Combat can end with you eating dirt or even passing on to another dimension – the afterlife. Understanding damage is an important part of living in the Dragon Universe.
Taking Damage
Soak. Soak is the ability to stave off damage from attacks and to weather damage through natural toughness. Soak is a passive Aptitude that is equal to your Tenacity Modifier. You have a Minimum Soak Value of 1(T) regardless of your Tenacity Modifier (this Minimum Soak Value can be reduced through other factors). Whenever you are hit, reduce the Wound Roll Dice Score by your Soak Value. The remaining Damage is removed from your Life Points.
Damage Reduction. Before you apply Soak, there’s another thing to consider: Damage Reduction. As the name implies, Damage Reduction is a reduction to the Dice Score of an Opponent’s Wound Roll when you are hit by an Attacking Maneuver. Unlike Soak, Damage Reduction is not reduced by the Damage Category of an Attacking Maneuver.
Damage Category. There are three different Damage Categories that an attack can inflict to a target. The most common Damage Category in the game is Standard Damage. Unless otherwise stated by the attack, all attacks are considered to inflict Standard Damage to a target. Damage Categories are numbered from 1-3, which can be increased or decreased through various Traits or other effects.
Each effect that increases or decreases the Damage Category of an Attacking Maneuver is a numerical +1 or a -1, depending on the effect. If multiple effects occur at once that would change the Damage Category of an Attacking Maneuver, figure out the final Damage Category by using the default Damage Category’s number for that type of Attacking Maneuver, adding any increases to Damage Category then removing any decreases to Damage Category – if the end result is lower than 1 or higher than 3, set that number to 1 (Standard Damage) or 3 (Lethal Damage) respectively.
- Standard (1). This type of damage has no special qualities. All attacks do Standard Damage unless otherwise stated.
- Direct (2). When a target suffers Direct Damage, only apply 1/2 of their Soak when calculating Damage.
- Lethal (3). Lethal Damage bypasses a target’s Soak altogether; do not apply their Soak when calculating Damage.
Damage Over Time (DOT). Some effects apply a stack of DOT to a Character over a period of time decided by the effect. For each stack of DOT you possess, reduce your Life Points by 1(bT) at the start of your turn.
Defeat
The general rule is that once your Life Points reach 0, you are Defeated. Some effects may allow you to prevent yourself from being Defeated or have a final Hail Mary before you fall, but once you hit 0 Life Points, usually that’s it.
Defeat. While you are Defeated, you cannot use any form of Maneuver and your turn in the Initiative Order is skipped and ultimately ignored for calculating Initiative Advantage, but still remains there in case you are able to stop being Defeated. When you become Defeated, you instantly leave any Transformation or State you are currently in at the time of Defeat. You can only stop being Defeated through effects once per Combat Encounter.
Death. When you are Defeated by the Attacking Maneuver, Unique Ability, or effect of a Character, they can declare their intent; Death or KO. If it is Death, then your Character will die unless you spend 1 Karma Point to survive. It is generally assumed that most serious fights carry the Death intent, but you can never be sure of the evil plans some warriors may craft.
Any of your own effects that reduce your Life Points will be treated as if there was Death intent. All forms of Collision are treated as if it was KO intent.
If you are the target of an Attacking Maneuver while Defeated, treat the intent as if it was Death.
Recovery
As brave and courageous as you might be, you can’t spend all day in the thick of exploration, social interaction, and battle. You need time to rest and eat, tend your injuries, and refresh your minds and spirits. In-game time is typically relative to the ongoing story and normally tracked by the game’s ARC through Adventuring (see — Adventure).
Instant Recovery. After you have overcome a Combat Encounter, you will receive an instant reprieve; regain 1/10th of your Maximum Life Points and Ki Point Pool.
Will to Survive. If you are Defeated and one of you or your Ally’s effects causes you to regain Life Points, you immediately stop being Defeated. You can only apply Will to Survive once per Combat Encounter.
Dragon Ball Universe 