Morale and Status Effects¶

Overview¶

Status effects are transient conditions applied during encounter resolution that modify the expedition resolver's outcome calculation. Morale is a party-level tracking score representing collective psychological readiness — distinct from individual health or injury count.

Morale¶

What Morale Represents¶

Morale is a single party-level score (not tracked per character). It reflects the group's collective will to continue. It begins at a baseline value determined by party composition and loadout, and degrades through adverse events. When morale reaches zero, the expedition forces a retreat regardless of the tactical situation.

A morale collapse is not the same as incapacitation — carried items are not lost; it counts as a retreat outcome.

Baseline Morale at Expedition Start¶

Party Composition	Base Morale
Solo player	30
2-player group	45
3–4 player group	60
5+ player group (full party)	75

Modifiers applied at expedition start:

Condition	Modifier
Warden role covered	+15
Vanguard role covered	+10
Campcraft Skilled — overnight rest at established camp before departure	+10
Mission type is Escort or Boss Hunt (high stakes)	−5
Cold-weather gear missing (cold expedition)	−5
Party includes a Beginner-protected player	−5 (reduced group morale floor; veterans compensate)

Morale Loss Events¶

Event	Morale Loss
Party member incapacitated	−20
Encounter outcome: Failure band	−10
Encounter outcome: Poor matchup with Critical injury result	−8
Fear status effect (Karnhaunt or undead boss)	−10 per escalation step
Corruption proc	−5 per proc
Critical supply shortage during expedition	−5 per supply-check step
Route complication (collapse, flood, triggered trap)	−10
Elite encounter entered with no role coverage advantage	−5

Morale Recovery Events¶

Event	Morale Gain
Encounter outcome: Strong Success	+8
Elite encounter cleared	+12
Boss encounter cleared	+20
Warden support action (medicine applied mid-expedition)	+5
Established camp rest step (overnight)	+10
Expedition objective milestone reached (named target confirmed, site reached)	+10

Morale at Zero — Forced Retreat¶

When morale reaches 0:

The current encounter step resolves fully (no mid-encounter death)
The expedition enters a forced retreat outcome
The party returns to their last checkpoint
Carried items are returned (minus consumed supplies during the retreat portion)
Expedition rewards are not awarded

Morale cannot go below 0.

Status Effects¶

Fear¶

Source: Karnhaunt (Barrow Shade), Maarenvaki cluster encounters, undead boss variants

What it does: While Fear is active, all encounter outcome bands shift down by one tier. A Strong Success becomes a Success; a Success becomes a Partial Success; a Partial Success becomes a Failure. The party also takes morale damage each escalation step (see Morale Loss table).

Duration: 1–3 encounter steps depending on encounter severity rating.

Counters: - Warden role present: Fear effect is downgraded one severity tier (3-step becomes 2-step; morale loss per step reduced by half) - Warding Preparation (pre-expedition Alchemy item): duration reduced by 1 step minimum; morale loss per step halved - Restoration at Skilled (Warden): can spend their action slot to end Fear immediately — this consumes the Warden's contribution to that encounter step's resolver

Passive Resistance: Arcane Theory at Practiced reduces morale loss from Fear by 50%.

Poison¶

Source: Brynhämähäkki (pit spider), Suopuli (secondary application), Metsäpiru trap variants

What it does: While Poisoned, the affected character's injury accumulation rate increases by 1 additional injury per encounter step. Poison persists between encounter steps and must be actively countered — it does not clear automatically.

Duration: Persists until countered or until the expedition settles and the character returns to a settlement.

Counters: - Anti-venom Preparation (Alchemy product): removes Poisoned immediately, consuming the preparation - Herbalism at Skilled: can apply a field counter using carried reagents without a pre-prepared item - Physician treatment at Trevalkaan or village Herbalist: removes Poisoned on return; required if no field counter was available

Passive Resistance: Endurance at Skilled reduces injury accumulation increase from Poison from +1 to +0 (Poison is active but does not accelerate injury).

Paralysis¶

Source: Suopuli (marsh serpent constriction), large Jokipuli (jaw hold), certain boss abilities

What it does: A paralyzed character cannot contribute their role to the current encounter step. In a solo expedition, the resolver uses the minimum baseline with no role coverage bonus. Party members can attempt to break the hold.

Duration: 1 encounter step. Can be resolved earlier by a successful break attempt.

Break Mechanics:

Loadout	Break Attempt	Success Condition
Polearm	Automatic break attempt	Succeeds on Partial Success or better from resolver
Other melee	Break attempt at disadvantage	Requires Success or better
Arcane (Elementalism active)	Elemental damage proc forces break	Only if element is effective vs. creature type
No party break attempt	No break	Paralysis holds for full encounter step

Pre-expedition Counter: Paralytic Antidote (Alchemy item): prevents paralysis from setting if consumed before the encounter step that would trigger it. Has no effect once paralysis is already active.

Corruption¶

Source: Karnhaunt, undead sites with strong spiritual charge, void residue material contact, advanced undead boss encounters

What it does: Corruption is a stacking counter, not a binary state. Each corruption proc adds 1 corruption point to the affected character.

Corruption Points	Effect
1–2	No mechanical effect; cosmetic indicator
3–4	Character's role contribution treated as one tier lower in the resolver
5+	Character has no effective role for resolver purposes; cannot be healed by Warden actions until corruption is purged

Corruption does not clear automatically between encounter steps.

Counters: - Advanced Warding Preparation (high-tier Alchemy): reduces corruption by 2 points per application; can be used mid-expedition - Warden with Restoration at Expert: can purge 1 corruption point per encounter step, spending their action slot - Return to Trevalkaan: corruption clears fully after one settlement tick; village return does not clear corruption

Passive Resistance: Arcane Theory at Veteran adds 2 to the first threshold (so the role-degradation effect begins at 5 points instead of 3). This reflects the arcanist's deeper understanding of spiritual interference.

Constriction Hold¶

Source: Suopuli (constriction wrap), large Jokipuli (jaw pin), rare boss abilities

What it does: The affected character is physically held. They take 1 automatic injury per encounter step from the hold itself. The constricting creature is also locked in place — it cannot target other party members while maintaining the hold.

This creates a tactical dynamic: the creature is contained but the held character is burning injuries. The party must weigh freeing their member against pressing the rest of the encounter.

Break Mechanics:

Loadout	Effect
Polearm	Strong break attempt; succeeds on Partial Success resolver roll against the creature
Other melee loadouts	Break attempt at disadvantage; requires Success or better
Arcane (effective element)	Can force a break by applying elemental damage to the creature's hold point — requires Elementalism at Practiced
No break attempt	Hold continues; character takes 1 injury per step until incapacitated or encounter resolves

No pre-expedition counter exists — constriction is a physical hold, not a chemical or spiritual effect.

Exhaustion¶

Source: Food or water supply exhausted during expedition; extreme weather conditions without adequate protection; overloaded carry weight exceeding Endurance threshold

What it does: - All encounter outcome bands shift down by one tier (same as Fear, but does not trigger morale drain) - Passive injury recovery between encounter steps is disabled — Warden medicine actions still work but no automatic between-step recovery

Duration: Persists as long as the supply shortage or weather condition causing it remains active.

Counters: - Restore food or water supply (ration consumption from reserve, water source found and confirmed safe via Waterfinding) - Campcraft rest step (overnight): removes Exhaustion if adequate supplies are available at the camp - Return to any settlement: clears all Exhaustion

Stacking: Exhaustion does not stack. A second source of Exhaustion while already Exhausted has no additional outcome modifier. However, the causes must be resolved separately (restoring food does not address weather-caused Exhaustion).

Interaction Rules¶

When multiple status effects are active simultaneously, effects that modify outcome bands are additive with a cap:

Maximum outcome band reduction from status effects: −2 tiers (a Strong Success cannot be reduced below Partial Success by status effects alone — injury and matchup penalties still apply separately)
Fear and Exhaustion applied simultaneously count as the worst of the two for outcome band purposes plus an additional −1 (so combined status penalty is −2, not −1 for each)
Corruption role reduction and other status effects apply independently — corruption is a role modifier, not an outcome band modifier

Status Effect Summary¶

Status	Source	Key Effect	Duration	Primary Counter
Fear	Undead encounters	Outcome band −1; morale drain	1–3 steps	Warden, Warding Prep, Restoration
Poison	Spider, serpent, traps	Injury rate +1/step	Until countered	Anti-venom Prep, Herbalism field
Paralysis	Constriction, jaw hold	Role zeroed for 1 step	1 step (breakable)	Polearm break, Paralytic Antidote
Corruption	Undead, void residue	Role tier −1 at 3pts; zero at 5pts	Until purged	Warding Prep, Warden purge, settlement
Constriction Hold	Bog/river predators	Auto-injury per step; creature locked	Until broken	Polearm break, Elementalism proc
Exhaustion	Supply shortage, weather	Outcome band −1; no passive recovery	Until source resolved	Restore supply, camp rest, settlement