Hazards (IB)

A compilation of common consequences and hazards.

Harm

This consequence represents long-lasting debility — or death.

Level	Description	Example	Penalty
6+	Disintegrated	Cut to pieces	Instant death
5	Dismembered	Lost leg	Need help within 1 minute
4	Fatal	Macerated leg	Need help within 1 hour
3	Severe	Shattered leg	Need help within 24 hours
2	Moderate	Wounded leg	−1d
1	Lesser	Drained, Battered	Reduced Effect

Further Harm Examples

Disintegrated (Level 6): Flattened, Cut Into Pieces, Brain Dead.
Dismembered (Level 5): Lost Limb, Crushed Torso, Coma.
Fatal (Level 4): Electrocuted, Drowned, Mauled limb, Catatonic.
Severe (Level 3): Impaled, Broken Leg, Punctured Chest, Badly Burned, Terrified.
Moderate (Level 2): Exhausted, Deep Cut to Arm, Concussion, Panicked, Seduced.
Lesser (Level 1): Battered, Drained, Distracted, Scared, Confused.

Harm such as Drained or Exhausted is a good fallback consequence when nothing else is immediately threatening — for example, after spending all night Studying old books in search of a foe’s weakness.

Tracking Harm

When you suffer Harm, record the specific injury on your character sheet at the level of Harm you suffer. See the harm tracker and examples below.

Your character suffers the penalty listed for a row if any Harm recorded in that row applies to the current situation. For example, if you have Tired as Lesser Harm, you suffer reduced Effect when trying to run.

When you are affected by Severe Harm (Level 3) or worse, your character is incapacitated and cannot act unless you receive help from another character or Push yourself to act. You still get the normal benefits of Pushing; desperate action has its rewards.

If you need to mark Harm but the appropriate row is already full, the Harm moves up to the next row:

If you suffer Moderate Harm but the Level 2 row is full, it becomes Severe Harm.
If you suffer Harm that must be recorded in the bottom row and there is no space, your character immediately dies.

Harm Track

Level	Harm Boxes		Penalty
5			Need help within 1 minute
4			Need help within 1 hour
3			Need help within 24 hours
2			−1d
1			Reduced Effect

Level 6 harm is not on the character sheet as it is instantly fatal.

Example

This example character has three Harm: Drained and Battered (both Level 1) plus Shattered Right Leg and Head Trauma (both Level 3). If they suffer another Level 1 Harm, it moves up to Level 2. If they suffer another Level 3 Harm, it moves up to Level 4: Fatal. If they suffer Level 1 Harm three times, it will fill both Moderate Harm boxes and a level 4 box, Fatal.

Level	Harm Boxes		Penalty
4			Need help within 1 hour
3	Shattered leg	Head trauma	Need help within 24 hours
2			−1d
1	Drained	Battered	Reduced Effect

First Aid

Harm of level 3 or more requires help to survive. Medbots can handle this automatically, otherwise it requires basic medical kits and training.

Recovering Harm

At the end of an operation, all Harm is reduced by one level of severity. Further recovery is done using the Heal downtime activity. There are also special methods, notably the Philosopher's Medicine ability and the Praxic's Surgeon ability.

Degrav

Degrav is the slow physical degradation caused by prolonged exposure to reduced gravity. It does not occur during missions, but during downtime when a character lacks sustained access to exercise under Terran gravity conditions. Degrav represents muscle loss, bone density reduction, cardiovascular weakening, and impaired balance.

Degrav is resolved at the start of each period (month) of downtime.

Degrav Rolls

When a character resides in reduced gravity, make a Degrav roll based on the environment.

Microgravity Make a Micro roll. 1–5: Take Level 1 Micro Degrav Harm. 6: No Harm.

Lunar Gravity Make a Lunar roll. 1–3: Take Level 1 Lunar Degrav Harm. 4–6: No Harm.

If dissatisfied with the result, you may spend a Downtime Action to reroll.

Degrav Harm

Degrav Harm uses normal Harm boxes and counts as Harm for all purposes. Each instance of Degrav Harm is named after the gravity level that caused it (e.g. Micro, Lunar).

Degrav Harm only imposes penalties when acting in gravity heavier than the environment that caused it: Lunar Harm applies penalties only in Terran gravity. Micro Harm applies penalties in Lunar and Terran gravity.

Even when not imposing penalties, Degrav Harm still occupies Harm slots, increasing vulnerability to other Harm.

Regrav

Healing Degrav Harm is called Regrav and can only be done in an environment with higher gravity than the Harm’s origin: Micro Degrav can heal in Lunar or Terran gravity. Lunar Degrav can heal only in Terran gravity.

Permanent Degrav

A character may choose to accept permanent Degrav, becoming adapted to a lower gravity.

When you do so, remove all Degrav Harm of that gravity level and lighter. However: When acting in higher gravity, you suffer Reduced Effect on all Actions. If adapted to Microgravity, you are incapacitated in Terran gravity; you must Push to take any action.

Permanent Degrav can be recovered in a hospital with a 12 tick clock. Recovering from permanent Degrav is staged; characters must adapt upward one gravity band at a time. Adaptation to Micro gravity uses Micro rolls in Lunar gravity and changes the adaptation to Lunar. Adaptation to Lunar gravity uses Lunar rolls in Terran gravity and removes all gravity adaptation. During this therapy you still suffer the disadvantage of permanent Degrav but are vulnerable to Degrav damage.

Degrav Table

Gravity	Degrav Roll	Harm	Applies In	Incapacitates In	Can Heal	Can Restore Permanent
Terran	—	—	—	—	Any	Lunar
Lunar	Lunar 4–6	Lunar	Micro	—	Micro	Micro
Micro	Micro 6	Micro	Terran, Lunar	Terran	—	—

Extra-Vehicular Activity

Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) covers work performed in vacuum outside a pressurized habitat or vehicle, typically under Micro or Lunar conditions. EVA is commonly used for repairs, salvage, inspection, infiltration, or bypassing security.

With mature technology, routine EVA is generally safe and procedural. The primary hazards are Radiation exposure and solar interference with sensors and communications. Stealth operations may require limiting heat exhaust, risking heat exhaustion.

When technology fails, EVA becomes immediately lethal. Loss of pressure or suit function triggers Oxygen Depletion with minimal margin for error, and uncontrolled heat buildup becomes an additional threat.

Fire

Fire represents uncontrolled combustion within a ship or habitat. In enclosed environments, fire is primarily a systems hazard: it consumes oxygen, produces smoke and toxins, and forces automated and manual safety responses that often create secondary dangers.

Fire does not have its own clock. Instead, its effects are expressed through consequences that interact with Oxygen Depletion and other hazards.

Fire Severity and Position

Firefighting uses Position as normal:

Controlled — Small, contained fire.
Risky — Active fire threatening systems or spreading.
Desperate — Conflagration, multiple ignition points, or structural involvement.

Automated Suppression

When a fire is detected, the ship’s automated systems respond immediately, usually while the fire is in a Controlled position.

The initial attempt to suppress a fire is resolved with a Tier roll for the ship or installation:

6 — Fire is cleanly reduced by one category.
4–5 — Fire is reduced by one category with a consequence.
1–3 — A consequence occurs and the fire escalates, worsening its Position. If already Desperate, a new fire at Risky position ignites nearby.

Automated Suppression makes an additional attempt to control the fire every 15 minutes. This interval also represents the natural spread and intensification of the fire if it is not contained.

A character able to direct automated suppression systems may add their Helm or Interface to the system’s roll. Taking control requires access to ship systems and may itself be a difficult or dangerous task.

Manual Firefighting

If the fire persists, characters may intervene directly.

Manual firefighting is a Mark or Rig roll and follows normal Position and Effect rules:

Limited Effect — Rescue someone or something threatened by the fire, or protect a specific installation.
Standard Effect — Reduce a fire by one category.
Great Effect — Put out a fire.

Effect normally starts at Limited when using hand-carried equipment. Heavier gear allows Standard effect; Great effect requires a full damage-control apparatus. Trading Position for effect may involve venting compartments, using explosives, or taking severe personal risk.

Unlike Automated Suppression, failed manual firefighting does not inherently worsen the fire’s future Position unless the fiction demands it.

Consequences

Common consequences of fire, in escalating order of severity, include:

Strong drafts feeding the fire.
Compartment isolation and fire doors sealing.
Local life-support shutdown.
Suppressant release (foam, inert gas, CO₂, etc.).
Oxygen depletion.
Reduced visibility and toxic atmosphere.
System failures requiring later repair.
Explosion.
Local structural collapse.
Active life-support spreads the fire.

Firefighters rarely take direct damage unless they take exceptional risks.

A fire rapidly worsens air quality. Firefighting consequences commonly create or worsen an Oxygen Depletion hazard by:

Shutting down or contaminating life-support systems.
Shrinking the Air Clock through compartment sealing.
Filling an Air Clock, which may also reduce fire intensity as oxygen is exhausted.

Radiation

Radiation represents cumulative, invisible harm from charged particles, neutrons, gamma rays, and secondary showers. Radiation is mission-defining and may itself be sufficient opposition in a low-tier mission.

Exposure

Radiation exposure occurs when characters operate:

Near the Sun, solar flares, or Solar Alchemy remnants.
In radiation belts around gas giants.
Around damaged reactors, isotope work, or breached containment.
Under sustained beam, flare, or particle storm conditions.
Near certain weapons of mass destruction.

Exposure is defined by Intensity' and Duration. Solar radiation is predictable, except near Mercury, where distance allows little warning.

Radiation Intensity

Radiation is tracked as ticks on a Radiation Clock. Higher intensities are not suitable for play.

1 tick — Moderate Weak solar storms, degraded shielding, isotope handling

2 ticks — Dangerous Strong solar storms, inner Saturn belts, D–D coolant breach

3 ticks — Severe Jovian belts, close major solar flare, D–T coolant breach

5 ticks — Extreme Inner Jovian belts, reactor core breach

Protection

Radiation protection is based on distance, shielding, and time.

Personal Aegis or protective gear reduces Radiation by 1 tick.
Dense barriers (especially water) reduce Radiation by 2 or more ticks.
Vehicular Aegis or shielding reduces Radiation by up to 3 ticks.
Multiple protections do not stack; each additional point of reduction requires roughly ten times more mass than the last.

Radiation scenes typically involve movement between cover. Starting behind a water tank or other solid barrier, characters must leave cover to act — whether fighting, rescuing victims, or salvaging an objective. In such situations, add Radiation ticks as an additional consequence, often the only consequence.

Radiation Clock

When a Radiation Clock fills, start a new clock with any overflow and keep count of completed clocks. Starting with the third filled Radiation Clock, each completed clock inflicts Level 1 Harm. While in an irradiated environment, characters with three or more filled Radiation Clocks treat all equipment as Unreliable.

After the Operation

After a day, the character suffers Harm equal to the number of Radiation Clocks filled. This Harm may be resisted using Prowess, reducing its level by 2. A base with Medical automatically stabilizes this Harm.

Oxygen Depletion

Oxygen depletion represents the loss of breathable air due to enclosure, poor ventilation, life-support failure, fire, smoke, or toxic gases.

Air Clock

Each enclosed space has a shared Air Clock representing worsening air quality. The size of the clock depends on how cramped the space is and how many people it is designed to support.

Environmental Suit — 1 tick (you are alone in there)

Very Cramped (economy) — 2 ticks per person it is made for

Cramped (cockpit) — 3 ticks per person it is made for

Small (workstation) — 6 ticks per person it is made for

Using the Air Clock

Every 15 minutes of exposure, each character in the area rolls Micro, Lunar, or Terran (as appropriate). On a 1–3, mark +1 tick on the Air Clock. In addition exertion consumes air. Each Action roll adds +1 tick on the Air Clock as an additional Consequence.

When the Air Clock fills, the situation becomes immediately dangerous: the clock resets, everyone takes Level 1 Harm Asphyxiation, and all Action rolls from this point on suffer worse Position.

Overpressure

In most environments, pressure itself is not immediately dangerous at low to moderate levels. Modern medicine can treat decompression sickness, and the low pressure gradients of low-gravity worlds make gradual pressure change largely immaterial. The primary danger of overpressure comes from immediate physiological and structural stress at extreme pressures.

The table lists the depth at which you encounter the indicated pressure on various celestial bodies, the Harm to humans (with an Aqualung), and the Helm roll to avoid Harm to vehicles. This Helm can also be used to maneuver. Humans inside an intact vehicle (Level 3 harm or less) are completely protected.

Body	1–10 atm	10–50 atm	50–100 atm	100–300 atm	300+ atm	Maximum Depth
Earth (sea level)	0–90 m ocean depth	90–500 m ocean	500–1,000 m ocean	1–3 km ocean	3+ km ocean	~4-11 km
Venus (cloud cities)	±5 km vertical	5–15 km downward	15–25 km downward	25–40 km downward	40+ km downward	~50 km
Europa (surface)	0–2 km water in ice	2–8 km water in ice	8–15 km water–ice border	15–40 km water	40+ km water	~60–150 km
Enceladus (surface)	0–5 km water in ice	5–20 km water–ice border	20–40 km water	40–100 km water	—	Ocean: ~30-50 km
Personal Harm	No hazard	Micro roll; on 1–3 suffer Level 1 Harm Fatigued, Prowess resists	Level 1 Harm Disoriented, Prowess resists	Level 2 Harm Neurological, Prowess resists	Level 3 Harm Crushed, Prowess resist → Level 1 Harm Disoriented	—
Vehicular Harm	No hazard	Pressure-rated vehicles operate normally	Helm 2-6 to avoid Level 1 Harm	Helm 4-6 to avoid Level 1 Harm	Helm 6 to avoid Level 1 Harm	—

Thermal Load

Operating in space and near the Sun is not limited by cold, but by the inability to shed heat fast enough. Vacuum, shadow, and insulation make cold a solved problem; excess heat accumulates and kills you.

Operating in space near Sol is limited by the inability to shed heat fast enough. Heating and insulation make cold a solved problem; excess heat accumulates and kills you. These rules assume characters wear a Skinsuit — a close-fitting pressure garment with basic thermal regulation. Adding a Laser Sink makes heat much less of a problem, until it burns out.

Heat Clock

Heat Load is tracked on an 8-tick Heat Clock. It represents the buildup of waste heat from exertion, radiation, and sunlight. When the clock fills, it resets and the character suffers Level 1 Harm "Baked".

Thermal Load by Orbital Zone Every 15 minutes, mark Heat ticks according to your current orbital zone and if you are in direct sunlight on the surface of a stellar body or on the surface of another large body such as a ship or station. These value only apply in vacuum, Heat in Atmosphere works differently.

Orbital Zone	Space Heat ticks in Sunshine	Surface Heat Ticks in Sunshine
Mercury Orbital Zone	4	8
Venus Orbital Zone	2	4
Terra Orbital Zone	1	2

Heat in Atmosphere

On Venus, the temperature increases as you go down towards the surface. These bands measure downward from the cloud-city level (≈ 50 km altitude). The deeper you go, the more ticks will be added to the Heat Clock. 5–15 km 2 ticks, 15–25 km 3 ticks, 25–40 km 4 ticks, 40-50 km (near the surface) 6 ticks.

On Earth, only the warmest deserts, like the central Sahara, cause 1 tick on the Heat Clock .

Exertion

All Prowess-related Actions generate additional heat with each roll. Add 1 tick on the Heat Clock as an additional Consequence to all such actions.

Underpressure and Vacuum

Sudden loss of pressure is rare, but extremely dangerous. Most decompression events rapidly transition into Oxygen Depletion; only violent pressure changes and direct vacuum exposure cause immediate Harm.

Explosive Decompression (Not an actual explosion, but near-instant venting of air.) Characters suffer Level 2 Harm Decompression immediately. This Harm may be resisted using Prowess.

Vacuum Exposure Direct exposure to vacuum is rapidly lethal. Characters suffer Level 2 Harm' Vacuum Exposure every 1 minute. This Harm may be resisted using Prowess.

While exposed to vacuum, all Actions are taken at 'Worse Position, with consequences reflecting loss of control, disorientation, and extreme physiological stress.

Vacuum kills quickly and is not handled by Oxygen Depletion clocks.

Only catastrophic structural rupture causes Explosive Decompression. Most breaches instead deplete air over time and tick the Air Clock:

Minor leaks (micrometeors, failed seals): 1 tick
Breaches large enough to crawl through: 3 ticks
Major hull failure or missing door: up to 10 ticks