Trauma and Scars
12. Trauma & Scars
Trauma and Scars represent lasting harm, transformation, and irreversible change.
Conditions are temporary. Trauma is the threshold. Scars are permanent.
12.1 What Trauma Is
Trauma occurs when a character is pushed beyond safe limits.
Trauma is triggered by: • severe Exposure (Section 17) • catastrophic outcomes (Section 2) • repeated Conditions (Section 11) • major violence • environmental collapse (Section 14/17) • Defense Scene failures (Section 13) • high Cost (d4 = 4; Section 3) • Doom or Catastrophe effects (Sections 19–20)
12.2 Trauma Trigger
Check Trauma when any of the following occur:
• a character would gain a second Condition from harm in the same Scene • a Condition escalates beyond its normal effect • a Fate Die result is Catastrophe (1–3) in a high-risk context • an Exposure card calls for Trauma • a Defense Scene fails catastrophically • a d4 Cost result is 4 in a dangerous situation
Resolve a Trauma Check.
12.3 Trauma Check
Roll 1d6:
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Gain a Scar |
| 4–6 | Gain a Condition instead |
If the result would give a Condition already present: • convert it into a Scar instead.
12.4 Scars
Scars represent permanent change.
A Scar: • adds a persistent d4 Cost pressure die to relevant actions • alters how certain Tags can be invoked • may restrict actions entirely • changes how the world reacts
Scars are tracked separately from Conditions.
12.5 Scar Progression
Through Downtime (Section 13), a player may: • integrate a Scar into identity • transform it into a Tag (Section 6) • bind it to a Relic (Section 21) • anchor it to a Location or Faction (Sections 15–16)
12.6 Design Intent
Trauma & Scars ensure: • harm is meaningful • survival reshapes identity • endurance leaves marks • death feels earned, not random