Chapter Eight

Injury, Death, and Retirement

Steel Age is not a game where violence is managed. It is endured.

In Dyrhal, steel solves problems quickly — and creates them forever. A mail shirt may turn a blade, but it cannot turn exhaustion. A shield may stop an arrow, but it cannot stop the tremor in the arm that holds it. Most men who die in battle do not die because their armor failed. They die because their body failed.

This chapter is about that cost.

It explains how injuries worsen under strain, what happens when a character collapses at 0 Health, how death can come slowly through Bleeding Out, and what it takes to recover — if recovery is still possible.

In play, use this chapter when a character becomes Wounded, is reduced to 0 Health, begins Bleeding Out, or receives care and recovery. Rules for Rest Segments, Sleep Segments, and clearing Fatigue and Lingering Fatigue are defined in Chapter VII; this chapter tells you what those rests mean for injury, survival, and long-term cost.

Injury Thresholds

A character’s injuries matter before they ever hit the ground. Steel Age draws a line in the blood.

Unwounded

Above 50% Health

You are battered, winded, bleeding — but still functioning.

Effect: No special condition.

Wounded

At or below 50% Health

The fight begins to take more than it gives.

Effect: Gain +1 Fatigue at the end of each combat round (Aftermath) until above 50% Health again.

Note: This is the same Wounded state referenced in the combat rules. Fatigue from Wounded applies in Aftermath as normal.

The Moment of Collapse

There is a difference between hurt and dying. In Steel Age, that line is not poetic. It is mechanical. It is sharp.

When a character is reduced to 0 Health, resolve a Trauma Check immediately. If they survive, they collapse into Incapacitated — alive, but no longer a combatant.

Reaching 0 Health: Trauma Check

Trauma Check

Procedure

1. Wound Margin = damage remaining after Health reaches 0.

2. Trauma Threshold = Toughness − Wound Margin.

3. Roll 2d6.

Roll > Threshold → Death (instant).

Roll ≤ Threshold → Survives as Incapacitated at 0 Health.

Edge cases: Threshold below 2 — death near-certain. Threshold 12+ — survival guaranteed unless GM rules catastrophic.

Example: Trauma Check at 0 Health

Rudain has 2 Health remaining and Toughness 3. An axe catches him as he turns for 7 damage. The Wound Margin is 5, making the Trauma Threshold −2. No 2d6 roll can be ≤ −2, so Rudain dies instantly.

Results: At 0 Health, compute Wound Margin, set Trauma Threshold (Toughness score − Margin), then roll 2d6; if the roll exceeds the threshold, death is immediate.

Incapacitated

If you survive the Trauma Check, you become Incapacitated.

When Incapacitated: fall prone and drop held items · cannot attack, defend, or take strenuous actions · considered Helpless (see Chapter IV: Combat) · may speak weakly or crawl a short distance at the GM’s discretion. You are alive — but you are no longer fighting.

Bleeding Out

An Incapacitated character begins bleeding. Bleeding continues until you are Stabilized — or until the world finishes what steel began.

At the end of each combat round (Aftermath), while Incapacitated and not Stabilized:

Gain +1 Fatigue from bleeding.
If Fatigue equals or exceeds Toughness score → death.

Medical Rounds (After the Fight)

If any character is Incapacitated (0 Health) and not Stabilized, the table remains in rounds even if no enemies are present.

In these Medical Rounds, skip the combat clash procedures and resolve only movement and urgent actions, then apply Aftermath as normal. Bleeding Out still ticks in Aftermath until the character is Stabilized or dead.

Example: Bleeding Out

Ser Caldrin survives the Trauma Check and becomes Incapacitated at 0 Health. The duel is over but he is on the ground, bleeding. His Toughness is 8. Each Aftermath, he gains +1 Fatigue from bleeding. He enters the round at Fatigue 2 from the fight. Round 1 Aftermath: Fatigue 3. Round 2: Fatigue 4. His second, Veth, is still Engaged — she cannot begin Stabilization yet. Round 3: Fatigue 5. Veth disengages and reaches him. Medical Rounds begin. Caldrin is at Fatigue 5 with Toughness 8 — still alive, but three more rounds would have killed him.

Results: Fatigue from Bleeding Out accumulates each Aftermath. If it reaches Toughness score, the character dies. Every round without Stabilization costs.

Stabilization (Combat Action)

Stabilization is not healing. It is the crude art of preventing a life from leaving the body.

When used: You have access to an Incapacitated ally and can plausibly act (pressure, wrapping, splinting, clean cloth — whatever the scene allows).

Stabilize (Begin)

Requirements:

Adjacent to the patient.
Unengaged.
May begin during any action segment in which you can normally act.

Once begun, you are committed to completing stabilization on your next action segment.

Kits: Healer’s Kit · Physician’s Kit · Surgeon’s Kit (grants +1 to later Scars Test on success). Without a kit: CM +2 if fiction supports improvised care.

Stabilize (Finish)

On your next action segment — still adjacent, still Unengaged — make a Healing Check vs CM.
On success: Bleeding stops. Patient is Stabilized at 0 Health until restored to 1+ Health. If before Aftermath, no Bleeding Out Fatigue that round.
On failure: target continues Bleeding Out.
Interruption (Engaged, moved, or unable to act) cancels the attempt — restart.

Stabilize (Finish) — Challenge Margin

The CM for completing Stabilization is set by conditions at the patient's side.

CM 8

Clean access, supplies, no immediate threat.

CM 10

Poor light, time pressure, messy wounds.

CM 12+

Catastrophic injury, no supplies, active danger.

For how to restore a Stabilized character to 1+ Health, see Returning From 0 Health below.

Example: Stabilization

Caldrin’s second, Veth, reaches him as Medical Rounds begin. She is Unengaged and adjacent. She begins Stabilization on her action segment — committing to finish it next segment. She has a Surgeon’s Kit. On her next action segment she makes a Healing Check: CM 10 (poor light — the duel was at dusk). She rolls 2d6 + Healing modifier and succeeds. Bleeding stops. Caldrin is Stabilized at 0 Health. The Surgeon’s Kit grants +1 to his later Scars Test.

Results: Stabilization requires two consecutive action segments — begin, then finish. Success stops Bleeding Out and locks in the Surgeon’s Kit bonus for the Scars Test.

Wound Recovery

In Dyrhal, recovery is not a montage. It is the slow work of sleep, warmth, food, and the absence of violence.

These rules tell you what that costs in time.

Natural Healing Requirement

Natural healing only occurs if the character receives 6 hours of consecutive sleep (three consecutive Sleep Segments; see Chapter VII).

If sleep is interrupted, no natural Health recovery occurs for that day. (You may still reduce Fatigue and Lingering Fatigue according to the rest rules in Chapter VII.)

Returning From 0 Health

A character at 0 Health cannot begin natural healing until they are Stabilized (bleeding stopped) and restored to at least 1 Health.

Restoring a character to 1+ Health can happen in three ways:

Magic

Any effect that restores Health above 0.

Medical Care

A healer restores a Stabilized patient to 1 Health with time, supplies, and skill.

GM Discretion

The GM may allow other means if the fiction clearly supports it.

From the notes of Freyja, Free Sword

The bandit’s knife caught me between the mail and the gambeson — the gap under my arm I’ve been meaning to have sewn. I know better. I’ve known better for three years.

Viktor worked on me while the fire was still going. I was moving again before it went out. Sore, slow, not at my best — but moving. The road does not wait for you to feel better about things.

The bad one was three years ago. A crossbow bolt in the side, low, and the man who pulled it out did not know what he was doing. I lay in a farmer’s loft for eleven days while his wife argued with him about whether I would live. I heard the whole thing through the floor. I thought about that argument for a long time afterward — the particular quality of being discussed as a problem rather than a person.

Recovery is not dramatic. It is boring and it costs you. I have learned this five times now. I expect I will learn it again.

Medical Care: Restore to 1 Health

When used: Patient is Stabilized at 0 Health and resting. You have plausible means to treat them.

Kits:

Healer’s Kit: used for this care. Physician’s Kit covers both Healer’s and Herbalist’s Kit use.
Without a kit: still possible if fiction supports improvised treatment, but CM +2.

Procedure:

Spend one Rest Segment (2 hours) providing focused care.
Make a Healing Skill Check vs a CM set by the GM.

CM 8

Safe shelter, decent supplies, time to work.

CM 10

Poor conditions, low light, limited supplies.

CM 12+

Filth, cold, catastrophic injury, active danger.

Success: Patient restored to 1 Health. May still be Wounded.
Failure: No Health restored. Retry after another Rest Segment. Repeated same-day attempts: GM may increase CM by +2 each time.

Example: Medical Care

Caldrin is Stabilized but still at 0 Health — natural healing cannot begin yet. Veth spends one Rest Segment providing focused care. CM 8 — they have shelter, time to work, and she has a Healer’s Kit. She makes a Healing Skill Check and succeeds. Caldrin is restored to 1 Health. He is Wounded (at or below 50% of his max Health) but alive and breathing. Natural healing can now begin.

Results: One Rest Segment of focused care restores a Stabilized character to 1 Health. They remain Wounded until natural healing brings them above the threshold.

Natural Healing Rates

If the character qualifies for natural healing (6 consecutive hours of sleep) and is at 1+ Health:

Unwounded

Above 50% Health

Recover 2 Health per day.

Wounded

At or below 50% Health

Recover 1 Health per day.

Note: A character at 0 Health does not benefit from these rates. They must first be Stabilized and restored to 1 Health.

Underfed and Starving: No Natural Health Recovery

An Underfed character does not benefit from natural Health recovery for that day.

A Starving character does not benefit from natural Health recovery for as long as they remain Starving.

These restrictions apply regardless of sleep quality. The body cannot repair itself without food.

Example: Recovery

Caldrin has max Health 10 and is at 1 Health — Wounded. He and Veth reach a waystation. He sleeps three consecutive Sleep Segments each night.

Night 1: +1 Health → 2 Health.
Night 2: Rations run short — Caldrin goes Underfed. No natural Health recovery. Night 2 yields nothing.
Night 3: +1 Health → 3 Health.
Night 4: +1 Health → 4 Health.
Night 5: +1 Health → 5 Health (still Wounded — half counts).
Night 6: +1 Health → 6 Health. Now above 50% — no longer Wounded.
Night 7: +2 Health → 8 Health.
Night 8: +2 Health → 10 Health. Full recovery.

Results: Recovery is +1/day while Wounded (≤50%), +2/day once above 50%. Underfed days yield nothing — the body cannot repair without food.

Treatment and Conditions

Steel Age does not demand you track every herb and stitch. It demands you respect what survival costs.

The GM is encouraged to let recovery respond to the fiction.

Good Conditions

Clean shelter, warmth, and rest
Broth, water, and real food
Proper tools and a competent healer
Safety from further exertion

Bad Conditions

Cold and damp, filth and insects
Hunger, thirst, fear, and stress
Forced marching, night travel, or ongoing combat

When conditions are extreme, the GM may apply one of the following:

Hardship: reduce natural healing by 1 (minimum 0) for that day.
Comfort: increase natural healing by 1 for that day.

If a character with Healing (Master) oversees a patient’s recovery for a full day under proper rest and sleep, this improvement is already represented by their feature.

Fernando Veraz, Traveler — Keshar

I have crossed the Dyrhal interior four times on merchant business. The first time I brought a sword and a prayer. The second time I brought a sword, a prayer, and a very good healer. The healer costs more than the sword. He is worth more than the sword. The ones who have taken my advice on this are still trading.

The Scars of Dyrhal

Some wounds heal. Some wounds reshape you.

A character who has been to 0 Health has stared into the pit where Dyrhal keeps its dead. Even if they climb out, something is often left behind.

Scars Test (Permanent Injury)

Any time a character is restored to 1 Health after being Incapacitated (0 Health), they must make a Toughness Test to determine whether the trauma leaves a permanent loss of potential. This test is made once each time a character is brought back from 0 Health to 1+ Health.

Toughness Test: 2d6 + Toughness Modifier

Result 8 or higher: no permanent injury.
Result under 8: roll 1d6 on the Scars table.

Scars of Dyrhal Table (1d6)

Roll	Scar	Description
1	−1 Max Mind	Cognitive scarring; reduces ranged and casting potential.
2	−1 Max Charm	Social trauma; reduces persuasion and leadership potential.
3	−1 Max Toughness	Permanent frailty; lowers resilience ceilings.
4	−1 Max Prowess	Physical impairment; reduces melee and athletic potential.
5	−1 Current & Max Health	A thinning of the character’s life force.
6	Catastrophic Trauma	−1 Max Health, then roll again on this table.

Surgeon’s Kit and Scars

If a Surgeon’s Kit was used during the successful Stabilization that saved you at 0 Health, add +1 to your Scars Test when you are later restored to 1+ Health.

This bonus represents clean stitching, proper splinting, cautery done correctly, and time saved before infection and shock can set in.

Note on Attribute Maximum Reduction

Reducing an Attribute Maximum does not lower the current score unless the score is already at the new maximum.

This limits a character’s future growth ceiling. It is not a retroactive deletion of who they are — it is a narrowing of what they can become.

This rule exists for a reason: Steel Age is a world where surviving matters — because the price of survival is meaningful.

Example: Scars of Dyrhal and Attribute Caps

Ser Caldrin is reduced to 0 Health in a duel. He survives, is stabilized, and later receives treatment that restores him to 1 Health.

Because he was brought back from 0, he makes the Scars Test: he rolls 2d6 + Toughness modifier. His total comes up 7, which is under 8.

He rolls 1d6 on the Scars table and gets a 4: −1 Max Prowess. Caldrin’s current Prowess does not drop unless it was already at his maximum, but his ceiling tightens. He is the same man — only narrower at the edges.

Results: After returning from 0 Health to 1+ Health, roll 2d6 + Toughness modifier; on 8+ no scar, otherwise roll 1d6 for a permanent reduction.

I have two that matter. The first from a blade that caught me below the ribs outside Kalz — I was seventeen and stupid and the man who gave it to me is dead. The second I cannot show you. It is in the way I sleep now, one eye open, and the way I count exits before I sit down anywhere.

I have known men who came back from worse and lost nothing visible. They are lying to you or to themselves — I have never been able to tell which. Something always goes. The question is whether what remains is still useful.

You do not get to walk this road and stay whole. You only get to choose which parts of you are still standing when the accounting comes. Choose carefully. The road is long and it does not stop asking.

— Freyja Halvardsdóttir, spoken to a recruit outside Radom

Poison and Sickness

In Dyrhal, death is not always a blade. Sometimes it is rot in the gut, venom in the blood, or a fever that refuses to break.

This section uses one universal procedure for poisons and illnesses. Different toxins feel different because their profile changes — not because the rules do.

Poison States

Poison and sickness are tracked on a simple state ladder:

State 0

Cured

No effect.

State 1

Noxious

Nausea, weakness, cold sweat.

State 2

Sickened

Vomiting, tremors, delirium. You can barely function.

State 3

Coma

You collapse into an unresponsive state.

State Effects

State 1

Noxious

−5′ movement in combat (min 0).
−25% movement outside combat.

State 2

Sickened

Same movement penalties as Noxious.
Gain +1 Lingering Fatigue on entering this state.

State 3

Coma

Helpless (see Chapter IV). Cannot act or defend. Execution possible if fiction allows.

Poison Profile

Potency (CM): 8 / 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 · Onset: when the first check happens · Tick: how often you re-check · Max State: worst state reachable (1 / 2 / 3) · Death Rule (optional): only if Max State is 3

Time Units: Round (Aftermath) for fast venoms · Rest Segment (2 hours) for short-term poisons · Sleep/Day for illness, fever, tainted food, lingering toxins.

Universal Procedure

Exposure Check (at Onset): Roll 2d6 + Toughness modifier vs the poison’s CM. Success: resist (no effect). Failure: become Noxious (State 1).

Each Tick: Roll again vs same CM. Success: move 1 step toward Cured. Failure: move 1 step worse, up to Max State.

Failing at Max State: If Max State 1 or 2 — remain at Max State (no death). If Max State 3 — apply the poison’s Death Rule.

Recommended Max State Tiers

Max State 1 (Noxious): irritants, mild toxins, spoiled food — miserable, but not disabling.
Max State 2 (Sickened): serious food poisoning, weak venoms — can drop you out of action, but will not kill by itself.
Max State 3 (Coma): true venoms, assassin draughts, rare alchemicals — can kill if untreated or unlucky.

Treatment

Treatment never replaces the universal procedure; it changes the odds. A character may be treated if the caretaker has plausible means (clean water, charcoal, antivenom, shelter, herbs — whatever the scene supports).

Kits: Herbalist’s Kit: treats Poison and Sickness · Physician’s Kit: covers both Healer’s Kit and Herbalist’s Kit use. Without a kit: still possible if fiction supports improvised care, but CM +2.

Treatment Action: Spend one Rest Segment, then make a Healing Skill Check vs a CM set by the GM (typically the poison’s CM, or CM 8/10/12 for general illness). Magic or rare antidotes may simply end the effect at the GM’s discretion.

Success: choose one — grant +2 to the patient’s next poison check, or move patient 1 step toward Cured.
Failure: no effect; GM may increase CM of further attempts by +2 if conditions worsen.

Example: Serpent Venom (Deadly)

Profile: CM 12 · Onset: immediately · Tick: each Round (Aftermath) · Max State: 3 · Death Rule: die on a second failed Tick while at Coma.

A raider fails the Exposure Check, becoming Noxious (1). Next round he fails again: Sickened (2). Next round: Coma (3). If he fails the next Tick while at Coma, the Death Rule triggers.

Results: One roll on exposure, then one roll each Aftermath; death only triggers if the poison has Max State 3 and its Death Rule applies.

Sources of Poison and Sickness

The state ladder above is the rule. The world is what changes.

Tainted Water

CM 8 · Onset: 1 hour · Tick: Rest Segment · Max State: 2
Common after heavy rain, floodplain travel, or drinking downstream of camps.

Spoiled Meat / Bad Stew

CM 8–10 · Onset: 1–3 hours · Tick: Rest Segment · Max State: 2
Often a lost travel day with weakness and dehydration.

Marsh Fever

CM 10 · Onset: 1 day · Tick: each day (after sleep) · Max State: 2
Persistent and exhausting. Good shelter and care matter.

Wound-Rot (Filth Infection)

CM 12 · Onset: 1 day (dirty wound) · Tick: each day · Max State: 3 · Death Rule: die on a second failed Tick while at Coma
A common killer in poor camps.

Serpent Venom

CM 12 · Onset: immediately · Tick: each Round (Aftermath) · Max State: 3 · Death Rule: yes
Fast-acting. Death possible if untreated.

Assassin’s Draught

CM 14–16 · Onset: immediately · Tick: Round or Rest Segment · Max State: 3 · Death Rule: yes
Rare, expensive, and feared.

Building New Poisons

Choose CM (8/10/12/14/16) · Choose Onset and Tick · Choose Max State (1, 2, or 3) · If Max State 3, write a Death Rule. The rule stays the same; the danger comes from the profile.

Death

Dyrhal does not care why a blade was raised. It only cares where it fell. A character dies if any of the following occur:

They fail the Trauma Check at 0 Health.
While Incapacitated, their Fatigue reaches their Toughness score.
They are executed while Helpless when the fiction supports it (see Chapter IV: Combat).

Death is not a punishment. It is the setting doing what it always does.

When death happens, it should leave ripples: debts unpaid, oaths broken, rivals emboldened, children orphaned, and a story that becomes part of the region’s memory.

I have said the words over a baron’s man and a field-hand in the same breath, their blood mixing in the same mud. The baron’s man had a name on a muster roll and a family somewhere east. The field-hand had neither, or none that reached me. I did not ask. Eirveth does not ask. The rite is the same for both. The words do not change based on what a man owned or who he served. I have been told this troubles some of the living — that the frost settles equal on the warlord and the debtor. I find it the only honest thing the world does.

The soil of Dyrhal will take them both as equals. It has no memory of rank. Be still. You have carried what you carried. The cold takes it now.

— Brother Aleksan of the Frost Order, Barony of Starek, written after the Raider’s Road attack

Succession and Continuity

Steel Age is lethal, but the world does not reset when a character dies or leaves the road. In long-running campaigns, someone tied to the fallen or retired may step forward to carry unfinished consequences into the next chapter of play. Succession is natural — not guaranteed.

Declaring a Successor

Upon the death of a character, the player may propose an established Contact as a successor. The Contact does not inherit Contact network capital or Relationship States — they enter the story through prior history, not through the deceased's accumulated standing.

The GM determines plausibility based on: Relationship State · current political conditions · personal risk to the successor · circumstances of the death. Succession is a narrative decision grounded in the fiction.

Relationship State & Succession

Only contacts at a Trusted or Bound relationship state may serve as a successor. (See Chapter II: Character Creation & Contacts.)

Where the Successor Begins

All successors begin from the same mechanical starting point as a newly created character. Skill mastery, committed progress, and milestone rewards are personal and are not inherited. What may carry over instead are consequences: debts, obligations, enemies, reputation, or particular possessions, where the fiction supports it.

What Is Inherited

The world responds to the successor according to their association with the fallen.

Inherited

Enemies of the deceased
Political tensions
Unresolved debts
Oaths and obligations
Reputation (positive or negative)
Consequences of prior actions

When a Contact becomes a Player Character, their exposure increases — they are no longer operating at distance. At the GM’s discretion, significant factions may adjust their disposition toward the successor. Stepping forward carries risk.

Example: Succession (The World Doesn’t Reset)

Kesta dies in the reeds outside a toll bridge. The player proposes Jorren — a Trusted (+1) Contact who once ran messages for Kesta and learned, too well, what her work cost. The GM agrees it’s plausible. Jorren steps forward as the next person caught in her wake. He begins as a newly created character.

Kesta’s enemies don’t vanish. The toll captain still wants blood. The rival crew still remembers the lamp-shop. Some doors open because of Kesta’s name; others close for the same reason.

Results: A Trusted or Bound Contact may become the successor, beginning as a newly created character and inheriting the deceased’s consequences — not their advancement.

Failed Succession

If no plausible successor exists, the player creates a new character entering through the fiction, without inherited political capital. The world continues unchanged.

This outcome reinforces the importance of cultivating relationships. In Dyrhal, when one life ends, another may rise — but only if the bonds were strong enough to endure.

They gave me her kit and her debts in the same afternoon. The kit I can use. The debts I am still learning the shape of. Three men have looked at me the way you look at someone who owes you something, and I have not yet figured out which one of them she actually wronged. I will. In the meantime I smile and say nothing and try to walk like someone who knows where they are going. I did not ask for this. I also did not say no. In Dyrhal that is probably the same thing.

— Jorren, spoken to no one in particular, first week on the road

Retirement

Not every end is a corpse. In Dyrhal, a warrior who lives long enough to choose their ending is already unusual.

A player may retire a character whenever it fits the fiction: age, fear, injury, duty, faith, political elevation, or simply wisdom.

Retirement is not “opting out.” In a hard age, choosing to live is a kind of courage. It is choosing to survive in a world that does not reward it.

When Retirement Makes Sense

Catastrophic trauma or multiple Scars.
The character gains land, a household, a title, or obligations that cannot be carried on the road.
The player wants the character to live — and the game has made that feel earned.

Legacy Options (Choose One)

When a character retires, choose one legacy that ties them back into the campaign:

Contact Legacy: One established Contact remains available to the party (or a successor), always with an obligation attached. (See Chapter II: Characters & Contacts.)
Safe Haven: The retired character provides a stable refuge — until the world finds it.
Inheritance of Arms: One signature item is passed on; its reputation brings both opportunity and trouble.

These are not rewards. They are continuity. Dyrhal remembers.

Example: Retirement and Legacy

After the duel and what followed, Caldrin’s Prowess ceiling is permanently narrowed. Two campaigns later he takes a second Scar — −1 Max Toughness. He is still dangerous but the ceiling is closing. When a barony offers him a small garrison command and a roof over his head, he takes it.

His player chooses the Contact Legacy option: Veth, now Trusted, remains available to the party going forward — but she owes Caldrin a debt that complicates every favor she gives. The road remembers him. The new character does not inherit his skill, but they inherit everything the world still thinks he owes.

Results: Retirement is a fiction decision, not a mechanical one. The legacy option chosen shapes how the retired character continues to affect the campaign.

Optional Rule

Aging and Decline — The Scars of Time

Most campaigns will not span decades of in-world time. These rules exist for long-running games, generational play, and fast NPC construction. Beginning at age 50, apply milestones at ages 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100. At each milestone, the GM may apply one consequence appropriate to the character’s life and hardships.

Suggested Consequences (pick one per milestone):

Physical Decline — −1 Prowess or −1 Toughness (never below 4)
Wear and Tear — reduce maximum Health by 1, or impose a lasting injury
Compensation (optional) — +1 Mind or +1 Charm, or gain a narrative benefit such as household authority, an apprentice, standing, or a durable obligation

NPC Shortcut: Adult (18–49): no change. Older (50–69): minor physical decline. Old (70–89): 1–2 steps of decline; increased caution or authority. Venerable (90+): significant decline; notable social weight.

Example — Aging and Decline

Branna is sixty now. She has crossed Dyrhal on foot more times than she can count, slept in armor through winters that killed younger men, and carried scars that never truly stopped aching. The GM applies an Aging Milestone: Physical Decline — −1 Toughness. She is not weaker in spirit — if anything, she is harder to break — but her body pays what it owes. She just feels the cold sooner, and the bruises linger longer.

Results At the age 60 milestone, Branna’s Toughness is reduced by 1 (minimum 4). The GM applies one consequence again at ages 70, 80, 90, and 100.