Souls of the Chaos | Health & Healin'

Grab your max health...

Remember to roll your 2d6 ± thing modifiers to get your max health. But...this game can be brutal, and you might need all the health you can get. So to make it easier, or if you’re playing for the first time, for more of a stable health buffer if you all agree, just set your max health to 12 ± those modifiers.

...protect it fiercely...

If your health is ever reduced, you're wounded. If it crashes to zero, unless you die you’ll fall unconscious until healed. So at zero you'll die in a day unless healed, but roll 1d6 to check if (1-2) you die immediately, (3-4) you sustain a lasting wound, so reduce your max health by 1, the type and location of the wound to be rolled on the table or agreed between you and the GM, or (5-6) your confidence is shaken, and you take an automatic -1 modifier to any future rolls (so before any other modifiers are added or subtracted) until the trauma’s addressed by any GM-approved therapeutic means. Any results from 3 to 6 here are cumulative, and if your max health ever falls to zero or you end up with more than two lasting wounds, boo hoo, you keel over and die!

...and tend to it as would a parent

To heal, look to the empath in your group. If you don’t have an empath, find one, and pay them handsomely for the privilege. With an hour or so to spare, empaths can roll an instinct traits check (with a cumulating -2 for each subsequent roll in one day), restoring 1 point of health on a fail, and getting you back to max health on a success. Any non-empaths tending to you can roll 1d6, restoring 1 point of health on a 6. Rests and time do not heal in this game - wounds need tended to and won’t miraculously heal by themselves!

Improve yourself...maybe...

Your health is your health. That, and any of your traits, can be improved by a point or two only through some sort of GM-approved intensive fitness regime, or drugs, or arcane means. Any of these may take time to work. And it’ll cost you in cash, so it could be a toss up between that, or spending your cash rather on gear, weapons, and armour that you could put to more effective use during conflict.

...but keep an eye on your condition...

No matter the result if you ever roll a traits check, after that roll you may be asked for a 1d6 condition roll. If you roll 4 or above, you’re ok. If you roll 3 or under, the mental or physical exertion required may have left you drained. You’ll remain so until you rest up for at least an hour. Whilst you’re drained, you’ll take an automatic ±1 penalty to any future rolls. The same automatic ±1 penalty applies if you’re ever poisoned, blinded, deafened, frightened, stunned, grappled, and the like, the GM adding or removing these conditions if it makes sense at the time.

...and on your stress

At any point if the GM feels it makes fictional sense, they may ask you to roll 1d6. Like if your health’s taking a battering, or if you’re in a tight spot, or have made a few traits rolls. Rolling 4 or above means you’re ok for now. But 3 or below means you’re stressed. You begin with a minimum stress score of 1. Each time you fail a stress check, increase it by 1. Once it hits 6, roll on the stresses table. Your score reduces by 1 on a decent night’s rest, or by any number whenever the GM feels it makes sense. Once it hits 1 again, you’re no longer stressed.

lastin' wounds

If you have a lasting wound, you can agree with the GM what & where that is, or you may roll 2d6 and apply the result here. You can have a max of 2 lasting wounds at one time. More than that...game over!

2. Fracture. Where is it? How will you cope with it?

3. Facial disfigurement. Exactly what? Are you hiding it?

4. Seeping Gash. Any more cloth? Why is it still dripping?

5. Tremors. You hallucinating? What’re you afraid of now?

6. Mind Melt. Getting forgetful? Blacking out now & again?

7. Infection. Wound’s infected? Nauseous? Vomiting?

8. Burns. Reaction to corrosion? What’s with that rash?

9. Respiration. Lungs shot? Ribs caved? Drained easily?

10. Vocals. Throat lesions? Tongue bitten? Can’t speak?

11. Ulcers. What’s that lump? Why are you purple?

12. Avulsion. Is that more skin peeling off?

Lasting wounds usually can’t be healed by empaths, unless those empaths are deeply enlightened and revered. If it’s mental, usually only therapeutic means can help. If it’s physical, you’ll maybe need to find someone specialising in addressing the type of wound you’ve sustained, for example a fleshsangoma or a weaver skilled in the arcane, but good luck persuading one willing to help! It may take a fair amount of cash, favour, or sacrifice, and definitely a whack of time during rest and recuperation. The GM’s discretion is final on how, or even whether, robust healing takes place, but feel free to negotiate with them and come up with something cool. For each lasting wound healed, 1 point of your max health is recovered.

try to roleplay any of your stresses & lasting wounds in everything you attempt to do in the game, conveying the struggle you’re going through!

stresses

If your stress level ever hits 6, you may roll 2d6 and apply the result here. You can have a max of 2 stresses at one time, which can accumulate or cancel each other out.

2. Hyper-Focused. You know what, your stress is actually serving you well while in the zone. ±1 boost on all rolls.

3. Dropsies. You’re so absorbed by what’s getting to you that you lose one item in your gear or weapons each day.

4. On Edge. You snap at an ally for no reason, apologise, but do it again & again. That ally has to roll a stress check.

5. Self-Starving. You stop eating & drinking, and quickly become drained. After each day you lose 1 point of health.

6. Fight or Flight. Roll 1d6 each day of trauma. Score 3 or below, you try to flee any conflict. 4 or above, FIGHT!!!

7. Hide & Seek. You run for cover when it gets dicey.

8. Rabble-Rousing. Your stress spreads & gets to all your allies, who each need to make a stress check.

9. Impulsion. Rational thought flies out the window. Roll 1d6. Get 3 or below, through fear you work against your allies’ plans. 4 or above, you begin acting before thinking.

10. The Shakes. Your balance, focus, and coordination take a hit. ±1 penalty on all rolls, as your fear makes you stumble, fumble, and maybe even place others in danger.

11. Passive Aggression. You can’t help but start blaming those around you, deflecting attention from you even if it puts allies in harm’s way.

12. Melt Down. You’re crippled in fear. ±2 penalty on all rolls, but go on, roll another 2d6 and see what you get. If you roll another 12, no more modifiers, but roll again.

do anything you can to keep a lid on your stress. don’t let it boil over! and play all these carefully, player agency & fun for all at the table being paramount. re-roll similar results if you like.