When a character’s HP is reduced to 0, the following occurs:
A character dies when their body can no longer sustain the accumulated trauma.
The Threshold: You die if your total Wound Value equals or exceeds 3 + your Endurance.
A Standard Wound is an injury that does not impose specific negative modifiers (unlike specific injuries from the Wound Table), but still counts towards your Death Threshold.
Certain environmental hazards, such as suffocation, can cause this type of wound. For more information, see the Aquatic Rules section.
An injury is classified as an Extreme Wound if it is significantly more debilitating. An injury becomes an Extreme Wound in the following scenarios:
Critical Trauma: The character is reduced to 0 HP by an enemy’s Extreme Success on an attack or the character’s Extreme Failure on a saving throw.
Aggravated Injury: The player rolls a result on the Wound Table that they already possess (e.g., rolling "Left Leg" while already suffering from a "Left Leg" wound).
Wounds are not removed by standard "instant" healing (like med-kits or restorative powers), though such healing does restore HP and consciousness.
Wounds: After completing a Long Rest, a character heals 1 Wound.
Extreme Wounds: These are more severe and do not heal naturally during a rest. They can only be healed through one of the following methods:
This system is designed for Player Characters and Important NPCs. Standard enemies and "minions" are typically defeated or removed from play instantly when reduced to 0 HP.
By default, all attacks made by Player Characters are considered non-lethal. There are no penalties for choosing to knock an opponent out rather than killing them. However, players may declare an attack to be lethal at the time the attack is made if they intend to kill their target.