Phoenix Command Fatigue Rules

[Donnadogsoth]

The lack of fatigue rules in virtually all of the RPGs I have been involved with niggles in my craw. Perhaps other, newer games feature such rules, but I haven't found them. Being a Phoenix Command aficionado, I decided to brew up my own rules, trying to cover as diverse an array of situations as possible while still making the rules easy to understand and use. Being PC it will inevitably come with tables, which PC is notorious for, but, after a few runs through it should be possible to memorise the basic concepts and play easily. Not as easily as rolling a d20 against Health every time a character seriously exerts him or herself, but an available option for those seeking to add more verisimilitude to their play.

Phoenix Command Fatigue Rules

All fatigue is measured in Fatigue Points (FP), which are accrued through various categories: namely aerobic, anaerobic, sleep loss, climate, hunger, thirst, and disease/poison. Enter the total amount of FP in the following table to determine a character's current Skill Level, Quickness, and Damage Bonus penalties. At 0 Quickness a character collapses.

Note about stats: Skills are rated from -4 to 20, Motivation is rated from 3 to 18. Quickness is rated from 1 to 8. Damage Bonus (hitting hard) is from 0.5 to 12.

Table 1

............................ Penalties
Fatigue Level.....SL / Q........DB
..........10..................1......... -
..........14..................2.........0.5
..........16..................3.........1.0
..........17..................4.........1.5
..........18..................5.........2.0
..........19..................6.........2.5
..........20..................7.........3.0

Table 2

Type of Fatigue................Accrual Rate...........................Type
Aerobic......................2 per hour digging or jogging...........Long Term
Anaerobic...................1 per minute of running .................Short Term
Sleep loss...................1 per hour of sleep deficit..............Long Term
Climate......................4 per day of excessive heat/cold.....Long Term
Hunger.......................2 per day without eating...............Long Term
Thirst........................6 per day without drinking.............Long Term
Disease/Poison............10/16/20 depending on severity......Long Term

Analeptic Value (AV): This represents a character's ability to resist and restore himself after strenuous experiences. It equals Long Distance Running SL X Motivation X 0.5. For zero or negative SL, AV equals 1. Climbing, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Team Sports, and Unarmed Combat all transfer to Long Distance Running at /3.

The rate at which a character accrues FP is modified by his AV as shown in Table 3.

Long Term and Short Term Fatigue: Fatigue is divided into Long Term and Short Term. Long Term FP is the sum of aerobic, sleep loss, hunger, thirst, and disease/poisons. Short Term is anaerobic. Determine how quickly the character loses FP for each type according to the following table.

Pushing Oneself: A character who is pushes their envelope gains an additional 8 long term FP. A character who goes all-out gains the same 8 long term FP, plus another 2d6 worth of short term FP.

Table 3

...................Accrual........................ .............FP Recovery Rates
AV...............Modifier...................Long Term......................Short Term
1......................x4.....................1 per 3 hours' rest.............2 per hour's rest
2-5...................x3.....................1 per 2.5 hours' rest..........3 per hour's rest
6-10..................x2.....................1 per 2 hours' rest............4 per hour's rest
11-20................x2.....................1 per 1.5 hours' rest..........5 per hour's rest
21-50................x1.....................1 per hour's rest................6 per hour's rest
51-100..............x1....................1.5 per hour's rest..............12 per hour's rest
101-140............x0.5...................2 per hour's rest................16 per hour's rest
141-180............x0.5..................2.5 per hour's rest..............24 per hour's rest

Example 1

Steeltoes (AV 34) engages in an arduous four-hour mountain climb (8 FP) in the hot sun (2 FP) without food (1 FP) or water (3 FP) for a total of 14 FP. Beat, he rests for 12 hours on a ledge, reducing his FP total to 2.

Example 2

Big John (AV 135) works a sixteen-hour day breaking rocks for the railroad (32 FP) in the blistering heat (8 FP) equals 40 X 0.5 (Accrual Modifier) = 20. He casts down his hammer, exhausted.

Example 3

Sally (AV 2) rallies to help out during a disaster. After two hours of loading a truck she has gained 2 hours X 2 X 4 (Accrual Modifier) = 16 FP, exhausting her.

Example 4

A Tamahumara tribesman (AV 180) runs for eighteen hours, gaining 18 hours X 2 X 0.5 (Accrual Modifier) = 18. After a good night's rest he reduces his FP total to 18 – (8 X 2.5) = 18 – 20 = -2, adjusted to the minimum of 0.

Example 5
Goldie (AV 60) runs the Boston Marathon, pushing herself towards a new personal record. She gains 2 (hours) X 2 = 4 FP + 8 (pushing herself) = 13 long term FP, plus another 2d6 (she rolls a 7) short term FP, for an FP total of 20.

Example 6
Klebold (AV 22) is training for the Army and attempts to run all-out for 15 minutes. He gains long term FP equalling 0.25 (15 minutes) X 2 X 1 (Accrual Modifier) = 0.5 + 8 (push) = 8.5. He gains short term FP of 15, for a total of 23.5 and is unable to finish the course.

The next day he tries again, pacing himself to an earnest jog. He gains long term FP equalling 0.25 (15 minutes) X 2 X 1 (Accural Modifier) = 0.5 + 8 (push) = 8.5. He gains short term FP (push) of 6 (on 2d6). He totals 14.5 FP and finishes the course, winded but able.