Stamina represents a character’s short-term resilience and physical reserve—the ability to shrug off blows, absorb shocks, and keep moving despite the toll of combat. Unlike true injury, hits to Stamina don’t leave lasting harm; they measure fatigue, rattled nerves, and the strain of sustained effort. When Stamina is depleted, characters feel worn down, slower to react, and less effective in their actions, but a good rest or brief recovery can restore them to full vigour. It reflects the wear and tear of battle rather than the deep cuts or broken bones that require true healing.

So long as the character has any Stamina remaining, damage from attacks is applied to Stamina first. Only when Stamina is depleted does damage apply to health.

If an attack would inflict more damage than the target has Stamina remaining, excess damage from that attack is applied to health, but does not cause the Injured status condition.

Health tracks the lasting harm a character sustains in battle—cuts, bruises, broken bones, and other wounds that cannot be shrugged off. Unlike Stamina, Health recovers slowly, reflecting the body’s need for proper rest, treatment, and time to heal. Damage to Health represents true physical trauma, limiting a character’s effectiveness until properly tended to, and leaving them vulnerable if ignored. While Stamina reflects temporary strain, Health is the mark of danger made real: each point lost is a step closer to serious consequences, making careful tactics and recovery essential for survival.

Whenever a character takes damage applied to Health (and not to Stamina), they gain an Injured status condition equal to the amount of Health lost from that attack. Each instance of Health damage creates a new Injured condition; existing Injured conditions are not increased.

Some abilities grant a character Surge, a pool of temporary protection that absorbs damage before Stamina is affected. As long as the character has at least one point of Surge remaining, they cannot lose Stamina, even if an attack deals more damage than their current Surge.

Once all Surge is depleted, the character gains the Winded status condition.