Morale

Morale is a Mechanic. Morale is used to determine who in a fight, be it physical or social, has the upper hand.

Morale is determined at the start of an Encounter by performing an opposed Swagger or Presence Test.

Please Note: See Swagger or Presence for details on how to perform a Swagger or Presence Test.

Your level of Morale is determined by how well or poorly you do against your Enemies in this Test.

• The winner of the Test, achieves High Morale.
• The loser of the Test, suffers Low Morale.
• If both parties tie, then both parties remain at Neutral.
• If a party doubles the Enemy's Total, then they Upgrade their High Morale to Elation instead.

Priority is a mechanical term. It is the edge in a fight gained when a group of Characters are feeling themselves, like they could take on anyone or anything.

An instance of Priority may be spent as a Free Action to Reroll a pending Roll.

A Character gains Priority when achieving High Morale, Elation or through Abilities, such as those found in [Prestige] or [Leadership]. In addition, a Character may have no more than two instances of Priority at a time.

High Morale is a mechanical term. A Character that has achieved High Morale gains an instance of Priority until the end of the Encounter.

A Character maintains High Morale until the end of the Encounter, or it is Upgraded or Downgraded by an effect.

Elation is a state of Morale. A Character that has achieved Elation gains an instance of Priority until the end of the Encounter.

In addition a Character gains a bonus D4 to all Checks, Attacks or Saves while they maintain Elation.

A Character maintains Elation until the end of the Encounter, or it is Downgraded by an effect.

Low Morale is a state of Morale. A Character that has suffered Low Morale gains no bonus or ill effect.

A Character maintains Low Morale until the end of the Encounter, or it is Upgraded or Downgraded by an effect.

Please Note: There are no inherent negatives to Low Morale, other than your Enemies now having Priority and that you are in a precarious position should they Downgrade your Low Morale to Desperation.

Desperation is a state of Morale. A Character that has suffered Desperation may choose to accept defeat in the face of their Enemies.

When entering a state of Desperation, a group of Characters can choose to accept defeat, this means until the end of the Encounter they must suffer Appropriate consequences. These consequences will vary greatly depending on context, being taken prisoner by corpo mercenaries, letting your opposition get the best deal in a trade agreement or simply getting the crud beat out of you. Whatever the outcome, the consequences should be made clear before accepting defeat.

Please Note: In many scenarios where the Enemy are ferocious [Beasts] or mad [Spirits], accepting defeat will almost always result in Death for all Characters.

Alternatively, a group of Characters can choose to fight on while under the effects of Desperation

A Character maintains Desperation until the end of the Encounter, or it is Upgraded by an effect.

Please Note: There are no inherent negatives to Desperation, other than your Enemies now having the effects of Elation.

Neutral is a state of Morale. [Characters] are always in a state of Neutral Morale until altered by a Test or Ability. Characters return to a state of Neutral Morale at the end of any Encounter.