Drain
Drain is a measure of how much effort your soul has expended. It is measured as a number on your character sheet that counts up as you perform strenuous magical activity or take damage from certain magical sources.
Gaining and Recovering Drain
Basic uses of soul magic do not inflict drain. Examples include gently lifting small objects, sensing for nearby souls, or performing small tricks.
More focused usage of soul magic inflicts 1 point of drain. Examples include simple soul magic attacks or performing larger tricks like lighting a campfire or manipulating emotions.
Strenuous soul magic inflicts 3 points of drain. Examples include performing difficult soul magic attacks.
Extremely difficult techniques may inflict 5 or more drain. Such techniques generally gain a foul reputation among common folk and command fear and respect among mages.
Drain can only be removed by sleeping. After 8 hours of rest your drain total is divided by 2, rounded down. The amount of drain recovered in one rest cannot exceed 10.
Effects of Drain
As you suffer points of drain, consult the following table. You suffer all Lingering Effects that are at or below your current drain level, and you immediately suffer the Instant Effects of all drain levels as you pass them. Lingering effects stack.
| Drain | Lingering Effects | Instant Effects |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | None | None |
| 10 | -1 HP | |
| 11 | -1 HP | |
| 12 | -1 HP | |
| 13 | -1 HP | |
| 14 | -1 HP | |
| 15 | -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | -1 HP |
| 16 | -1 HP | |
| 17 | -1 HP | |
| 18 | -1 HP | |
| 19 | -1 HP | |
| 20 | Fatigue, -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | -2 HP |
| 21 | -2 HP | |
| 22 | -2 HP | |
| 23 | -2 HP | |
| 24 | -2 HP | |
| 25 | -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | -2 HP |
| 26 | -2 HP | |
| 27 | -2 HP | |
| 28 | -2 HP | |
| 29 | -2 HP | |
| 30 | Fatigue, -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | -3 HP |
| 31 | -3 HP | |
| 32 | -3 HP | |
| 33 | -3 HP | |
| 34 | -3 HP | |
| 35 | -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | -3 HP |
| 36 | -3 HP | |
| 37 | -3 HP | |
| 38 | -3 HP | |
| 39 | -3 HP | |
| 40 | -1 Athletics, Precision, and Endurance | HP falls to 0 |
| >40 | Instant death |
Detecting Drain
You may try to discern the drain level of another creature by rolling Soulpower/Senses opposed by the target's Soulpower/Willpower. On a success, you learn the target's drain score rounded to the nearest 10. This does not require any action points, but a failed roll alerts the target to your attempt. On a tie, nothing happens and the target remains unaware of your attempt.