Various circumstances might cause a character stress. Stress can be tracked numerically as a Stress Score, increasing in trying situations and decreasing with care. A character’s Stress Score might increase by 1 when one of the following situations occurs:
- A tense, dramatic moment, especially one involving one of a character’s Seeds of Fear
- Every 24 hours the character goes without finishing a long rest
- Witnessing the death of a loved one
- A nightmare or darkest fear made real
- Shattering the character’s fundamental understanding of reality
- Witnessing a person transform into a horrid or unnatural creature
When a character makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, they must apply their current Stress Score as a penalty to the roll.
Reducing Stress
A character who spends an entire day relaxing or in otherwise calm circumstances reduces their Stress Score by 1 when they finish their next long rest.
The calm emotions spell effect used to suppress the charmed and frightened conditions also suppresses the effects of one’s Stress Score for the spell’s duration.
A lesser restoration spell reduces the target’s Stress Score by 1, and a greater restoration spell reduces a character’s Stress Score to 0.
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