Static Veil tracks physical injury through Health. A typical character has 12 Health.
After Armor, Armor Penetration, and other applicable effects are resolved, subtract the remaining Final Damage from the target’s Health.
Health cannot be reduced below 0. If the Final Damage is 0 or less, the attack causes no Health loss.
A character’s current Health determines their physical condition and the penalty they suffer:
| Current Health | Condition | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 10–12 | Healthy | None |
| 7–9 | Bruised | −5 |
| 4–6 | Battered | −10 |
| 1–3 | Wounded | −20 |
| 0 | Incapacitated | Special |
These penalties apply to all tests. They do not stack. Always use the penalty corresponding to the character’s current Health.
Critical Wounds
When an Operator is reduced to 0 Health by lethal damage, they suffer a Critical Wound.
Mark one available Critical Wound Slot. The character gains Incapacitated and cannot continue participating in combat.
The character also suffers a Critical Injury, normally determined by the location struck. Psychic damage uses its own Critical Injury table instead of a Hit Location.
A typical Operator has 3 Critical Wound Slots.
If an Operator suffers a Critical Wound while all of their Critical Wound Slots are already filled, they die unless a rule or the circumstances state otherwise.
If an Operator recovers above 0 Health and is later reduced to 0 Health again, they suffer another Critical Wound as normal.
NPC Survival
When a minor NPC is reduced to 0 Health by lethal damage, they are normally removed from the fight and presumed dead or dying.
If their survival matters, roll 1d6 at the end of the scene for each minor NPC taken out this way. On a 6, the NPC survives.
A surviving NPC remains Incapacitated and unable to continue fighting until treated or otherwise recovered.
Non-Lethal Attacks
A character may choose to attack with non-lethal intent when the weapon and circumstances make this reasonably possible. This must be declared before the attack roll.
Resolve the attack normally. If it reduces the target to 0 Health, the target becomes Unconscious instead of suffering a Critical Wound or Critical Injury.
Some attacks cannot reasonably be used non-lethally, including explosives, heavy ordnance, and other overwhelmingly destructive effects. The GM determines when non-lethal intent is possible.