Combat
Combat in Outcast is fairly quick and brutal without protection. When you are struck with a weapon or targeted by a damaging call, you take endurance damage. If you have no Endurance then the next blow that strikes you will do a wound to that location.
Armour can prevent a character from entering the dying state due to taking wounds with a weapon. Blows must not be struck faster than once a second with each weapon.
Wounds
Taking a wound to an arm or a leg - the character is rendered Crippled until that wound is healed.
Taking a wound to the body or head - the character is rendered Unconcious until that wound is healed
Taking a wound to any location also renders a character Dying until that wound is healed.
The correct armour will however protect you from the Dying status, see the armour section for more details.
Damage States
Healthy – This is the normal uninjured state for a character.
Crippled - You must drop to the floor but may struggle back to your feet if you so wish. You cannot take any action apart from walking, screaming, speaking or bleeding. You can use no active skills and cannot run.
Unconscious - You must drop to the floor unconscious and will remain there until assisted by another. You can take no actions and use no active skills.
Dying - You are bleeding and must start a five-minute death count. At the end of that time, if you have not received medical assistance, you will die. The death-count can be suspended by somebody else using Hold Wounds.
Fatally Wounded – You must drop to the floor (if you are not already there) and cannot regain your feet. You are bleeding and must start a two-minute death count. At the end of that time, if you have not received medical assistance, you will die. The death-count cannot be suspended by any use of Hold Wounds. If your death-count is less than two minutes when you are fatally wounded it does not increase your death count.
Dead – You are dead. This is not necessarily the end of a Human or Tainted character as they may be brought back by Necromancy, if they get to your body in time. It is still pretty serious however.
Protection
There are three layers of protection available to characters in Outcast; Warding, Armour and Endurance. Each is expressed as a number of points; the number of blows the protection can absorb before becoming useless. Armour and Endurance are recovered in different ways using different skills and abilities, and Warding must be set up again (it cannot be recovered). Blows are absorbed by protections in a set order; Warding points are lost first, then Armour points, and finally Endurance points. When you lose your last Endurance point, the next point of damage will cause you a wound and give you a Wound State as above.
Warding
Certain magickal rites, inherent abilities and other effects may grant you Warding. The default value for a character’s Warding is zero, and it may be increased to a maximum of 3. Warding will prevent blows from actually connecting with your character or their Armour, and as such effects which require contact will not work, such as Crush. Warding does not stack; the stronger Warding destroys the weaker one when it is cast. A weaker Warding will have no effect if a stronger Warding is already on the character. You cannot choose which blows a Warding will prevent, nor does it matter where they land on your person. Warding is Global.
Armour
With skill and appropriate equipment, your character may gain Armour points. The default value for a character’s Armour is zero, and it may be increased to a maximum of 6. Armour will prevent blows from actually connecting with your character, and as such effects which require contact will not work, such as Mortal. You cannot choose which blows Armour will prevent, and it does not matters where they land on your person. Armour is Global
Endurance
Certain magickal rites, skills, inherent abilities and other effects may grant you increased Endurance. The default value for a character’s Endurance is determined by your race, and it may be increased to a maximum of 5. Endurance is Global.
Execution
Any character can spend thirty seconds preparing a blow over a Unconscious or crippled foe, and strike a single blow that they may call “Fatal”. This wound will Fatally wound the opponent’s torso. During the preparation of this blow they may use no active skills.