Falling
PCs who plunge off elevated surfaces suffer 1d6 damage for every three full meters fallen under standard-gravity conditions.Poisons
Those afflicted with some insidious venom can usually make a Physical saving throw to resist the worst of the effects. Natural venoms usually require 1d6 rounds to apply their effect, while special or engineered toxins take effect instantly. Poison effects may include unconsciousness, hit point damage, hallucinations, or death. Even in the latter case, however, swift application of the appropriate Biopsionic techniques or success at an Int/Heal check can negate the effect of the poison.The difficulty for this check varies with the potency of the poison and assumes that the PC medic has access to a TL4 medkit. Most natural poisons are difficulty 8, while synthetic toxins are difficulty 10 or greater.
Only one attempt can be made to neutralize a poison.
Use of a specific antivenin is always successful if such a resource is available.
Drugged or damaged PCs are instantly restored by successful treatment. Those who have been killed by a poison revive with one hit point as if recovering from a mortal wound, assuming the antidote is applied within six rounds of the victim’s succumbing.
Diseases
Hideous interstellar plagues are an occupational hazard of adventurers, though exposure to a pathogen usually permits a Physical saving throw to resist its effects. If failed, the PC is infected, and will suffer progressively-worse symptoms until the disease runs its course or the PC dies.Most sicknesses will simply apply penalties to skill checks or hit rolls, or reduce a PC’s maximum hit points, or otherwise debilitate the character. A few may require one or more additional saving throws to be made at specific intervals in order to avoid eventual death, or be a certain doom to those unlucky enough to be afflicted with it.
As with poisons, Biopsionic techniques or Int/Heal medical attention can cure a sickness. Assuming TL4 medical supplies, ordinary diseases are usually difficulty 8, while more virulent strains are difficulty 10 or more.
One attempt can be made to cure a disease per week, and success usually clears up any symptoms rapidly.
Radiation
Radiation is a slow killer in small doses, and a quick end in larger ones. Targets exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation must make a Physical saving throw at intervals depending on the strength of the glow. Mildly dangerous zones might force a save once per day or once per hour, up to lethal rad zones that force multiple saves per round. Vacc suits and other forms of protection can effectively shield a wearer from weaker sources of radiation.Each failed saving throw lowers the target’s Con-stitution score by one point. If the new score decreases a hero’s Constitution modifier, they lose any excess maximum hit points their former modifier granted.
Characters reduced below half their original Constitution score will die in 1d6 weeks from radiation poisoning; those reduced below a Constitution score of 3 will die instantly. Radiation poisoning that does not immediately kill a victim can induce vomiting, headaches, soft tissue bleeding and dizziness, but a resolute victim can continue functioning more-or-less normally until death. A target killed by radiation poisoning cannot be revived by Psychic Succor or other stabilization techniques.
Someone who has suffered a fatal dose of radiation poisoning can only be saved by treatment at a TL4 hospital or ship’s sick bay, recovering the lost Constitution at a rate of one point per week. Non-fatal doses can be treated by a TL4 medkit and an Int/Heal check at difficulty 10. Each success restores one lost point of Constitution and a check can be made once per day.
Hard Vacuum
PCs sometimes encounter the icy void of space more intimately than they would prefer. Actual death from vacuum exposure may take a little while, but incapacitation is rapid for most victims. A PC exposed to hard vacuum may continue acting normally for a number of rounds equal to one plus their Constitution modifier.Each round thereafter, they suffer 1d20 damage and must make a Physical save to keep conscious, assuming the damage hasn’t felled them.