Damage Types and Defense Types

Damage types

All damage in this game has a damage type.

If damage has several damage types, for example damage that is both fire damagefire damage火焰伤害Damage from heat, such as flames or scalding steam. and holy damageholy damage光明伤害Damage from supernatural powers of light or order., you need damage reductiondamage reduction物理伤害减免Ignore X points of each physical hit. Written DR X/weakness, e.g. DR 5/magic. against all of its types for it to work. To be immuneimmunity免疫Complete protection from a kind of effect, but only from sources of equal or lower Rank., you likewise need immunity to all of its types.

For example, if you take 5 fire-and-holy damage and have 3 holy resistance and 2 fire resistance, you negate 2 damage.

If you don't take a piece of damage, the effects attached to that damage don't apply.

Physical damagephysical damage物理伤害Damage from physical force. Damage reduction applies to it.

Damage dealt by an actual object striking, cutting, or deforming something is physical damage. This includes all kinds of material weapons and improvised weapons, such as knives, clubs, teeth, half a broken bottle, and so on. Some things are immune to physical damage, perhaps because they have no material body (such as souls), or because physical changes of shape mean nothing to them (such as running water or mist). Some things resist physical damage to a degree, called damage reduction (DR), meaning they are unusually tough, or protected by some wondrous supernatural power.

Physical damage sometimes has a material type, such as adamantine, silver, or cold iron, to get past certain special damage reduction.

Physical damage is also split into damage types by how it is dealt, such as slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning, to get past certain special damage reduction.

Note that one physical attack can have both a damage type and a material type. For example, an attack with a hammer made of adamantine deals bludgeoning damage of the [Adamantine] material type.

To tell them apart, we class the damage from firearms, crossbows, bows, and the like that have the "Ammo" or [Unlimited AmmoUnlimited Ammo无限弹药Ammo or power never runs out.] trait but can't deal energy damageenergy damage能量伤害Damage from non-physical energy. Damage reduction doesn't apply, but energy resistance does. as ballistic damage. All such damage is piercing damage.

Energy damage

Damage dealt by non-material energy. Energy damage isn't affected by damage reduction, but is negated by "energy resistanceenergy resistance能量抗力An ability that cancels a type of energy damage.". Some effects also make something completely immune to a certain kind of energy damage.

It includes the following kinds:

Pure energy damagepure energy damage纯能量伤害Energy that can only be described as 'energy', with no physical explanation.: energy damage that can only be described as "energy", whose effect can't be explained by physical action. Against objects, it is first reduced by HardnessHardness硬度How much damage an object ignores., then deals 1/2 of what is left. Against creatures, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals all of what is left.

Fire damage (also called burning damage or scorching damage): damage from high heat, such as flames or scalding steam. This includes matter lost to burning, or body cells killed by heat. Against objects, fire damage is first reduced by Hardness; if the target is an object (not a creature), it deals only 1/2 of what is left, but flammable things (such as paper, hay, or plants) take all of what is left. (The STStoryteller主持人The person who runs the game and speaks for the world; ST for short. decides what is flammable.) Against creatures, it also deals all of it.

Cold damagecold damage寒冰伤害Damage from extreme cold. (also called freezing damage): damage from low temperatures, including fluids in a body freezing, cells slowing down, or just physical effects like cracking from the cold. Against objects, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals 1/2 of what is left. Against creatures, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals all of what is left.

Lightning damagelightning damage雷电伤害Damage from powerful electric current. (also called electric damage): damage from a strong current or discharge passing through something, including heat from electrical resistance, harmful physiological reactions from strong electric shocks, and even changes to molecular structure caused by electrical energy. Against objects, after all damage-reducing abilities are worked out, it deals 1/2 of what is left, but certain conductive things (such as creatures containing water, or metal) take all of it. Against creatures, it ignores the target's Hardness and deals damage as normal.

Acid damageacid damage腐蚀伤害Damage from acid or other corrosive substances. (also called corrosion damage): damage from strong acids or other corrosive substances eating away at something. Damage from particular microorganisms rapidly breaking down or degrading matter is also acid damage. Against objects, acid damage ignores Hardness but deals only 1/2 damage. Against creatures, it ignores the target's Hardness and deals damage as normal.

Sonic damagesonic damage音波伤害Damage from sound vibration.: damage from sound vibrations making a substance's molecules resonate or slam together at high speed. Against objects or creatures with Hardness (such as plants), sonic damage ignores Hardness and deals full damage.

Radiant damageradiant damage光能伤害Damage from intense light, such as lasers and lightsabers.: destructive power from intense light with high light pressure and strong resonance, including lasers, lightsabers, and light weapons, as well as some spells or special SkillsSkill技能A learned ability. Attribute + Skill makes most dice pools. that produce intense light. Against objects or creatures with Hardness (such as plants), radiant damage ignores Hardness and deals full damage.

Holy damage (also called sacred damage or positive energy damage): damage from supernatural abilities tied to light or order. Against objects, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals only 1/2 of what is left. Against creatures, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals all of what is left, but against creatures of darkness its damage goes up one step.

Unholy damageunholy damage黑暗伤害Damage from supernatural powers of darkness or chaos. (also called profane damage or negative energy damage): damage from supernatural abilities tied to darkness or chaos. Against objects, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals only 1/2 of what is left. Against creatures, it is first reduced by Hardness, then deals all of what is left, but against creatures of light its damage goes up one step.

Mental damagemental damage精神伤害Damage that strikes the mind directly.

Direct attacks with mental energy are very rare. Attacks of this kind aren't stopped by physical armor: Armor DefenseArmor Defense盔甲防御Defense provided by armor., Shield DefenseShield Defense盾牌防御Defense provided by a shield., and Natural ArmorNatural Armor天生防御A defense bonus from tough hide or other natural traits. don't work against them, but other kinds of defense work as normal. Also, when hit by such an attack, the defender can add their WillWill意志值How steadfast a character's mind is: Resolve + Composure. It is also the Willpower maximum. to their defense as a perfect bonusperfect bonus完美加值A special bonus that stacks with any other bonus..

Unless stated otherwise, damage reduction, energy resistance, Hardness, and physical damage absorption do nothing against mental damage.

Force damageforce damage力场伤害Damage from force fields.

A force is a perceptible distortion of space formed by a special form of energy, but it isn't a space ability.

A force is neither matter nor energy, only a perceptible, effective action of force. (So a wall of force isn't an unbreakable glass wall, just an invisible power that makes people feel resistance, as if there were a wall in front of them.) In result, force damage looks like physical damage, but damage reduction, physical damage absorption, and Hardness don't work against it, because a force effect isn't material in EssenceEssence本质The fundamental nature of a resource or effect: Natural, Technological, Magical, or Anomalous.; it only produces the result "a change is applied to matter". Energy resistance doesn't work against force damage either.

As a special case, although physical damage reduction doesn't work against it, physical damage reduction of type DR/- works against force damage as normal.

Poison damagepoison damage毒素伤害Damage from poison.

Poison damage is damage a character takes from the effects of a poison. The poison usually gets into the target some way, such as through a wound or by being inhaled, and the poisoned target then suffers the poison's effects.

Damage reduction, Hardness, and damage ignoringdamage ignoring伤害忽略An ability to ignore damage entirely under certain conditions. don't work against poison damage. Poison damage usually comes from inside the body. In general, plain poison damage has no Rank, so poison immunity and similar effects block it outright. Only when the poison damage is part of a poison effect that has a Rank is there a contestopposed roll对抗A roll whose DC is the opponent's successes, like racing someone or shoving them aside..

Falling damage

When you fall from a height, or slam into an obstacle because of an outside force, you take falling damagefalling damage坠落伤害Damage from falling.. Falling damage starts counting at 3 meters, and for each 3 meters beyond that, you take 1 point of physical lethal damagelethal damage致命伤害Serious damage, written L: blades and bullets., rounding up. You can make a Reflex rollroll检定Rolling your dice pool of d10s; each die showing 8 or higher is a success. Written like 'a Dexterity + Stealth roll'. to savesave豁免A roll to resist a harmful effect: Will, Reflex, or Fortitude. against the damage, and each success negates 2 meters of the distance. Because falling damage is an all-around concussive impact, physical damage reduction doesn't work against it.

Falling damage and falling object damagefalling object damage坠落物伤害Damage from being hit by a falling object.
This is damage dealt when an object falling from a height strikes another object; the falling object is called the falling object. Counting starts at a height of 3 meters, with 1 DP for each meter higher. After it hits the target, the object's weight factor (the minimum Strength needed to carry the object) is added as extra successesextra success附加成功Bonus successes from high Attributes, Skills, and other sources. They only add to a roll that already succeeded., dealing physical lethal damage to both the falling object and the target. The damage the falling object takes is called falling damage, and the damage the struck target takes is called falling object damage.
Both sides can make a Reflex saveReflex save反射豁免The save to avoid area attacks and similar effects. to reduce the damage they take, each successsuccesses成功数The number of dice showing 8 or higher in a roll. saving against 1 damage, which counts as a save against area damage. If the falling object is larger than the target's SizeSize体积How big a creature or object is. It affects reach and some rolls., the target takes a 1 DP size penaltypenalty减值A modifier that subtracts from a pool or value. on the Reflex save for each point of difference.
The falling damage cap is the lower of the falling object's and the target's Size x 5, and for each point by which the target's Hardness is higher than the falling object's, the damage capdamage cap伤害上限The most damage one attack can deal. from each point of Size rises by 1.
The falling object damage cap is the lower of the falling object's and the target's Size x 5, and for each point by which the falling object's Hardness is higher than the target's, the damage cap from each point of Size rises by 1.
For example: a falling object with Hardness 2 and Size 10 hits a target with Hardness 0 and Size 5. The falling damage cap for the falling object is 25, and the falling object damage cap for the target is 35.
Since every action has an equal reaction, an object can only deal falling object damage if it also takes falling damage.

Note: if the target struck is the ground, the target's Size counts as infinite. Damaging the ground usually means nothing, but the ST may let the fall have some physical effects (such as smashing through a floor, or leaving a big crater in the ground).

Mixed damagemixed damage混合伤害Damage of several types at once.

In some cases, damage types can be mixed.

For example: damage that is both fire damage and unholy damage.

Against such damage, you need defenses (absorption, negation, reduction, ignoring, reflection, and so on) against all of its damage types for them to work in full, but a defense that works against every damage type in the mix works against all of it.

For example: you take 5 fire-and-unholy damage and have 2 fire resistance and 1 unholy resistance, so you end up taking 4 damage.

For example: you take 5 fire-and-unholy damage and have 3 all-energy resistance, so you end up taking 2 damage.

For example: you take 5 fire-and-physical damage, are immune to fire damage, and have 3 physical damage reduction, so you end up taking 2 damage.

Vulnerability

Every damage type above can have a "vulnerability". Unless stated otherwise, when a target has "vulnerability", the final damage it takes of that type is doubled. When a target has "vulnerability X", the final damage it takes of that type rises by X, at the same grade as the lowest part of the damage dealt.

If a target has several "vulnerability X" effects, they all stack.

For example: you have [Fire Vulnerability 1] and take 5 fire damage, so you end up taking 6 fire damage.

For example: you have [Fire Vulnerability 1] and [Fire Vulnerability], and take 5 fire damage, so you end up taking 11 fire damage.

For example: you have [Fire Vulnerability 1] and [Fire Vulnerability 2], and take 5 fire damage, so you end up taking 8 fire damage.

For example: you have [Fire Vulnerability 1] and [Unholy Vulnerability 2], and take 5 mixed fire-and-unholy damage, so you end up taking 5 mixed fire-and-unholy damage, 1 fire damage, and 2 unholy damage.

Defense types:

Every damage-reducing ability in this game is described with one of the following keywords only:

save, absorption, negation, conversion, reduction, ignoring. There is no damage reduction without a keyword. Every damage-reducing ability that appears in the resourcesresource资源Anything that can be exchanged for: bloodlines, augmentations, titles, items, and more. has its keyword.

Damage savesdamage save伤害豁免Reducing or avoiding damage with a save.

A damage save is an ability that cancels damage through your own capabilities.

It is usually done through some roll, such as a Will saveWill save意志豁免The save against mental and mind-affecting effects., Reflex save, or Fortitude saveFortitude save强韧豁免The save against poison, disease, and other effects on the body..

If an ability that deals damage or an effect can't be saved against, it says so specifically; otherwise, damage is worked out as normal.
If an ability that deals damage or an effect can be saved against, it usually states which save it needs and what the save does. Saves against conditionscondition不良状态A harmful effect on a character. Point-based conditions are mild or severe depending on the key resisting Attributes. follow the basic rules.
For area damage, if it doesn't say whether or how it can be saved against, it defaults to a Reflex save.

For single-target damage, if it doesn't say whether or how it can be saved against, it defaults to no save.

Damage absorptiondamage absorption伤害吸收Soaking up part of the damage taken.

Damage absorption is an ability that cancels damage. Damage absorption X means X points of each instance of damage you take are absorbed, that is, canceled.

There are two kinds of damage absorption:

Physical damage absorption: physical damage absorption can only absorb physical damage, falling damage, and falling object damage.

All-damage absorption: all-damage absorption can absorb physical damage, energy damage, falling damage, falling object damage, mental damage, and force damage.

Damage absorption doesn't stack.

Example 1: one ability gives 2 all-damage absorption and another gives 3 all-damage absorption. When they apply, use the highest rather than adding them, so only 3 points work.

Example 2: if a character has both 5 physical damage absorption and 3 all-damage absorption, against physical damage use the highest, so the 5 physical damage absorption works.

Physical damage reduction (DR)

Physical damage reduction is an ability that cancels physical damage. Damage reduction X means X points of each instance of physical damage you take are resisted, that is, canceled.

Damage reduction only works against physical damage. Most damage reduction has a weakness: it doesn't work against a particular source. This is written DR X/source.

DR/-: this damage reduction works against all physical damage, meaning the creature or object has very strong physical resistance with no weakness at all.

DR/magic: weapons or damage with the [MagicalMagical魔法Bypasses matching damage reduction and can partly harm spirits and incorporeal beings.] trait get through this damage reduction.

DR/divine: weapons or damage with the [Divine Weapon] trait get through this damage reduction. Some creatures fuse a powerful force of will with their material being, which makes them unusually tough. Only weapons with an equally powerful force of will can hurt them.

DR/specific material: such as DR/silver or DR/adamantine. Weapons or damage with that material trait get through this damage reduction. This represents creatures or objects that are very sensitive to a certain material, some because the substances that make up the material have a special effect on the creature's tissues, others because the material has some philosophical or supernatural meaning for the creature.

DR/damage type: such as DR/piercing, DR/bludgeoning, or DR/slashing. Weapons or damage of that damage type get through this damage reduction. These mean, respectively: some creatures have a hard outer surface that stops attacks without enough penetrating power, so only thrusting weapons that focus their force on one point can get inside. Some creatures are so solid and dense, inside and out, that they shrug off cuts from blades, so only bludgeoning weapons can smash them with heavy, solid force. And some creatures are so pliable that heavy blows or small puncture holes don't hinder them at all, so only broad blades that leave long, deep cuts can damage them.

Some abilities also create special types of damage reduction.

Damage reduction doesn't stack.

Example 1: one ability gives 2 damage reduction and another gives 3. When they apply, use the highest rather than adding them, so only 3 points work.

Example 2: if a character has both 5 DR/magic and 3 DR/divine, against ordinary physical damage use the highest, so the 5 DR/magic works.

Energy resistance

Energy resistance reduces energy damage for a character. Energy resistance X means X points of each instance of energy damage you take are reduced, that is, canceled.

Energy resistance only works against energy damage. Most energy resistance only works against one kind of energy, such as lightning resistance or fire resistance, but there is no pure energy resistance.

All-energy resistance: all-energy resistance works against all energy damage at once, including pure energy.

As a special case:

Fire resistance, besides negating the same amount of energy damage, also ignores the circumstance penalties from hot environments. If you are immune to fire damage, you ignore all environmental effects from hot environments.

Cold resistance, besides negating the same amount of energy damage, also ignores the circumstance penalties from cold environments. If you are immune to cold damage, you ignore all environmental effects from cold environments.

Energy resistance doesn't stack.

Example 1: one ability gives 2 all-energy resistance and another gives 3. When they apply, use the highest rather than adding them, so only 3 points work.

Example 2: if a character has both 5 fire resistance and 3 all-energy resistance, against fire damage use the highest, so the 5 fire resistance works.

Damage conversiondamage conversion伤害转化Turning damage into a lighter grade or another form.

Damage conversion is when some particular form of protection lowers the grade of certain damage. For example, [BulletproofBulletproof防弹Firearm damage drops one grade (to bashing at least).] works against ranged ballistic weapons.

These defenses usually work against a particular damage type.

The same damage conversion ability doesn't apply twice just because it comes from different sources.

For example, if a character wears armor with the [Bulletproof] trait and also has the [Bulletproof] trait themselves, [Bulletproof] doesn't apply twice.

Unless stated otherwise, damage-lowering abilities can lower damage no further than bashing damagebashing damage冲击伤害The lightest damage grade, written B: punches, kicks, blunt blows..

Different damage conversion abilities can be resolved in whatever order their owner wishes, and the owner can also choose which part of the damage to convert.

Hardness

Hardness is the defense a character or object has because of its own physical toughness.

Against physical damage, each point X of Hardness that applies means X points of each instance of damage you take are negated, that is, canceled.

Against energy damage, Hardness works differently; see the "Energy damage" section for details.

Mental damage, force damage, and poison damage ignore Hardness.

Characters usually gain Hardness through some special ability. When gained, whether the description says "gain" or "increase" decides whether it stacks.

Damage negationdamage negation伤害抵消Cancelling a set amount of damage.

Some abilities provide damage negation.

In general, damage negation spends something (most often an Energy PoolEnergy Pool能量池Energy that powers abilities, such as mana, inner force, or chakra.) to negate damage. The cost, action, and amount of damage negated are described in detail in the matching ability.

Damage negation doesn't stack.

Unless stated otherwise, damage negation can negate physical damage, energy damage, falling damage, falling object damage, mental damage, and force damage.

Damage ignoring

Some abilities provide damage ignoring.

Damage ignoring usually comes in two kinds:

1. Ignoring all damage dealt under a certain condition. For example, ignoring damage from weapons with 3 or less weapon damage: in this case, all damage dealt with weapon damage of 3 or less is ignored.

2. Damage ignoring X, meaning X points of each instance of damage you take are ignored, that is, canceled.

The specific abilities and effects are described in detail in the matching abilities.

Damage ignoring doesn't stack.

Abilities that bypass damage ignoring bypass both kinds above.

Unless stated otherwise, damage ignoring can cancel physical damage, energy damage, falling damage, falling object damage, mental damage, and force damage.

Shared damage

Some abilities let several characters share damage or condition points.

Unless stated otherwise, such sharing splits the original damage and condition points among those characters as evenly as possible, rounding up.

Damage reduced by being shared with other characters doesn't count as a damage-reducing ability.

The effects of sharing on these characters are all unavoidableunavoidable不可避免An effect that cannot be reduced or saved against., and when tracing the source, only the character who originally took the damage or condition points can trace it. The effects on other characters who took damage or condition points through sharing count as having no source.

Notes:

A character's defenses apply to the lower grades of the attacker's damage first (bashing → lethal → aggravated).

1. The declared number of defense extra successes is subtracted from the attacker's base successes. If the attack hits, check whether the target is immune to the effect; the user can't know before it takes effect whether the target is immune. If not immune, the attacker works out the final damage, and the damage cap applies at this point.

2. Damage immunity applies.

3. Damage ignoring applies.

4. Hardness applies.

5. Damage absorption applies. If there are several damage types and your physical damage absorption applies at this point, set it aside and work it out together with step 7.

6. Damage conversion applies. If there are several damage conversions, work out the attacker's first, then the defender's; the defender's apply in the order shield, armor, then the character themselves.

7. Energy resistance or damage reduction applies.

8. Damage negation applies.

Special: if a character is immune to bashing damage, but the damage is worked out as lethal damage and then turned into bashing damage by the character's conversion ability, that bashing damage applies as normal, because the immunity step has already passed.

Example:

A attacks B. The attack roll has 100 DPdice pool骰池How many d10s a roll uses, usually Attribute + Skill + modifiers. Written DP. and 10 attack extra successes, and deals fire lethal damage with a damage cap of 30. Also, on a hit, half the damage goes up one step, and it deals an extra 5 lightning damage.

B uses 10 defense extra successes against the attack.

On the roll, A gets 35 successes. Minus the 10 defense extra successes leaves 20, so the attack hits, and A gains the 10 attack extra successes. The total damage is now 35, but A's damage cap is 30, so it deals 15 fire lethal damage, 15 fire aggravated damageaggravated damage恶性伤害The worst damage grade, written A. Very hard to heal., and 5 extra lightning damage.

Then work out B's defenses.

B is immune to lightning damage, so A's damage is now 15 fire lethal damage and 15 fire aggravated damage.

B has 2 fire damage ignoring, so A's damage is now 13 fire lethal damage and 15 fire aggravated damage.

B has 2 Hardness, so A's damage is now 11 fire lethal damage and 15 fire aggravated damage.

B has 3 all-damage absorption, so A's damage becomes 8 fire lethal damage and 15 fire aggravated damage.

B has an ability that lowers 5 points of damage one step, so A's damage becomes 13 fire lethal damage and 10 fire aggravated damage.

B has 3 fire resistance, so A's damage becomes 10 fire lethal damage and 10 fire aggravated damage.

B has 4 damage negation, so A's damage becomes 6 fire lethal damage and 10 fire aggravated damage.

In the end, A deals 6 fire lethal damage and 10 fire aggravated damage.

If B also had [Fire Vulnerability], A would end up dealing 12 fire lethal damage and 20 fire aggravated damage.

If B had [Fire Vulnerability 3] on top of that, A would end up dealing 12 fire lethal damage and 23 fire aggravated damage.

As these rules show, successfully making an attack, successfully hitting, and successfully dealing damage are different things.

Successfully making an attack is gained just by attacking, whether or not it hits.

Successfully hitting means that after your attack roll, your successes are greater than the target's defense extra successes. That is, whether it hits is decided at step 1.

If it hits, the target's damage-reducing abilities start to apply. This means the damage you deal might be entirely canceled by the target's damage reduction or similar abilities, so you deal no damage, but it still hit.

Note: when a resource says "a successful attack", it means a successful hit.

Note: when a resource says a successful parryparry格挡Blocking an attack with a weapon or shield. A weapon tagged [Parry X] adds X shield bonus when parrying., or a successful defense, it means the opponent didn't hit, not that the opponent dealt no damage.

Note: a successful defense means the attacker didn't hit. A successful parry means the attacker didn't hit while the defender was "parrying".

Note: some resources are written as: you make an attack roll against the target; this attack deals no damage, and instead causes XX effect to the target. Although the attack doesn't say "if it hits" or "if it deals damage", the ability is still an on-hit attack effect, and you still need to hit to get that effect instead.