You can gain Stress as a direct consequence of failing an action-missing an attack, breaking a lockpick, being caught in the middle of a lie. Something incomprehensible or world-shattering: meeting a god, being betrayed by your closest friend, watching a loved one die. Something devastating to your character or their beliefs: breaking an oath, falling to 0 hp, finding a heap of fresh corpses.

You've made a critical error or something is seriously at risk: being caught lying, learning that the villain has escaped, being outnumbered. Gaining Stress CategoryĪ small frustration, worry, or irritant: missing an attack, falling down, hearing a noise in the dark. The more an event conflicts with the fundamental nature of your character, the greater the amount of Stress you'll suffer-a bard may be more embarrassed to ruin a performance than a wizard, while a lawful paladin is more hurt by a broken oath than a lawless rogue. When choosing how much Stress to inflict, decide how significant the event is to the character-is it minor, moderate, major, or monstrous? The more emotionally significant, the higher the amount of Stress.

Anything that threatens the mental well-being of your character can inflict Stress. Stress is gained through danger, hardship, and adversity-suffering a critical hit from an enemy, hearing an unearthly moan from a dark room, sleeping rough in the cold rain, watching an ally die. To prevent this, they'll need to find ways to relax and recover during downtime. Too much Stress is bad for your mental health and, if not treated carefully, can lead to detrimental Afflictions-or even death.Ĭharacters can suffer up to 40 points of Stress before they reach breaking point. Stress is a measure of pressure on a character's mental state, representing a build-up of negative emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, and irritation. This chapter introduces mechanics to track a character's stress level and the lasting consequences these lingering, mental afflictions can have on their adventuring career. Moving from town to town, delving into dark dungeons and hunting dangerous monsters for perhaps a few gold coins, is not a safe-or sane-way to make a living.

Affliction darkest dungeon