
- It is immune to non-magical physical attacks and ordinary physical objects, and resistant to magical physical attacks and all energy damage except force, which affects it normally. Ghost-touch effects bypass these resistances.
- It is immune to precision damage.
- Corporeal creatures can't grapple, trip, shove or otherwise physically restrain it unless an effect says otherwise.
- It can't manipulate or affect the physical world with ordinary physical actions, or use Might-based checks against corporeal creatures or objects, unless an ability specifically allows it.
- It ignores falling damage.