Chapter 4

MECHANICS AND COMBAT

Fast, action-packed and safe! The flag-tag system allows you to focus on the combat and not quick math problems every time something happens. Instead: get hit; lose a flag!

Combat Basics

Afterworlds is a combat-heavy game, but uses a light and measured combat system that promotes safety for all combatants. Combat is a form of communication, and the physical blows are the method that this communication uses to get its point across. Each individual partaking in combat at an Afterworlds game will need to follow these simple rules for combat when using melee weapons at our game.

Only use Approved and Checked weapons. Before you are allowed to enter the game at the start of an event, staff and volunteers who are trained to check weapons will evaluate your weapons.

The GM’s calls are to be accepted as the resolution to any confusion in combat. After combat is over, you can approach the GM with any concerns afterwards. 

MELEE COMBAT SAFETY

• Respect the HOLD. If a hold is called, you are expected to know what to do. See chapter 3 for information on HOLDS.
• Everyone participating in melee combat is expected to treat each other with respect and to participate in the game with fair play, sportsmanship and safety at the forefront of their minds. 
• Checking, tackling or charging into people is not allowed. 
• You will pull your blows. You only need to contact a player to communicate to them they have been hit. Using excessive force will result in you being removed from the event. 
• You must be in control of your melee weapon. If your weapon is too large, heavy or unwieldy for you to effectively pull blows, it will not pass weapon check, or you may be removed from combat for safety.
• If you are holding an unarmed prop, you cannot block or parry other attacks.

RANGED COMBAT SAFETY

• Respect the HOLD. If a hold is called, you are expected to know what to do. See chapter 3 for information on HOLDS.
• If you fire or throw your weapon at or near the moment a hold is called, mention it during the hold after all safety concerns are handled, and retrieve the spent ammo or prop and clarify with any targets that the ammo was spent during a hold.
• Everyone participating in ranged combat is expected to treat each other with respect and to participate in the game with fair play, sportsmanship and safety at the forefront of their minds. 
• Thrown weapons that are approved, may be used for melee combat, but ranged weapons like blasters or bows are forbidden from being used as melee weapons. When a thrown weapon is used as a melee weapon, it counts as a melee weapon for all game rules, and when it is thrown, it counts as a ranged attack for all game rules.

INVALID HITS, BLOCKS, AND PARRIES

The following rules apply to both ranged and melee attacks. If any of the following situations occur the hit is invalid and does not require the recipient to take damage:

• Any strikes to the face, head, neck or groin do not count, and must be avoided at all cost. Should an accidental occurrence happen, call a hold and check to make sure your opponent is ok.
• Hits that graze costuming are not valid.
• Hits that strike a shield that is being wielded are invalid, unless you have a special ability that requires you to strike a shield.
• Hits that strike a weapon are invalid. If an attack first strikes a weapon, and then continues to strike a legal area, it is still invalid.

COMBAT SPEED AND DAMAGE REACTIONS

Combat speed is the general rhythm and beat that is aimed for in the Afterworlds combat system. The intent of this system is to provide bursts of intense action with moments of brief clarity to allow the combatants time to collect themselves and self-regulate the combat.

• You must swing a melee weapon in an arc or thrust as if it were the real thing, but with significantly less effort. “Wiggle fighting” is discouraged. This adds to the effect of the experience for you and fellow players without risking actual physical harm.
• After striking an opponent and connecting with a good hit, you must reset. To reset, you must wait for at least one second before you strike at that opponent again. Giving that opponent time to react to the damage that they have suffered from your attack. If your opponent is having trouble reacting, give them a bit more time, this will increase the fun of the combat among all participants. Use your best judgment and if you suspect your opponent is stalling, or doing anything else that violates the combat etiquette found in the beginning of this chapter, inform a GM after the combat finishes. 
• When you have been hit, and your opponent is resetting, you must react to the fact that you were hit. This is cinematic combat. Take a quick second to recoil and drop a flag. Until you have removed your flag, you cannot attack or approach your opponent. When designing your costuming, consider any steps you can take to make it easier to remove your flags.
• Attacks that hit simultaneously or rapidly, such as shotgun blasts (multiple darts at once) or automatic and fast semi-automatic weapons (multiple hits in quick succession) will only require the player to react to damage ONCE. When you are hit with one of these kinds of attacks, you will need to react to the damage (pull one flag, etc.), but only once (see ‘Taking Damage’ later in this chapter) for the damage that occurs from a single source in the span of about a second.
• When attacking with a ranged weapon, you do not need to reset as you would with a melee weapon. However, be aware that ranged attacks that hit simultaneously or rapidly will only require your opponent to react to damage once. Spacing out your attacks will be more efficient. Attacking multiple targets such as with the spread of a shotgun or a spray of an automatic will spread the damage to multiple targets who will each react to your damage.
• Attacks from multiple sources will each need to be reacted to, and getting outnumbered and attacked from multiple angles can be very deadly, very quickly.
• Intentionally taking too long to react to damage, attacking before reacting, or attacking after resetting is a breach of the combat etiquette and thus a violation of the rules and will result in punishment if not corrected.

Scenes and Encounters

A scene is a scenario in which characters take meaningful actions at Afterworlds. Scenes may contain an encounter or encounters (see below), but are not required to do so. Certain abilities and effects that characters and NPCs can use are limited by scenes. Scenes will start and end constantly, but only become important when abilities or effects that specify scenes occur.

BEGINNING A SCENE

A scene officially begins when two or more characters engage in some sort of meaningful interaction. Scenes are by design quite nebulous, and cannot be rigidly defined due to their nature but the following guidelines should be used to determine if you should consider a scene to have begun.

• The interaction has some sort of consequence.
  • Good examples of this are negotiations for trade or commerce,  a tense conversation between enemies, a player attempting to sneak past another player that might spot them.
  • Examples that would not qualify are exchanging greetings in passing, chatting with your allies in a friendly manner, or standing around while nothing of consequence occurs.
• Someone has used an ability that creates an encounter or is limited by scenes.
  • The Command call will automatically start a scene if one was not already started.
  • A count, call or attack against another character will start an encounter, and a scene at the same time.

JOINING A SCENE

EXITING AND ENDING A SCENE

• Your character has been commanded to not attack for the scene as characters negotiate a trade deal with a stranger that entered town. You leave the encounter because you don’t care to deal with diplomacy. When you leave town, you find that someone killed the guard and it was probably the stranger. When you run back to the trade table, using the Out of Game Hand Sign, you inform everyone “Things have changed” and you no longer have to follow the command that was in effect on you.

Utilizing this to circumvent rules without in-game reasons is a violation of Rule #1.

Once all participants have exited a scene, the scene ends. At the end of a scene, any abilities that are in effect end and any effects that are limited to being used a limited number of times in a scene are also reset. Artificially extending an scene by using abilities or counts so that you can take advantage of game mechanics without in-game reasons is a violation of Rule #1. 

Encounters

An encounter is a scenario in which combat happens. Certain abilities and effects that characters and NPCs can use are limited by encounters.

BEGINNING AN ENCOUNTER 

An encounter officially begins the moment a player or NPC uses a count, call or attack against another character. If a scene is not active at that time, it automatically starts a scene as well.

JOINING AN ENCOUNTER

If you enter the area where an encounter is underway, you are now part of that encounter. If you have an ability that is only usable once per encounter per player, this new player is now an applicable target for that ability. 

ENDING AN ENCOUNTER 

An encounter is over once hostilities from all parties involved in an encounter have stopped or when one side has achieved victory. Encounters cannot end if anyone involved is making a dying count or other players are using counts or abilities against each other. 

At the end of an encounter, any abilities that can only be used once per encounter can now be used again. Effects that last until the end of the encounter are no longer in effect. Artificially extending an encounter by using abilities or counts is a violation of Rule #1. If you are being chased, the encounter is considered over if you can stand and count to 30 without anyone re-engaging you.

Ending an encounter does not automatically end the scene however and the scene continues until the scene ends in the normal manner.

Damage

When you hit your opponent, you need to stop your attacks against that opponent and reset. This allows your opponent some time to react to your hit. After you have scored a hit, and until your opponent has reacted to the damage, you are Immune to damage from that opponent and that opponent cannot cause damage to any other characters.

Taking Damage

When you receive physical contact from a weapon or projectile, or you are within the area of effect of a damaging call, you have taken damage and must react to that damage. Until you have reacted to the damage, you cannot cause damage to other characters. To react, you take damage you must stop advancing or attacking and react to that damage. 

If you have an ability to ignore the damage: Some calls such as armor, or dodge (see ‘Calls’ later in this chapter) allow you to prevent damage. You must still react and pull any required limit flags and make any calls that are needed to activate the ability.

If you cannot prevent the damage: You must call out “HIT” and then either “LIMB” or “HEALTH” as appropriate to where you were hit (see ‘Strike Zones’ below). Finally, you must either disable your limb or lose a flag as appropriate.

STRIKE ZONES

When you are hit with an attack, you take damage based on the area where the attack hits you. These areas are called strike zones.

LETHAL (TORSO): The lethal strike zone is your torso. This includes the top of your shoulders, and the joint of your hips. If you are hit, you lose a flag and call out “HIT HEALTH”. The neck, head and groin are not valid targets.

NON-LETHAL (LIMBS): The non-lethal strike zones include both your arms (up to the top of your shoulder) and legs (up to the joint of your hip). When struck in these zones, the limb that was struck is disabled and you call out “HIT LIMB”. 

If your arm is disabled, you must let it hang to your side. You may not hold items in that hand. If both your arms are disabled, you must put anything you are holding at the time on the ground. If your leg is disabled, you cannot run and must fake a limp. If both your legs are disabled, you cannot move without another player (that can move) assisting you. Additional hits to disabled limbs count as hits to lethal strike zones.

LOSING FLAGS

When you lose a flag, you must pull the flag off of wherever you are keeping it displayed and toss it to the ground while making the call appropriate to the damage, such as “HIT HEALTH”.

LOSING YOUR LAST FLAG

When you lose your last health flag or durability flag you immediately gain the downed and wounded conditions (see ‘Conditions’ later in this chapter).

Dying, Death and Defeat

Once you have lost your last health flag or durability flag, if you are hit while you have the wounded condition, or otherwise gained the downed condition, you travel along the various stages of the death flow.

DOWNED TO DYING

When you are downed, any further damage gives you the dying condition unless you have a health flag to lose instead. This condition will last until you complete the dying count started by your dying condition, or until you lose the dying condition in some other way.

DYING TO DEAD

When you reach the end of the dying count started by your dying condition, you gain the dead condition. This condition will last until the end of the encounter, when you get to make a count of “DEAD(10)(Int, Res, Vol)” to leave the game. This is your dead count.

DEAD TO DEFEATED

When you leave the game after your dead count from your dead condition, you are defeated. This condition will last until you return to game.

YOUR METAGAME MEMORY

When you are downed, dying, dead, or defeated, you can't use any information that you gain in game. For example, if someone hits you from behind, and you never saw who it was before you started dying, you cannot go to town and put a bounty on that character. To do so is considered a violation of Rule #1.

Healing and Recovery

RECOVERING HEALTH OR DURABILITY FLAGS

Certain items or abilities can restore lost health flags or durability flags. If a character who is dying has a flag restored to them, they lose the dying condition. However, restoring a lost flag does not remove the downed condition. 

RECOVERING DISABLED LIMBS

All limb damage is recovered at the end of combat by making a count of “RECOVER(5)(Int, Res, Vol)”. Limbs that are permanently damaged through the effects of an injury or malfunction card cannot be recovered in this manner.

RECOVERING FROM DOWNED

At the end of the encounter you can make a count of “RECOVER(5)(Int, Res, Vol)” and when completed, you lose the downed condition. You will need to make a separate recover count to recover any disabled limbs after you have lost the downed condition.

RECOVERING FROM DYING

If you have the dying condition and are hit with the revive or reboot call you lose the dying condition. You also lose the dying condition if a lost health flag or durability flag is restored to you.

PAUSING A DYING COUNT

Certain items or abilities can pause a dying count of a character who is in the dying condition. When your dying count is paused, stop at whatever number you were currently counting. If, for whatever reason, your dying count is resumed you must start counting again at the number that you stopped at when your count was paused.

Limit Flags

Keeping track of abilities and powers that you can use can be a bit of a challenge when you start to get a lot of them available to you. The Flag-Tag system helps you recall how much you can do through limit flags! Use an ability, lose a flag.

USING LIMIT FLAGS

If an ability requires you to pull a limit flag, you must pull the flag off of wherever you are keeping it displayed, and toss it to the ground in order to activate that ability. You cannot use the ability that requires the pull until the flag has been pulled.

MAX LIMIT

Characters will have a max limit of limit flags that they can use to access the most powerful of their abilities. By default, characters will start with one limit flag, but this can be adjusted by species choices, perk selection and items.

REGAINING LIMIT FLAGS

Once these flags are used, they cannot be recovered until you take a rest in a safe area, use an item that allows you to regain a limit flag or use an ability or perk that allows you to restore a limit flag. 

FRESH AND SPENT

When you have all of your limit flags equipped, you are fresh. Certain abilities can require that you are fresh to activate. The opposite of fresh is spent. This is when you have no limit flags equipped.

Counts

Counts represent in-game actions that take time (such as the examples above) that are impossible to reproduce through a player’s real-life actions.

MAKING COUNTS

A count is represented by a two-part formula (ex: “BITE (3)”) that is spoken out loud to represent an in-game action and its duration.

• The first part is the word you say when starting a count. This word represents an ability you have or status effect you are under.
• The second part is the number of times you must count, starting from the top and counting down.

For example, the call “BITE(3)” would be made aloud by counting “BITE, 3, 2, 1”.

After you finish the last required count, the count is completed. Refer to the description of the count to see what happens when the count is completed. Otherwise, the count just ends.

RULES OF COUNTS

• Counts must be close to one second apart and loud enough for players around you to hear and react to accordingly. If you have trouble keeping good time, feel free to repeat the call name again in between numbers (for example “BITE 3, BITE 2, BITE 1”).
• You cannot speak in character during a count. 
• Counts that end early for any reason are considered incomplete, and do not trigger any abilities that require the count to finish.
• A count cannot be ended early unless it has a qualifier that says otherwise.
• You cannot make multiple counts at the same time. If you are forced to attempt to make multiple counts at the same time, follow these rules:
  • If you are making a count that can be voluntarily ended, any new count you are forced to make stops the current count, and you must make the forced count.
  • If you are making a count that cannot be voluntarily ended, continue making your current count, and ignore any other new counts you are forced to make.
  • If you are forced to make a dying count, stop any count you are making and start your dying count, even if the original count cannot be stopped. 

COUNT QUALIFIERS

Counts include written qualifiers that describe any restrictions imposed on you while making those counts. Qualifiers are not spoken aloud when making a count. 

In the case of “BITE(3)(Int, Vol)”, the (Int, Vol) refers to the qualifiers for the “BITE(3)” count.

These restrictions are the most common qualifiers, but each count description may have additional qualifiers written out in the description of the ability. 

Calls

Calls represent in-game abilities or effects (such as the examples above) that are impossible to reproduce through a player’s real-life actions.

The calls and conditions you need to know are listed in the rest of this chapter. Please try to memorize them, as it ensures smoother combat encounters for all. As you customize and level your character, you may gain more calls. You don’t need to know every call or count in the game, but you must know the ones you have access to.

MAKING CALLS

A call is a representation of an ability or effect that happens in game. Calls should be loud enough that players around you can hear it and react accordingly.

RULES OF CALLS

• Calls occur immediately.
• Calls can be attached to a single source (attack) or an area of effect (AOE). See ‘Call Sources and AOE’ further in this chapter for a full list.
• Calls you make cannot be stacked together from multiple sources. If you have multiple abilities, items or effects that allow you to make calls, you can only use one at a time.
  • For example: If you have two perks that allow you to make calls attached to melee attacks, one of which adds Stun, and one that adds Poison, you cannot combine these perks to create one attack that adds both Poison and Stun simultaneously.
• If you are in a situation where your perks, abilities or effects force you to stack calls, simply choose one to use at a time. If you trigger two perks in this way, choose one, and the other one immediately becomes able to be used.
• Some perks can allow multiple calls, such as “POISON STUN”, but they must come from the same perk.

WHEN A COUNT IS A CALL

If a count shares the same name as a call, it must be treated as if that call was being called over and over. These counts may be interrupted as normal depending on their qualifiers.

For example, a "DODGE(2)(Int, Vol)” count is the Dodge call being called for 2 seconds. Per its qualifiers, this count can be interrupted and voluntarily ended. The ability that allows you to make this count will stipulate what kinds of attacks you can Dodge. 

REQUIRED CALLS

These are calls that you need to know how to use and respond to, especially because they can be attached to attacks directed at you. 

The table below provides a quick outline of each required call. These calls are described in greater detail after the table.

Some calls can be countered in game by specific actions or perks, such as wearing armor or blocking with weapons. If a call cannot be countered, it will say so in its description.

BLAST

If you are hit with this call, you immediately lose all equipped health flags and are downed. If you are hit with this effect while you are already downed, you start dying. Certain strong creatures have abilities that treat blast differently.

COMMAND

When someone targets you with this call, they must point at you and follow the call up with a short direction or question. You must follow that direction or answer the question to the best of your ability. For example: If your opponent points at you and calls “COMMAND: Three steps back”, you must take 3 steps back from the person who called this effect. 

Commands may have a duration of effect, such as “for a 30 count”, or “for one hour”, or “until sundown”. If a command does not have a specified duration, you should follow it for the remainder of the encounter or scene. For example: If your opponent points at you and calls to “COMMAND: Ignore me”, you must ignore that character while they are present in the area. The command no longer applies if either you or your opponent leaves the area or if you encounter each other later on in a different area.

GRAB

When you are hit with this call, you are Grabbed and must follow these special restrictions:

• You cannot attack the character grabbing you with anything other than one-handed ranged weapons, light melee weapons and unarmed attacks.
• You cannot move.
• If the person who grabbed you moves, you must move with them.
• The limb holding the prop that is contacting you while you are grabbed is Immune to damage from you.

If the character that is grabbing you removes their hand (or other prop in the case of non-human monsters) from you, you are no longer grabbed.

GUARD

When this call is made on you, ignore any damage and attached calls from the most recent melee or ranged attack that hit you. This includes attacks that hit simultaneously or rapidly, such as machine gun bursts.

HARM

Harm represents damage from sources other than physical force, like fire, small explosions, psychic energy and many other types of damage. When you are hit with harm attached to an area of effect call (i.e. “HARM 5FT”) or any other non-contact method (i.e. “COMMAND: Take HARM”), you must take damage as if you were hit in a lethal zone (see ‘Strike Zones’ earlier in this chapter). By default, damage taken from the harm call or damage from melee or ranged attacks that have the harm call attached cannot be prevented with the dodge call.

KNOCKOUT

When you are hit with this call, you are downed but do not take any damage.

NO DAMAGE

When you are hit with no damage attached to an attack, you do not take any damage. You are still affected by any additional calls attached to the attack. 

PIERCE

Pierce represents damage that is able to bypass armor, such as armor piercing rounds, precision attacks or excessively strong attacks. When you are hit with pierce attached to an area of effect call (for example “PIERCE 5FT”) or any other non-contact method (for example “COMMAND: Take PIERCE”), you take damage as if you were hit in a lethal zone (see ‘Strike Zones’ earlier in this chapter). By default, the damage taken from the pierce call or damage from melee or ranged attacks that have the pierce call attached cannot be prevented with the armor call.

POISON

When you are hit with this call, you must burn a limit flag.

RALLY

This call allows you to immediately pick up a nearby limit flag from the ground and equip it if you have less limit flags then your max limit. If there are no nearby limit flags, this ability is ignored. This call has no effect on a character who is downed.

REBOOT

THIS CALL ONLY WORKS ON ROBOTIC CHARACTERS. 

If you are hit with reboot while dying, you may stop making a dying count and become downed. If you are hit with reboot while you are downed, you are no longer downed. If you are hit with reboot and are neither downed nor dying, it has no effect.

REGEN

When you are hit with this call, you may either grab and equip a nearby health flag from the ground (if you are below your max health), or regain the use of a disabled limb (not caused by an injury card). If there are no nearby health flags and you have no disabled limbs, this call has no effect.

REVIVE

THIS CALL ONLY WORKS ON ORGANIC CHARACTERS. 

If you are hit with revive while dying, you may stop making a dying count and become downed. If you are hit with revive while you are downed, you are no longer downed. If you are hit with revive and are neither downed nor dying, it has no effect.

STUN

When you are hit with this call you must make a count of “STUN(3)(Res)”. During this count, you cannot move, attack or do anything other than count. If you take any damage while making this count, the count immediately ends.

TRUE

True represents damage that is able to bypass almost any defense, including blocking and parrying. Ranged and melee attacks that have the true call attached that are parried with a weapon or blocked with a shield count as if the attack had hit you in a lethal zone (see ‘Strike Zones’ above). Any damage caused by an attack or call that has the true call attached to it cannot be prevented with the armor or dodge calls.

ACQUIRED CALLS

These calls are locked behind abilities, perks or items. Per chapter 2, namely trusting that other players know what they are doing, you don’t need to know these calls. 

However, if you select perks that give you access to these calls, you must memorize them so you understand how they work. 

The table below provides a quick outline of each required call. These calls are described in greater detail after the table.

ARMOR

This call is made to prevent you from taking damage from an attack that has hit you. The perk or ability that grants you the ability to make the armor call will dictate what kind of attacks it prevents. You cannot use this ability when hit with an attack that carries pierce or true.

DODGE

This call is made to prevent you from taking damage from an attack that has hit you. The perk or ability that grants you the ability to make the dodge call will dictate what kind of attacks it prevents. You cannot use this ability when hit with an attack that carries harm or true.

IMMUNE

This call indicates you cannot be affected by a certain call, and you ignore the effects of the call. This call can also indicate you are immune to damage for a time. When you make this call, you must also call what you are immune to, and also make any other required calls. For example: “HIT IMMUNE POISON”.

INSPIRE

This call is only important to you if you are in a party. When the leader of your party calls “ INSPIRE”, then you are allowed to activate any ability that you have that your leader has granted you. Your party leader will have told you about this ability beforehand, or one of your perks will explain what this ability activates. If you are not in a party, this call has no effect.

RESIST

This call indicates you have resisted a certain call, and you have negated effects of the call. When you make this call, you must also call what you resisted, and also make any other required calls. For example: “HIT RESIST POISON”.

UNLISTED CALLS

During a game, you may also hear calls that are not listed in this section, such as “PARRY DODGE” or “BITE HARM”. These preformatted calls are usually attached to character perks or Monster Cards that allow for special abilities.

If you are hit with an attack that has a unique call attached, you might suffer effects from the unique call at the end of the encounter. Make sure to abide by the game’s combat rules and take any bite cards, radiation bracelets, etc. that are presented to you.

Unlike the other calls listed in this section, these unique calls represent two calls that have been attached to each other. This means that if you are hit with an attack that has an unlisted call attached, you will suffer the effects of both parts of the call. Conversely, if you have an ability that allows you to ignore part or all of a unique call, you may use it, and you will be unaffected by those parts.

For example, in the case of “BITE HARM”, the call “BITE” is attached to “HARM”.

If you are hit with this call but have an ability that allows you to ignore the effects of the Harm call, you may use it, but you will still suffer the consequences of bite (and vice-versa).

However, if you are hit with this call and have an ability that allows you to ignore the effects of the Harm call and any attached calls, you would ignore the unique call’s effects entirely.

CALL SOURCES AND AOE

When you hear a call, the source and possible AOE will determine if you were affected by that call. Below are the ways you can be hit with various calls. All AOEs have a five foot radius. To ensure smoother combat, practice judging what a five-foot distance looks like.

ATTACK

Effect: Calls that are attached to melee or ranged attacks take effect if the melee or ranged attack successfully makes contact with a target. That target is then hit with the attached call. The word ATTACK is never called, but is represented by the melee or ranged attack that delivered it.

IN FRONT OF ME

Effect: When this is attached to a call, anyone within 5 feet in an arc 180 degrees in front of the character is hit with the call or effect. To quickly determine if you were affected on the fly, assume that if the character who called the effect is at least partially facing you when they call it, and you are within 5 ft, you were hit.

TOUCH

Effect: Calls that are delivered by touch will have a player reach out to make contact with you while making the call. You are affected by the call once contact is made. The word TOUCH is never called, but is represented by the action that delivered it.

[x] 5 FT

Effect: All area-of-effect (AOE) calls have a 5 ft. radius. The AOE will originate from a prop that is thrown, launched, or otherwise indicated, along with the call. Anyone within the indicated AOE is hit with the call. For example: “HARM 5 FT FROM THE RED DOOR” would mean that anyone standing by the named red door, within a 5 ft radius would be hit with the Harm call.

5 FT ON ME

Effect: When this is attached to a call, anyone within the area called from the person making the call is affected by the call.

Conditions

Conditions are temporary states that affect your character and limit the actions that you are allowed to take. 

MULTIPLE CONDITIONS

You can be affected by many conditions at once, and all restrictions granted by each condition apply. If a condition grants you the ability to perform an action, (such as Downed granting you the ability to recover at the end of the encounter) but you are prevented from doing so by one of your other conditions, you cannot perform the granted action until the other condition is lost. Gaining a new condition does not remove any other conditions.

DEFEATED

BECOMING DEFEATED:  You become defeated after you lose the dead condition. 

WHILE DEAD:

• Your character is out of the game.
• You must wait at least 30 minutes in the dead condition before returning to game. 
• You can use this time to take a break or volunteer if you would like.

LOSING DEAD: You lose the defeated condition after your 30 minute mandatory waiting period is up and you report to staff. You will be given a random injury or malfunction and, if you survive the it, your character may return to the game and lose any conditions you were previously under.

DEAD

BECOMING DEAD: You become dead when you complete your dying count while dying, or in very rare cases, when the condition is forced on you by plot staff.

WHILE DEFEATED: 

• You must remain in place (unless you have to move for safety reasons).
• At the end of an encounter you may begin a count of “DEFEAT(60)(Res).” You can make this count in your head if you wish.
• You can be looted by other players.

LOSING DEFEATED: You lose the dead condition in rare cases where a special ability, item, plot card or plot staff member dictates that it returns a character who is dead to the game.

DOWNED

BECOMING DOWNED: You become downed when you lose your last health flag due to damage or when hit with the knockout call. When you become downed:

• Call out “DOWNED”.
• It’s encouraged that you fall to the ground and pretend to be incapacitated, but you must at least take a knee while downed.
• You don’t have to lie down in anything wet or dangerous; feel free to move to the closest safe spot to be incapacitated. 

WHILE DOWNED:

• You cannot speak, but may make pained sounding groans or moans.
• You cannot take any in-character actions.
• If you take damage while downed and have no health flags left, you gain the dying condition. If you take damage while downed but still have health flags equipped, you instead lose a health flag as normal.
• You can be looted by other players.

LOSING DOWNED: You lose the downed condition in the following ways:

• When you are hit with a revive or reboot call (depending on your species).
• If you are given a command call that states that you are no longer downed.
• When you successfully complete a "RECOVER (5)(Int, Res, Vol)" count at the end of the encounter (see "Healing and Recovery" earlier in this chapter).

DYING

BECOMING DYING: You become dying when you take damage while in the downed condition or the dying condition is forced onto you by a plot card or plot staff member. 

WHILE DYING: 

• It’s encouraged that you fall to the ground and pretend to die, but you must at least take a knee.
• You don’t have to lie down in anything wet or dangerous; feel free to move to the closest safe spot when you gain the condition.
• You must start a dying count of “DYING(30)(Res)”. This count may be affected by perks, species or other abilities. If you reach the end of this count, you become dead.
• You can be looted by other players.

LOSING DYING: You lose the dying condition in the following ways:

• When you are hit with a revive or reboot call (depending on your species).
• If you have a lost health flag or durability flag restored to you.
• If you are given a command call that states that you are no longer dying.
• If you become dead, you are no longer dying.

GRABBED 

BECOMING GRABBED: You become grabbed when you are hit with the grab call. The character that hit you with grab will also maintain contact with the prop that they delivered the grab call with.

WHILE GRABBED: 

• You cannot attack the character who hit you with grab you with anything other than one-handed ranged weapons, light melee weapons and unarmed attacks.
• You cannot move.
• If the person who grabbed you moves, you must move with them.
• The limb holding the prop that is contacting you while you are grabbed is immune to damage from you.

LOSING GRABBED: You lose the grabbed condition If the character that hit you with grab removes their prop from you.

RESTRAINED

BECOMING RESTRAINED: You become restrained when another character or plot effect gives you the restrained condition. This will be communicated verbally, or written on an effect card. 

WHILE RESTRAINED: 

• You cannot move unless another player is forcing or allowing you to move.
• You cannot attack or use any counts or calls that don't specifically state they can be used while you are restrained.
• You can be looted.
• You can give yourself the dying condition at will.

LOSING RESTRAINED: You lose the restrained condition as determined by the method that you gained it. The item or plot card that bestowed the restrained condition on you will detail the methods in which you can have the condition removed.

WOUNDED

You have been badly beaten and are barely holding on.

BECOMING WOUNDED: You become wounded when you have no health flags equipped but are not downed. 

WHILE WOUNDED: 

• You must act as if you are struggling to stay upright and having trouble moving and taking basic actions.
• You must not run.
• You must take a 1 second pause after you swing any melee weapons.
• If you take any damage while wounded, you become downed.

LOSING WOUNDED: You lose the wounded condition as soon as you have any health flags equipped on your character.

Social Tokens And Commands

Some perks allow characters to give other players commands in return for social capital called social tokens. These tokens are able to be turned in by players who accept them in exchange for XP or RP rewards (see chapter 5). Characters who are offering these tokens will call out “HEAR ME OUT” and offer the tokens to the character they are attempting to use a command on. If you are the target of this call, you must make one of the following choices.

• Refuse to take the tokens. You need to indicate your refusal to the character offering in some way.
• Accept the tokens. After you have accepted, you are indicating you are willing to follow the command that the player is going to give you. You must follow this command to the best of your ability and in good faith. Attempting to find ways to subvert the command is a violation of Rule #1. You will need to use common sense and an attitude of cooperative storytelling when accepting social tokens. You might be accepting a token that leads to your own undoing. If you are unable to participate in such a manner, you should avoid accepting social tokens.

When you accept social tokens and are given a command, unless that command specifies an action that has a defined duration (such as take 3 steps, or until you are attacked) the command lasts for the duration of the scene.

Looting

You can loot characters who fall under any of the following conditions:

• The character is downed, dying, restrained or willing.
• You loot an applicable character by making a count of “LOOTING(5)(Int, Res, Vol)” and once complete, asking them for consent before attempting to retrieve the character’s loot bag. You can use the out of character hand sign to ask the player “looting consent” when seeking consent for this count.
• If the player you are looting consents, you can search their loot bag while they wear it and take any lootable items. 
• If the player does not consent to you searching their bag, they must hand you their loot bag.
• As the looter, if you are not comfortable with physical contact, you can ask players to hand you their loot bag using the out of character hand sign. After you have finished looting, hand the bag back to the player. 

When looting, you can take game items and only game items. Do not take any personal items, or props that are not provided by the game. If you are unsure if an item is a game item, use the out of character hand sign to ask the looted player. You can only take items if your carrying capacity has room to take them. Any items you do not take are returned to the looted player's loot bag before you hand it back to them or stop looting. Players may have items that they have provided that they have willingly brought into game, and it's up to them to inform you if that item is lootable.