17 Exposure

17. Exposure

Exposure represents the world pressing in when safety is absent.

Exposure is immediate, sharp, and unavoidable.

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17.1 When Exposure Is Triggered

Draw Exposure when: • a Scene ends in an Unsafe Location (Sections 13 and 15) • the Doom Clock advances (Section 19) • the party travels during Night (Section 14) • a Defense Scene is failed (Section 13) • a Catastrophe resolves without player intervention (Section 20)

Resolve Exposure once per trigger.

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17.2 Drawing Exposure

• Draw 1 Exposure card per player • Resolve immediately, in any order • Discard after resolution unless stated otherwise

The Exposure deck is shared.

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17.3 Categories

ENVIRONMENT HUNGER & FATIGUE FEAR & PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDATION

Effects are expressed through: • Conditions (Section 11) • Fatigue (Section 10) • Tags and distortion (Section 6) • gear damage (Section 9.8) • forced Defense escalation (Section 13)

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17.4 Base Exposure Cards (10)

• Supplies Spoil — lose 1 Consumable: Food tag or gain Exhausted Condition card • Cold Snap — all gain 1 Fatigue • Something Watches — increase local threat pressure • Gear Strain — check a carried item for damage • Lost Time — advance phase track • Injury — one character gains the Wounded Condition card • Panic — all gain the Shaken Condition card next Scene • Footsteps Nearby — start immediate Defense Scene • Isolation — Support restricted next Scene • Bad Omen — advance the Doom Clock by 1

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17.5 Design Intent

Exposure ensures: • the world is dangerous outside safety • delay and indecision matter • travel at night is feared • mental strain changes identity • play remains sharp and fast

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17.6 Example

For practical examples, see Appendix A (e.g., Ready to use examples.md). A brief illustration:

At the end of a Scene out in the wilderness, the characters must draw Exposure. One player draws "Supplies Spoil". They decide to lose their "Consumable: Ration" tag rather than taking an Exhausted Condition card.