Damage can broadly be split into Infantry and Vehicle Damage models.

Infantry Damage #

Damage against a person or beast or really anything organic is done against their HP and usually blocked by armour. Infantry armour blocks damage. So when a shot connects, it does its damage first to the armour and then to the wearer’s hit points. Hit points are defined your Body stat - namely 5 x your Body (minimum of 10). Once a player’s hit points are depleted, they take an Injury and their hit points reset. Damage numbers are also not necessarily a 1-for-1 depictions of damage. If a bullet hits you and 2 damage goes through, you don’t necessarily have a bullet hole in you - bullet impacts through armor fucking hurt!

By default, characters have 2 Injuries.

The nature of the Injury may penalize the reset hit points. Once a player has suffered their maximum amount of Injuries, they are considered Downed, not necessarily dead.

However, further damage will rapidly hasten the onset of death. If damage taken causes another Injury while Down, the character must Defy Death.

Defying death #

When Downed, a character has two options: staying down or trying to defy death. Staying down is free and incurs no consequences. A character may also be forced to Defy Death if they take another Injury while Down.

To defy death you roll 3d6 + Body or Wits, depending on the situation, versus a target set by the GM (usually 15 to start). On a success, HP resets to max though Injuries remain. On a failure, the character takes a Wound. If a character takes Wounds equal to their maximum Injuries, they are Dead.

Injuries #

Bleeding: take 1d3 damage per round.
Fracture: Affects a given area

• Head: Inflicts Concussed.
• Torso: Cannot carry heavy loads. Cannot spend Major actions for Movement. Moving at Dash inflicts Pain.
• Arms: -5 to hit, cannot climb or vault, cannot lift heavy objects.
• Legs: Can only move at Advance, cannot climb or vault, cannot carry heavy loads, Overloaded inflicts Pain.

Concussed: -15 to hit. -10 to all other rolls. Bright light inflicts Pain.
Gutshot: Automatically inflicts Bleeding. You begin to starve and suffer from dehydration

Other Status Effects #

Pain: -5 to hit, -5 to all other rolls. Stacks with Concussed. Overloaded: You can only move at Advance speed. All climb checks, even with equipment, require checks. Your movements are louder.

Wounds #

You can think of Wounds as more-permanent Injuries. A fractured rib is an Injury. A collapsed lung is a Wound. Wounds cannot be healed in the field and are generally extremely debilitating. Wounds are inflicted at GM discretion. Instead of a Wound, the GM may offer you a Curse.

Curses #

A Wound can be dealt with with long-term care. A Curse is permanent. A Wound is immediately debilitating, but a Curse seemingly takes a while to take hold. A Wound’s effects are known and quantifiable. A Curse works in more subtle ways. Or frequently doesn’t. Either way, it doesn’t end well.

A Curse is basically a delaying tactic against consequences. It’s not something tangible, though you’ll frequently find people who believe they’re actuallyy Cursed especially in the increasingly more superstitious world post-HAARP. Make no mistake - a Curse can be every bit as debilitating as a Wound, but it will probably take some time to make its effects properly known.