Damage Effects

Damage can result in three effects: Shaken, Wounds, and Incapacitation.
Shaken characters are nicked, bruised, or otherwise rattled. They may only take free actions, such as moving (including running). At the start of their turn, Shaken characters must attempt to recover from being Shaken by making a Spirit roll. This is a free action.

SUCCESS

The character is no longer Shaken and may act normally.

FAILURE

The character remains Shaken. She can only perform free actions.
Shaken and Wounds can be a little confusing to players. Here’s a table that might help.

DAMAGE	VICTIM IS SHAKEN	VICTIM IS ALREADY SHAKEN
Success (0–3 points of damage over Toughness)	Shaken	1 Wound and remains Shaken
1 Raise (4–7 points of damage over Toughness)	1 Wound and Shaken	1 Wound and remains Shaken
2 Raises (8–11 points of damage over Toughness)	2 Wounds and Shaken	2 Wounds and remains Shaken
3 Raises (12–15 points of damage over Toughness)	3 Wounds and Shaken	3 Wounds and remains Shaken

Examples:

• Red takes a Wound. She’s also Shaken.
• Red is Shaken, then takes a Wound. She has one Wound and remains Shaken.
• Red is already Shaken, then Shaken again (without a Wound). She now has one Wound and remains Shaken.
• Red has two Wounds and is Shaken. She takes another Wound, so she has three Wounds and remains Shaken.

Injury Table

2d6	WOUND
2	Unmentionables: If the injury is permanent, reproduction is out of the question without miracle surgery or magic. There is no other effect from this result.
3-4	Arm: The victim can no longer use his left or right arm (rolled randomly if not targeted).
5-9	Guts: Your hero catches one in the core. Roll 1d6: 1–2 Broken: Agility reduced a die type (minimum d4). 3–4 Battered: Vigor reduced a die type (minimum d4). 5–6 Busted: Strength reduced a die type (minimum d4).
10-11	Leg: Gain the Slow Hindrance (Minor), or Major if already Slow or injured in either leg.
12	Head: A grievous injury to the head. Roll 1d6: 1–3 Hideous Scar: Your hero now has the Ugly (Major) Hindrance. 4–5 Blinded: An eye is damaged. Gain the One Eye Hindrance (or the Blind if he only had one good eye). 6 Brain Damage: Massive trauma to the head. Smarts reduced one die type (min d4).

Spending Bennies

A player may spend a Benny at any time to remove her Shaken status (even when it’s not her turn).

WOUNDS

Every raise on the damage roll inflicts a Wound. Extras are Incapacitated if they take a single Wound (and aren’t Resilient). They’re dead, injured, or otherwise out of the fight. Wild Cards can take three Wounds and still function (more with certain Edges or abilities). Further damage doesn’t cause additional Wounds but Incapacitates them instead.

Wound Penalties

Each Wound a character suffers causes a −1 cumulative penalty to his Pace (minimum of 1″) and all Trait rolls—up to a maximum penalty of −3.

Timing

Characters sometimes take multiple hits on the same Action Card. Resolve each damage roll separately and completely before moving on to the next (including any Soak rolls).

Incapacitation

Incapacitated characters may not perform actions but are still dealt Action Cards for the remainder of the encounter in case they recover or must roll for other effects such as Bleeding Out. Edges or Hindrances that affect card draws, such as Quick, Level Headed, or Hesitant are ignored when the hero is Incapacitated. If Incapacitated by damage or injury, he must make an immediate Vigor roll:

SUCCESS

Roll on the Injury Table. The Injury goes away when all Wounds are healed.

RAISE

Roll on the Injury Table. The Injury goes away in 24 hours, or when all Wounds are healed (whichever is sooner).

FAILURE

Roll on the Injury Table. The Injury is permanent and the character is Bleeding Out, see below.

CRITICAL FAILURE

The character dies.
Characters cannot take actions and might be unconscious (GM’s call). The victim makes a Vigor roll each day thereafter and is no longer Incapacitated (or unconscious) if successful. They may also heal Wounds during this time (see Natural Healing).

Bleeding Out

The injured character is dying and must make a Vigor roll at the start of his turn.

SUCCESS

The character survives but must roll again next turn (or every minute if not in combat).

RAISE

The character stabilizes and no further rolls are required.

FAILURE

The character dies.
Other characters may stop a victim’s bleeding by making a Healing roll. This is an action, and if successful the patient is stabilized. The healing power can also stabilize Wounds, as can a successful “natural” healing roll by a being with regeneration of some sort.