Your Character in Play

Structural basis: Cairn 2e — Core Rules.

This chapter explains your character's main scores and states and how they work during play. General procedures for Turns, rest, treatment, and recovery are given in Game Procedures, while the sequence of combat actions is covered in Combat.

Character

A Player Character is the hero through whom a Player acts in the world of DAIRN. A character is described by three Ability Scores, Hit Protection, Armor, Inventory, and a Life Path. These matter when a character's decisions involve risk and consequences.

First, the Player describes their intent and approach. The Warden provides obvious information and explains potential danger. A Check is needed only when the outcome is truly uncertain and failure matters.

Ability Scores

A character has three Ability Scores:

Strength (STR) — physical power, endurance, and resistance to physical harm;
Dexterity (DEX) — speed, coordination, balance, stealth, and reflexes;
Will (WIL) — resolve, self-control, and the ability to persuade, deceive, intimidate, or otherwise influence others.

This chapter uses the abbreviations STR / DEX / WIL. Localized alternatives are listed in the glossary.

An Ability Score indicates the risk of failure in a dangerous situation, rather than defining everything a character can or cannot do.

A low score does not by itself prevent an action. If an action is possible and its outcome is obvious, no roll is required.

Life Path

A Life Path describes a character's past experience: what they have seen, what they have learned, and the people and activities they were familiar with before their Adventures began.

A Life Path is not a class, a profession, or a separate skill system.

It has no numerical value and grants no bonuses to Checks.

Experience

Each Life Path is associated with Experience: an area of knowledge and practice familiar to the character.

Experience helps establish:

what the character already knows;
which objects and phenomena they can recognize;
which actions and tools they are familiar with;
what information they can understand without a special explanation;
which actions are familiar to them and which are unfamiliar.

If the character's Experience makes an action's outcome obvious and there is no meaningful risk, no Check is required.

Experience and Checks

Experience does not replace Ability Scores.

If an action remains dangerous and its outcome is truly uncertain, the character makes a normal STR, DEX, or WIL Check.

Experience grants no bonus to the roll and does not change the Ability Score.

It affects the situation before a Check is called for: whether the action is possible for the character, what they understand, and which consequences are obvious to them.

Example

A character with Steppe routes Experience can recognize a familiar landmark, choose a suitable campsite, or understand where a known road leads without a Check.

If that same character tries to find their way at night during a blizzard, the outcome becomes dangerous and uncertain. The Warden may call for an appropriate Check.

Several Relevant Areas of Experience

If several areas of Experience apply to a situation, they do not stack or provide additional bonuses.

They simply broaden what the character may know or consider familiar in that situation.

Character Growth

New experience gained during Adventures can become part of a character's story, but does not automatically become a new numerical score.

Long-term character growth is governed separately. Possible pasts appear in the Life Path table; areas of Experience and special rules appear in the Experience and unique elements table.

Check

A Check is needed when a character tries to avoid a dangerous consequence and the outcome of their action is truly uncertain.

The Warden selects the appropriate Ability Score:

STR — when strength, endurance, or resistance to physical harm matters;
DEX — when speed, precision, balance, stealth, or reflexes matter;
WIL — when resolve, self-control, or influence over others matters.

Roll d20. If the result is equal to or lower than the chosen Ability Score, the Check succeeds. If it is higher, the Check fails. 1 always succeeds, and 20 always fails.

For more details on the procedure, see Game Procedures.

A Check primarily determines whether the character avoids a dangerous consequence. It should not replace obvious actions or be used merely to introduce randomness.

Opposition

When two characters directly oppose each other, the one facing the more dangerous consequences of failure makes the Check.

If both face equal risk, the Warden determines who makes the Check based on the situation.

There is usually no need for both participants to make opposing rolls.

Acting Together

When several characters undertake one risky action together, the character at greatest risk makes the Check.

If everyone faces equal risk, the character with the lowest relevant Ability Score usually makes the Check. The procedure for choosing who rolls when scores are equal, along with the consequences of a shared Check, is given in Game Procedures.

Die of Fate

The Die of Fate is used when an outcome depends on external circumstances or chance, rather than the character's abilities.

Roll d6. Usually, 4–6 means circumstances favor the characters, while 1–3 means events take an unfavorable turn.

For more details on the procedure, see Game Procedures.

The Die of Fate is not an Ability Score Check and does not replace a STR, DEX, or WIL Check when the risk directly concerns the character's actions.

For example, the Die of Fate can determine:

whether a needed item is present in an abandoned place;
whether someone left a campsite before the characters arrived;
whether the weather changed in the characters' favor;
whether a chance external event occurred;
which of two equally likely alternatives proved true.

If events in the world, known facts, or the characters' actions already determine the outcome, the Die of Fate is not needed.

Inventory

Inventory represents all significant equipment and burdens a character carries.

A character has 10 Inventory Slots.

An ordinary item takes 1 slot unless its description says otherwise. Worn equipment also counts.

A Petty item takes no slots;
a Bulky item takes 2 slots;
each unit of Fatigue takes 1 slot.

A character cannot occupy more than 10 Inventory Slots.

If all 10 Inventory Slots are occupied, current HP is reduced to 0; maximum HP is preserved. To recover HP, the character must free at least one slot, then rest and drink water. Recovery is impossible while Deprived.

For detailed rest rules, see Game Procedures.

Bag

A Bag allows up to 6 slots of items and Fatigue to be carried conveniently.

A Bag does not increase the total Inventory limit beyond 10 slots. It represents where and how a character carries their equipment.

Without a suitable bag, fastening, horse, cart, or other assistance, carrying many items must still make sense within the situation in the world.

Additional Cargo

Horses, companions, carts, and other means of transport can carry their own Inventory.

Their capacity is determined by the relevant rules and does not increase the character's personal limit of 10 Inventory Slots.

Accessing Items

An item being in the Inventory does not mean it is always instantly accessible.

If an item is buried in a bag, tied to a saddle, or carried by a companion, the Warden accounts for this according to the situation.

Fatigue

Fatigue represents accumulated strain that takes up space in the Inventory and limits a character's options.

Each unit of Fatigue takes 1 Inventory Slot.

Fatigue can arise:

from prolonged deprivation of necessities;
as a result of certain dangers and events;
from using special abilities or applying other rules that explicitly require the character to gain Fatigue.

Fatigue is not a penalty to a roll and does not itself reduce Ability Scores.

If a character must gain Fatigue but has no free Inventory Slots, they must free a slot by leaving behind or discarding an item.

If all 10 slots are occupied by Fatigue, the character cannot voluntarily perform actions that require additional Fatigue. If a danger forces them to gain Fatigue, the Warden determines the consequences based on the situation and the rules for that danger.

Fatigue remains until the character can recover properly, for example after a safe night's rest.

While a character is Deprived, they cannot clear Fatigue from Inventory Slots.

Deprived

A character becomes Deprived when they lack a necessity, such as:

water;
food;
sleep or proper rest;
another essential requirement determined by the situation in the world.

While Deprived, a character cannot:

recover HP;
restore reduced Ability Scores;
clear Fatigue from Inventory Slots.

If they remain Deprived for more than a day, they gain 1 unit of Fatigue for each subsequent day.

A character is no longer Deprived once they regain access to what they need and have an opportunity to use it.

Removing the cause does not necessarily clear accumulated Fatigue immediately: recovery is still needed to free the corresponding slots.

Armor

Armor reduces incoming Damage before that Damage is applied to HP.

Subtract the target's current Armor value from the Damage roll, to a minimum of 0 Damage. Apply the remaining Damage to HP.

Shields and other protective items provide Armor only when the character actually wears, holds, or uses them as appropriate to the scene.

Some protective equipment may have additional properties listed in its description.

A character's total Armor cannot exceed 3.

Armor and Hit Protection serve different purposes:

Armor reduces the incoming Damage itself;
HP represents the character's ability to avoid actual injury after Armor has been taken into account.

Hit Protection

Hit Protection (HP) represents a character's ability to avoid actual injury in Combat. It is not a pool of health or a measure of physical endurance.

Incoming Damage reduces HP first. Losing HP can represent dodging, tiredness, losing balance, being poorly positioned, or another way of avoiding an actual wound.

Record current and maximum HP separately. The order for applying Damage is described below.

The conditions for recovering Hit Protection are given in Game Procedures.

Damage

After Armor is applied, Damage reduces HP first.

If Damage after Armor exceeds current HP, HP becomes 0 and the excess Damage reduces the character's STR.

If Damage reduces Strength (STR) to 0 or below, the character dies without a Check. Otherwise, after losing STR, the character immediately makes a Strength Check using the new score to avoid Critical Damage.

On a success, the character remains able to act, but their STR remains reduced.

Each subsequent instance of Damage that reduces STR follows the same procedure: at STR 0 or below, the character dies; otherwise, they make another Strength Check to avoid Critical Damage.

Critical Damage

If a character fails a STR Check after taking Damage, they suffer Critical Damage. Its combat consequences are set out in Combat.

A character suffering Critical Damage can no longer act normally. They can only crawl with difficulty and perform the simplest actions as they try to stay alive.

Another character can stabilize them by providing appropriate aid, such as bandaging their wounds.

If the character is not stabilized, they die within an hour.

Once the character is stabilized, Critical Damage no longer causes death by itself, but reduced Ability Scores and other consequences of the injury remain until the character recovers.

Ability Score Loss

Damage outside Combat can directly reduce an Ability Score. Physical harm usually reduces STR.

The consequences of an Ability Score falling to zero are as follows:

If STR falls to 0, the character dies;
if DEX falls to 0, the character is paralyzed;
if WIL falls to 0, the character becomes delirious and cannot act normally.

Reduced Ability Scores are usually restored after prolonged rest and suitable aid. Recovery requirements and times are given in Game Procedures.

In Brief

The Player describes the character's intent and approach.
The Warden provides obvious information and considers the Life Path, Experience, equipment, and current situation.
If the action is possible and its outcome is obvious, no roll is required.
If the outcome is dangerous and uncertain, make a Check using the appropriate Ability Score: STR, DEX, or WIL.
If the outcome depends on external chance rather than the character's abilities, the Die of Fate d6 can be used.
Armor reduces incoming Damage first; the remainder is applied to HP.
If Damage exceeds current HP, HP becomes 0, the excess reduces STR, and the character dies without a Check if STR is 0 or below. Otherwise, they make a Strength Check using the new score to avoid Critical Damage.
Fatigue takes up Inventory Slots, while being Deprived prevents recovery.
Record Inventory, states, and changes to Ability Scores on the character sheet.