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 Rank 2+. Alternatively, they may create a group 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 activate traits or contribute modifiers until their Stress lowers. They may still be narratively present, but they are no longer able to act in such a way that mechanically 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. They are simply taking care of themselves and not contributing to the team.

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.

Push the Limit

In critical moments a PC may push beyond their Stress limit, albeit at a cost. If a PC wishes to Push the Limit, the PC may still activate traits and contribute modifiers as normal. Stress is reset to zero and Stress in excess of their maximum is rolled over. For example, a PC with a Stress maximum of 9 currently has 7 Stress and takes 5 more Stress. If they take Stressed Out, their Stress becomes 9 and they are no longer able to activate traits in a scene. However, if they Push the Limit, their Stress resets to zero, then adds 3 more (the excess from reaching their maximum of 9).

While perhaps necessary in the moment, Push the Limit comes at a high cost to a PC. They are going beyond their breaking point and pushing on, receiving 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. Agony has a maximum limit of five (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.

Creating Agony

Each time a character receives Agony, a trait related to the cause of the Agony is created. The player decides the description of the Agony in dialog with the GM. Agony may manifest in many different ways, so there is a lot of room for creativity here. Pushing the Limit during a battle may manifest as some sort of physical condition (a broken limb or wound that doesn’t heal properly), but nearly always has an emotional/psychological component (the character becomes unsettled and avoids conflicts that remind them of the event).

Activating Agony

The GM may spend Doom to activate Agony whenever appropriate. To do so, the GM picks an Agony, and spends one Doom up to the total number of Agony the character has. A Hindering(-) Ranked Simple Modifier is created of a Rank equal to the number of Doom spent. For example, if a character has three (3) Agony traits, the GM may spend one (1) Doom to create a Hindering(-) Rank 1 Modifier, two (2) Doom to create a Hindering(-) Rank 2 Modifier, or three (3) Doom to create a Hindering(-) Rank 3 Modifier.

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 Simple Modifier. The more Agony a PC has, the easier it is for them to learn from experience, including resolving the Agony itself. For example, a PC with two (2) Agony traits 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. This is why Relics of the Moon has all charcters begin with one (1) Agony. Though always hindering in some way, an Agony trait can make a character “come to life” as a person. For this reason, the game encourages players to embrace Agony as a way to deepen their character’s story and assumes most PCs will accumulate some Agony over time. Succeeding in the Growth tests to attain the highest Ranks of Psionic Powers and Faction leadership require it.

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. This is a chance to tell a story about how a character overcomes their Agony with the help of their team.

Mechanically, a PC must make a Growth test of 5 successes to remove a particular Agony. However, they still receive the Beneficial(+) Ranked Simple Modifier due to having Agony in that test.

Unavoidable Stress

Some traits exchange “Unavoidable Stress” for some sort of benefit. Such Stress is separate from Stress caused by a Challenge. That is, Stress caused by a Challenge does not count as Unavoidable Stress. Rather, the Stress is taken outside of any other source of Stress and cannot be countered by traits that prevent stress (armor, grit, etc.). Unavoidable Stress always applies to the PC who activated the trait and cannot be shared with the Cohort.