# Injury & Health
...then Sir Tor dressed his shield, and took his spear in his hands, and the other came fiercely upon him, and smote both horse and man to the earth. Anon they arose lightly and drew their swords as eagerly as lions, and put their shields afore them, and smote through the shields, that the cantels [pieces] fell off both parties. Also they tamed their helms that the hot blood ran out, and the thick mails of their hauberks they carved and rove in sunder that the hot blood ran to the earth, and both they had many wounds and were passing weary.
—Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, book III, chapter 10
In Arthurian literature, knights often suffer great bleeding wounds in combat. Sometimes they ignore them and stagger on to complete their quests. Other times, they are bedridden with fever, suffering lengthy periods of nursing and recovery or languishing alone, in foul, disease-ridden dungeons.
In Pendragon, injuries matter. A knight is a combatant and much of the game action involves giving and receiving damage. The following rules formalize the outcome of combat to be realistic and terrifying, never casual or routine, and to emphasize the consequences of violence. Knights proudly wear their many scars if they survive their many wounds.
# States of Health
A character in Pendragon is either Healthy or Debilitated. For simplicity, there is no middle ground. A character may have a reasonable number of Hit Points and still be Debilitated, or they may have only a few Hit Points above Unconscious and still be Healthy. The Debilitated box at the bottom of the “Total Hit Points” section on the character sheet is checked whenever a knight is Debilitated; an unchecked box means the knight is Healthy.
Healthy individuals do not need care. The character is considered Healthy even if not at full Hit Points; knights are trained to live with minor injuries. The injuries of Healthy individuals heal weekly at the Healing Rate (see Healing & Recovery).
Even if an injured character is Healthy, excessive strenuous activity causes Aggravation, which is handled by incident, not by week. See Aggravation.
Debilitated characters are incapable of taking care of themselves properly. Rest is needed and activity is liable to worsen their condition unless someone tends to them. This attention is called Chirurgery, the unsophisticated medieval version of nursing.
The “Debilitated” box at the bottom of the “Total Hit Points” section on the character sheet shows the current state of health, and is checked when:
- Losing Hit Points below the Unconscious Characteristic.
- Taking a Major Wound.
- Taking a Mortal Wound (and surviving).
- Suffering a fumbled First Aid roll.
- Contracting an illness due to poor conditions or other sources. This includes poisoned characters.
The Debilitated box stays checked until the character receives at least one successful Chirurgery roll and recovers at least half their Total Hit Points. After that, the character’s status is considered Healthy.
# Taking Damage
The Hit Points value represents a character’s capacity to absorb damage. Characters lose Hit Points in many ways. Some forms of damage cause gaping wounds, while others are not so visible (see “Sources of Damage”, below). Record Hit Points in the “Current Hit Points” box on the character sheet. Below that box is a space labeled “Wounds” to record the damage corresponding to each wound.
# Wounds
A wound is taken each time a character suffers damage from weapons, falling, or dropped objects. The opponent or Gamemaster rolls dice and deals damage to the character. After checking for Knockdown, the character subtracts points of Armor Protection, and possibly Shield or Parry Protection, from the damage dealt. The difference is the number of Hit Points the character loses. The Player records this number as a wound on the character sheet and subtracts the same amount from the knight’s Hit Points. Be sure to note each amount of damage separately, because the First Aid Skill is applied to every wound independently. Some wounds are worse than others. There are three types of wounds, as follows.
# Minor Wounds
A wound causing less damage than the Major Wound Characteristic value (which is equal to CON) is a Minor Wound. It indicates bruises, cuts, gashes, or punctures that are highly painful but not immediately disabling. Several Minor Wounds can, however, drive current Hit Points below the Unconscious Characteristic.
# Major Wounds
Example: Hunwulf Takes a Major Wound
Hunwulf the Red, a huge, fat old knight (SIZ 18, CON 9, Valorous 17, Hit Points 27, Unconscious 7, Major Wound 9) has become too old and unhealthy to fight safely. Even a 9-point wound is a Major Wound for him, given his mediocre Constitution. Nonetheless, many would prefer to die quickly in a fight than linger on bed-ridden. Sir Hunwulf challenges Sir Clarion to mortal combat based on some petty dispute from long ago.
Hunwulf rashly charges into the fight, and in the first round of combat takes 9 points of damage after his Armor Protection is subtracted: exactly the minimum for a Major Wound. His Player checks the Debilitated box.
Sir Hunwulf immediately falls unconscious and his Player rolls once on the Characteristics Lost Table. A roll of “2” indicates that Sir Hunwulf’s DEX immediately decreases by 1 point.
When Sir Hunwulf regains consciousness, he will have to seek treatment via Chirurgery if he wants to avoid further damage due to his Debilitated status.
Damage from a single blow that is greater than or equal to the Major Wound Characteristic value (i.e., again, to CON) is a Major Wound. Characters cannot shrug off this damage. Examples include a concussion, crushed or broken bones, heavy bleeding, or damaged internal organs. Several negative consequences come from a Major Wound:
- The character immediately goes unconscious.
- The Debilitated box must be checked. The character requires the attention of an expert to avoid infection and other dangers resulting from his injury. See Deterioration, below.
- The character must make a roll on the Characteristics Lost Table to discover the permanent effects of the major wound, if any. They immediately lose 1 point from the indicated Characteristic and should also immediately recalculate Derived Characteristics that are affected (as indicated on the character sheet). For instance, if SIZ decreases, then Hit Points, Unconscious, and Damage are affected.
- If further action is taken after a Major Wound is suffered and before it is fully healed, then Aggravation also occurs. See Aggravation for further explanation.
# Characteristics Lost Table
| 1D6 | Characteristic |
|---|---|
| 1 | SIZ |
| 2 | DEX |
| 3 | STR |
| 4 | CON |
| 5 | APP |
| 6 | none |
# Mortal Wounds
Example: Two Knights Fight to the Death
Sir Percival and Sir Ector have accidentally broken their Round Table vows to never fight against each other. On their final blow, they both roll critical successes, do damage to each other, and lie dying. Having rashly quested without squires, there is no one to help them or go for aid. Both would die, except that Percivale prays with great faith and piety, and the Holy Grail, born by a maiden, miraculously appears and heals both of them.
Thus they fought near half a day, and never rested but right little, and there was none of them both that had less wounds than fifteen, and they bled so much that it was marvel they stood on their feet. But this knight that fought with Sir Percivale was a proved knight and a wise-fighting knight, and Sir Percivale was young and strong, not knowing in fighting as the other was.
Then Sir Percivale spoke first, and said: Sir knight, hold thy hand a while still, for we have fought for a simple matter and quarrel overlong, and therefore I require thee tell me thy name, for I was never or this time matched. So God me help, said that knight, and never or this time was there never knight that wounded me so sore as thou hast done, and yet have I fought in many battles; and now shalt thou wit that I am a knight of the Table Round, and my name is Sir Ector de Maris, brother unto the good knight, Sir Launcelot du Lake. Alas, said Sir Percivale, and my name is Sir Percivale de Galis that hath made my quest to seek Sir Launcelot, and now I am siker that I shall never finish my quest, for ye have slain me with your hands. It is not so, said Sir Ector, for I am slain by your hands, and may not live. Therefore I require you, said Sir Ector unto Sir Percivale, ride ye hereby to a priory, and bring me a priest that I may receive my Saviour, for I may not live. And when ye come to the court of King Arthur tell not my brother, Sir Launcelot, how that ye slew me, for then he would be your mortal enemy, but ye may say that I was slain in my quest as I sought him. Alas, said Sir Percivale, ye say that never will be, for I am so faint for bleeding that I may unnethe [with difficulty] stand, how should I then take my horse?
—Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, book XI, chapter 13
Damage from a single blow that is greater than or equal to the Total Hit Points Characteristic usually kills a character. This is a horrible injury: a cracked skull, a severed artery, punctured internal organs, or even a hacked off limb, if the Gamemaster so rules. The character is unconscious and incapacitated. However, they may still survive if certain criteria are met:
Someone must successfully apply First Aid within one hour or the character dies, and even then recovery is doubtful. First Aid must restore enough lost Hit Points to give the character at least 1 Hit Point above zero. Chirurgery cannot help until the character is out of this immediate danger.
The Player checks the Debilitated box. The character lies unconscious (or barely conscious), and their future is in grave doubt.
If the character is so restored, they suffer three rolls on the Characteristics Lost Table to determine the severe permanent effects of the Mortal Wound. The Player must immediately refigure Derived Characteristics if losses to Characteristics occur, though current Hit Points do not decrease.
# Aggravation
Example: Aggravation in Play
Sir Cadwallon enters a rowdy tournament held on a Saturday to celebrate the victorious battle Baron Yvane’s men fought earlier that year.
As the day progresses, Sir Cadwallon fights many times, and takes several light wounds, receiving successful First Aid for most, after which he fights again. After the third wound, the Gamemaster rules that Sir Cadwallon is performing strenuous activity while injured, and tells the Player to record 1 point of Aggravation damage. It is impossible to apply First Aid to this damage.
At the end of the day, still conscious, Sir Cadwallon staggers to his tent to rest. On the first evening of his convalescence, he is down by 13 points. He is Healthy, so Deterioration does not occur. Conveniently, he will have the chance to regain Hit Points the very next day, Sunday, when natural healing is normally applied.
Sir Cadwallon rests Sunday morning. His comrades stop in to say hello, but do not insist that he join them that day. So, his level of activity is light and he does not suffer further Aggravation. At noon, Sir Cadwallon gains his Healing Rate of 3 Hit Points as his natural healing for the week. Further healing occurs normally on the following Sunday.
Sir Cadwallon decides to rest the requisite number of weeks to return to full Hit Points, avoiding any further strenuous activity to ensure quick recovery. Being Healthy, he is able to engage in moderate activity freely, such as dancing and falconry.
Aggravation means making a condition worse through activity while ill or injured. During a scenario, an injured character may choose (or the situation may force them) to leave their sickbed for several days, then rest, then ride many miles, then rest again. The rules for Aggravation come into play under such circumstances. Each time a character Aggravates their injuries, 1 or more points of damage are subtracted from current Hit Points, but no wound is recorded. One point is the normal loss, but characters can suffer up to 3 points from extremely violent or sustained activities (such as mortal combat with an ogre), at the Gamemaster’s option. First Aid cannot cure or reduce Aggravation damage.
Aggravation damage occurs after the activity is complete, unless the Gamemaster decides otherwise. A character can lose consciousness immediately after their rash action due to Aggravation causing extra damage.
Current health, extent of injuries, and duration and intensity of activity are all important factors in determining Aggravation. See the Activity and Aggravation Table. Aggravation is possible for any and all injured characters, Healthy or Debilitated, when they undertake strenuous activity, as per the Gamemaster’s judgment.
Debilitated characters may suffer Aggravation when they undertake even moderate activity. Note that characters below the Unconscious Characteristic level cannot take Aggravation damage because they can, at best, perform only light activities. Normally they are comatose.
A brief and trivial incident, such as a ten-minute dance during a feast, rarely causes Aggravation. Characters suffering from Debilitation always suffer Aggravation if they attempt any serious activity. The Gamemaster has to judge each incident separately, based on activity level, storytelling concerns, and common sense. Aggravation can pile upon Deterioration, but Chirurgery, or any other die roll, cannot halt Aggravation.
# Activity and Aggravation Table
| Activity Level | Aggravation Effect |
|---|---|
| No Activity | Resting, eating sensibly, or sleeping. No Aggravation—the best way to recover. |
| Light Activity | Walking short distances, eating to excess, having a conversation, or writing short letters. No Aggravation, even for Debilitated characters, unless the activity is overdone. |
| Moderate Activity | Walking longer distances, riding a horse (even for a few minutes), celebrating, dancing, engaging in romance, or arguing. Aggravation is possible for Debilitated characters, at the Gamemaster’s option. |
| Strenuous Activity | Fighting, running, climbing, traveling a significant distance on horse or on foot (or even in a litter, if the Gamemaster so rules). Aggravation is certain for Debilitated characters, and possible for Healthy characters who have taken a number of small wounds or are injured below half their Total Hit Points. |
These rules are intended to allow some room for Gamemaster fiat when it comes to judging actions of characters while they are injured. Players who wish to risk their character’s health by taking actions while wounded or Debilitated are free to do so, with realistic consequences. Sometimes, in Pendragon action may be more important than life: perhaps a character wishes to avenge a brother, or deliver a vital message, even if it means riding or fighting while injured.
# Deterioration
Injuries or illness may grow worse rather than better if no one properly tends a wounded character. Blood loss, dehydration, evil spirits, further illness, and more may cause this health loss. Deterioration causes 1D6 damage per week. No wound is recorded, and First Aid cannot help.
Deterioration only affects Debilitated characters who do not get a successful Chirurgery roll during that week. Only one Chirurgery roll is allowed per week, with deterioration occurring on a failure or fumble.
# Dropped Objects
Through malice or misadventure, characters may encounter heavy falling objects. Sometimes, such as during a castle assault, the defenders drop big rocks on them. Other times, a landslide may strike characters with rocks or debris. Dropped objects do damage dependent upon their size.
Small objects, such as palm-sized rocks, do 2D6 damage, while larger objects, like boulders or masonry, do 3D6 or more, at Gamemaster’s discretion, up to a maximum of 16D6 for truly enormous boulders. Armor protects normally. Knights who are aware of the threat of dropped objects may add their Shield Protection as well, but Parry Protection is of no use here. Record each injury from a dropped object as a separate wound.
# Falling Damage
Falling from a distance of less than two yards results in no damage. Falling two yards deals 1D6 damage. After that, every additional two yards doubles the number of dice rolled for damage, to a maximum of 16D6. For instance, falling off a horse, a two-yard drop, causes 1D6 damage. A fall of six yards, as from a house roof, causes 4D6. A fall of twelve yards, as from a castle wall, should cause 32D6, but is capped at 16D6.
# Falling Damage Table
| Yards | Damage |
|---|---|
| Less than 2 | None |
| 2–3 | 1D6 |
| 4–5 | 2D6 |
| 6–7 | 4D6 |
| 8–9 | 8D6 |
| 10 or more | 16D6 |
Circumstances may modify the damage. If a bucking horse throws a character, they receive 2D6 damage, for example.
Armor does not absorb falling damage, since in this case impact and twisted limbs are the causes of damage, but a successful Horsemanship roll (if falling from a horse) or DEX roll (for all other types of falling) reduces the amount of dice rolled by 1D6 (2D6 on a critical). Players should record each instance of falling damage as a single wound on their character sheet.
# Suffocation
An unopposed CON roll may avert damage from inhaling water, smoke, or poisonous vapors. This simulates holding one’s breath. Roll CON each round while the character is exposed to harm from inhalation. If successful, they take no damage. Once they fail the CON roll, the character takes 1D6 damage per combat round thereafter, as long as they remain within the harmful substance or area. They may take more than 1D6 damage if the inhaled substance is itself toxic.
If a character repeats the CON roll to avoid suffocation for many consecutive rounds, they must apply a negative modifier to CON.
The character suffers a cumulative –1 modifier for each round beyond the first, so that, for instance, holding one’s breath for seven consecutive rounds imposes a –6 modifier in the seventh round.
Suffocation does not inflict actual wounds. Hit Point recovery from some forms of suffocation (such as from a near drowning) may be much more rapid than from physical wounds, at the Gamemaster’s option.
If the damage is enough to bring a character’s current Hit Points under their Unconscious level, they become Debilitated.
# Unconscious
Example: Injury and Unconsciousness
A small battle with the Saxons ends the year’s scenario for Dame Lynelle. After fighting one round of battle successfully, a band of lightly-armored but skillful mercenary sergeants catches Dame Lynelle alone and chase her off the field. Dame Lynelle is victorious over two assailants, also gaining a Horsemanship check for successfully out-riding the remaining enemies. Dame Lynelle takes no Major Wound in the fight, due to her heroic CON of 19. However, the knight takes many minor injuries, for a total of 22 points of damage, leaving her with 6 current Hit Points. This is under her Unconscious value of 7. She falls unconscious. The Debilitated box is checked.
A character passes out when their Hit Points are reduced to less than or equal to the Unconscious Characteristic value, or when they sustain a Major Wound. They collapse on the ground or slide off their horse. A character may attempt an Emergency Dismount to safely slide off a horse before falling unconscious. When a character goes unconscious, the Player must immediately check the Debilitated box on the character sheet.
An unconscious character may have brief periods of lucidity. With Gamemaster approval, they may be allowed to speak quietly. They might, for example, be capable of slowly dictating a will, praying for divine guidance, or describing an assailant in a weak whisper.
# Fighting Beyond Debilitation
It is possible for a character to bravely (or foolishly) continue fighting if their Hit Points pass the Unconscious threshold or after taking a Major Wound. This is not recommended, since even a moderate hit will likely kill the character. However, the folly of Players is limitless, and many will want this option. The Gamemaster may require characters with prominent Energetic Traits or who are Impassioned to attempt this reckless action.
To fight on, a knight must attempt an unopposed Energetic roll and an unopposed roll against the value of their current Hit Points. If both are successful, then the character may fight on, though they will suffer Aggravation at the conclusion of the fight. If either one fails, then the character is unconscious and may not fight.
# Near Death
A character at zero or negative Hit Points, for any reason or combination of reasons (disease, drowning, wounds, deterioration, etc.), is on the verge of death. Shortly after the damage is inflicted, First Aid may postpone death long enough for healing to take place. The character dies if not restored to positive Hit Points by midnight on the day they were wounded. Even if they survive, they will most definitely need Chirurgery.
Example: Negative Hit Points
After the fight mentioned above, Dame Lynelle lies unconscious on the field, with 6 Hit Points remaining. In her delirium, she cries out. An enemy foot soldier wanders past, and brutally stabs Dame Lynelle with his spear for 7 more points of damage. Dame Lynelle writhes and goes limp. Her current Hit Points are now at –1. She will die later that evening, at midnight, if no one gives her successful First Aid.
Luckily, her squire, though separated from his knight during the battle, eventually manages to find his master (thanks to a successful Squire Skill Roll), and Dame Lynelle receives First Aid, restoring 3 Hit Points. Back to 2 Hit Points total, she survives, albeit with many new scars and weeks of Chirurgery ahead.
# Healing & Recovery
Characters heal from injury only through natural healing, the Skills of Chirurgery and First Aid, and sometimes by magic or miracle.
Natural recovery is unpredictable. Many things can delay it, and weak characters may require months of convalescence before full recovery takes place. It is possible for Debilitated characters to die during convalescence, should they receive poor care, or refuse to rest. In the literature, even Sir Lancelot is often out of action for weeks at a time due to his injuries.
Once a character is injured, recovery occurs with every passing week of game time. In all cases, healing conventionally takes place on Sunday at noon. If injured characters insist on activity instead of resting, Aggravation damage must be applied.
Magical or miraculous healing may be available to restore Hit Points or otherwise improve a character’s health, at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
# Chirurgery
Chirurgery is provided for Debilitated characters to halt Deterioration. A successful Chirurgery roll means that Deterioration does not occur. A patient may only receive one Chirurgery roll attempt per week. For simplicity’s sake, the roll should occur on Sunday, at noon, when natural healing also normally occurs. If the roll is a failure or fumble, the resulting Deterioration does not occur until the following week.
Results of Chirurgery
- Critical: No Deterioration occurs, and Natural Healing Rate is added to current Hit Points
- Success: No Deterioration occurs.
- Failure: Deterioration occurs
- Fumble: Deterioration occurs and 1D6 Hit Points are lost
# Modifiers to Chirurgery
If unclean or unhealthy conditions (disease, filth, and freezing cold) predominate where a character is recuperating, the Chirurgery Skill receives a –5 modifier. The Gamemaster must determine other possible modifiers.
# First Aid
First Aid is an emergency battlefield treatment that can immediately restore lost Hit Points to wounded characters. First Aid tries to stop bleeding, remove debris, prevent evil spirits from entering the wound, and so forth. It works on a per-wound basis. If a First Aid attempt fails, then no one may further attempt it on the same wound. If someone applies a successful First Aid to Major or Mortal Wounds, they do not effect a knight’s Debilitated state.
First Aid is only helpful with fresh wounds that are less than a day old. Each wound requires at least five minutes to treat. Thus, you should refrain from (nor you need to) attempt First Aid during combat.
While it seems that the most skilled Player should always attempt First Aid rolls (because injuries are so serious in Pendragon that no one but experts should handle them!), roleplaying may require that others attempt the roll. For example, a professional physician may be available, or perhaps a wife or lover insists that it is their right to do it, despite their untested Skills. Other Players may wish to roll to get practice and improve their Skills.
Characters may attempt First Aid on themselves with a –10 modifier to their Skill. With Gamemaster permission, a squire might attempt first aid if no other Player-knights are present.
# First Aid Procedure
- Determine who will attempt the First Aid roll.
- Determine which wound they are treating.
- Attempt an unopposed First Aid roll (modifiers may apply at Gamemaster option) and see results below.
- Restore Hit Points (or not, if the roll is unsuccessful).
- Erase the number on the “Wounds” line on the character sheet to show that the wound has been treated by First Aid. Further attempts are impossible.
# Results of First Aid
- Critical: Character regains Hit Points equal to double their Healing Rate.
- Success: Character regains Hit Points equal to their Healing Rate.
- Failure: No improvement.
- Fumble: Character loses 1D3 Hit Points directly from current Hit Points (no new wound number is recorded). The character’s condition has worsened, and the wound is now infested with evil spirits, bleeding anew, or otherwise exacerbated. The character becomes Debilitated.
# Natural Healing
Natural Healing restores Hit Points equal to the Healing Rate Characteristic, and the character’s activity level during the week influences this process. Due to damage caused by Deterioration and Aggravation, the result of a week’s cycle of rest and activity may be nil, or even a loss of Hit Points. Chirurgery may stave off Deterioration, but only inaction can save an overly active character from Aggravating their illness or injuries.