Mortal Wounds

If you fail a HT roll to avoid death
by 1 or 2, you don’t drop dead, but suf-
fer a “mortal wound.” This is a wound
so severe that your internal injuries
might kill you even after you stop
bleeding.
If you are mortally wounded, you
are instantly incapacitated. You may
or may not be conscious (GM’s deci-
sion). If you suffer further injury and
must make another HT roll to avoid
death, any failure kills you.
While mortally wounded, you must
make a HT roll every half-hour to avoid
death. On any failure, you die. On a suc-
cess, you linger for another half-hour –
then roll again. On a critical success,
you pull through miraculously: you are
no longer mortally wounded (but you
are still incapacitated).
If you’re alive but mortally wound-
ed, surgery may be able to stabilize
your condition – see Stabilizing a
Mortal Wound (p. 424). At TL6+, “trau-
ma maintenance” can keep you alive
while waiting for surgery. This involves
CPR, oxygen, transfusions, etc. Instead
of rolling vs. HT every half-hour, roll
against the higher of your HT or your
caregiver’s Physician skill every hour –
or every day, if you are on a heart-lung
machine or similar life support. You
do not need to roll at all if you’re put
into magical or ultra-tech suspended
animation!
The Injuries rules may seem harsh,
but don’t despair . . . you can get better!