Okay, so an hour of work ballooned into completely gutting and retrofitting the FATE system, with some elements of Burning Wheel. Now I'm pruning the rules and streamlining things. As a teaser, here's the rules for Survival and Damage tracking, as well as a description of "Stunts". You guys should start thinking about which ones you might like your character to have (keep in mind that you're basing your character on yourself and your abilities)
Survival and Damage:You need to eat, drink fresh water, rest, and avoid injury in order to survive. When you fail to do any of these, you gain points of Starvation, Exhaustion, or Wounds as appropriate. As you gain points of damage, you suffer from penalties, ranging from temporary weakness to complete incapacitation. The penalties are realistic, and severe... dehydration can lead to hallucinations, and a serious injury may take weeks to heal properly.
Category Track Recovery Effects
Scratched ○○○ Hours No effect
Hurt ○○ Days Gain 1 Wounded Condition
Injured ○○ Weeks (-1) to all actions, Gain 1 Wounded Condition
Incapacitated ○ Months Unable to perform complex actions
Dying ○ Indefinite Unable to act
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Damage: Situational. Accidents and injuries may cause minor or severe damage.
Recovery: Situational. Wounds recover slower the more severe they are. Some will require First Aid to heal at all.
Overview: Less common, but the most dangerous form of damage, and carrying the heaviest penalties.
Category Track Effects
Hungry ○○○○ No effect
Famished ○○○ Gain 1 Starved Condition
Malnourished ○○ (-1) to all actions, Gain 1 Starved Condition
Starved ○○ Unable to perform complex actions
Dying ○ Unable to act
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Damage: For each ration of food you miss, gain 1 Starvation. For each ration of water you miss, gain 2 Starvation. After strenuous activity, gain 1 Starvation.
Recovery: Recover 1 Starvation per ration food/water consumed. You can only consume 1 ration of each per phase.
Overview: In a normal day of adquate eating and drinking, you'll recover 1 Starvation. You can limit food to 1 ration of food in a day, and though you'll be hungry, your Starvation will stay the same. If you only drink 1 ration of water, your starvation will still slowly increase.
Category Track Effects
Fatigued ○ (-1) to all actions
Exhausted ○ (-2) to all actions
Collapsing ○ Unable to perform complex actions
Unconscious ○ Unable to act
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Damage: After each day, gain 1 Exhaustion. After strenuous activity, gain 1 Exhaustion.
Recovery: Recover 1 Exhaustion per phase of rest/sleep.
Overview: Exhaustion effects are more pronounced than other damage, but they recover more quickly as well.
Stunts:Stunts are different than Skills in that they allow your character to temporarily work outside the normal rules, and do something exceptional. It's one of the most dramatic ways in which your character is unique, and is something they may be known well for. Every character starts with one Stunt: pick an extraordinary skill your character has, or a special knack. To perform a Stunt, you must spend 1 Talent Point from your pool.
Sample Stunts, and their effects (you can propose something not listed, and I'll provide something appropriate):- Eye for Detail (You can mentally "revisit" a place you've studied before, and may notice details you consciously missed. You can make Perception checks as if you were still at a location)
- Photographic Recall (In an instant of study, you can commit a subject to memory, and recall it precisely as it was seen).
- Trivial Knowledge (Can recall obscure information. Use Memory in place of another primarily mental skill)
- Alertness (Can automatically act or react first, in a time-intensive exchange)
- Diehard (When Wounds would render you unable to act, you may continue to act normally for one phase).
- Tireless (When Exhaustion would render you unable to act, you may continue to act normally for one phase).
- Quick Healing (You heal more quickly. Reduce the recovery time for your Wounds by 1 category)
- Developed Immunity (You can resist the effects of poison or illness.)