STORYGAME - Plot Armor, Wounds, & Healing

One goal of STORYGAME is to be creating character moments and side arcs all the time - and from everywhere - especially the tropey moments that we all recognize from our favorite classic fantasy stories. 

Plot armor and wounds are absolutely part of that goal.

Plot Armor

Plot Armor is a resource all characters have to help them avoid being removed from the story.

Damage. Damage reduces Plot Armor to a minimum of 0. At 0 Plot Armor, an NPC is dead, and a PC is vulnerable to lethal damage. The next time a PC would take damage at 0 Plot Armor, they instead gain a wound, and must choose one of the following:

• Flare. The character dies at the end of their next turn. Until then, all attack and defense rolls are automatic successes.
• Flicker. The player makes a Resist save. On a failure, the character is dead; on a success, they are unconscious but stable.
• Fade. The character is unconscious but stable. All of their saving throws are reduced by -1.

Regaining Plot Armor. As it doesn't represent health, Constitution, or wounds, Plot Armor is instead used to show how much a character is protected by the story, and so does not naturally heal over time.

Lost Plot Armor is regained when interacting with characters outside of their party. Characters roll a number of Plot Dice equal to their level each time they:

• Influence another character positively or negatively.
• Employ a new hireling, follower, or mercenary band.
• Verify the truth of a rumor given by another character.
• Accept or complete a job, mission, or quest from another character.
• Employ another character to complete a job, mission, or quest for the character.

Additionally, each class may roll a single Plot Die and regain the result each time they:

• Cleric. Make a successful Charisma check during spell preparation ritual.
• Fighter. Win a duel against someone of their own mastery level or greater.
• Magic-user. Add a new spell to their spell book.
• Thief. Steal over 100 gold worth of coin or valuables in a single score.

Wounds

Wounds are named ailments with mechanical effects, similar to conditions, gained by taking critical damage or by taking damage while at 0 Plot Armor. There are three levels of wounds: minor, serious, and permanent, included in each wound's name.

Weapons and NPC attacks have at least one wound listed, and example wounds for generic damage sources are included below.

Duration. Each wound also has a duration, which begins equal to the damage that caused the wound. Wounds that cannot be gained more than once instead have their duration extended. Wounds are considered healed and are removed when their duration is reduced to 0 or less.

Example Wounds:

Eyes (Minor). Missile attacks have -1 unless a successful Wisdom check is made.

Arm (Minor). All melee and thrown attacks made with this arm are slow.

Back (Minor). All Effort rolls have a -2 penalty.

Arm (Serious). No practical use of one arm.

Ears (Serious). Unable to hear or identify quiet sounds. 

Blind (Permanent). Can't see.

Burn or Scar (Permanent). Initial Influence rolls have a -2 penalty.

Deaf (Permanent). Can't hear.

Arm (Permanent). No use of one arm.

Leg (Permanent). Can’t run without an aid.

Healing Wounds

Natural Healing. As long as they have had a full night's sleep and have eaten a full meal the day before, a character makes a Constitution check each morning. A successful check reduces the duration of one minor wound by 1. An additional Constitution check is made each month to reduce a serious wound by 1. Permanent wounds do not heal naturally.

A character with Constitution of 15 or greater reduces the duration of wounds by an additional +1.

Healing Skill (Intelligence). A successful Healing skill check allows the character to reduce the duration of another character's most recent minor or serious wound by 1d3. This takes one turn, and cannot be attempted more than once for the same wound.

Magical Healing. Characters such as the cleric have access to healing spells, as listed:

• Cure Minor Wound (1st level spell). Reduces the duration of a minor wound by 1d6.
• Cure Blindness (3rd level spell). Completely removes one wound affecting a character's eyes.
• Cure Disease (3rd level spell). Removes a disease or disease-related wound from a character.
• Cure Serious Wound (4th level spell). Reduces the duration of a serious wound by 1d6.
• Cure Permanent Wound (5th level spell). Reduces the duration of a permanent wound by 1d6.
• Cureall (6th level spell). Removes all serious and permanent wounds from one character.

Next: STORYGAME - Defense, Saves, & Grit.