Stress and Agony

Stress

Stress is a measurement of how much adversity a character can take before they are rendered ineffective in a scene. Stress is abstract and includes such things as emotional struggle, mental exhaustion, and blows to one’s body. Every PC starts with a maximum of 10 Stress. Stress is accumulated upward: If Stress is taken by a PC, it is added to the current Stress. Some traits are triggered by or limited to having a certain amount of Stress.

Recovering from Stress

Stress may be lowered in a number of ways. At the end of a Scene, the Cohort has the opportunity to recover Stress. They have a choice: Either play it safe and recover a set value, or engage in risk-reward and face a Test for a variable value.

The Cohort may recover a set value of one (1) Stress for each PC with Stallion Expertise (Primary or Secondary). Alternatively, they may create a Stallion pool (with applicable modifiers) and roll a Test. Each success recovers one Stress. Whichever they choose, the recovered Stress is distributed among the PCs by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, then the leader of the Stallion Test will distribute the recovered Stress.

Extended downtime (such as a good night’s rest) will lower Stress for each PC by an additional three (3) beyond the usual amount. A variety of traits may lower Stress under different circumstances.

Stressed Out

If PC’s maximum Stress is reached or exceeded during a Scene, that PC receives the Stressed Out trait and may no longer act until their Stress lowers. They may still be narratively present, but they are no longer able to act in such a way that positively affects the unfolding narrative. Having the temporary Stressed Out trait could mean a PC being knocked unconscious, being lost in their own mental space, having a meltdown, or otherwise unable to participate. It does not mean being killed or permanently lost from the game.

In lieu of any other modifiers (Beneficial or Hindering) that the PC may normally contribute through traits, they instead contribute a -1d6 Stressed Out trait to the Cohort. This trait is removed when the PC recovers at least one (1) Stress (such as at the end of the Scene). If multiple PCs are Stressed Out, each applies a Hindering(-) -1d6.

If a PC is Stressed Out early into a Scene, the player may still participate in the narrative and decision making of the Cohort even if the character does not. It can be a fun experience to describe how the Stressed Out PC is handling the situation.

In the life of a Cohort, sometimes things go sideways. Occasionally, every member will become Stressed Out during a Scene. If this happens, the active Event and any active Challenges end but are not considered resolved. The Cohort immediately ends the Scene and has the chance to recover. It is assumed they are able to make their way to somewhere they can regroup. This does not mean they are safe, however. From there, they can decide whether or not to press on, or change their approach. There is a lot of opportunity to shape the narrative here. One very important aspect, though, is that the Cohort is not “wiped out” or permanently out of the game (even in combat). For example, if a Cohort is Stressed Out while facing a rival Cohort, they may be taken hostage and need to find a way to escape.

When a character is Stressed Out, in addition to the temporary Stressed Out trait applied to the Cohort, they receive an individual and more permanent trait in the form of one (1) Agony.

Agony

Agony is long-lasting and shapes the PC in a number of ways. Each time a character receives Agony, a trait is created with a negative modifier related to the subject of Agony. Agony has a maximum limit of 5. Unlike Stress, if a character reaches their Agony limit, they are taken out of the game permanently. This is where a PC may fall in battle, suffer irreparable cognitive deterioration, or succumb to the deadly environments of Anasta.

Recovering Agony

Agony is much more difficult to remove than Stress. Even the most dramatic Agony, however, has a chance to be countered using the grit of the natives of Anasta and/or the reality-bending technology they have inherited. Recovering Agony involves both a narrative and mechanical component. The character must seek out a way to resolve their particular Agony, playing out as a special scenario that involves the whole Cohort.

Mechanically, a PC must make a Growth test of 5 successes to remove a particular Agony. Agony from Moon Relic Disruption may only be removed by removing the infused Moon Relic (and its associated Ability). Note that removing an infused Moon Relic also destroys it.

Benefits of Agony

While painful, Agony also helps to fuel growth. When making a Growth test, each point of Agony is considered a Beneficial(+) Ranked modifier. The more Agony a PC has, the easier it is for them to push their limits, including resolving the Agony itself. For example, a PC with two (2) levels of Moon Relic Disruption would have a +1 / 2d to Growth tests.

On a roleplaying note, having some Agony can also help to make a character more interesting, adding texture to what could otherwise be a “flat” character. Though always Hindering(-), an Agony trait can make a character “come to life” as a person.

Moon Relic Disruption

A very common form of Agony for PCs in Relics of the Moon is Moon Relic Disruption. For each infused Moon Relic, a PC accumulates one level of Moon Relic Disruption. Moon Relic Disruption lowers their Stress maximum by one point. For example, a PC with three (3) infused Moon Relics will lower their Stress maximum by three (3). This means that PC would become Stressed Out whenever they reach 7 Stress (10 - 3 = 7).

Given that Moon Relic Disruption counts against Agony, a PC (other than those with a Synth bioform) can infuse a maximum of four Moon Relics. Doing so, however, is extremely risky: Simply running up their Stress maximum (which is already lowered by the infused Moon Relics) would lead to accumulating one more Agony and being taken out permanently. For this reason, many people on Anasta will only consider infusing one or two Moon Relics, if any at all.