Wounds, Healing, & Death
When a character is hit with a damaging attack and has no way to defend or mitigate it, the location struck suffers a Wound. The location of the Wound determines the effect it has on the character (as explained below). In Citadel, there are both mundane and magical ways to be healed from your Wounds. However, if Wounds are not tended to properly, it could lead to a character's Death.
Citadel is a live-action or “boffer” combat game, which uses padded weapons and bird seed packets to represent weapons and effects. These are then used in a “Hit Location” system to track damage and resolve combat.
Each creature has five separate hit locations.
Right & Left Arm - each count as a single location and are measured from the wrist bone to the top of the shoulder.
Right & Left Leg - each count as a single location and are measured from the ankle bone to the top of your thigh.
Torso - below the neck and between the shoulders down to just past the buttocks.
There are ways to cancel or avoid damage but if a character is not able to do so, it causes a Wound to the location struck.
Hit Locations
Conscious and Healthy
The default state of a character is Conscious and Healthy. A Conscious character is awake and aware of their surroundings. A Healthy character does not have any Wounds or other In-Play harmful conditions currently affecting them.
Unconscious
The character is not awake, is unable to move, cannot actively use any abilities, and is not aware of their surroundings. If Unconscious due to Wounds, an Unconscious character will awaken one (1) minute after being Stabilized or given other healing treatment. Regardless of the strength of the healing effect, all the character’s Wounds would be considered Stabilized. However, they may still be considered “Walking Wounded” (see below) if the strength of the effect was not enough to cure all of their Wounds.
If a character receives any additional Wounds while other Wounds are in the process of healing, or while Walking Wounded, all Wounds are then considered new Wounds and the healing process must be started over. All Wounds a character has always heal together at the same rate.
Wounded
The character has suffered one (1) or more Wounds. See Wound Location Effects below.
Bleeding Out
The character's Wounds are so severe that they will die if not Stabilized. The moment a character begins Bleeding Out, they should keep track of their five (5) minute Bleed Out Timer. If five minutes pass before the character is Stabilized or otherwise assisted by a healing effect, the character is then Dead. Bleed Out Timers always pause when another character begins to Apply Pressure (see below), or administer a Stabilize or other healing effect, but will resume where it left off if that assistance is disrupted before the treatment is finished.
Walking Wounded
If a character’s Wounds have been Stable for one (1) minute, they become Conscious and are considered Walking Wounded. They will naturally regain a Healthy state, but the length that they remain Walking Wounded is determined by what additional treatments, if any, they were given.
Stabilize - The character will fully recover in one (1) hour if no other treatment is administered.
Accelerate Healing - This effect halves the Walking Wounded time to a total of thirty (30) minutes from the time the target was Stabilized. When combined with Chirurgery, the Walking Wounded time is cut to a total of fifteen (15) minutes.
Chirurgery - This Physicker ability halves the Walking Wounded time to a total of thirty (30) minutes from the time the target was Stabilized. When combined with an Accelerate Healing effect, the Walking Wounded time is cut to a total of fifteen (15) minutes.
A character that is Walking Wounded must move carefully so as not to re-open their Wounds. They are considered to be under a Slow effect (i.e no more than one (1) step per second) and may not participate in any strenuous activity.
Strenuous activity is defined as: wielding a weapon or shield (besides warding off a Killing Blow), activating any magical effects, activating magic items, channeling magic, and performing physical challenges (such as jumping or holding on to a rope).
If a character does attempt any strenuous activity, or if they take a new Wound, all previously Wounded areas are considered Wounded again and any healing must be started over. If this causes the character to have three (3) Limb Wounds and/or a Torso Wound, they immediately fall Unconsciousness and begin Bleeding Out.
Help: A Walking Wounded character may be given Help by another character. “Help” requires a character’s Concentration, and requires the Walking Wounded and Helping character to be within five (5) feet or “fist bump” distance of each other. The Help effect represents how they are lending their strength, balance, and aid to the Walking Wounded character. A Walking Wounded character who is given Help may walk at a normal speed and participate in physical challenges (such as rope traversal or jumping challenges) without reopening their Wounds. The character providing Help to the Walking Wounded character must have at least one free hand when assisting the Walking Wounded character through physical challenges.
Dead (less than 5 minutes)
A character who has suffered a Death effect or whose Bleed Out Timer has ended, is considered Dead. However, the Spirit has not yet departed the Body. A Resuscitate effect can restore the character to life during that short window of time, so a character who is Dead must begin a five (5) minute Death Timer. If the character has died by a method that severely damaged their body (Disintegrate, Exsanguinate, Immolate, etc.) or their corpse is mutilated (see Corpse Mutilation below), they may immediately end their Death Timer and follow the instructions for Dead (5 minutes or more), below.
When a Resuscitate effect is initiated, the Dead character may pause their Death Timer. If the Resuscitate is interrupted before its completion, the Death Timer resumes from where it was paused. If Resuscitate is initiated again after the interruption, the previous time spent for the first Resuscitate does not count toward the completion time for any subsequent attempts. After being Resuscitated, the character is considered to be healed from all Wounds and Purified from all effects, but suffers an unavoidable Disrupt Essence effect.
Dead (5 minutes or more)
A character who had been Dead for five (5) or more minutes should go Out-of-Play, leaving some identifying piece of their costuming or props and any tagged phys-reps on the ground to represent their body. They must then go directly to Monster Town to await further instructions. The character's allies may yet find a way to Resurrect the Dead character. (See more information on Character Death after the Healing Section below).
Permanent Death
If a character suffered a Death effect, and either the character was not Resurrected by the next dawn or dusk or their Resurrection process failed, that character becomes Permanently Dead. The player of the character would have to create a new character.
States of Being
One Arm Wound
The character must open their hand and let go of any tagged items held with the Wounded arm (including Shields or Armored Fists) and the arm should hang at the player's side. Shields or Armored Fists that are not dropped by opening the hand no longer provide any protection. Any damaging attack that hits the shield is transferred through the Wounded arm to the Torso as described below.
The character remains Conscious indefinitely.
Any additional damage done to the Wounded arm is transferred to the Torso, bypassing Armor, but not Toughness or other defensive measures.
One Leg Wound
The Wounded leg cannot be walked upon, but the character may hop a maximum of three times to move into a better position.
The player should drop to one knee or stand still with their weight visibly on the other leg. The character may only crawl until the leg is fully healed.
With the assistance of another character they may move at a normal walking pace. The character remains Conscious indefinitely.
Any additional damage done to a Wounded leg is NOT transferred to any other hit location.
Two Limb Wounds (any combination)
The character suffers the individual effects of the respective limbs that are Wounded as described above, but remains Conscious indefinitely.
With two leg Wounds, the character must drop to their knees, cannot walk without assistance, and may only walk at a Slowed pace with assistance.
Although a character with up to two (2) Limb Wounds is not in danger of Bleeding Out, they are not considered Stable. Their wound(s) do not heal naturally without weeks to recover and would not be healed until the next Event. If the character receives Healing and becomes Walking Wounded, they are under the same restrictions as any Walking Wounded character, regardless of the location or number of Wounds. For example, attempting to run with an arm Wound while Walking Wounded will cause that location to immediately become Wounded again.
Three Limb Wounds (any combination)
The character immediately falls Unconscious and is Bleeding Out. The player collapse where they are (or kneel, depending on environmental conditions), may not move, speak, look around, use any In-Play abilities, or interact with other players. The player may only respond to Out-of-Play questions, such as when another character examines their Wounds with Healing Ways. Their five (5) minute Bleed Out Timer begins immediately (see Bleeding Out, above). If they are not Stabilized or Healed in another way before the five (5) minutes are complete, they become Dead.
Torso Wound
The character immediately falls Unconscious and is Bleeding Out. The player must collapse where they are (or kneel, depending on environmental conditions), may not move, speak, look around, use any In-Play abilities, or interact with other players. The player may only respond to Out-of-Play questions, such as when another character examines their Wounds with Healing Ways. Their five (5) minute Bleed Out Timer begins immediately (see Bleeding Out, above). If they are not Stabilized or Healed in another way before the five minutes are complete, they become Dead.
Wound Location Effects
Carrying Another Character
When carrying a Wounded, Unconscious, or Dead character, you may only move at a slow walk. To carry another character, the player must roleplay carrying the individual and the players must stay either in physical contact (following the consent rules for physical contact) or within one (1) foot of each other at all times. Always follow the Rules of Physical Contact when you roleplay carrying someone. You cannot have anything else in your hands while carrying another character. Two or more characters may carry a Wounded, Unconscious, or Dead character at whatever speed they desire.
Moving faster than a slow walk while carrying a character that is Stabilized or Walking Wounded will immediately cause their Wounds to re-open, although A Walking Wounded character who is given Help may walk at a normal speed and participate in physical challenges (such as rope traversal or jumping challenges).
Corpse Mutilation
A dead body can be further damaged to the point that Resuscitation is impossible, and any Resurrection attempts may be more difficult or also impossible. This can only be done to a target that is already dead. In-play this represents acts of significant violence on the target body, such as decapitation or removing internal organs. In order to perform this act, the character should roleplay it while stating a slow three count of "Mutilating 3...Mutilating 2...Mutilating 1." This can be interrupted at any time by striking the person or weapon doing the mutilation. This can be a flat and does not require that damage be done to interrupt the process.
Killing Blows
A Killing Blow applies a non-magical Death effect to the target. Delivering a killing blow requires hovering one’s weapon a few inches beside the person for the entire duration of a slow three count of “Killing Blow 3...Killing Blow 2...Killing Blow 1”. Upon completion of the full count the target is Dead. A Killing Blow may be interrupted by striking the weapon or the person. This can be a flat attack and does not require that damage be done to interrupt the process.
A Killing Blow may only be performed on a helpless target. Helpless conditions include being Unconscious, Paralyzed, Entangled, or Feebleminded. Any Conscious character not under one of these effects may ward off a Killing Blow if they have a free, unwounded limb with which to do so.
Untreated Wounds
An Untreated Wound is a Limb Wound that has not been Stabilized or had any healing effects applied. Untreated Wounds takes weeks or even months to fully heal. It is a long and slow process and often occurs between events.
A character can only have an Untreated Wound on up to two (2) limbs. Three (3) or more Limbs or a Torso Wound would cause the character to begin to Bleed Out.
Obvious Wounds and Applying Pressure
Obvious Wounds
All characters can see if a person is Wounded and from which hit location. While within arm’s reach of a target, they may ask "Are you Wounded?" and "In which location?".
If the target is Conscious, they may respond In-Play, but if they are Unconscious all questions and answers are considered Out-of-Play and the Wounded character should clarify that to the asking character after they respond.
Apply Pressure
Any character may use the Apply Pressure ability on a Wounded character to pause their Bleed Out Timer. The character must roleplay applying pressure to the targeted character (being sure to follow the rules of Physical Contact). It requires Concentration to Apply Pressure. A character Applying Pressure must have the use of both arms (which cannot be Wounded or in a healing “Walking Wounded” state).
The moment they stop Applying Pressure, the Wounded character's Bleed Out Timer resumes from where it left off if they have not had additional Healing effects applied.
Treating Wounds
Tending a Wound stops a character from bleeding to death, as well as speeds the healing process. The time it takes to treat a Wound varies from skill to skill. For example, Healing Ways includes the ability to Stabilize a target that is Bleeding Out with one (1) minute of Concentration and roleplay, whereas a Wizard or Channeler could instantly cast a Heal Limb Wound spell on a target, or a Physicker could quickly administer an Accelerate Healing potion.
However, regardless of the method of healing, any effect that Heals a Wound or Toughness always requires a minimum of one (1) minute to heal or for the character to become Walking Wounded. (See below for the list of effects).
There are a number of ways Wounds can be treated. Physickers specialize in treating wounds by bandaging, stitching, and administering poultices and potions. There are also ways to Magically treat a Wound.
Stabilize
The most basic treatment for Wounds. A Stabilize will stop a character from bleeding to Death and provide basic healing to all Wounds. One (1) minute after being Stabilized, the character is considered to be Walking Wounded and will regain Consciousness (if they were Unconscious due to Wounds). If no other treatment is given, they will fully recover from all their Wounds after one (1) hour.
Accelerate Healing
This effect immediately Stabilizes the target and makes them Conscious. They will become Walking Wounded in one (1) minute after the treatment has ended, and their total Walking Wounded time is reduced to thirty (30) minutes beginning from the moment they were Stabilized. For example, if the character was Stabilized and then given an Accelerate Healing effect ten (10) minutes later, their total Walking Wounded time would be twenty (20) minutes. This effect may be combined with Chirurgery, but not applied multiple times to the same healing wounds. If Accelerate Healing is combined with Chirurgery, the total time spent as Walking Wounded is reduced to fifteen (15) minutes.
Chirurgery
This is the specialty of a Trained Physicker. The Physicker stitches the Wounds of their patient, allowing them to heal faster than normal. The effect immediately pauses the target’s Bleed Out Count. After receiving Chirurgery, a target is Conscious and considered Walking Wounded. They will fully heal from all their Wounds in thirty (30) minutes. This effect may be combined with an Accelerate Healing, but cannot be performed multiple times on the same healing Wounds. If Chirurgery is combined with an Accelerate Healing effect, the total time spent as Walking Wounded is reduced to fifteen (15) minutes.
Heal [X] Toughness
This effect restores a number of points of Toughness as specified in the spell or ability after one (1) minute.
Heal Limb Wound
This is a magical effect. It will instantly Stabilize a target, make them Conscious, and heal any single limb Wound (specified by the caster) after one (1) minute. This cannot heal a Wounded torso.
Heal Grievous Wounds
This is a magical effect. It will instantly Stabilize a target, make them Conscious, and heal up to three (3) Wounds (specified by the caster), one of which may be a Torso Wound, after one (1) minute.
Heal Mortal Wounds
This is a magical effect. It will instantly Stabilize a target, make them Conscious, and, fully heal the target of ALL Wounds after one (1) minute.
Character Death
The world of Tokavah is a dangerous place, especially for those brave adventurers who dare to come to Kallarai and Delve within the Citadel.
When a person dies, whether that is from a Death effect, a Killing Blow, or from Bleeding Out, their Spirit remains within their body for a short time. If your character dies, and your body is still fully intact (as in, it has not been Mutilated or Disintegrated) stay where you are and begin a Death Timer of five (5) minutes. During those five minutes, you may be brought back to life with a Resuscitate. A Resuscitate effect always takes five (5) minutes to complete. When a Resuscitate effect is initiated, the Dead character may pause their Death Timer. If the Resuscitate is interrupted before its completion, the Death Timer resumes from where it was paused. After being Resuscitated, the character is considered to be healed from all Wounds and Purified from all effects, but suffers an unavoidable Disrupt Essence.
However, if you are not Resuscitated during that time, your character's Spirit has left their body. All active effects on you are removed. Go Out-of-Play and find the nearest Marshal. Ideally, you should leave behind some identifying piece of costuming to represent your body, so others will realize what has occurred. If there is not a Marshal nearby, you should go straight to Monster Town and notify a Marshal there. They will record your death, and provide you with additional instructions.
Before the Citadel opened, raising someone from the dead after their Spirit had departed was mere legend and folk tale. Now, however, Essence has strengthened in ways never before seen in living memory, and rumors abound of powerful spells that can raise the dead. There are also reports of ghosts of the recently dead visiting their family and friends to give a final goodbye before fading from the mortal realm at the next dawn or dusk.
Resurrection exists as a game mechanic, but it is almost unknown at the start of the game and the methods for returning the dead to life must be discovered through the course of play. Returning from the beyond is not an easy process, and may have unintended side effects for the character, such as suffering temporary or permanent effects, new makeup requirements, or new roleplaying requirements. If a side effect does occur, Citadel staff will collaborate with the player to ensure that the effect introduces a fun, new way to interact with the game, and does not lead to negative feelings Out-of-Play or frustration during play.
Permanent Character Death
Characters that have not been Resurrected by the next dawn or dusk, or if their Resurrection process fails, suffer a Permanent Death. The character has passed fully into the beyond and cannot be returned. The player would be required to create a new character. This may mean you NPC the rest of the event and come in the next event as your new character, or it might mean you create a new character right away. We'll work with you to determine what would fit best with your desires and the narrative of the game.