Energy and Morale

A&E has no hit points. Instead, the Director's Risk Die inflicts narrative complications and drains your core stamina pools. There are four pools, and each tells you something different when it runs dry.

The Four Pools

Physical Energy (PE) — short-term physical exertion. Set by Strength: PE = STR × (Level + 4). At 0 PE you suffer exhaustion and loss of consciousness, and you trigger Morale penalties. PE is recovered mid-Scene by taking a Breather.

Social Energy (SE) — short-term social stamina for interactions. Set by Confidence: SE = CNF × (Level + 4). At 0 SE you can no longer sway the room, and you trigger Morale penalties. SE cannot be recovered via Breathers — social wounds close on their own schedule.

Daily Energy (DE) — the overarching session pool that recharges both Physical and Social Energy. Set by Endurance: DE = 3 × END × (Level + 4). Dropping to 0 DE means loss of consciousness and possible character death.

Morale — psychological willpower. Set by Resolve: MM = RLV × (Level + 4). Reaching 0 Morale results in panic — which manifests as fleeing the scene or surrendering. In practice, most fights end here rather than in annihilation.

The Breather

A Breather is the mid-Scene recovery action. Its rate is set by Resonance: PR = [RSN × (Level + 4) × (Current DE / Max DE)] / 5 — the more of your day you've spent, the less a pause does for you. Breathers restore Physical Energy only.

What Risk Takes From You

When the Director applies Risk, the costs land here — narrated as what the scene did to you: the sprint up the stairwell, the humiliation in front of the court, the terror of the thing in the dark. Energy is still expended even when your result beats the DC; the DC is a reference point for consequences, not a waiver on effort. A concession (the Director granting you an easier time) can reduce the cost; taking a hit usually increases it.

The Director estimates cost from two scales — Exertion and Resistance — scaled by your size and the Scene Level (the full math lives in the Director's Toolkit). You will never see those numbers; you will see the narration that explains them.

Mitigation Is Narrative

Some Races, Classes, or Conditions carry Resistance or even Immunity to certain effects. These forms of Risk Mitigation are purely narrative — they are degrees on a ladder from True Vulnerability (death on exposure) through various Resistances up to True Immunity (cannot be affected under any circumstances). When you have one, the Director narrates its effect rather than subtracting from a number. Expect fire to simply matter less to you — and sunlight to matter fatally more — with no arithmetic in between.

Watch Your Morale

Taking damage to Morale is a significant event and is used sparingly. Keep an eye on it anyway: panic is how stories end mid-scene, and characters who pace their Courage — like their Energy — tend to be the ones still standing when the Sequence Narrative lands.