Looking at the Suffocation rules on page 269, it looks like there isn't a way for someone to die through strangulation alone.

The rules (paraphrased): A suffocating character suffers fatigue each round, but specifically does not suffer critical strikes from those wounds. If the character is Unconscious at the start of a turn in which they're suffocating, then they make a check to avoid death. But while fatigue can give a character the Incapacitated condition, an Incapacitated character only becomes Unconscious if they suffer a critical strike (which suffocation explicitly does not do).

Seems like there's an oversight here. Maybe the suffocation rules meant to specify Incapacitated rather than Unconscious? Has anyone run into this in a game, and if so, how did you run it?

I presume that you're either meant to be in a fight, and suffer suffocation from a spell or other effect, whereupon your enemy will quickly end you or you're in a narrative scene, where if you are suffocating, get incapacitated and there's no one to help you, you simply die.

But it does seem like a mechanical oversight, unless it's meant to be used as torture...

1 hour ago, Myrion said:

you're in a narrative scene, where if you are suffocating, get incapacitated and there's no one to help you, you simply die. 

Or you wake up later somewhere else. Suffocation is likely more intended for things like smoke and drowning.

Strangulation is likely better covered by multiple rounds of Immobilizing attacks with a Snaring weapon such as punches (representing choking someone out) or a homebrew garrote wire.

let's read it:

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At the beginning of each of their turns, a character who is suffocating receives 2 fatigue and 2 strife. The character does not suffer critical strikes for wounds suffered this way. At the beginning of each of the character’s turns while they are suffocating, if they are suffering the Unconscious condition, they must resist with a TN 3 Fitness (Earth) check; if the character fails, they perish.

So, once unconscious, they must save-or-die. but there's no way (barring damage) to go from incapacitated to unconscious without outside damage sources.

It needs an erratum.

I can see several ways to fix it, but have no idea which...

so I've fired off a rules question on it through the customer support rules questions page.

Yeah, that makes sense. That would also explain why it's not simply a condition or placed elsewhere in the books. It's to be used for hazards.

13 hours ago, AK_Aramis said:

So, once unconscious, they must save-or-die. but there's no way (barring damage) to go from incapacitated to unconscious without outside damage sources.

As an observation, though, 'turns' only exist within conflict scenes, which presupposes the presence of an 'enemy'.

I guess you could have a very strange intrigue whilst drowning ( Octopus-Sama denies your petition! ), but by and large a conflict scene whilst suffocating means a skirmish, maybe a duel.

Or a custom Conflict scene of the "human versus nature" variation, where Suffocation is one of environmental hazards to defeat.

Got an answer:

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On Nov 7, 2018, at 13:15, Max Brooke <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi William,

Good question.

Suffocation's third sentence should read "At the beginning of each of the character's turns while they are suffocating, if they are suffering the Incapacitated condition, they must resist with a TN 4 Fitness check (Earth 3, Fire 6) ; if the character fails, they perish."

This will be addressed in a future errata and updates.

I hope that this helps!

--

Max Brooke

RPG & Miniatures Developer

Awesome! Way to get results! Thanks a bunch!