[RPG] What happens when non-aggravated damage does not fit in the Health Chart

vampire-the-masqueradeworld-of-darkness

Suppose my character is wounded (4 damage levels taken). Then, another attack hits for another 4 lethal damage levels. I record damage until Incapacited (3 levels), what I do with the remaining damage level?

I used to assume that the exceeding damage sends you to torpor, but reading the way the text is written I'm not sure any more, at least following RAW.

V20, page 282-283: Incapacited: The stage immediately before torpor, incapacitation differs from unconsciousness in that your character collapses from the combined effects of physical trauma and pain. She falls to the ground
and may do nothing except spend blood points to heal damage. Further damage suffered by an incapacitated vampire sends her into torpor or, if the damage is aggravated, inflicts Final Death on her.

The text says further damage sends you to torpor if you are already Incapacitated. In this case seems a bit ambiguous, but later text seems to reinforce me that idea.

V20, page 285: If your character falls to Incapacitated and then takes another level of bashing damage, she enters torpor (p. 283). If your character falls to Incapacitated due to bashing damage but then takes a level of aggravated damage, she meets Final Death

This way the text is written seems to imply you first fall to Incapacitated, and then you receive more damage (from another attack). If this new attack is bashing damage, you fall into torpor; if it's aggravated, you die.

V20, page 285: When your character’s Health boxes fill to Incapacitated and she takes a further level of lethal damage, she enters torpor (p. 283). If your character is reduced to Incapacitated via lethal damage, and she takes a further
level of aggravated damage, she meets Final Death.

This quote seems to imply exceeding damage sends you directly to torpor, but the text is not clear enough to me. That further level of damage can be in the same attack that filled the Incapacitated box, or you had it filled and then received a new attack?

I know in Second Edition exceeding damage is subtracts blood points. I have read several Revised and 20th Anniversary World of Darkness books, but I find similarly ambiguously (at least to me) descriptions.

I must note that I'm not a native English speaker (or reader), if it's still not obvious to anyone reading me, but I have found the same doubts in the books translations to my language.

The questions are: What happens to exceeding damage that not fit in the Health Chart? Does it sends you to torpor? Is is it discarded?

Best Answer

When your Incapacitated health box is filled with damage (of any sort), you become Incapacitated. Any further damage past Incapacitated, whether from the same attack or a later one, sends you into torpor, unless it is aggravated, in which case you meet Final Death.

Bashing and lethal damage to a vampire in torpor typically don't do anything, although enough (decapitation, removal of the heart, etc) will still result in Final Death. Note that this is different from most other World of Darkness games in that there is no "wrap-around" where bashing damage converts to lethal and lethal to aggravated when damage off the chart is suffered. In fact, vampires don't even mark bashing and lethal separately, they just treat them both as "normal" damage and mark them both with the same slash.

Related Topic