Status Point

Status Conditions & Magnitude Characters may suffer from, or inflict Status Conditions like damage over time effects (Poison, Burn), to ones that affect how they can act, such as Mind-Control and Fear. Some conditions are beneficial as well, and Magnitude can be used in ways that can make certain interactions easier to manage. Status conditions work on a point system known as Magnitude, which targets a character’s Status Threshold, which is based on their Core Values (Body, Reflex, Mind). Different effects can trigger depending on the difference between Magnitude and Threshold, the difference is expressed in terms of a Status Severity. Status Severity Status Severity denotes varying levels of intensity, based on the condition itself. The main severity states are Partial, Full, and Severe. Conditions must have at least one state in order for its effect to function. Partial Severity occurs when a Status condition has effects on a target but the Magnitude is less than or equal to the target's affected Status Threshold. Full severity occurs when Magnitude exceeds their threshold. Severe occurs when the Magnitude exceeds 10 points over the target's status threshold. Resisting Status Magnitude Whenever a character is subjected to status magnitude of any kind, there is an action that can be spent to minimize the magnitude taken, this is called a 'Resist' action. Much like how the Dodge action can be used to increase a character's Evasion from an incoming attack, Resist reduces the amount of incoming Status magnitude by the result of a Attribute die (to a minimum of 1). If the character has no bonus to the appropriate attribute, this is considered a 1. The appropriate Attribute for a given Status is usually linked to the affected core. Endurance affects Body and Charisma affects Mind. In other situations, the Game-Master can decide which attribute can help resist a condition. There may be conditions which can’t be resisted in this way. For example, a status condition that ignites a character on fire may not be able to be resisted, and instead only be used to recover from by putting out the flames. Recovery, Escape The same rolls that can be used to lower Magnitude taken can also be used to reduce and eliminate magnitude currently applied to a character. Such as putting out a fire on oneself, steeling one's resolve to overcome fear and compulsion, or escape from traps and being grappled. Components of a Status condition Status conditions can be broken down into Effect, Affected Core, Resist Attribute, Magnitude and Persistence. Effect (Minor/Full/Severe) Effect is what the status condition does when a character is affected by it. Partial is the version of the status when Magnitude does not exceed the target's Threshold. Full is the version that does. Severe can occur when Magnitude is 10 or more points over the target's Threshold. At times, the magnitude value of a condition scales its effect. Not all status conditions have a Partial or Severe effect, but all must have a Full effect. Example Condition Effects ♦ Poison: Deals X poison damage to target every 6 seconds (one round) or 1 minute outside of combat, where X is the Magnitude of the condition. Damage taken from Poison is halved (rounded down) if it does not exceed the victim's Body Threshold. ♦ Ignite/Burn: Deals X fire damage to target every 6 seconds, where X is the Magnitude of the condition. If the target takes more than their Body Threshold in fire damage from burn, they will incur a Burn injury with the same magnitude as the Burn condition. User takes 1.5x more damage (rounded down) from attacks to the affected area ♦ Fear: A character afflicted with Fear will be unable to do any actions towards the source of its fear and flee upon failure of a Charisma check. If Fear does not exceed the character's Mind threshold, they can take actions against a Fear source by spending an Action per round of effect. ♦ Mind Control / Charm: A Controlled/Charmed character is compelled to act in the interest of their master and will be unable to act otherwise unless they break free of control through Charisma checks. If Magnitude does not exceed Mind threshold, the character can spend an action to try resisting control while they still have it. ♦ Trapped (Escape): Character is stuck inside a trap or in the clutches of a larger creature. They will be unable to move or act normally (with exception) until they break free. Target must roll Reflex checks to build up Escape Magnitude that carries forward into subsequent checks. If the character builds up enough Magnitude to exceed the Trapped state, they break free. ♦ Buffed: As an example, a character may cast a beneficial spell or effect upon another and gain a Magnitude. For instance, a Magnitude of 3 would mean the buff gives +3 to a bonus, or it could mean it gives a fixed bonus for 3 turns and its Magnitude is reduced each time a round passes. Affected Core Affected Core indicates which of the target's character’s Core Values or Status Threshold is affected by this condition. Generally physiological conditions are Body-affecting and psychological conditions are Mind-based. Some special states like being caught inside a trap or grappled by an enemy can also be Reflex-affecting. Magnitude Magnitude is a numerical value that states how many Status points are applied when an attack or ability inflicts it, and depending on the condition's Persistence property, may also stay on the affected target for a period of time. An attack or ability that inflicts status conditions is usually determined by rolls made and Metaphors or Features used to inflict it. Magnitudes may also be dealt as side-effects to attacks that do not innately create them, such as dealing knockback to a concussive attack that normally only deals damage. Examples ♦ A character with +2 Strength (d6/2) spending an action to bolster an attack's Strength so that it may inflict 2-6 points of Knockback Magnitude with a blunt weapon. ♦ A character with +3 Agility (d8/3) spending an action to inflict 3-8 Bleed magnitude against a foe with their sharp weapon.. Resist Attribute Resist Attribute indicates the Attribute to which a target may resist Magnitude points applied. As an Action, a character can 'Resist' an attack or effect that inflicts status magnitude, Endurance for Body-affecting conditions, and Charisma for Mind-affecting ones. This uses the character's Attribute die. If the status condition can be recovered/cleansed naturally, then the appropriate attribute can be used to remove status points during each interval of rest. This uses the character's Attribute modifier to reduce Magnitude taken by its result, to a minimum of 1. Persistence (Persist / Flash) Persistence is how long a status condition’s magnitude remains after being inflicted upon a character. By default, Status conditions persist indefinitely (Persist), removed over time as part of recovery or until cleansed by an item or ability. Part of a Status condition’s effect will describe how points are added or removed whenever it triggers. Flash Status Conditions are extremely temporary conditions that wear off by the next round of an encounter. Flash conditions often allow the one who used it to roll a die in order to boost the magnitude of their status-inflicting effect. An example of a Flash condition would be Crush effects deal by a larger creature to a smaller target. Crush magnitude can inflict serious injuries, but if the magnitude is not maintained, it will reset after one round. (The injuries caused will not reset) Fatigue / Stamina Status points can be used to track a character’s status, such as Fatigue. There are a few ways characters can accrue and cleanse Fatigue during a game. Fatigue is a special condition that affects both Mind and Body cores, but only inflicts its strongest penalties when both cores are exceeded. Fatigue does nothing to a character when below either Mind or Body core values. But when Mind is exceeded, the character loses Advantage to all Mind-affecting attributes and Metaphors. Same goes for when Body is exceeded for its affected assets. Fatigue is one of the official mechanics of Metaforce and can be tracked on the Character Sheet. 10-Over Rule If a status condition is permitted to accumulate further through the user’s own actions, then the 10-Over Rule may come into effect. 10-Over means if a player-character’s status points exceeds 10 over their appropriate Core value, they may suffer severe effects of the status condition. If Fatigue exceeds 10 points over the character’s lowest Core value, they may fall unconscious due to exhaustion. They may only wake once their status points have dropped to at least the value of their highest core value.