mjmedwick wrote:The exhaustion mechanic makes sense to me. Is there a method for recovering exhaustion points? Rest?
Not one that you can count on. Part of why I'm adding this mechanic is to simulate the toll that high-altitude life takes on a body. In such a thin atmosphere, a small cut on your finger would take weeks to heal, digestion slows to a crawl, and many people find it impossible to sleep. Climbers in the best condition are often harassed by all kinds of physical complaints. So, Exhaustion will remain a downward spiral, though it's
possible you might be tempted by some supernatural means of recovery...
I'm not going to be ultra-realistic about those threats; there will be lots of hand-waving about things like acclimatization and implausible levels of physical activity. But I think this mechanic helps to tell the survival story. Mostly, it will be up to you to decide whether to spend it as a resource for the chance to improve your results on physical tasks. I will, however, start to invoke it when physical exertion seems extreme. You want to leap over the huge crevasse? Ok, but you
have to use your Exhaustion die. I will likely invoke Exhaustion rolls more if characters exert themselves very high up on the slope.
Remember that only
ties trigger an increase in Exhaustion. This differs from the Insanity Die, where you must roll
higher than the current Insanity level, on a separate roll, to trigger an increase.
mjmedwick wrote:
Recommend that players publicly keep track of their character's current exhaustion and insanity levels at the end of each post under spoiler tags or simply in bracketed text for easy reference.
[George Finch - Exhaustion: 3 Insanity: 2]
That sounds like a good practice. I'll keep track on a worksheet at home, but it'd be great to keep the count updated as we go. To help make everything transparent, I'd also like to see die rolls spelled out. Example: For jumping the crevasse, George Finch must use his Exhaustion die, and chooses to also add his Insanity die. He rolls:
[Human Die: 3
Expertise Die (Mountaineer): 2
Insanity Die: 2
Exhaustion Die: 4]
So let's label the die rolls like this when applicable.
FYI, the result for this task would be 4. The Exhaustion die is highest, but it did not tie any other die in the attempt, so there is no increase in Exhaustion. If he'd rolled a 3 or 2 on his Exhaustion Die, tying other dice in the attempt, his Exhaustion would have increased by 1. A result of 4 is a basic success, so Finch leaps across the chasm and sticks his ice pick in the glacier to steady his landing. Nothing special, but he's safe on the other side - winded and full of adrenaline, but not depleted.