Many things in Aeranos can cause a hero to become injured or sick. Below are basic rules concerning getting hurt, and getting better again, along with the rules concerning death.

Taking Damage From Attacks, Spells, and Traps

Some of the most common ways characters will get hurt are through combat and as a result of harmful spells and dangerous traps. When a character fails a defense test they take a wound. Wounds are divided into six categories. The level number preceding the name is the amount by which the damage exceeds your Toughness. For example: Damage 14 - Toughness 12 = 2 (Moderate Wound.)

0 - Minor

1 - Light

2 - Moderate

3 - Serious

4 - Critical

5 - Mortal

Whenever a character takes a wound they should make a mark in the appropriate wound column on their character sheet and modify their wound penalty accordingly.

NOTE: When making a survival test for a wound, you don’t apply its modifier (only previous wound modifiers).

Wound Levels

Level 0 “Minor Wounds”

These wounds are of minor inconvenience and pain. Skinned knuckles, shallow cuts, bruised muscles.

This level of wound is gained even if a character’s Toughness takes the damage to 0 or below. Minor wounds impose no modifiers on skill tests.

You can take a number of minor wounds equal to your Stamina +3.
Additional minor wounds become light wounds.

Level 1 “Light Wounds”

This level of wounding constitutes deeper lacerations, sprained joints or bad contusions, yet still nothing innately life-threatening.

Being lightly wounded imposes a -1 modifier to all future tests (including survival tests).

You can take a number of light wounds equal to your Stamina +2.
Additional light wounds become moderate wounds.

Level 2 “Moderate Wounds”

These are truly dangerous wounds, any one of which could cause death or unconsciousness in a stressful situation. Fractured bones, snapped ligaments, deep piercing wounds or concussion-worthy head wounds.

Being moderately wounded imposes 1 Penalty die to all future tests (including survival tests) and requires a survival test to remain functional and conscious. Failure on the survival test by 5 or more results in death. ((Requires Wound Stabilization.))

You can take a number of moderate wounds equal to your Stamina +1.
Additional moderate wounds become serious wounds.

Level 3 “Serious Wounds”

These wounds are severe and debilitating injuries. Arrow wounds to vital organs, cuts that sever significant muscles and arteries, or blunt force trauma that snaps bones or damages the spine.

Being seriously wounded imposes 2 Penalty dice to all future tests (including survival tests) and requires a survival test to remain among the living. You must pass the test by 5 or more to remain conscious. ((Requires Wound Stabilization.))

You can take a number of serious wounds equal to your Stamina.
Additional serious wounds become critical wounds.

Level 4 “Critical Wounds”

This is a truly deadly injury. Fractured skulls, limb severing cuts or deep punctures to the torso that pulverize organs. To remain alive after such an attack is a victory in and of itself.

Being critically wounded imposes 3 Penalty dice to all future tests (including survival tests) and requires a survival test to remain among the living. You must pass the test by 15 or more to remain conscious. ((Requires Wound Stabilization.))

You can take a number of critical wounds equal to your Stamina -1.
Additional critical wounds become mortal wounds.

Level 5 “Mortal Wounds”

Not a matter of if, but when you will die.

Being mortally wounded requires an immediate survival test with 3 Penalty dice. You survive a number of turns equal to your successes before expiring. Only quick, magical healing will save you. You must pass the test by 15 or more to remain conscious. Assuming you are awake to take an action, all your tests are at 3 Penalty dice.

Should it become necessary to know, you can take a number of mortal wounds equal to half your Stamina (minimum 1). Additional mortal wounds equal instant death.

Regaining Consciousness

Anytime a character loses consciousness due to a wound they must make another wound survival test every minute until they either expire or succeed and regain consciousness. (each test receives another -1 mod.) Receiving medical attention (Healing skill or healing magic) gives the patient a +2 modifier per success).

Wound Stabilization

There is a chance that moderate and above wounds will worsen with time and without healing care. The character must succeed on another survival test once per day for moderate and serious wounds and once per hour for critical wounds. Failure worsens the wound by one level (moderate becomes serious, serious becomes critical, critical becomes mortal.)

Once at Critical wound level a new survival test must be passed every hour to keep from dying.

Healing Wounds

First Aid by a Trained Healer

A Healing and Intelligence test and ten minutes or more, can reduce one wound by one step.

One task is allowed per healer and each wound can only decrease once in this way without magic.

It is possible to use the Heal skill on yourself, but this leads to a Penalty die.

Wound Level	Successes Required
Minor	1
Moderate	2
Severe	3
Critical	4
Mortal	Generally beyond a non-magical healer’s ability to mend.

Natural Healing

You regenerate slowly without magic. For a more realistic and detailed system, use the below chart to track your healing wounds.

For a quicker system use the Simple Healing chart and base your level on your worst current wound.

Simple Healing (without magic)

Worst Wound Level	Without Healer	With Healer
Minor	2 days	1 day
Light	1d6+1 days	Half that time.
Moderate	4d6 days	Half that time.
Serious	1d6+1 months	Half that time.
Critical	2d6+1 Months	Half that time.

Detailed Healing

Use this system if you don’t mind the complication, and want a more gritty, realistic healing in your campaign.

Number of Survival Tests: This is how many Survival tests you must pass before your wounds are finally healed. For the purpose of this system, you need only use your worst wound level modifier when making the test. All other wounds will be healed by the time your worst wound is. The frequency of the tests is given in the subsequent columns.

With/Without Healer: A trained healer can make a Healing test before each of your Survival tests. Success allows the use of the “With Healer” column.

Detailed Healing (without magic)

Wound Level	# of Survival Tests	Without stabilization	Without Healer	With Healer
Minor	0	NA	1 day	1 day
Light	1d6	NA	Once per 3 days	Once per day
Moderate	1d6	Once per week	Once per 4 days	Once per 2 days
Serious	1d6+1	Once per month	Once per 2 weeks	Once per week
Critical	2d6+1	Once per 3 months	Once per 2 months	Once per month
Mortal	NA	NA	NA	NA

Magical Healing

Spell	Will Cure...
Heal 0 “Minor Wound”	1 Minor plus one additional minor wound per success.
Heal 1 “Light Wound”	1 Light wound and all minor wounds.
Heal 2 “Moderate Wound”	1 Moderate wound, or two light wounds. / Heals all minor wounds.
Heal 3 “Severe Wound”	1 Severe wound, or two moderate wounds. / Heals all light & minor wounds.
Heal 4 “ Critical Wound”	1 Critical, or 2 severe wounds. / Heals all moderate and lower.
Higher level Heal spells will generally heal all current wounds (see spell for specifics).
Regeneration magic allows a survival test at a greater frequency (up to once a turn.)

Continuous Damage

Poison, acid, fire, constriction, and drowning are just a few of the possible sources of continuous damage. This kind of damage will either be attached to an attack (poisoned weapons, flaming torches, or squeezing tentacles), or conditional damage attached to an area or activity (burning building, prolonged underwater swim, or poison cloud). Either way, continuous damage starts as one wound that progresses in severity until the target dies, or manages to stop it by way of a defense test or specific action.

Continuous damage generally has a type, defense test, and duration associated with it.

Type

The type is usually just a descriptor that gives the GM and player some idea of how the damage is affecting the character, such as poison, spirit attack, suffocation, or life drain.

Defense

The defense test will tell you what needs to be rolled to resist the damage (if resisting is possible). Defense tests usually include Speed, Mind, and Body tests, but some might involve other attributes like Athletics. The defense test will give the starting target number followed by the severity, which tells you how much the target number increases with each subsequent roll and what level of wound the damage starts at. Some damage types begin with a wound level even before any defense test is made, meaning there is no way to escape all of the effects. Each subsequent failed defense test increases the wound level by one or more levels.

Duration

The duration tells you how many turns the damage lasts and must be tested against, and what if anything will end the damage before that.

Continuous Damage Examples

Flaming Weapon

Burn

Speed 12(+2 per turn)

Immediate Minor (+1 level per turn)

Continues until a successful defense test or doused with water. Others can aid in defense tests by using an action to add their successes to your test. Subsequent hits with this weapon add +2 to test difficulties.

Creature Tentacle

Constriction

Speed vs. Initial Attack result. (+2 per turn)

Immediate Minor (+1 wound level per 2 by which you fail defense per turn)

Continues until a successful defense test or a light wound or greater is done to the tentacle. The creature can re-grip and use another attack to reroll its initial attack result.

Pool of Acid

Dissolving

Speed 15 (+4 per turn)

Immediate Light (+1 level per turn)

Continues for 3 turns after you’ve escaped the pool at Speed 15 resistance.

Raging Inferno

Fire

Speed 18 (+4 per turn)

Immediate Serious (+1 per turn)

Continues until fully doused with water. Others can aid in defense tests by using an action to add their successes to yours.

Elixirs, Venoms, Poisons, and Other Concoctions

Occasionally, though hopefully not too often, heroes might have to deal with the effects of certain potions, poisons, and elixirs meant to kill, incapacitate, or otherwise affect themselves or others. There are far too many types to detail them all here.

Some cause mild harmful effects like rashes or vomiting, while others are so deadly that one failed test will kill a creature within seconds. Others might cause them to lose their memory, or send them into a deep sleep. Since most work by being absorbed into the body, they most often require the victim to roll a Body test to resist. Some stranger or more magical varieties might require Mind tests among other things.

Delivery Method

Some of the basic methods of delivery include...

Skin: Merely getting this type on your skin (or in your eyes, etc.) is enough to require a test. The application might be by smearing paste on a target, dispersing it in a body of water, spreading it through the air, or lacing a piece of clothing that is later worn by the target.

Blood: This type is most often a poison or venom and must be introduced into the bloodstream of the target. Usually, this is accomplished through coating a bladed weapon (or a dart) and then cutting the target, or simply by the venomous bite of a creature.

Ingestion: This type must be eaten or imbibed in order to take effect. Generally, this means the elixir, potion or poison has been secretly mixed into food or drink. Or in the case of some potions, taken willingly.

Inhalation: As a weapon, generally this type is thrown as a powder or encased in a container of some sort and then broken open by throwing it. For it to take effect, the target must inhale it. Even if a target sees the attack coming, it’s very hard to keep it from getting into the mouth and sinuses, but with a high enough Speed test, it might be possible to avoid some or all of the effects.

Effect Type

As stated above, effects vary widely. Some are meant to kill the target quickly while others might render their target unconscious or open to suggestion. Many have multiple effects. Listed below are the rules for damaging poisons/venoms in particular, since these are the most commonly encountered, and miscellaneous other varieties.

Damaging: This type of poison might use any of the above delivery methods but often uses blood delivery. It is meant to wound or incapacitate its target by causing physical harm to the body. Some damaging poisons or venoms might cause searing pain, or actually eat away at the flesh of a target. The specific effect varies for every poison.

Most of these poisons do continuous damage (see above). They generally require the target to continue making Body tests in successive turns. Sometimes these successive tests become more difficult with higher potency. How many tests are required and their potency rate depends on the poison. Some types work for just a few turns while others continue to work until an antidote is given or the target dies.

Venom and Poison Examples

Giant Spider Venom

(Level 2 Venom from Totem Spell)

Injected Venom

Body (10+Attack success) on the turn after the attack.

Delivered with a light bite wound or higher.

Wound +1 per turn until Body test is successful or critical level is reached.

Raven’s Blood Poison

Mind Damage

Mind 12 (+1 per turn)

Immediate Minor

Continues 10 turns after the last dose administered. Each failed Mind defense increases wound level by 1. Causes debilitating hallucinations and extreme headaches. A mortal wound is considered total, catatonic insanity from brain damage.

Rotter’s Disease

Blood delivery

Body 15, 1 hour

Delivered with light wounds or higher.

Wound +1 level per turn until Body test is successful.

The necrotic filth beneath the nails and in the saliva of a ghoul causes a violent, swift infection that rots the flesh and will kill a victim in hours without a healer’s attention. All natural wound stabilization and healing tests have -1p. Spells that cure the wound completely work as normal.

Black Ichor

Blood delivery, blade coating

Body (12+attack success) on the turn after the attack.

Delivered with light wounds or higher.

Wound +1 per turn until Body test is successful.

This poison is basically cave adder venom distilled and turned into a sticky paste that can be applied to a blade. Once exposed to air, the venom loses a great deal of its potency, becoming nearly harmless after more than an hour or two.

Wyrm’s Tear

Deadly Ingested Poison

Body 18 (+1 per hour) 1 hour after ingestion.

Serious wound (+1 wound level per test failure)

Continues until an antidote is given or the subject dies.

A deadly poison brewed by the world’s best assassin’s guilds. The onset gives plenty of time for the murderer to leave the scene. The antidote is just as rare and makes for an excellent bargaining chip. Particularly aware individuals may be able to smell the slightly spicy aroma with a “Very Hard” -6 modifier.