Injury, Damage, & Death
When a biological actor is injured, their HP is reduced by some amount. Unless otherwise stated, a biological actor will also bind 1EX each time they take an amount of damage higher than their TUF in a single blow.
Some kinds of actors, particularly constructs, may have several subsystems with their own HP. Rules for if and how damage may propagate from one subsystem to another will be provided in descriptions of those actors.
Damage Types
Damage received by an object is classified by type. Damage types provide additional information to aid in counting damage against object materials based on their resistances. ’Verses defines the following base damage types:
Damage Types
| Type | Abrv | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballistic | b | High-energy impacts | Bullets, explosive shrapnel |
| Crushing | c | Blunt-force trauma | Fists, maces |
| Puncturing | p | Penetrating trauma | Arrow points, darts, pickaxes |
| Reactive | r | Energetic & chemical reactions | Burning, electric shock, acid |
| Slashing | s | Lacerating trauma | Blades, broadhead arrows |
Toughness & Damage Resistance
Many materials are resistant to certain damage types. When a material is resistant to a type of damage, an amount of damage equal to the material’s TUF is absorbed from any single application of that type. Damage that is absorbed is not counted against the object’s HP.
Some objects such as armor may transform one damage type into another. In these cases, damage type resistance will be listed with a double arrow as “s ⇉ c” which is read as “resists slashing damage and transforms any remaining damage into crushing damage.” The damage type on the left side of the double arrow is the resisted type. Any damage not absorbed by the object’s TUF is then converted into the damage type on the right side of the double arrow, and passed on to the next object in line.
All biological actors are resistant to Crushing (c) damage. When receiving such damage, the damage is reduced (absorbed) by the actor’s TUF attribute.
Anders tries to punch Benny, spending 1AD. Anders has allocated 1 die to the skill Unarmed Combat (difficulty: 1, default: Attribute PRW) and their PRW is high (3). Anders rolls 5d6, with 
. Because Anders's roll has 2 successes, they make contact with Benny and their punch does 2(c)HP. But because the punch does crushing (c) damage and Benny has a typical (2) TUF, Benny’s toughness absorbs the punch and his HP is not reduced.
In some cases, it may be important to know the HP of portions of objects based on their material. For example, if an actor takes cover behind a cement wall, it probably doesn’t help to know the HP of the whole building, but it would be important to know the HP of a portion of wall.
Below is a list of various common materials and their typical HP per 100 cubic centimeters, as well as their resistances to different damage types.
HP & Resistance of Common Materials
| Material | HP/100cm3 | TUF | Resistances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 4 | 3 | c, p, r, s |
| Cement | 5 | 3 | b, c, p, r, s |
| Flesh | * | * | c |
| Glass | 1 | 5 | r |
| High-strength Composites | 20 | 5 | b, c, p, r, s |
| Plasterboard Walls | 2 | 2 | c, p, r, s |
| Plastic | 2 | 2 | c, s |
| Steel | 8 | 4 | b, c, p, r, s |
| Stone | 6 | 4 | b, c, p, r, s |
| Titanium | 10 | 5 | b, c, p, r, s |
| Wood | 2 | 3 | b, c, p, r, s |
Object Damage
Non-actor objects can also have HP. Table 18 provides a rule-of-thumb estimate of object HP by approximate size, although many additional factors such as material and condition will contribute to determining object HP.
If an object’s HP is reduced to 0, it is destroyed or scrapped.
Object HP by Size
| Size | HP | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny (~5cm3) | 1–3 | A shot glass. |
| Small (~150cm3) | 3–9 | A portable computer. |
| Medium (~0.5m3) | 8–12 | A piece of furniture. |
| Large (~1m3) | 10–25 | A refrigerator. |
| Huge (~5m3) | 20–100 | A large boulder the size of a small boulder. |
Area Damage
Indirect weapons such as hand grenades and magical fireballs often inflict damage across an area surrounding their location. Area damage is expressed in terms of a range much like ranged attack success targets.
12(b)HP@2m,3,4
In the case of area damage, the damage value decreases by 1 at each range mark, and beyond the last range value no damage is inflicted. The above is read as, “Imparts 12 ballistic damage up to 2m away, 11 up to 3m, and 10 up to 4m.”
An actor who is within the area of damage, is aware of the impending damage, and has reserved 1 or more AD for the dodge action may attempt to reduce the received damage. The actor rolls dice as usual for a dodge, and subtracts the number of successes from the damage received (one point of damage reduced for each success) before any damage is applied.
Actor Destruction & Death
When an actor’s HP is reduced below 1, they receive the Moribund condition. While moribund, the actor may not take any actions, make any movements, or interact with other actors, and can only make survival rolls.
If an unconscious actor with zero HP takes additional damage, they regain the Moribund condition.
Survival Roll
While in Fast Action, on each turn the moribund actor must make a survival roll. To do so, roll TUF + all available AD + any applicable capabilities. The outcome of a survival roll is determined by the number of successes:
Survival Roll Outcomes
| # Successes | Result |
|---|---|
| 6 - TUF | Actor is no longer Moribund, but HP is still zero and they remain Unconscious |
| 1+ | Actor survives the turn, but is still moribund |
| 0 | Actor dies |