Stress and Consequences

In ELDRA, characters measure their endurance and mental stability through two main types of stress: Physical Stress and Mental Stress. Each type has its own Stress Pool (Physical or Mental) — a total number of stress points representing how much punishment a character can endure before suffering lasting harm or being incapacitated.

Physical Stress

Physical Stress is a measure of bodily harm—cuts, bruises, fatigue, and raw injury. Your Physical Stress Pool comes from your Fortitude: look it up in the table below, then add anything your People or abilities grant. When you take damage, subtract it from your remaining stress points.

If you take more stress than you have points remaining in your pool, you must take a Consequence.

Mental Stress

Mental Stress represents your character’s willpower, focus, and sanity. Mental Stress is subtracted from your Mental Stress Pool when characters are subjected to fear, mind control, illusions, or other effects that strain their resolve. Your Mental Stress Pool comes from your Resolve, using the same table, plus anything your People or abilities grant.

Just like Physical Stress, if your Mental Stress Pool is reduced to 0 and you take further damage, you must take a Consequence.

Stress Pool by Skill Rating

Each step up adds one more point than the step before, so the pool grows faster as the skill rises.

Consequences

When your Physical or Mental Stress Pool is reduced to 0, you can absorb additional damage by taking a Consequence. Consequences are lasting effects that represent serious wounds, trauma, or psychological scarring. There are three levels of Consequences:

• Mild (2 Stress) — A minor but noticeable injury, sickness or mental strain. Examples: "Bruised Ribs," "Shaken Nerves."

• Moderate (4 Stress) — A significant wound or trauma. Examples: "Broken Arm," "Paralyzing Fear."

• Severe (6 Stress) — A devastating injury or severe mental breakdown. Examples: "Crushed Leg," "Nightmares of Terror."

When damage takes your pool to 0 and some damage is left over, that excess goes into your lowest open Consequence slot. If the excess is more than the slot absorbs, the next slot fills too, and so on. With no slot left, you are Taken Out.

Consequences remain with your character until they are healed or recovered, which typically requires downtime, medical aid, or magical intervention. They are also exploitable by enemies, making your character more vulnerable in specific situations.

Default Consequence Slots

Every player character begins with the following Consequence slots:

• 1 Mild Consequence (absorbs 2 Stress)

• 1 Moderate Consequence (absorbs 4 Stress)

• 1 Severe Consequence (absorbs 6 Stress)

Certain stunts, People-specific traits, or class abilities may grant additional Consequence slots. A character whose Physical or Mental Stress Pool is reduced to 0 and who has filled all available Consequence slots is Taken Out — incapacitated, killed, or otherwise removed from the scene at the GM’s discretion.

Each Consequence slot can only be used once. If a Consequence slot is already occupied by an unhealed Consequence, it cannot absorb additional damage until it has been fully recovered.

Dying

A character who is Taken Out by damage is dying if the GM rules the harm lethal. A dying character is unconscious and dies at the end of the scene unless someone stabilises them first. Any healing stabilises a dying character. So does an adjacent ally who spends 2 AP and succeeds on a Lore or Crafts roll; the GM sets the Difficulty. A stabilised character is unconscious but no longer dying, and wakes after the scene or when healed.

Recovery

In ELDRA, recovery is swift but dependent on rest. During a short rest (1 hour), your Physical and Mental Stress Pools are fully restored to their maximum values. You also regain Mana equal to your Magic skill (see Mana below).

A long rest (8 hours) allows for deeper recovery. During a long rest, your Physical and Mental Stress Pools are fully restored, and you completely restore your Mana. During your long rest, your Consequences also heal, starting from the lowest severity. Mild Consequences heal at a rate of 1 Consequence per long rest, Moderate Consequences require up to two weeks per Consequence to heal, and Severe Consequences require from two weeks to a month per Consequence to heal if the injury or trauma is properly tended to and taken care of.