HIT LOCATIONS AND EFFECTS OF CRIPPLING INJURIES When you strike at an enemy, you may choose what part of his body you will attack or you may swing randomly, some attacks will always target a random location. RANDOM HIT LOCATION - This is used when a part of the body must be randomly chosen as the target. Roll 3d6 to see what part was hit. Roll further if the hit location requires it. If the part of the body hit was under cover and a random hit hits that part roll again. Some parts of the body will never be hit randomly. If a random attack comes from above (rocks, halberd strokes) subtract 3 from the first die roll. If it comes from below, add 3 to the die roll. Wild swings, missile weapons fired from beyond 1/2D range, shrapnel, attacks made at random by traps, accidental damage, wounds taken in mass combat and the like always use random damage. Attacks on characters who are only briefly visible (like shooters executing pop-up attacks, running men, or men several hexes away in melee) may also be random shots, at the GMs whim. If it makes a difference, roll vs. basic weapon skill to see if a character can hit a specific target during the turn and then double the penalty to hit the specific hit location. MAJOR DAMAGE - This shows any crippling effects, and makes Special-Damage calls as appropriate. HIT PENALTY - This shows the subtraction an attacker must make when attacking that part of a foe. Any further to-hit penalties (for pain, injuries, bad lighting, intoxication, and whatever) are of course cumulative with these penalites, and the same goes for PD of shields and armor if that optional rule is used where PD subtracts from attacks instead of adding to defense rolls. MISSING A SPECIFIC HIT LOCATION - If you lost the contest of skills only because you targeted a specific hit location with a hand weapon, and your foe rolled more than his defense score, you hit in roughly the same location: head, arm, leg or shoulder. If you missed and your opponent is riding a horse, or is obscured by another character, and didn't make his parry or block roll, on a roll of 9 or less (or your modified roll to hit, whichever is worse), you hit the mount or an adjacent character. RANDOM BODY HIT RESULT OF LOCATION PART PENALTY MAJOR DAMAGE 3 Neck* -5 See note 6 & 16. 4 Brain -7 See notes 1, 2 and 16. 5 (1-3) Head* -5 See notes 1 & 2. 5 (4-6,1-2)Face* -5 See notes 1, 2 and 3. 5 (4-6,3) Jaw* -6 See notes 1, 3 and 4. 5 (4-6,4) Eyes* -9 See notes 2, 3 and 5. - Eyes (through helm eyeslits) -10 As above. Armor doesn't protect. 5 (4-6,5) Nose* -7 See notes 1 and 7. 5 (4-6,6) Ear* -7 See notes 1, 6 and 8. 6 (1-5) Shield (far) Arm -4(-2) See notes 9,10,12,22. Crippled by Critical. 6 (6) Shield (far) Elbow -6(-5) See notes 9,10,12,22. Crippled by Serious. 7 (1-4) Weapon (near) Hand -4(-4) See notes 9, 11 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 7 (5-6) Shield (far) Hand -5(-4) See notes 9, 11 & 22. Crippled by Serious. - Shield Hand -8(-4) See notes 9,11,12 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 8 (1-5) Weapon (near) Arm -2 See notes 9, 10 & 22. Crippled by Critical. 8 (6) Weapon (near) Elbow -5 See notes 9, 11 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 9 (1-5) Chest -1 See notes 13 and 14. 9 (6) Vitals -3 See notes 2 and 13-15. 10 Shoulder -1 See note 10 & 22. Arm crippled by a Serious wound. Armpit -5 See note 10. Arm crippled by Serious. Armpit to vitals -10 See note 10. Damage to both armpit and vitals, impaling thrust only. 11 (1-3) Abdomen -1 See notes 13, 16 and 17. 11 (4-5) Pelvis -1 See notes 16 and 18. 11 (6) Groin -5(-10) See notes 13 and 19. 11 (6) Kidneys -5(-10) See notes 16, 17, 20. 12 (1-3) Far leg thigh -3(-2) See note 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Critical. 12 (4-5) Far leg shin -3(-2) See note 9, 21 - 23. Crippled by Critical. 12 (6) Far leg Knee -5 (-4) See notes 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 13-14 (1-3)Near leg thigh -2 See notes 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Critical. 13-14 (4-5)Far leg shin -3(-2) See note 9, 21 - 23. Crippled by Critical. 13-14 (6) Near leg knee -4(-4) See notes 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 15+ (1-4) Near Foot -4(-4) See notes 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Serious. 15+ (5-6) Near Foot -5(-4) See notes 9, 21 & 22. Crippled by Serious. - Instep -6 See notes 21, 22 & 24. - Weapon -3 to -5 Weapon may fall or break - Armor variable See note 25. * On a hit from the back, the following hit breakdown is substituted. 1-3 head 4-5 neck 6 ear 1. BRAIN HITS - If the brain is hit, the skull provides a natural 2 DR. This is in addition to any armor, toughness, etc. the victim possesses. However, shooting for the eyes avoids this DR, and shooting for the eyeslits of a helm avoids both the helm's DR and the skull's DR. After the skull's DR of 2 is subtracted, any hit does 4 times basic damage (regardless of weapon type) except for bullets which do 6 times basic damage. On any Medium wound, the victim is stunned and must make a Special-Damage roll or be knocked out. On a Serious wound the victim is automatically knocked out. See also 26 and 27. 2. KNOCKOUT - Any blow that does at least 0 damage to the head or brain, or any crushing blow to the vitals, requires the victim to make a Special-Damage roll at +5 to avoid knockout. If the brain or the head is the target of a swung hand weapon, or the vitals are the target of a bullet or impaling attack, a roll that misses by only 1 hits the shoulders. See also 26 and 27. 3. DISFIGURING - Any hit to the face, nose, jaw or eye that does at least 1 point of damage is likely to cause temporary or permanent loss of Good Appearance, depending on the type of blow. The DR of the skull does not protect against this effect. For any such wound, make a Special-Damage roll at +5. If the roll is failed, appearance is reduced by 1 level per 3 points the roll was missed by, to a mininum level of Hideous appearance. This heals as crippling damage (so it may be permanent pending reconstructive surgery). SWEAT/BLOOD IN EYE - Sweat or blood in the eye gives -2 to Vision rolls and Combat skills until it can be wiped away. Roll vs. HT on hits to head, face and eye to avoid this effect. A headband or similar item will usually negate this effect. 4. JAW HITS - Any crushing or slashing damage to the jaw requires a Special-Damage roll (at +5) to avoid knockout. Any Medium wound is an automatic stun; any Serious or worse wound is an automatic knockout. Excess Damage is halved if the victim is wearing a helmet or headgear that covers and pads the chin. Any damage to this area might result in damage to the teeth. The jaw is crippled by any Medium or worse wound (and possibly broken). The victim can't shout or chew solid food until the jaw is healed. A bullet or explosion that does a Serious or worse wound to the jaw shatters the jaw. The character has -2 to HT to avoid Bleeding, -4 to HT to avoid Infection and Suffocation. Furthermore the character must have extensive Facial Reconstructive Surgery or have a Hideous Appearance. Roll vs. HT to save the tongue, otherwise the character is Mute, and is at -6 to Taste. A Critical wound to the jaw blows off the jaw. The effects are the same as above, but Bleeding and Suffocation occur automatically. 5. EYE HITS - 2 hp of damage blinds the eye; this is healed as any crippling injury. An impaling or missile hit (if the missile is under 1" across) that does more than 2 points of damage continues on into the brain; starting with the third point, any further damage is multiplied accordingly and applied to the brain. If the target is wearing a medieval closed-face helm, only a missile or thrusting attack can hit they eye and the attack is at -10. Modern riot helmets, which have a clear plastic visor, can't be targeted in this way. If both eyes are blinded at once, the victim is Stunned. BLACK EYE - Any cutting or crushing damage to the eye that does 0 or more points of damage cause the tissue around the eye to bruise and swell within 12 hours. This gives a -1 to Vision rolls per point of damage done until the damage is healed, up to a maximum penalty of -4. 6. NECK AND THROAT HITS - Any Medium or worse wound to the head, jaw or neck requires a Special-Damage roll (at +2) or suffocation starts due to a crushed trachea or blocked airways -- a tracheotomy is required to allow the victim to breathe. Crushing damage to the throat does x 1.5 damage. Any cutting, bullet or impaling damage does double damage and requires a Special-Damage roll at +5 or severe bleeding starts. The victim is Stunned if he takes a Medium or worse wound to the throat. Check for Spine damage. A Critical wound to the neck requires a Special-Damage roll to avoid decapitation. The DR of a closed-faced helm protects this area, as does the DR of any chest or neck armor. If the character is decapitated he automatically dies. 7. NOSE HITS - All damage to this area does x2 Daze. 8. EAR HITS - Any crushing, cutting or bullet damage that causes a Medium or worse wound, requires a Special-Damage roll at +2 or the ear is deafened, which may or may not heal like any crippling injury. The skull only provides 1 DR protection around the ears. If the ear is deafened roll the character must roll vs. HT-1 or be stunned. This roll is at +5 if the character has High Pain Threshold, and is penalized for Excess Damage like a Special-Damage Roll if the character has a Low Pain Threshold. DEAFENING ATTACKS - A loud noise or a concussion from an explosion can deafen the character. Roll vs. HT whenever the character is near a very loud noise (+1 to HT for each hex away from the noise/epicenter of the blast the character is). If the roll is failed the character is deafened. He is at -6 to hear. For long term noise that isn't enough to deafen immediately (rock music, bells) roll vs. HT once every 10 minutes. For very loud noises or explosions, missing the roll by 3+ points means the character's eardrums are ruptured and are "crippled" until they heal. Roll vs. HT each week to regain hearing. On a Critical Failure the character is Hard of Hearing. A Will roll is required to stay near a painfully loud noise (roll each minute). Severe concussion over a long period of time requires a roll vs. HT each minute. A failed roll will cost 1 point of Fatigue until the character reaches 0 Fatigue. Then the character will start to take HT damage. 9. BILATERAL SYMMETRY - The table was designed to distinguish between the arms and legs of a shield-carrying man. If no shield is present and neither arm is nearer, then both arms, hands, elbows, legs, knees and feet are equally easy to hit. Roll randomly to determine left or right. 10. ARMPIT THRUSTS - Any thrust to the armpit should reduce the DR of most pre-modern armor by 1. Fortunately, the armpit is a hard target to hit. On any thrusting attack to the armpit, roll for Severe Bleeding and make a Special-Damage roll to avoid nerve damage to arm (both these rolls are at an initial bonus of +5). Damage is to torso, but any Serious wound will cripple the arm. An impaling thrust can be directed though the armpit into the vitals, -10 to hit. Damage affects both armpit and vitals. 11. CRIPPLING HANDS - on a Serious limb wound to a hand, the hand is crippled (see note 12, below), but the wound does not cripple the arm itself (doesn't even count toward crippling the arm -- the hand is considered a totally separate hit location from the arm). 12. EFFECTS OF A CRIPPLED HAND - Roll vs. DX or drop any item in the hand, if it is crippled. If the item isn't dropped, it may still be carried if it weighs than ST/5, but the hand can't be used to pick up or manipulate the item. If the item is a weapon, the character can still attack with it at -6 to skill for hand weapons and long guns (-3 if the weapon is "locked" or taped into place) or -3 to skill for handguns. If the weapon has a Recoil penalty roll vs. DX-Rcl after each shot or group or the weapon drops from the character's hand. Cutting, explosive or bullet attacks might amputate fingers. 13. SHIELD BONUSES - The PD modifier of any shield is doubled for swung weapon attacks vs. this target area. It is normal for any other missile or hand weapon attacks, except for attacks on the shield hand, elbow and arm, which are always protected by double PD. 14. PENETRATING TO THE VITALS - On any Medium or worse wound to the chest, any damage in excess of what is needed to make the wound Medium goes on into the vitals, and the extra damage is increased by a factor depending on its type: Damage type Extra damage multiplied by Bullet 3 Impaling 3/2 Cutting 4/3 Crushing (non-bullet) wounds do not get any bonus, but may still cause damage to the vitals. See note 15. If the wound becomes Critical, or comes within 2 points of being Critical, see note 16. 15. VITALS DAMAGE - All impaling and bullet damage that penetrates to the vitals does x3 damage. Other weapons do x2 damage. Daze penalties are doubled. Roll for Severe Bleeding. Multiple bad things can happen when you get hit in the vitals. On any wound that penetrates to the vitals, make Special- Damage rolls (at +1) for each of the following: AREA RESULT GAME EFFECT Lung Collapse Roll vs. HT each minute or lose 1 fatigue until unconscious. A Will-4 roll is required for any exertion, after which make a HT roll or fatigue-loss rate is doubled. On a CF, lose Respiration. Heart Death Only on a CF. Irreversible Cardiac Arrest in HT x 2d6 seconds. Roll vs. HT each turn to stay concious. Liver Damage On a regular failure, treat as Severe Bleeding. On a critical failure the liver is shattered and you will die unless you get a new liver within HT x 5 hours. Ignore this for impaling blows. If a wound to the liver is successfully treated by surgery, the character must roll vs. HT or suffer from the Susceptibility to Poison disadvantage due to poor liver function. Spleen Damage On a failure the spleen has been damaged and you will suffer from internal bleeding until it has been surgically removed, repaired, or replaced. 16. SPINE HITS AND PARALYSIS - Spine hits are only possible on wounds from the back that do 2 points of damage, or a Critical wound to the front of the torso, or a Serious or worse wound to the front of the neck or head. A possible hit to the Spine requires a Special-Damage roll; this is at +3 in the case of a torso wound, at +2 in case of a head wound, and only at +1 in case of a neck wound. Failure means that there is Paralysis of the body at and below the site of the wound. If the roll is missed by 3 or less, the Paralysis is partial. If the roll is missed by 4 or more, the Paralysis is complete. On a critical failure, the victim begins to die and can't be revived. If a missile attack came within 2 points of causing a possible Spine hit, the missile lodges in the vertebrae. The victim isn't paralyzed in this case, but might be paralyzed if the wound is aggravated. 17. ABDOMINAL HITS - A Medium or worse wound to the abdomen penetrates to the body cavity. Double all Daze penalties, and check for a spine hit if the wound is Serious or worse. Roll (at +2) for Severe Bleeding. Make a Special- Damage roll at +2 to avoid perforation of the stomach, gall bladder, intestines, or bladder. If perforation occurs, rolls to avoid infection are at -5. There is no "vitals" multiplier for this location. EVULSION - Any puncture, bullet or cutting attack to the abdomen that inflicts a Serious wound will cause Evulsion of the viscera. If Evulsion occurs, Daze penalties are doubled and the victim must make a Fright Check when he sees the wound. If the victim is still mobile, he can only use one hand (the other is holding his guts in) while he stands or lies prone until the wound is treated. He can also only move 1 hex per turn. All skills and physical abilities are at -4, in addition to other penalties. A Will check is required each minute to continue moving. If the victim falls or is knocked down he must roll vs. DX or his guts fall out, doing 1d6-3 point of extra damage. An evulsed wound gives -4 to HT to avoid infection. Evulsed wounds can be immobilized with First-Aid, but Surgery is required to repair the damage. 18. HITS TO THE PELVIS - Crushing, bullet or cutting attacks that inflict a Serious or worse wound to the Pelvis over HP/2 cripple the leg, as below. Any Medium or worse wound penetrates to the abdomen as above, but the roll to avoid Severe Bleeding is only at +1. Check for a Spine hits if applicable. 19. GROIN HITS - Any hit that does at least 0 damage to the groin on males requires a Special-Damage roll (at +5) to avoid being Stunned. This roll is at +5 if you have the High Pain Threshold advantage. If you have the Low Pain Threshold disadvantage, double Excess Damage. Any Medium or worse wound results in automatic Knockout. All Daze penalties are tripled for males. The only special effect suffered by females is that Daze penalties are multiplied by 1.5. For a Medium or worse wound (to either gender) caused by a bullet or a cutting or impaling weapon, roll for severe bleeding (at +2). The kidneys are substituted for the groin on attacks from the side or back. The groin can be targeted with melee attacks from the side or rear at double the normal penalty to attack. 20. KIDNEY HITS - Damage that penetrates the rib cage to the kidneys does x2 damage,x3 for bullets or impaling attacks. On a Serious or worse wound, roll for Severe Bleeding, and if the injury is survived, the victim must make a Special-Damage roll in order to avoid having the wounded kidney cease functioning permanently. If this is critically failed, the victim also acquires the Bad Back disadvantage. 21. If the leg or foot is crippled roll vs. DX each turn to stand. Roll at DX-2 if you attempt to attack or move, or if you were hit while moving. Hits to the thigh have no special damage effect, but recover more slowly than hits to the lower leg. 22. Impaling, slashing and bullet attacks do no extra damage to any part of the limbs. 23. All Daze penalties are doubled for attacks to the shins. 24. All Daze penalties are doubled for attacks to the instep. 25. Armor on a specific hit location is targeted as that hit location -3. A hit with a cutting weapon to the armor on a specific hit location will cut the straps of medieval-style armor if the base damage was at least 2 points. This will reduce the PD or DR of the armor and might reduce the opponent's Move, at the GM's option. 26. LOSS OF MEMORY - Loss of memory comes from hit to the Head or Spine. On any wound to these areas, make a Special- Damage roll. If the roll is failed the character goes can't remember anything from 1d6 minutes prior to the blow. If the roll is missed by 3+ the character can't remember anything for 1d6 hours prior to the injury. On a Critical Failure the character has Partial Amnesia. On a natural 18, the character has Full Amnesia. Roll vs. HT each week to recover memory. On a critical failure the amnesia is permanent. 27. CONCUSSION - A Concussion is a part of any major head wound. For any head wound, make a Special-Damage roll. If the roll fails, the character has a Concussion and 1/2 of the Daze penalty is lasting. Roll again each hour to drop this lasting Daze penalty by 1 point. On a Critical Failure, or if the initial roll is missed by 5+, the character goes Unconcious and has Internal Bleeding into his brain. Damage from bleeding counts towards Brain Damage unless relieved. Roll for the severity of internal bleeding normally. The character is "out of danger" in 34-HT hours and heals normally. GENERAL DAMAGE In the rules to follow, there are four separate wound categories: Light, Medium, Serious, and Critical. The category depends on the number of points of damage done after any multipliers for damage type and location have been applied. The exact damage ranges depend on the hit points of the patient, as well as on whether the wound is to an extremity (arm or leg in the case of a human) or to the head/body. Extremities have less structure to absorb physical damage and so have lower hit-point thresholds for the various categories; then again, wounds to the head or body are likely to have far more serious consequences. The table below shows the various thresholds; in all cases, round fractions nearest. Wound Level Head/Body Arm/Leg Light 1 to (HP/3)-1 1 to (HP/5)-1 Medium (HP/3) to (HP/2)-1 (HP/5) to (HP/3)-1 Serious (HP/2) to HP-1 (HP/3) to (HP/2)-1 Critical HP or more (HP/2) For limbs, a Light wound gives a -1 to any and all actions that limb is used for (and for kicking with the other leg in case of a leg injury, since you need to place your full weight on the injured leg). A Medium wound gives a -3, and also subtracts 1 from Move in case of a leg injury. A Serious wound gives a -5, and subtracts 3 from Move in case of a leg injury. A Critical wound cripples the limb, and no more than (HP/2) damage can be taken by a limb; a limb may also be crippled by a Serious wound to its major joint. Hands and feet take a damage tally which is separate from that of the limbs they're attached to; they are crippled by a Serious wound and cannot take more than (HP/3) damage. Crippling a hand or foot does not make the parent limb altogether useless, and the hand/foot damage does not count toward crippling the limb as a whole -- it is quite possible to take a Serious wound to your right hand and then a Critical wound to your right arm. If a limb with one or more Light, Medium, and/or Serious wounds takes another wound that would be of a worse level than any of the ones it already has, then it is counted as having a wound of that worse level, even if it has already been crippled by the smaller ones -- forget about the smallest wounds at they become superfluous. If an arm, leg, hand or foot with a Medium or worse injury is used to attack (or in similar powerful and sudden exertion), a HT roll must be made or the injury will be aggravated (add 1 point to it). This aggravation may very well cause crippling, although it will not cause any major fractures. For head and body injuries, a character that has at least one Medium wound suffers a penalty of 1 to Move, DX/AG, and all physical skills; a character that has at least one Serious wound suffers a penalty of 2. In the case of head injuries, the penalty is also applied to IQ and all mental skills. These penalties are not cumulative. (But a character with a Serious body wound and a Medium head wound will have -2 on DX/AG and physical actions, and -1 on IQ and mental actions). Any character with at least one Critical head/body wound has taken at least full HP damage, and suffers accordingly. SPECIAL-DAMAGE ROLLS Often, a wound has some special effect that may or may not happen. Such wounds call for a Special-Damage roll (sometimes at a bonus or penalty). This roll is basically made vs. HT plus or minus any explicit bonus or penalty given when the Special-Damage roll was called for, but it may (usually) be further penalized if the wound was larger than the minimum that would cause the roll. Any damage over the minimum is called Excess Damage, and cross-referenced with the victim's HP on the table below to find the penalty. For instance, if the victim has 13 HP and takes a wound of 10 HP where a Serious wound causes a Special-Damage roll, then the wound is 3 points more than the minimum Serious wound, and Excess Damage is 3. Cross-referencing HP 13 and Excess Damage 3 on the table, we find that this gives a penalty of -2. In some cases the Excess Damage is modified (halved or doubled, for instance) before applied; this is explicitly stated in each case. Excess VICTIM'S HP SCORE Damage 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 2 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 3 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 4 -6 -5 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 5 -7 -6 -6 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 6 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 7 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 8 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 9 -13 -11 -10 -9 -8 -8 -7 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -5 10 -14 -13 -11 -10 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 11 -16 -14 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -6 12 -17 -15 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 13 -19 -16 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 -7 14 -20 -18 -16 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 15 -21 -19 -17 -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 -8 16 -23 -20 -18 -16 -15 -13 -12 -11 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 17 -24 -21 -19 -17 -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -11 -10 -9 -9 -9 18 -26 -23 -20 -18 -16 -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -11 -10 -9 -9 19 -27 -24 -21 -19 -17 -16 -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -11 -10 -10 20 -29 -25 -22 -20 -18 -17 -15 -14 -13 -13 -12 -11 -11 -10 For values off the table, the formula is: Penalty = (Damage*10)/HP, round nearest. LOST HIT POINTS - Someone who has been wounded repeatedly will eventually weaken and collapse, even if no single injury is very great. Tally all hit points taken in wounds to the head and body, and in bloodloss and general system damage; limb wounds do not count towards driving a character unconscious or dead from sheer lack of hit points (although individual limb wounds may very well cause shock which may even be fatal, and they may certainly bleed and get infected and so on). Characters who have taken total head/body damage of 2/3 HP or more are affected as follows: Total damage of 2/3 HP or more: Your Move score is halved. All skills and abilities are at -4. You are reeling from your wounds. At this point, no penalties from head/body wounds are counted; they are subsumed into the -4. Total damage of at least HP: As above, but you will probably soon fall unconcious. You must roll vs. HT each turn to avoid Unconciousness. Total damage of at least 2*HP: You must roll vs. HT each minute or you stop breathing and go into Cardiac Arrest, in which case you will shortly die without emercency medical aid. Further damage: As above, but the HT roll to avoid Cardiac Arrest gets successive penalties as you pass each multiple of HP. Total damage of at least 6*HP: You automatically go into Cardiac Arrest and Loss of Breathing. Rescue attempts won't work. You are too badly injured to live. Total damage of at least 11*HP: Your body is completely destroyed, if the damage done was burning or cutting damage, or other damage that pretty-well mutilates the body. This will put you beyond the reach of psionic or magical ressurection in most cases. FATIGUE LOSS FROM HITS - Blows that hit the head or torso for at least 0 points of damage subtract -1 point of Fatigue. STUN - A character can be stunned five ways: by taking a Serious or worse wound to the body; by taking a Medium wound to the head, groin, jaw or brain or vitals; by taking crippling wounds to any extremity; by a hit that blinds both eyes; or by a critical hit. If you recieve a Serious wound to the head or body, or a Critical limb wound, you must roll vs. HT. If you fail the roll by 3 or more points you are knocked prone. If you fail the roll by less than 3 points you are knocked to your knees. (You may automatically fall if you wish.) All active defenses are at -4 during the turn and the stun penalty is doubled until you recover. Roll vs. HT each turn to recover. If you recover, you can act normally that turn and thereafter. If you fail the roll, you can't move and remain "knocked down". STUNNING THROUGH ARMOR - HT rolls to avoid Knockout are made at -1 per (HP/2) points of Basic Damage done even if the blow doesn't penetrate. DAZE - Every time you take a wound, you get a penalty to use all skills and abilities which depends on the amount of damage you took -- cross-reference the damage and your HP on the same table used for Special-Damage penalties to find the daze penalty. This penalty is halved (round down) after the end of your next turn and each turn thereafter until it goes away; if you take another daze penalty before it has gone away, you now have a total daze penalty equal to the sum of the remaining "old" penalty and the new one. If you are using a mounted weapon with an electronic sighting mechanism, the penalty is halved. High Pain Threshold halves this penalty. Low Pain Threshold doubles it. PAIN - 1/4 of all Daze penalty (rounded down) is "permanent" until the wound is healed, once combat is over, to a maximum penalty of -10. The negative modifier applies to all skill and statistic including Move. High Pain Threshold halves this penalty. Low Pain Threshold doubles the penalty. Appropriate pain-killers partially or fully eliminate the penalty. Certain injuries, while not deadly, are painful. A headache might be good for -1 to mental skills and IQ. A migraine is good for -2 to all skills. A severe sprain, pulled muscle, or torn ligment is good for -1 to -4 to all physical skills, ST and DX rolls and the Move score. In combat, the painful effects of previous wounds are temporarily ignored (except for effects of Daze). You are so sky-high on adrenalin that you don't notice the pain. UNCONSCIOUSNESS: STAYING IN THE FIGHT - If you are reduced to zero or fewer hit Points you are fighting on sheer willpower. Roll vs. Basic HT at the beginning of each turn after you have taken at least HP in total damage to the head and body. Subtract -1 from the roll for each (HP/2) points of damage taken above the amount required to bring you to zero. Each level of Strong Will gives +1. Each level of Weak Will gives -1. If you make your roll, you can take your turn. If you fail the roll, you fall down (see above) and go into Shock. Roll each turn and when you take another wound. If you take a wound, you must immediately make another roll to see if you're out of it. If you take more than one wound in the same turn, roll only for the most severe wound, but add the damage from all the wounds to the negative modifiers. A Serious wound to the brain is an automatic knockout. Once all immediately obvious foes have been defeated or dispersed, roll every 10 seconds for unconsciousness rather than every second. SEMI-CONCIOUSNESS - Instead of going fully unconscious, you may remain in a state of Semi-Consciousness. When you fail a roll as above and go into Shock, you may remain Semi- Conscious on a successful HT roll, and roll vs. HT each minute to stay in this state. While Semi-Conscious, you can't move and are at -6 to all skills and abilities, but you can still see and remember, to a degree (and even communicate, after a fashion). KNOCKBACK - When you hit someone very hard with a large weapon, you may knock him backward. For every full (Wt/20) hits damage you roll with a thrusting hand weapon, where Wt is the total weight of the foe including anything worn, move the foe back one hex directly away from you. Calculate knockback before the DR of the opponent's armor is subtracted. It may protect him from injury, but it won't keep him from feeling the blow. Anyone knocked backwards must make a DX roll to avoid falling down. A successful roll means that they land on their feet. Swinging attacks don't knock back the opponent more than 1 hex, no matter how much damage is done. KNOCKBACK DAMAGE - If you are knocked back by a blunt thrusting or slam attack (like being hit by a car) you take 3/4 normal damage since some of the impact is converted into energy pushing you back, rather than damage your body absorbs. However, if you hit something solid, or skid across a surface such as a road, you get back the missing one-fourth of the damage as the energy is converted back into damage. This is, however, a separate injury. It is taken as a crushing wound to a random/logical part of the body. Being inside a falling or flying vehicle won't protect crew from knockback damage. If you deliberately throw or push someone and they collide with something heavy or dangerous, they take damage as if you threw an object of their weight at them and they will stop in the hex (or just beyond it) where they hit. SUPER KNOCKBACK (CINEMATIC) - If a surface your foe hits takes more damage from the hit than the item has DR, the foe goes THROUGH the thing, possibly taking more damage when he hits the ground on the other side. The distance you opponent goes after he penetrates, is equal to the remaining knockback minus 1 hex per each hex-knockback-worth points of damage the surface (not the foe) took. The foe can only take points of damage equal to the DR x 2 of any given surface. If this doesn't penetrate the DR of the foe's armor, so be it, he flies through the object unharmed. EFFECTS OF WEAPONS SKILL ON DAMAGE - For each 3 points of weapon skill you have over 10 add +1 per die to basic damage done with a melee weapon or unarmed attack. BULLET DAMAGE - Bullets are treated as crushing damage, except for blows to the brain or torso. A bullet that gets through armor always does 1 point of damage, irregardless of the die roll. Certain types of bullets will have other damage modifiers due to caliber or special ammo types. OTHER SORTS OF DAMAGE - Some types of weapons do other types of damage, like Burning, or Poison Gas. These sorts of damage are dealt with in their own sections. BULLET KNOCKBACK - Realistically, irregardless of the damage a bullet or beam weapon does, a foe will be knocked back, at most, one hex, or maybe 2 hexes on a critical hit. A man hit with an elephant rifle is as likely to fall forward as backward. For cinematic campaigns, you can have gunshot victims being knocked back much further if you want to. INSTANT DEATH - Regardless of HP, anyone can be killed by a cut throat, decapitation, etc. If a helpless or unconcious person is attacked in an obviously lethal way - they're dead. Don't bother to roll for damage. If there is a question of whether or not a hasty or marginal execution attempt is lethal have the killer roll vs. his IQ, Physiology, Assasin, Poison or Weapon skill, or some other appropriate skill to do the job right. Very small guns or guns that are prone to misfire always roll for damage. A .22 might not kill, even when pressed against the head or chest. It takes 5 to 10 seconds to execute someone and make sure they are dead. This does not apply to an unaware victim. If you sneak up behind a sentry, you can't automatically kill him, but you have a pretty good chance of doing so - you get a +4 to hit if he is just standing there, you can aim for the brain or the vitals and he gets no active defense. DYING ACTIONS - When a PC or important NPC is killed in any but the most sudden and thorough fashion, the GM should allow a dying action. If this is a final blow at the enemy, it should take no more than a turn. If it is a deathbed speech, the GM can stretch time a little bit for dramatic purposes. CARDIAC ARREST - If you have taken head/body damage at least equal to HP, then you must roll vs. HT every minute or begin to go into Cardiac Arrest until you are stabilized with First Aid. You will begin to Suffocate and unless your heart is restarted you will quickly die. For every multiple of HP past the first you have taken in total damage, the roll to avoid Cardiac Arrest is at -1. It is also penalized by -1 for every 2 Blood Points lost in total. If you make three successful rolls to avoid Cardiac Arrest, then your body has naturally stabilized, and you don't need to make any more rolls unless you take more damage -- any damage. (Bleeding counts as damage.) On a critical failure your heart stops and won't restart until at least one point of damage is healed or restored. In magicless low-tech campaigns this means that you die. Other types of damage, like electrical shock might also cause Cardiac Arrest. DYING FROM BLUNT WEAPONS - Blunt trauma tends to kill its victims slowly rather than quickly. If a character took most of his damage from Crushing attacks (except for bullets), unless the damage was to the head or resulted in Severe Bleeding from an open wound (like a Open fracture), the character needs to roll vs. HT to see if he goes into Cardiac Arrest every 5 minutes, rather than every minute. LOSS OF RESPIRATION - A character might stop breathing due to the effects of wounds to the Head, Spine, Chest, Throat, Face or Jaw or due to Cardiac Arrest. On any Serious wound to any of the locations mentioned above, make a Special-Damage roll; if the roll fails, the character loses Respiration. If the character goes into Cardiac Arrest they automatically lose Respiration. CPR is required to revive a character who has lost Respiration. On a Critical Failure of the Special-Damage roll, the lungs won't work until the damage is healed, and the character must be kept on oxygen or life support. FRIGHT CHECKS - For most people being wounded is a traumatic experience. The GM might require a Fright Check for any character who has taken a Medium or worse, especially if it is painful or bloody. Characters with the Combat Veteran or Combat Reflexes advantage, or professional martial artists should be immune to this effect - they've been hurt enough to know to keep their heads. DISMEMBERMENT AMPUTATING LIMBS - A Critical wound to a limb delivered by cutting weapons or explosions, or bullets or beam weapons that do more than 10d6 basic damage, might amputate that limb. Make a Special-Damage roll at +3; if it is failed, the limb is amputated. Roll for severe bleeding at -4 to HT. DECAPITATION - A Critical wound to the neck requires a Special-Damage roll to avoid decapitation. The DR of a closed-faced helm protects this area, as does the DR of any chest or neck armor. If the character is decapitated he automatically dies. AMPUTATING FINGERS - If a cutting weapon does a Serious wound to a hand, make a Special-Damage roll. If it is missed, then for each two points the roll was missed by the character loses one finger. The last finger lost will be the thumb. If the roll was critically missed, the whole hand is lost at the wrist. Roll for Severe Bleeding. CUTTING IN HALF - If a cutting weapon, explosion, or beam weapon does at least 13d6 damage in a single attack, then it might, essentially, cut a person in half through the torso. If an attack which has the potential for massive damage did at least 3*HP damage to a the torso (before blowthrough), make a Special-Damage roll (with Excess Damage divided by 10 before applied). If the roll is failed, the victim is cut in half and immediately suffers the effects of severe bleeding, shock, stun, daze, loss of respiration, and so forth. For simplicity sake assume that the victim immediately goes unconscious and automatically dies in 3d6 seconds. BLEEDING The victim of a cutting, impaling or bullet wound may continue to lose HP due to bleeding. At the end of every minute after being wounded, the victim makes a Special-Damage roll with Excess Damage divided by 5. If he fails this, he bleeds for 1 point of damage. On a critical failure, he starts to bleed severely. On an ordinary success, he does not bleed this minute, but must continue to roll every minute. If he does not bleed for three consecutive minutes, the bleeding stops for good. All blood loss is counted as one wound, and this may grow cumulatively. If someone makes a First Aid roll to help his wounded comrade, or a wounded but concious character makes a First Aid roll on himself, the bleeding stops immediately. One First Aid roll may be attempted per patient per minute; this roll comes before the bleeding roll. Once first aid has been successfully administered, no more bleeding rolls are made. If a successful First Aid roll is made within the first minute after the wound was delivered there will be no HP loss due to bleeding. Once bleeding has been halted, the character administering first aid may spend 30 minutes treating the character for shock. The GM decides what wounds will bleed. Most crushing wounds won't bleed unless they are to the nose or scalp or they break a bone. Burns and similar wounds, such as electrical shock, lasers, and chemical burns, do not bleed significantly because the damage sears the wounded flesh cauterizing the wound and preventing blood loss automatically. SEVERE BLEEDING - Some wounds might bleed more severely. When a roll for Severe Bleeding is called for, make a Special- Damage roll for the wound. If it is missed, consult the following table. SD roll missed by Bleeding Rate 1 to 3 points -1 HP per 1d6 x 10 minutes 4 to 6 points -1 HP per 1d6 x 1 minutes 7+ points -1 HP per 1d6 x 10 seconds Severe bleeding to a limb can be stopped with a Tourniquet. Severe bleeding in the head, chest or abdomen can only be stopped with Surgery. It can be slowed one step with a successful First-Aid roll and continuous direct pressure. INTERNAL BLEEDING - Internal Bleeding is similar to Severe Bleeding, but it is much slower. For crushing damage to the head, chest, vitals and abdomen that does a Serious wound, or damage that cripples a limb but does not result in an open fracture, make a Special-Damage roll. If the roll is missed, consult the following table. SD roll missed by Bleeding Rate 1 to 3 points -1 HP per 2 hours 4 to 6 points -1 HP per hour 7+ points -1 HP per 30 minutes Internal bleeding can only be stopped with Surgery. Damage due to internal bleeding in a limb counts as damage towards crippling or destroying the limb. Internal bleeding in the head counts as damage towards brain damage. COAGULATING - A wound might stop bleeding severely. Roll vs. HT every 10 minutes or just before the character would lose HP due to blood loss, whichever is the longest. On a successful roll the rate of bleeding has decreased one level. Roll again for the new bleeding rate. A wound that is already at the lowest level stops bleeding unless the character engages in strenous activity. Then the wound reopens at the lowest level. Internal bleeding doesn't stop on its own, although it might slow down even one or two steps off the table (to once per four or eight hours). EFFECTS OF BLOOD LOSS - If the character has lost blood, the character has a HT penalty to avoid Infection, Shock, and Unconciousness, as well to resist the effects of a Collapsed Lung, Cardiac Arrest or Loss of Respiration, which is equal to the Special-Damage penalty corresponding to one-half of the total bloodloss. Also, a lasting Fatigue penalty is applied which is proportional to one-half the amount of blood lost (so that a character who's lost (HP/2) blood has Fatigue reduced by one-fourth of full Fatigue, for instance). These penalties are removed if the character recieves blood transfusions and antibiotics. In addition, the character will be extremely thirsty. Roll vs. Will each 15 minutes to NOT drink if water is available and the character can drink. Drinking or eating aggravates wounds of the digestive tract. BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS - Properly typed blood or plasma can restore up to one-half the points of blood lost. Improperly typed blood does 1d6-3 damage (minimum 1 point) and requires the character to roll vs. Shock. SHOCK Any severe damage can put a character into shock. Whenever you take a Serious or worse wound, make a Special- Damage roll (with halved Excess Damage) to avoid going into Shock. If you fail the roll, you begin to go into shock. You are at -2 to IQ and mental skills while combat continues, and are at -2 to all Will and HT rolls to stay concious. POST COMBAT - Once the combat (or danger situation) ends, or HT x 6 seconds pass (whichever comes first), you are giddy, shaky and weak. -5 to all skills and abilities and you move at 1/2 Move. Every minute you must roll vs. HT or go Unconcious (as above) and must roll vs. DX or Fall Down. A Critical Failure on any of these rolls means that you hurt yourself or go into Cardiac Arrest. RECOVERY - Once you fall down or go Unconcious roll vs. HT every hour to see if you recover without medical aid. With medical aid (a successful First-Aid roll) roll every half-hour at +2 to HT. In inhospitable conditions or if you are sick, drugged, starving or thirsty you have a -1 to -4 to your roll. Once you recover you are still weak and shaky (-2 to all physical skill, Move, ST and DX), but you will not go unconcious unless you lose more HP. You will recover from shock fully in 20-HT hours (minimum 1 hour). BLOOD-LOSS - If you went into shock due to the HP lost due to Severe Bleeding, blood or plasma transfusions will give you +1 to HT to recover from shock for every 2 points of blood given. Conversely, each point of blood lost gives you -1 to your HT rolls to stay concious and to recover. ANAPHALACTIC SHOCK - Anaphalactic shock is caused by an allergic reaction to something. It causes Shock and Suffocation. Roll vs. HT each minute to avoid these effects. Antivenom must be injected or a tracheotomy must be performed for victim to breathe otherwise the character will suffocate. OLIGEMIC SHOCK - This a poisoning of the body due to waste products produced by damaged tissues. It gradually poisons the kidneys. For any Serious or worse wound, a Special-Damage roll must be made if the wound or burn isn't treated within 3d6 hours, to avoid going into Oligemic Shock. If the wound is treated before this time is up, the character must still make a Special-Damage roll to avoid going into oligemic shock, but this roll gets a bonus of +1 per 2 points by which the treating physician made his roll, and the Excess Damage is halved. A failed HT roll means that the character's kidneys shut down, the character will die in HT x 3 hours unless kidney dialysis machine is available (TL 7+). A Physician roll will give +1 to HT per every 2 points by which the doctor makes his roll. Burns can't be treated well enough to make any difference until TL 8+, but a dialysis machine will still help. CRIPPLING INJURIES CRIPPLED LIMBS - If the target is hit on a limb and enough damage is done, the limb is temporarily crippled for whatever reason. It might heal or get better in time. A fighter immediately loses the use of a crippled limb. This can cause him to fall, or to drop whatever he was holding in that hand or arm. ACCUMULATED WOUNDS CRIPPLE - Keep track of where hits are taken. When total damage to a limb reaches the amount required to cripple it, it is crippled. Excess damage in a single blow is still lost, but damage to the same limb in subsequent turns still is counted when rolling for wound special effects and recovery from crippling injuries. BLOW-THROUGH - The amount of damage the limbs can take is limited; damage over HP/3 (a Serious wound) on the hands and feet, or HP/2 (a Critical wound) on the arms, legs or neck, is lost and does not affect the victim. For a single blow to the torso, impaling or bullet damage of more than HT is lost, it just goes through the victim and is wasted. For the head or vitals, damage over HTx3 is lost. There is no maximum damage for injuries to the brain. There is also no maximum damage cutoff for weapons that do 10d6 or more basic damage; such huge damage do so much damage going through that any "wastage" is moot. Hits to the joints have to do an extra 1/3 damage over blowthrough in order to amputate. BLOWTHROUGH BY MELEE WEAPONS - Damage to the limb from a swinging weapon which "blows through" the limb and amputates it, will continue on into the body on a 9-. Damage which "blows through" the body, will hit a character directly behind the wounded character (for missiles or thrusts) or directly adjacent to the wounded character on a 7-. BROKEN BONES - If a limb is crippled and not amputated, a bone was probably broken. Hits to other parts of the body might also result in broken bones if a Medium or worse wound is taken. Make a Special-Damage Roll, with a -5 in the case of a crippled limb, to avoid having a bone broken. If the roll is made, the bone is intact. If the roll was failed, one or more bones in that area is broken. The table determines how severe the break is: SD Roll Missed By: Effect 1-3 Simple Fracture. A limb is crippled. No effect for other areas. Roll again if the character attempts to use or bear weight on that part of the body before it is splinted. A broken spine can't be splinted without immobilizing the character. 4-6 Compound Fracture. As above, but all First Aid and Physician rolls are at -2 to set or immobilize the fracture and all HT rolls are at -4 if the character attempts to move or bear weight on the broken part. 6-8 Open Fracture. As above, but the bone breaks the skin. Roll for Bleeding and Severe Bleeding. Such fractures are treated as open wounds and might get infected. Surgery is required to set the bone and repair the wound. Prior to TL 6 this isn't possible, so a limb must be amputated. 9+ Compound, Open Fracture. As above, but worse. All rolls to HT for Severe Bleeding and Healing are at -2. All Surgery, First Aid and Physician rolls to set the bone or repair it are at -3. BREAKS FROM BULLETS - Broken bones from bullets are likely to be Compound and are always Open. The Special-Damage roll is at an additional -2 when rolling for the type of break from a gunshot wound. If the bone is broken, add +2 to the amount the roll was missed by to determine the sort of break. BREAKS FROM FALLS - Broken bones from falls tend to be "clean". The Special-Damage Roll is at +4 when rolling for the type of break from a fall. SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF BROKEN BONES BROKEN RIBS - Roll for a Punctured Lung on compound or open fracture. LIMBS - Roll again for bleeding on any fracture if the character moves, or falls or the limb, or is roughly handled when being moved before the limb is immobilized. The bleeding will be internal if the break is closed, or normal if the break is open. HEAD - Roll again for Internal Bleeding and Unconciousness if the skull is broken. NECK OR SPINE - Roll again for Paralysis if the character moves, falls, or is roughly handled before break is immobilized. RECOVERING CONCIOUSNESS COMING TO - If you have taken more than your HP in damage to head and body, and have not yet had to make a HT roll to avoid Cardiac Arrest, you will become Semi-Conscious in (Total Damage - HP) hours. You will come out of shock in 20-HT hours (minimum 1). Example: You have 10 HP and HT 10, and have taken 18 hp to the body. You will come to in 8 hours. You will fully recover from shock in 10 hours. A critical success means that you actually came to in half the required time. A critical failure means that you are in a Coma, as below. MOVEMENT AND FATIGUE - When you awaken, you can call for help or attempt to move if your legs or feet are not crippled. If you can walk, your Move score is halved, and all skills and abilities are at -4, just as if you had just taken 2/3 HP in damage (although you still have more injuries than that). If your leg is crippled you can crawl at 1 hex per turn, as long as both your arms are intact. If your arms and legs are crippled, tough luck. You are at 3 fatigue. You recover no HP or Fatigue until you find food, water and shelter. COMA - If you had taken at least 2*HP in total damage to the head and body (i.e. you had to roll vs. HT to avoid Cardiac Arrest), you must make an Special-Damage roll at a -5 penalty (in addition to any Excess Damage) every 12 hours to come to. You will die in HT x 6 hours without aid, if the environment and scavengers don't kill you first. If you have aid, you may survive indefinitely. If you are on life-support, roll every 24 hours after the HT x 6 hours limit has passed to see if you come to. Check again each time you regain a hit point. A critical failure means that you are unconcious for a month before you can check again. If you have more than HP points in head injuries, the coma is permanent. A merciful GM might allow you to roll once per year to see if you come to, otherwise you're as good as dead. LIFE SUPPORT - At T.L. 6+ advanced life support will allow an unconcious person to survive indefinitely. While you are on life-support, you must roll vs. HT each month or lose a point of ST. You must also roll vs. HT each month to avoid catching pneumonia or getting an infection due to bed sores. Good conditions, high-tech, and good Nursing or Physical Therapy rolls help. Poor care or conditions or failed rolls hurt. +1 per TL above 6. +/-1 per 3 every 3 points a monthly Nurse/Therapy roll succeeds by. +1 good medical care -2 poor medical care -4 very bad medical care HEALING The rate at which a character heals a wound depends on the amount of damage the wound did relative to the character's total hit points, the character's Health, and the conditions in which the character heals. SEVERITY OF WOUND RATE OF HEALING Light or Medium (HT*HP)/20 per week Severe (HT*HP)/40 per week Critical (HT*HP)/100 per week Modify the character's Health as follows: -1 to HT for each 2 points of blood lost and not replaced -1 or more to HT for unsanitary conditions -1 or more to HT for infection or disease -4 or more to HT for burns -1 or more to HT for activity -1 or more to HT for inadequate food or water -4 or more to HT for internal injuries and organ damage -1 for every 10 years of Age disadvantage over 50 +1/2 per TL above 5 (round down) +1 for complete bed-rest, with adequate food and water. +1 for every 2 points by which the attending Physician makes his roll, up to a maximum of 1/2 Tech Level. +1 for every 3 points by which the attending Nurse (if any) makes his roll, up to a maximum of +3. RATE OF HEALING The healing rules above assume TL 6-7 technology and characters with a normal rate of healing. This will not always be the case. Characters with the Rapid Healing advantage double their rate of healing. Characters with the Slow Healing disadvantage halve their rate of healing. Characters with Regeneration or Regrowth follow their own rules for recovery. At TL 8+ use the following modifiers for healing: TL RATE OF HEALING NOTES 8 Normal -2 for organ or burn damage 9 x2 -0 for organ or burn damage 10 x3 11 x4 12 x5 13 x6 14 x8 15+ x10 REGAINING BLOOD - Blood loss heals as a Light wound, although of course transfusions might be used to instantly heal part or all of blood loss. At TL 8+ there might be medicines to speed the body's own regeneration of blood. HEALING BONES - Bones heal at a different rate. Load-Bearing Bones 21 weeks - HT (minimum of 5 weeks) Other Bones 15 weeks - HT (minimum of 3 weeks) x2 time for complex fractures Modifiers as above. RECOVERING FROM CRIPPLING INJURIES - At the end of any fight in which a character is crippled, that character makes an Special-Damage roll for each crippling injury. A successful HT roll allows the injury to recover fully. A failed HT roll means that the injury was permanent - resulting in crippling, a loss of abilities, or some other problem. For each 2 points the roll was missed by subtract 5 character points from affected abilities, skills or advantages or add 5 points of appropriate disadvantages. JOINT INJURIES - Joints are easier to cripple. All rolls to avoid crippling injury are at a -2 penalty. HEAD WOUNDS - Almost any type of skill or ability reduction (especially DX and IQ) is appropriate and almost any physical or mental disadvantage can be applied. If the character critically fails the Special-Damage roll, the character is in a Coma. BODY WOUNDS - For body wounds reduced ST, DX or HT are appropriate, as might some physical disadvantages. LIMB WOUNDS - For limb wounds, reduced ST, DX or the Crippled Limb disadvantage are appropriate. Crippled injuries heal at a rate of Damage - HT/10 per week, with a minimum of 1 month, irregardless if whether or not there are any permanent effects, unless specified otherwise. A permanently crippling wound is recorded on the character sheet and reduces the character point value of a character.