Fractures
The wasteland breaks bodies. Everyone knows that. What fewer people talk about, at least openly, is that it breaks minds too.
A Fracture is the game's representation of accumulated psychological strain: what happens when a character pushes beyond their mental limits through overexertion, extreme circumstances, or the simple grinding cost of dying too many times. Each death leaves a Fracture alongside the Infection it costs. Running out of Resolve, using certain advanced abilities that stretch the mind past its tolerances, or wielding equipment with significant psychological impact can all crack the surface further. The causes vary. The effect does not.
When a character gains their first Fracture, the player chooses a unique behavioral quirk that reflects the mental toll. The specifics are left to the player's creativity and comfort level, shaped by the circumstances that caused the break. A character shattered during a Mortis experience might manifest differently from one broken by exhaustion in the field. The quirk is permanent, a visible scar that other characters can observe and react to.
Additional Fractures compound the effect. With each new break, the player has less control over how visible and noticeable the symptoms become. What started as a manageable eccentricity grows into something harder to conceal. Certain powerful skills become unavailable to characters carrying multiple Fractures. The progression is deliberate: one Fracture is survivable, even character-defining. Two or three create real limitations. Five triggers a Terminal Fracture, and that is the end of everything.
The rules governing how Fractures are inflicted carry specific restrictions designed to prevent their misuse as a blunt instrument. Outside the Mortis Amaranthine, any threat designed to inflict a Fracture (whether zombie, Raider, critter, or plot mechanic) must first reduce the target to a bleed-out state. Inside the Mortis, custom mechanics that apply Fractures outside the core rules must first reduce the target's Resolve to zero. Fractures are not meant to be applied by routine local mechanics simply to make an antagonist feel more dangerous. They carry too much long-term weight for that.
Fractures are abstract representations of psychological trauma. They are not intended to directly parallel specific real-world conditions, and the design guidance emphasizes approaching them with sensitivity and respect for player boundaries. They exist to add consequence and depth to the experience of living in a world where death is temporary but the mind's capacity to endure it is not. Every Fracture is a reminder that survival in the wasteland costs more than Infection points. Some prices are paid in pieces of who you used to be.
A Fracture is the game's representation of accumulated psychological strain: what happens when a character pushes beyond their mental limits through overexertion, extreme circumstances, or the simple grinding cost of dying too many times. Each death leaves a Fracture alongside the Infection it costs. Running out of Resolve, using certain advanced abilities that stretch the mind past its tolerances, or wielding equipment with significant psychological impact can all crack the surface further. The causes vary. The effect does not.
When a character gains their first Fracture, the player chooses a unique behavioral quirk that reflects the mental toll. The specifics are left to the player's creativity and comfort level, shaped by the circumstances that caused the break. A character shattered during a Mortis experience might manifest differently from one broken by exhaustion in the field. The quirk is permanent, a visible scar that other characters can observe and react to.
Additional Fractures compound the effect. With each new break, the player has less control over how visible and noticeable the symptoms become. What started as a manageable eccentricity grows into something harder to conceal. Certain powerful skills become unavailable to characters carrying multiple Fractures. The progression is deliberate: one Fracture is survivable, even character-defining. Two or three create real limitations. Five triggers a Terminal Fracture, and that is the end of everything.
The rules governing how Fractures are inflicted carry specific restrictions designed to prevent their misuse as a blunt instrument. Outside the Mortis Amaranthine, any threat designed to inflict a Fracture (whether zombie, Raider, critter, or plot mechanic) must first reduce the target to a bleed-out state. Inside the Mortis, custom mechanics that apply Fractures outside the core rules must first reduce the target's Resolve to zero. Fractures are not meant to be applied by routine local mechanics simply to make an antagonist feel more dangerous. They carry too much long-term weight for that.
Fractures are abstract representations of psychological trauma. They are not intended to directly parallel specific real-world conditions, and the design guidance emphasizes approaching them with sensitivity and respect for player boundaries. They exist to add consequence and depth to the experience of living in a world where death is temporary but the mind's capacity to endure it is not. Every Fracture is a reminder that survival in the wasteland costs more than Infection points. Some prices are paid in pieces of who you used to be.
Cumulative psychological damage from overexertion, death, and extreme circumstances. Each Fracture adds a permanent behavioral quirk; five Fractures trigger a Terminal Fracture.
Type
psychological condition
Severity
variable (mild to terminal depending on accumulation)
