Other Damage
Disease
Outside of combat, a character who suffers from a disease
suffers damage over a period of time. Resisting the damage
inflicted by a disease requires a reflexive Stamina + Resolve
roll. This roll is not contested but the roll is modified by the
severity of the disease. Only one success is necessary to avoid
damage each time.
Some diseases are the kind that people don’t heal from. A
character’s cancer could go into remission, or he can hold his
HIV back with medication, but time alone won’t cure them.
The Storyteller should set a benchmark of how many rolls the
character has to succeed at in a row for the disease to go into
remission. Medical treatment can offset any penalties to the
Stamina + Resolve roll applied by the disease — but might inflict
penalties on other rolls, as the cure is almost as bad as the disease.
Drugs
A character who has taken drugs, willingly or not, must
fight off the effects of the drug. Resisting the effects requires
a reflexive Stamina + Resolve roll. This roll is not contested
but is modified by the potency of the drug ingested. Only
one success is necessary for a character to regain her senses.
In the case of some drugs, this roll must be made once per
hour, once per scene — or even once per turn, in the case of
strong hallucinogens or narcotics.
Characters who overdose on drugs treat the drug like a
poison, with a Toxicity somewhere between 3 and 7. The
overdose deals damage once per hour until the drug has run
its course — if a character’s spent eight hours drinking, then
the poison takes another eight hours to fade, with a Toxicity
between 3 (beer or wine) to 5 (rubbing alcohol). A character
who injects stronger heroin than expected takes damage for
(eight minus Stamina) hours, with a Toxicity of 7.
Electricity
Electrocution automatically causes bashing damage per
turn of exposure. No attack roll is made.
If harm from electricity is more than just instantaneous,
such as there’s a constant flow such as through power cables,
a victim may not be able to escape. His muscles contract,
which can prevent him from pulling away. Roll Strength as
a reflexive action during each turn of contact. Failure means
your character is still connected to the source and suffers its
damage each turn until a successful roll is made.
| Source | Damage |
|---|---|
| Minor; wall socket | 4 (B) |
| Major; protective fence | 6 (B) |
| Severe; junction box | 8 (B) |
| Fatal; main line feed/subway rail | 10 (B) |
Worn armor provides no protection against electrocution, although specialized, nonconductive clothing can reduce or eliminate the hazard.
Extreme Environment
The human body is not conditioned to
withstand extreme heat, cold, air pressure,
or other extreme weather conditions. These
harsh conditions hinder and endanger unpre-
pared characters. When exposed to a harsh
environment, the Storyteller assigns a level to
the environment, using the chart below as a
guideline. Survival gear can reduce the effective
environment level.
As long as characters are exposed to these
conditions, they suffer the level of the envi-
ronment as a penalty to all actions. After a
number of hours equal to the character’s
Stamina, he takes bashing damage, once per
hour. In the case of a level three exposure, the
damage is lethal. Fourth level environments
cause lethal damage each turn after a number
of turns equal to the character’s Stamina.
Any damage caused by level two through
four exposure leaves lasting marks, scars, and
tissue damage. Damage caused by extreme environ-
ments cannot be healed until the character is back
in a safe environment.
Environment Levels
| Level | Example Environments |
|---|---|
| 0 | Safe environment |
| 1 | Light snow, heavy storms; too cold to sleep safely; air pressure causes shortness of breath; sweltering sun can cause first-degree burns |
| 2 | Heavy snow; cold causes physical pain and potential hypothermia; sun quickly causes first degree burns, can cause second degree burns with time; minor radiation poisoning |
| 3 | Desert exposure; heat rapidly causing second-degree burns; moderate radiation exposure |
| 4 | Desert sandstorm, severe hurricane, tornado, tsunami |
Falling
Falling inflicts one point of damage per three meters
fallen. This is bashing damage, unless the character
falls on something that would inflict lethal damage,
like a sharp fence post or broken glass. If a character
falls 30 meters or more, he reaches terminal velocity,
and instead takes a flat 10 lethal damage, regardless of the
total distance he falls.
If the character has the opportunity to slow his fall, for
example by grabbing an awning, or to soften it, such as by
twisting to land on soil rather than concrete, his player may
make a Dexterity + Athletics roll, with each success on the roll
reducing the damage the character takes by one point. It’s typi-
cally not possible to slow or soften a fall at terminal velocity.
Fire
Fire automatically inflicts lethal damage per turn of exposure (no attack roll is required). The damage inflicted depends on both the size and intensity of the flames.
| Size of Fire | Damage |
|---|---|
| Torch | 1 |
| Bonfire | 2 |
| Inferno | 3 |
| Heat of Fire | Damage Modifier |
|---|---|
| Candle (first-degree burns) | - |
| Torch (second-degree burns) | +1 |
| Bunsen burner (third-degree burns) | +2 |
| Chemical fire/molten metal | +3 |
So, a fire the size of a bonfire (2) and with the intensity
of a torch (+1) inflicts three damage per turn of contact.
In general, if exposure to fire persists for more than a
turn, it catches anything combustible. A burning character
continues to take full damage, even if he escapes the original
source of the flame. Depending on the accelerant involved,
the size of a fire can be reduced by one point per turn by
means such as a hose or extinguisher. The Storyteller may rule
that a fire goes out immediately under some circumstances
(local oxygen is removed with a controlled explosion or your
character is completely immersed in water). Or, a fire could
continue to burn despite efforts to put it out, as with a grease
fire when water is poured on it.
Most armor can block its general rating in fire damage
automatically for a number of turns equal to that rating.
Poison
Outside of combat, a character who is the victim of a poison or toxin suffers lethal damage over a period of time equal to the poison’s Toxicity. Some substances deal this damage only once. Others deal this damage once per turn or once per hour until purged, or until the poison has run its course. To resist the damage, make a reflexive Stamina + Resolve – Toxicity roll. Each success reduces the damage taken by one. This roll must be made every time the poison deals damage, unless the character stops fighting and gives in.