What are Traumatic Wounds?
Traumatic Wounds represent your character taking a large amount of damage, or being impacted by a particularly strong effect, be that physical, arcane, or spiritual. They are laminated pieces of paper in different colours, with the colour demonstrating the type of Traumatic Wound.
The cards themselves are mechanical objects, not roleplay objects; they are not physically ‘in’ the world of Concord. As such, they cannot be used in character to communicate the conditions of the Wound, nor to diagnose without in-character interaction; the communication of Wounds is done through the roleplay of that Wound.
Traumatic Wounds are held closed with velcro, with the Roleplay and Mechanical Effects of the Wound on the outside, and the Cure for the Wound on the inside. Traumatic Wounds can only be opened by characters with the applicable skills, detailed below.
Traumatic Wounds are given out at the discretion of the Concord Team as a tool to enable roleplay, provide content, and to represent the real consequences of actions undertaken at events. Typically, Traumatic Wounds are handed out at the end of a Conflux by members of the Concord Team to signify your character being seriously wounded, or being affected by arcane or divine powers. They can, however, be given through other forms as well, such as, but not limited to, crafting Potions, using Artifacts, reading Letters, or undertaking Ceremonies.
Traumatic Wounds come in three intensity levels, to represent the intensity of various injuries and ailments: Minor, Moderate, and Severe.
Some Traumatic Wounds, if left untreated, progress in intensity. Such Wounds will have a statement such as ‘Alert a member of the Story Team if you still have this Wound at the end of the event’ in the Mechanical Effects or Cure section.
What types of Traumatic Wounds are there?
There are seven types of Traumatic Wounds:
Physical Wounds
Physical Wounds represent those that impact the body of your character. They may stem from things such as having shrapnel from an arrow stuck in your torso, a mundane disease ravaging your immune system, or a blow to the head rendering you unconscious. Physical Wounds can come in Minor, Moderate, and Severe intensity.
Physical Wounds can be diagnosed and treated by those with the Surgeon skill, and are pink in colour. There is no designated diagnosis timer, but Surgeons should ensure that discovering Physical Wounds is given appropriate time and space as needed in the scene. It is possible for those with Minor Physical Wounds to hide their Wounds from Surgeons, opting not to provide their Traumatic Wound upon diagnosis, where appropriate. Moderate and Severe Physical Wounds cannot be hidden, unless the circumstance of the Wound allows.
An example of the outside and the inside of a Minor Physical Wound can be found below:
Spiritual Wounds
Spiritual Wounds represent those that impact the soul of your character. They may stem from things such as a possessor spirit attempting to control you, a shaking of your connection to The Spheres, or an event of massive emotional impact. Spiritual Wounds can come in Minor, Moderate, and Severe intensity.
Spiritual Wounds can be diagnosed and treated by those with the Divine Lore skill, and are yellow in colour. To diagnose a Spiritual Wound, one must call upon a Prayer to an Eternal, calling on the power of The Divine to detect Spiritual malady. This Prayer must take a minimum of 15 Seconds, and may only be cast on willing targets.
An example of the outside of a Minor Spiritual Wound can be found below:
Arcane Wounds
Arcane Wounds represent those that impact the innate magic of your character. They may stem from things such as being targeted by aggressive magic, overuse of your own magic, or being in close proximity to latent magical energies. Arcane Wounds can come in Minor, Moderate, and Severe intensity.
Arcane Wounds can be diagnosed through the casting of the Detect Magic spell, require the intervention of those with Magus skill to treat, and are blue in colour. Casting the Detect Magic spell follows all of the regular spellcasting rules, requiring the consent of the Wounded.
An example of the outside of a Minor Arcane Wound can be found below:
Physical/Spiritual Wounds
Physical/Spiritual Wounds represent those that impact the body and the soul of your character. They may stem from things such as violence in battle scarring you physically and emotionally, or your physical connection to The Spheres being impacted. Physical/Spiritual Wounds can come in Moderate and Severe intensity.
Physical/Spiritual Wounds can be diagnosed by those with the Surgeon skill and/or the Divine Lore skill, and often require both physical and spiritual intervention to be cured. They are orange in colour. An example of the outside of a Moderate Physical/Spiritual Wound can be found below:
Spiritual/Arcane Wounds
Spiritual/Arcane Wounds represent those that impact the soul and the magic of your character. They may stem from things such as a magical effect tampering with your connection to The Spheres, or the power of The Spheres impacting your ability to do magic. Spiritual/Arcane Wounds can come in Moderate and Severe intensity.
Spiritual/Arcane Wounds can be diagnosed by those with the Divine Lore skill and/or through the casting of the Detect Magic spell, and often require both spiritual and arcane intervention to be cured. They are green in colour. An example of the outside of a Moderate Spiritual/Arcane Wound can be found below:
Arcane/Physical Wounds
Arcane/Physical Wounds represent those that impact the magic and the body of your character. They may stem from things such as magical rituals manifesting physically, or your blood being infected with the arcane. Arcane/Physical Wounds can come in Moderate and Severe intensity.
Arcane/Physical Wounds can be diagnosed through the casting of the Detect Magic spell and/or those with the Surgeon skill, and often require both arcane and physical intervention to be cured. They are purple in colour. An example of the outside of a Moderate Arcane/Physical Wound can be found below:
Physical/Arcane/Spiritual Wounds
Physical/Arcane/Spiritual Wounds represent those that impact the body, magic, and soul of your character. Physical/Arcane/Spiritual Wounds can be diagnosed by those with the Surgeon skill, through the casting of the Detect Magic spell, and/or those with the Divine Lore skill. Physical/Arcane/Spiritual Wounds only come in Severe intensity, and are black in colour.
How are Traumatic Wounds diagnosed?
As stated above, the diagnosis of all Traumatic Wounds requires an individual with the applicable skill to engage in appropriate diagnostic roleplay with the ‘patient,’ based on the patient’s own roleplay.
As such, it is important that the diagnosis of Traumatic Wounds is done in character, and through in-character means, rather than based on the physical presence of the Wound cards - this allows the individual with the Wound an opportunity to play their character and react to their circumstance, providing them more fun, and allows those attempting to help them the chance to do the same.
For example:
- An individual with the Busted Knee Physical Wound may roleplay limping out of the portal, prompting a Surgeon to interact with them through doing a physical check up, and diagnosing the Wound.
- An individual with the Alone in the World Spiritual Wound may roleplay being despondent, being listless in conversations, or staying away from the Church, prompting a Priest to check in on their wellbeing through having a conversation, and diagnosing the Wound.
- An individual with the Tonguethief Arcane Wound may roleplay being silent, clutching at their throat, prompting a Mage with the Detect Magic spell to cast the spell upon the individual, diagnosing the Wound.
However, given the world of Concord and the mechanical nature of the Traumatic Wound cards, individuals may attempt to diagnose Wounds that are not applicable to their skills. This interaction is allowed and encouraged, however needs to be navigated in-character, rather than meta-gaming through knowledge of the card colours.
Some Wounds are more difficult to diagnose due to their Roleplay Effects - this is by design. A Surgeon, for example, would not necessarily be looking for individuals being sad or angry, but would immediately see someone clutching one of their arms, while a Mage may not pay attention to someone limping, but would take note of someone consuming more Crystal Mana than usual.
For example:
- An individual with the Alone in the World Spiritual Wound may roleplay being despondent, being listless in conversations, or staying away from the Church, prompting a Mage with the Detect Magic spell to cast it upon them. As they do not have the Divine Lore skill, they do not ‘see’ the Wound, nor diagnose it, and may then decide that this individual is simply being mopey, leaving it at that.
- An individual with the Tonguethief Arcane Wound may roleplay being silent, clutching at their throat, prompting a Surgeon to do a physical check in. As they have not cast the Detect Magic spell, they do not see a Wound, nor diagnose it. However, they may then choose to ask a Priest or Mage to check in on the character, as they know that something is happening to hamper the individual’s ability to speak.
Both of these responses are appropriate, as they take place entirely in character. Particularly in the case of Spiritual and Arcane Wounds, it is up to your character to decide whether another character is acting outside of their normal behaviour, and react accordingly. Some characters know each other better, and so know when another is acting out of sorts, while some may be more distant, and so take another as simply being churlish.