1. Notes

Survival Conditions and Stress

The adventuring life is not an easy one. Moving from town to town, delving into dark dungeons and hunting dangerous monsters for perhaps a few gold coins, is not a safe—or sane—way to make a living.  A character's survival conditions and the stress they accrue, can have lasting consequences on their adventuring career.





Survival Conditions

There are 4 Survival Conditions to consider when adventuring: Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue, and Temperature. Hunger, Thirst, and Fatigue increase by + 2 on any given day spent traveling or adventuring, and Temperature increases dependent upon weather conditions. Consuming a Food or Water ration reduces Hunger or Thirst by 1 stage, respectively. Fatigue can be reduced by taking a Long Rest or Relaxing in camp. The stage and effects corresponding to each Survival Condition follow the Survival Conditions Table below.


Survival Conditions Table


Stage

Hunger

Thirst

Fatigue

Temperature

Effect

Stamina DC

0

Stuffed

Quenched

Energized

Perfect

Gain Condition Boon

-

1

Full

Refreshed

Rested

Comfortable

-

5

2

OK

OK

OK

OK

-

10

3

Peckish

Parched

Weary

Noticeable

-

15

4

Hungry

Thirsty

Tired

Uncomfortable

-

20

5

Ravenous

Dry

Sleepy

Overwhelming

+1 Exhaustion

25

6

Starving

Dehydrated

Bleary

Unbearable

+1 Exhaustion

30

Stamina Checks

After particularly strenuous physical activities such as repeated or high DC Athletics/Acrobatics checks, the GM will ask a character to perform a Stamina Check (Constitution Saving Throw) with a DC equal to the character's best Survival Condition. Stamina Check failure increases a Survival Condition Stage by 1, with the condition determined by Stamina Failure Table.

d6

+1 Survival Condition

1 - 2

Hunger

3 - 4

Thirst

5 - 6

Fatigue


Stress

Stress reflects the emotional, psychological, and metaphysical strain that adventurers encounter during their travails. Stress can come from a variety of sources and in varying amounts, detailed in the Stress Table below.

Stress Table

Category

Stress

Cause

Minor

+ 1

Small frustration, worry, or annoyance

Moderate

1d4

Critical error or facing serious risk

Major

1d6

Devastating event

Severe

1d8 + 2

Incomprehensible or reality-shattering


Afflictions

While a little stress is easily shrugged off, as it builds it can trigger emotional breaks that cause Afflictions. Afflictions can manifest in either beneficial or destructive ways and may take some time and effort to remove.


  • Afflictions are triggered at 10, 20, and 30 Stress. When triggered, character rolls d100 following Affliction Table below.
  • When suffering from an Affliction, a character's stress has a base of +10, which stacks. Additional afflictions are only triggered when increased by 10 stress over base (ie at 20 Stress) 
  • At 40 Stress, character gains 2 Failed Death Saves and  becomes Incapacitated until treated with Greater Restoration or finds safe sanctuary for an Extended Rest.
  • During an Extended Rest, a character can attempt to remove an Affliction by paying GP = 10 x Character Level and rolling on Afflictions Removal Table below.

Afflictions Table

d100

Affliction

Effect

01 - 03

Meek

DIS on Attack Rolls

04 - 07

Fatigued

+1 Exhaustion

07 - 11

Weakened

DIS on STR Saves

12 - 16

Clumsy

DIS on DEX Saves

17 - 21

Queasy

DIS on CON Saves

22 - 26

Forgetful

DIS on INT Saves

27 - 31

Foggy

DIS on WIS Saves

32 - 36

Insecure

DIS on CHA Saves

37 - 41

Slowed

½ Speed

42 - 46

Feeble

Lose 1 Hit Die

47 - 70

Hesitant

DIS on Initiative

71 - 75

Eager

ADV on Initiative

76 - 78

Fleet

2x Speed

79 - 82

Powerful

ADV on STR Checks & Saves

83 - 85

Nimble

ADV on DEX Checks & Saves

86 - 88

Resilient

ADV on CON Checks & Saves

90 - 91

Acute

ADV on INT Checks & Saves

93 - 94

Perceptive

ADV on WIS Checks & Saves

96 - 97

Confident

ADV on CHA Checks & Saves

98 - 99

Focused

ADV on Attack Rolls

100

Unyielding

Resistant to Non-Magic Damage



Afflictions Removal Table

d20

Result

1

Gain a new Affliction

2 - 9 

No effect

10 - 19

Remove 1 Affliction

20

Remove All Afflictions