Health & Wounds
In Saga Machine, your character’s physical well-being and stamina are represented by her Health score. This score represents the maximum amount of damage and fatigue you may take before being threatened with death or exhaustion. Use the formula below:
Health \= Strength + Endurance
Damage
When something harms your character’s physical well-being, such as being struck with a weapon or suffering a great fall, you take damage. Damage imposes a Wound consequence with a value equal to the amount of damage taken and a subject describing the injury. So, for example, if you take 10 damage from a knife slash, you might gain the consequence: Wound (Rib Slash) 10.
Damage Type
Damage comes in many different varieties—from the cutting of a blade to the toxins in a snake’s bite. Some creatures have immunities, vulnerabilities or resistances to certain damage types. Often the type of damage is made clear in an attack’s name or description, but if there’s any doubt the GM decides the type. A list of damage types follows.
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Burning (burn): Damage from laser fire, extreme heat, electricity or open flame.
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Corrosive (cor): Damage from acid, disintegration or something similar. Often reduces Armor with any hit.
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Cutting (cut): Damage from long, open wounds caused by a slashing implement.
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Fatigue (fat): Damage from exhaustion or physical stress. Causes a Fatigue consequence instead of a Wound (see page XXX). Often bypasses Armor entirely.
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Freezing (fr): Damage from frostbite or extreme cold.
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Piercing (pi): Damage whose impact is focused on a sharp point.
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Smashing (sm): Damage from blunt impact, like a crushing weapon or an explosive blast.
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Toxic (tox): Damage from poison, disease or a similar effect. Frequently applied in away that bypasses armor.
Damage and Margin
All attacks list a damage value. When a hit is scored, they deal the indicated amount of damage, plus the attack’s margin of success.
Mario shoots a ganger with his laspistol, achieving a hit with Margin 3. His laspistol is listed as Damage 5, therefore he deals 8 points of damage.
Armor
Armor reduces the damage suffered by your character from weapon strikes or similar effects by an amount equal to its value. Many creatures also have a tough hide that mimics armor. If this would reduce the damage to zero or less, no Wound is imposed.
Afterward, should any damage have penetrated the armor—that is, if the armor reduced the damage, but not to zero—decrease the target’s Armor value by one. If the armor has the Ballistic or Reflect properties, reduce those by one as well.
Apply common sense regarding when armor subtracts from damage and when it does not. For example, armor likely applies to gunshots, but won’t help against venom.
Azure shoots a soldier with her rifle, dealing 11 damage. The bandit is wearing a tactical suit (Armor 6). This subtracts from the damage he is dealt. Consequently, he only takes 5 damage. His tactical suit is then reduced to Armor 5.
Wounds
Any damage suffered by your character imposes a Wound consequence with a value equal to the damage dealt—after applying Armor, as well as any vulnerabilities or resistances.
This consequence may optionally be given a subject that is a brief description of the wound; for example: “bullet in shoulder” or “bashed in face.” If the GM feels that the wound would hinder a particular action, she may opt to impose a ⊖ on any relevant tests (see page XXX).
Marek is mauled by a horrific creature, who deals him 7 damage. With no armor to reduce it, he takes the full amount. The GM decides that “clawed across chest” is a good descriptor. This means that Marek gains Wound (Clawed Across Chest) 7.
Wound Total
The total value of all of your character’s Wound consequences is called her Wound Total. For example, if you have Wound (Smashed Face) 3, Wound (Rib Cut) 4 and Wound (Banged Knee) 2, your Wound Total would be 9. Grave Wounds (see page XXX) and Fatigue (see page XXX) add to this total as well.
When your Wound Total equals or exceeds your Health score, you risk dying (see page XXX).
Jörgen is in poor health. He has Wound (Acid Burns) 5, Grave Wound (Broken Arm) 4 and Fatigue (Asphyxiation) 6, for a Wound Total of 15. Unfortunately, he only has Health 12. With every new injury he risks death.
Grave Wounds
If you are struck with a critical hit, or if damage would push your Wound Total greater than or equal to your Health score, rather than taking a Wound, you instead take a Grave Wound consequence. These work like Wound consequences, except that they have more varied detrimental effects and are more difficult to heal.
When you gain a Grave Wound, the GM may opt to either flip on the Grave Wounds table below or make up a suitable effect.
| Card | Grave Wound |
|---|---|
| A♠ | Winded: The blow knocks the wind out of you. Immediately lose 1 AP. If you have 0 AP, instead gain 1 fewer AP next round. |
| 2♠ | Numb Arm: The attack glances off one of your arms, leaving it numb and tingly. Until the end of your next turn, any actions made with that arm suffer a ⊖. |
| 3♠ | Momentarily Blinded: Light from the attack or a blow to the head leaves you blinded. Until the end of your next turn, any actions that rely on sight suffer ⊖⊖. |
| 4♠ | Stumble Backward: The shock of the blow sends you stumbling backward. Gain a Prone consequence. |
| 5♠ | Bloody Gash: The attack opens a bloody gash in your body, ripping away skin and exposing the flesh underneath. Gain a Bleeding (Fatigue) consequence. |
| 6♠ | Concussive Blow: The blow glances off your head, leaving you dazed and with a nasty gash. Gain two Dazed consequences. |
| 7♠ | Exhausted: The attack leaves you pained and exhausted, unable to carry on with the vigor you were able to muster before. Gain 1d10 fatigue. |
| 8♠ | Broken Rib: The attack slams into your ribs with a sickening crunching sound. Until you undergo minor surgery, suffer a ⊖ on all Strength-based tests. |
| 9♠ | Broken Nose: The blow slams into your face, snapping your nose and smearing blood. Until you undergo minor surgery, suffer a ⊖ on all Charisma-based tests. |
| 10♠ | Herniating Entrails: The attack tears open your abdomen, allowing your entrails to bulge out. Needless to say, the pain is considerable. Until you undergo minor surgery, suffer a ⊖⊖ on all Endurance-based tests. |
| J♠ | One-Armed: The blow tears away your arm like pulled pork from the bone, leaving the limb ruined and several meters away. Until you undergo regrowth therapy, you are incapable of performing actions which depend on that arm. |
| Q♠ | One-Legged: The attack twists your leg away, cracking bone and ripping sinew. You fall down, your ruined leg trapped beneath. Gain a Prone consequence. Until you undergo regrowth therapy, you automatically fail all tests which depend on that leg. |
| K♠ | Makeshift Lobotomy: The attack rips your skull asunder, tearing away gaping chunks of bone and some precious brain-meats. Until you undergo major surgery, suffer ⊖⊖ on all Charisma- and Perception-based tests. |
| A♥ | Wobbly Leg: The attack glances off one of your shins. Until the end of your next turn, any actions made with that leg suffer a ⊖ and your Move score is halved. |
| 2♥ | Jolt of Pain: The blow sends a jolt of pain throughout your body, leaving you stunning and momentarily unable to act. Gain a Stunned consequence. |
| 3♥ | Distraction: The pain of attack causes you to lose focus. Until the end of your next turn, you may not take reactions. |
| 4♥ | Dazing Strike: The attack leaves you reeling and dazed from the pain. Gain a Dazed consequence. |
| 5♥ | Face Down: The force of the blow sends your spinning, slamming you face-first into the ground. Gain two Prone consequences. |
| 6♥ | Stunned: An aspect of the attack catches you off guard, leaving you stricken and forcing you to reevaluate the situation. Gain two Stunned consequences. |
| 7♥ | Broken Toes: The attack slams into your foot, crushing your toes and snapping bones with sickening pops. Until you undergo minor surgery, halve your Move score. |
| 8♥ | Twisted Back: You twist with the blow, spraining your back with a worrying crunch. Until you undergo minor surgery, suffer a ⊖ on all Dexterity-based tests. |
| 9♥ | Split Skull: The blow cracks your skull, causing swelling and a terrible headache. Until you undergo minor surgery, suffer a ⊖ on all Intelligence-based tests. |
| 10♥ | Broken Foot: The blow crumples your foot like wet paper, leaving it a broken lump. Until you undergo major surgery, halve your Move score and suffer a ⊖ on all Speed-based tests. |
| J♥ | Trauma Response: The attack leaves you with the sense that you are trapped in a waking nightmare. Gain two Dazed consequences and suffer ⊖⊖ on the resulting Panic test (see page XXX). |
| Q♥ | Concussion: The attack tears through you sending waves and shock and pain throughout your body. Gain three Stunned consequences. |
| K♥ | Mortal Wound: The attack rips through your guts, rending vital organs and arteries. While you’re not yet dead, saving you is beyond the ability of medicine. Draw a card at the beginning of every round. If it’s a joker, you die at the end of the round. |
| A♦ | Faint: A wave of pain and nausea leaves you feeling faint. Until the end of your next turn, any Strength-based tests suffer a ⊖. |
| 2♦ | Headache: Blood loss or exhaustion leaves you with a momentary splitting headache. Until the end of your next turn, any Intelligence-based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 3♦ | Bloody Face: The attack grazes your face, leaving a bloody smear over your nose and mouth. Until the end of your next turn, any Charisma-based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 4♦ | Shock: The injury leaves your system in a state of shock. Until the end of your next turn, any Endurance-based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 5♦ | Momentary Panic: A jolt of adrenaline caused by the wound leaves you shaky and on the edge of panic. Suffer a ⊖ on the resulting Panic test (see page XXX). |
| 6♦ | Brush With Death: For a terrifying moment your heart stops, leaving you gasping for breath. Gain a Dying consequence. |
| 7♦ | Secondary Wound: The attack strikes your body twice, leaving a secondary wound in your flesh. Take 1d10 additional damage, applied as a separate wound. |
| 8♦ | Thunderstruck: The blow strikes your head, sending your vision spinning and your ears ringing. Until you undergo minor surgery, any Perception-based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 9♦ | Shell Shocked: The attack connects with your head, leaving you in a vulnerable state of shock. Suffer ⊖⊖ on the resulting Panic test (see page XXX). Until you undergo minor surgery, any Determination-based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 10♦ | Broken Fingers: The attack strikes your hand and you feel one or more of your fingers snap. You drop anything held in that hand. Until you undergo minor surgery, any test made using that hand suffers a ⊖. |
| J♦ | Gushing Blood: Your body is ripped asunder as your fluids pour out like a faucet. Gain three Bleeding (Fatigue) consequences. |
| Q♦ | Crushed Hand: The attack crushes your hand, twisting it in ways it was not meant to bend. Bones are broken and it's left a bloody mess. Until you undergo major surgery, you automatically fail any test which depends on that hand. |
| K♦ | Spinal Break: Your spine cracks and fractures, causing you to fall prone. Gain a Prone consequence. Until you undergo major surgery, you may not stand nor move. |
| A♣ | Spasm: The pain of your wound sends spasms throughout your body. Until the end of your next turn, any Dexterity-based based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 2♣ | Sluggish: The shock of the attack ripples throughout your nervous system. Until the end of your next turn, any Speed-based based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 3♣ | Seeing Stars: The force of the attack leaves your senses reeling. Until the end of your next turn, any Perception-based based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 4♣ | Guard Down: The will to survive momentarily saps your willpower. Until the end of your next turn, any Determination-based based test suffers a ⊖. |
| 5♣ | Disarmed: The attack strikes your arm with a solid blow, causing you to drop anything currently being held. |
| 6♣ | Accidental Discharge: The blow involuntarily causes your hand to twitch. If you are holding a gun or similar projectile weapon it discharges. Make an attack on the nearest ally. If you are holding a melee weapon, deal its damage to yourself. |
| 7♣ | Lost Opportunity: The pain hinders your ability to react. Immediately lose all AP. If you have none, instead gain no AP next round. |
| 8♣ | Overwhelmed: The violence around you overwhelms your mental faculties. Gain an additional Stressed consequence. |
| 9♣ | Debilitated: Every wound makes it harder to go on, sapping your vigor and will. Gain an additional Stressed consequence, then gain 1d10 fatigue. |
| 10♣ | Makeshift Phlebotomy: The wound leaves you losing blood—a lot of it! Gain two Bleeding (Fatigue) consequences. |
| J♣ | Popped Eye: The attack splatters one of your eyes, which is smeared down your face like jam. It does a number on the rest of your head as well. Until you undergo regrowth therapy, you suffer a ⊖ on all mental tests. |
| Q♣ | Snapped Arm: The attack snaps your arm like a twig, leaving it hanging lifeless at her side. Until you undergo major surgery, you automatically fail any test which depends on that arm. |
| K♣ | Shattered Leg: The attack shatters your leg, snapping it in several places. Until you undergo major surgery, you may not walk and automatically fail any test which depends on that leg. |
| Joker | Flip Twice: Flip twice more on the Grave Wound tables and the attacker takes her choice of the two results. |
Marek is injured and fighting a hostile alien lifeform. He has Health 11 and already has a Wound Total of 8. Unfortunately he is bitten again, taking 6 damage after applying his Armor. As this would increase his Wound Total beyond his Health, instead of taking Wound 6, he gains a Grave Wound consequence. The GM then flips on the Grave Wounds table and determines that he gains: Grave Wound (One-Armed) 6.
Nonhuman Wounds
As written, the Grave Wounds table assumes a human-like physiology. When dealing these wounds to non-human creatures, the GM should interpret the results creatively, narrating them in a way that is applicable to the creature in question.
Dying
When you take damage and your new Wound Total is greater than or equal to your Health score, you risk dying from your accumulated injuries. This imposes a Dying consequence (see page XXX). Additionally, when your Wound Total reaches another multiple of your Health—for example, 2 × Health—you take an additional Dying consequence. Once you have accumulated three Dying consequences, you expire.
If you have a Dying consequence, you must make an Endurance test at the beginning of every round, with a TN equal to the amount your Wound Total exceeds your Health. If successful, you stave off dying another round. If you fail, however, you gain an additional Dying consequence, or two with a critical failure. Remove a Dying consequence if you score a critical success.
The Dying consequence also restricts you to no more than 1 AP (see page XXX).
Finneus has Health 10 and Wound (Arm Cuts) 9 due to a combat drone’s spinning blade. He is then struck again, imposing Grave Wound (Thigh Gash) 10. This increases his Wound Total above his Health, which gives him the Dying consequence. At the beginning of the next round, he makes an End-9 test to avoid gaining another Dying consequence. Fortunately, he scores an 18—a critical success! This allows him to remove a Dying consequence. Finneus is still in the fight!
Fatigue
Fatigue is a special type of damage that represents your character weakening or becoming tired. Rather than causing a Wound, it instead causes a Fatigue consequence (see page XXX). These function similarly to Wound consequences, having both a value and optional descriptor, but they have a different effect and rules for recovery (see page XXX).
When fatigue damage would cause a Grave Wound—such as with a critical hit or increasing your Wound Total to be greater than or equal to your Health—it instead forces you to make an Endurance test with a TN equal to the sum of your Fatigue consequences. On a failure, you fall unconscious for 1d10 hours.
Should fatigue increase your Wound Total to a greater multiple of your Health—for example, 2 × Health—you gain a Dying consequence, as normal.
Azure is starving and takes 4 fatigue. This gives her a Fatigue (Staving) 4 consequence. As she already has Wound Total 10—due to Wound 3 and Fatigue 7—this pushes her to Wound Total 14, which exceeds her Health 13. Not only does she take a Fatigue consequence, she also suffers the penalties described on page XXX and must make an End-11 test. If she fails this test, she falls unconscious for 1d10 hours. Should she reach Wound Total 26 from starvation, twice her Health, she begins dying.
Healing Damage
Damage may be healed in a variety of ways, from natural healing, to first aid, to skilled medical care.
Natural Healing
Most creatures have the ability to heal naturally over time. For each day spent resting and relaxing in a clean and safe environment, remove all Fatigue consequences and reduce the value of all your Wound consequences by two. Reduce them by one for nights spent in the cold, sleeping on the hard ground or on edge in a dangerous environment.
Grave Wounds do not heal without the benefit of medical care (see page XXX).
Medical Care
Those recovering under the care of a competent physician may heal difficult to treat injuries. The medic should make a Medicine-12 test. On a success, the patient may heal both Wound and Grave Wound consequences as part of her natural healing (see page XXX). The GM may decide whether to call for a test each day or whether to test for several days at a time.
A doctor may care for a number of patients at a time equal to her Intelligence.
First Aid
First aid may be used to patch up damage shortly after it occurs. Pick a Wound or Grave Wound consequence and make a Medicine-10 test. On a success, the patient may reduce its value. Grave Wounds have their value reduced by one, while Wounds have their value reduced by an amount equal to the margin (min 1). This takes 10 minutes and a character may only benefit from first aid once per Wound or Grave Wound.
Recovering Fatigue
It’s possible to recover from some fatigue through rest and relaxation. After 10 minutes of rest and recovery, make an End-10 test. On a success, reduce all of your Fatigue consequences by an amount equal to the margin. Any single Fatigue consequence may only benefit from this once. Also, keep in mind the “Not Until It’s Over” rule (see page XXX).
Surgery
Some Grave Wounds have effects that require “surgery” to remove. This term is used to mean both literal surgery, as well as any other complicated medical procedure. To perform surgery, the medic must either have surgical equipment (see page XXX) or the character must pay for treatment at a medical facility (see page XXX).
When performing surgery, the physician should make a Dex/Medicine-12 test. Regardless of success or failure, the patient gains a Fatigue consequence which cannot be healed for the duration of the recovery time. The value of this consequence, the operating time and the recovery time varies depending on whether this is a minor or major surgery. See the table below.
| Surgery | Operating Time | Fatigue | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 1 hour | ½ Health - margin of success | One day |
| Major | 1d10 hours | Health - margin of success | One week |
The “Not Until It's Over” Rule
No amount of first aid is going to heal a person dying of starvation. Wounds and fatigue cannot be healed until what’s causing them is no longer affecting the character. GMs and players should use common sense when tracking this.