Your ability to withstand harm is represented by a two-tiered system of Stamina and Health.
Stamina
Your Stamina score tracks how much you exert yourself to perform demanding tasks. It is equal to your (2 x Toughness) + Heart + Path bonus (if any).
- During your travels, you might lose Stamina points when pushing through rough conditions such as: travelling without rest, under harsh weather or terrain, with heavy load, or while performing activities that would normally require a slower pace.
- During combat, when an enemy attack beats your defensive roll, you lose Stamina points from the damage dealt to you. This represents the strained blocking and narrow-dodging of attacks that get past your defense or catch you off-guard. Once your stamina drops to 0, damage dealt to you instead reduces your Health.
Every time you level up, your class informs your gain in Stamina.
You recover Stamina Points after each combat encounter, and the entire pool refreshes when you fully rest in a safe environment.
Health
Your Health remains mostly the same after character creation and represents the vitality of each of your 6 body parts (arms, legs, torso and head). Each limb has its own Health Pool, equal to (2x Strength) + Kin Bonus.
- When an attack lowers your Health, you first apply your armour's damage reduction (if relevant).
- Some harmful sources, such as environmental hazards, poisons and curses, can slowly deplete your Health Points while bypassing your Stamina entirely. When your Head's Health Points fall to zero, you die.
- Unlike Stamina, your Health pools do not not recover on full rest. Instead Downtime and / or medical attention are needed.