How to Play
Harm
Damage in STONES, SCROLLS, SWORDS & SORCERY is represented through Harm. Harm reflects serious injuries, exhaustion, trauma, magical corruption, and other lasting consequences suffered during play.
Harm is usually gained as a result of a Failed Throw during combat as a response from the Enemy, however one may also gain Harm failing throws out of combat.
Usually one takes Harm as the outcome of a failed Throw. When that happens players also have the opportunity to resist the Harm same as any other consequence.
Harm is tracked using:
A player typically can have three level 1 Harms, two level 2 Harms, one level 3 Harm, and zero level 4 Harm.
If all boxes of harm are filled for a given level, any subsequent injury of the same level is treated as the next level up. When recording harm write the injury in the box, having a singular harm of a given level applies the penalty for that level of harm.
Injury Levels
There are four levels of Harm:
- Level 1 (Minor) — Additional -1 to Outcome of Lost Throw Series.
- Level 2 (Moderate) — Additional -1 to Outcome of all Throws.
- Level 3 (Severe) — Your character can longer benefit from positive Draw Break bonuses.
- Level 4 (Death) — Character Death or Permanent Injury
When a character suffers Harm, the severity is determined by the fiction, the Outcome of the Throw, and the nature of the threat. Minor injuries may inflict Level 1 Harm, while devastating attacks, powerful Sorceries, or catastrophic failures may inflict Level 2 or Level 3 Harm. Harm is dangerous. Penalties stack quickly, Recovery requires action, and a few bad decisions can rapidly spiral into disaster.
Permanent Injury — Alternative Level 4 Harm
By default, Level 4 Harm is fatal. There is no Level 4 Harm box on the character sheet; Level 4 Harm represents an injury so severe that a character cannot sustain it.
But death is not right for every story. Sometimes it simply isn't a hero's time to die, and sometimes death isn't the tone your group wants from the game. In these cases, you can use Permanent Injuries as an alternative consequence for Level 4 Harm.
When a character would suffer Level 4 Harm, they instead suffer a Permanent Injury appropriate to what happened. The injury becomes a lasting part of that character and their story.
A Permanent Injury does not necessarily impose a permanent mechanical penalty. A terrible burn might leave scars without changing the character's Attributes; a crushed leg might leave them walking with a cane; a supernatural wound might never completely heal. Where appropriate, however, a particularly severe injury may have a lasting mechanical effect, such as reducing an Attribute, changing what the character can reasonably do, or requiring a prosthetic, aid or other accommodation.
Permanent Injuries should not exist simply to punish a player for surviving, they should leave evidence of what happened. Scars, lost limbs, damaged senses, strange magical afflictions and other lasting consequences can become part of a character's appearance, behaviour, equipment and history.
Most importantly, a Permanent Injury should create new character moments and stories, rather than simply making the character worse at playing the game.
Resisting Harm
When a character suffers Harm they may Resist the Harm using Grit, Armour, or both, as described in their respective sections.
Grit can reduce the level of incoming Harm, however requires a throw to be made.
Armour can absorb Harm before it is recorded. Resolve any resistance before marking the Injury on the character sheet.
If the Harm is reduced below Level 1, or is completely absorbed, no Injury is recorded.