One Track Damage

{{page |text= An alternate system for tracking damage against a single total.

Health and Morale
The distance between you and defeat is measured in Health and Morale. Health is your actual physical condition — it is based on your Fitness/Constitution score, adjusted by your size category. It represents the last reserves you can fall back on as things go badly for you. It creates a small window were you gain the strength of desperation before either triumphing over adversity or falling into defeat. Once lost, points of Health are exceedingly difficult to recover. Morale is your primary damage buffer, allowing you to face all manner of both physical and emotional threats while pressing on in heroic fashion. Player characters gain morale from their class levels adjusted by their Determination/Constitution modifier. Outside of immediate peril (combat or dangerous environments) morale recovers rapidly. However, many effects can temporarily reduce you maximum morale, making you progressively more vulnerable to sudden defeat. Unlike traditional Mastercraft, standard NPCs have morale rather than making damage saves, receiving a number of points equal to their morale grade × times the threat level of the scene. Standard NPCs are defeated by any critical hit unless they are able to absorb critical hits with the Tough quality. While they have Health scores, in practice it’s unnecessary to track their Health if they do not have grades of Tough (see taking damage, below). Mooks are still defeated by a single successful attack.

Taking Damage
All three types of damage — lethal, stress, and subdual — are subtracted from the target's Morale. If a character has 0 Morale, damage is subtracted from their Health. When damage removes a character’s last point of Morale, they suffer the effects of a critical hit with any remaining damage carrying over against their Health. When damage removes a character’s last point of Health, they are unconcious.

Critical Hits
When you score a threat on an attack or damaging skill check, you may confirm it by either spending an action die or rolling the check again. If you spent a die or the second check is also a threat, it is confirmed as a critical hit with the following additional affects.
 * Unconcious (all damage types): If the target is a standard character, they are knocked unconcious. The attacker may choose to kill the target as part of this defeat. The GM may spend 4 action dice to kill the defeated character regardless of the attacker’s intentions.
 * Lethal Critical: The target is injured and the attack ignores damage reduction and gains keen equal to the attribute score used to modify the attack check.
 * Stress Critical: The target is shaken & flat-footed, remaining flat-footed until they take an action even if they are attacked multiple times before then.
 * Subdual Critical: The target is fatigued & sprawled.

Conditions
Exhausted (I–IV + defeated): You may not Run. You suffer 2 points of Fitness and Precision impairment and your Speed drops by 5 ft. per grade. You are defeated by your fifth grade of exhausted. You shed half your grades of exhausted at the end of each scene (round up) and 1 grade per full night's sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours). Grappling: You lose all dodge bonuses. If you become sprawled, move beyond your reach from the character you are grappling, or have less than 1 free hand your grapple immediately ends and the opponent is no longer pinned/held by you. When multiple attackers grapple a single opponent, the target remains held/pinned if some but not all of them lose their grip - multiple holds and pins overlap but do not otherwise stack. Held: You may not take movement actions or attack with weapons requiring more than 1-hand. You lose all dodge bonuses and suffer a –4 penalty to attack checks against all targets other than characters grappling you. If you take a 5-foot step, any characters grappling you may immediately move into the nearest empty square adjacent to you maintaining the hold, moving in the order that they began grappling you (“first-to-grab, first-to-move”). Injured (I–IV + defeat): You may not Refresh. You suffer 2 points of Determination and Grace impairment and a –1 penalty with all saves per grade. You are defeated by your fifth grade of injured. You remove half your grades of injured at the end of each scene (round up) and 1 grade per full night’s sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours). Pinned: You may not leave your current square or make attacks with weapons. You lose all dodge bonuses and suffers a –4 penalty to defense and to attack checks. These penalties supersede those of being held if there characters both pinning and holding you (i.e. they do not stack). Rooted: All of the your speeds are reduced to 0 and you may not take 5 ft. steps. Shaken (I–IV + defeat): You may not take 10 or 20. You suffer 2 points of Awareness and Guile impairment and a –1 penalty with all attack checks per grade. You are defeated by your fifth grade of shaken. You shed half your grades of shaken at the end of each scene (round up) and 1 grade per full night’s sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours).

Conditions for use with Fantasy Craft
Fatigued (I–IV + unconcious): You may not Run. You suffer 2 points of Strength and Dexterity impairment and your Speed drops by 5 ft. per grade. You are knocked unconcious by a fifth grade of fatigue. You shed half your grades of fatigue at the end of each scene (round up) and 1 grade each time you get a full night’s sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours). Injured (I–IV + unconcious): You may not Refresh. You suffer 2 points of Constitution and Charisma impairment and a –1 penalty with all saves per grade. You are knocked unconcious by a fifth grade of injury. You shed half your grades of injury at the end of each scene (round up) 1 grade each time you get a full night’s sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours). Shaken (I–IV + unconcious): You may not take 10 or 20. You suffer 2 points of Wisdom and Intelligence impairment and a –1 penalty with all attack checks per grade. You are knocked unconcious by a fifth grade of shaken. You shed half your grades of shaken at the end of each scene (round up) and 1 grade each time you get a full night’s sleep (minimum 6 uninterrupted hours).

Refresh
● 1 full action ● initiative action You recover morale equal to your base Fortitude Save bonus + half your Determination/Constitution score (round up). You may spend and roll exactly 1 action die and add the results to the number of morale points recovered.

Stabilize
● 1 full action ● initiative action ● Doctor’s Bag You apply first aid to a character within your reach. Make an Expertise (medical) check with a DC and results depending on the condition you are treating. You may only attempt to stabilize each condition on the target only once per scene (including by cooperating on a Stabilize check).
 * Bleeding (DC 15): The condition ends.
 * Defeated (DC 15): On a critical success the character rallies with 1 Health and Morale equal to your Expertise Ranks. The character’s maximum morale is reduced by their Career Level until the end of the scene.
 * Exhausted (DC 5 + 10 per grade): The effects of one grade are suspended for 1 hour.
 * Injured (DC 5 + 10 per grade): The effects of one grade are suspended for 1 hour.
 * Poisoned (DC equal to the poison Save DC): The effects of the poison are suspended for 1 hour.
 * Shaken (DC 5 + 10 per grade): The effects of one grade are suspended for 1 hour.

Origin Benefits
These modified benefits are from the standard Mastercraft Origin charts.

Species & Talents

 * No Pain: You may ignore the first fatigued/exhausted, injured, or shaken condition you would gain each scene.

Specialties

 * Aggravated Assault: You gain a +4 threat range on second checks to confirm lethal critical hits.
 * Harsh Beating: You gain a +4 threat range on second checks to confirm subdual critical hits.
 * Terrifying Look: You gain a +4 threat range on second checks to confirm stress critical hits.

NPC Qualities
Tough (+5 XP per grade): Once per scene per grade, you may reduce the damage from any one attack to one-half, rounded up. If the attack was a critical hit, the critical is canceled.

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