When you have exceeded your wounds, is that when wounds become "critical"? The book sets rates for healing critical wounds, but how are they counted?
If I've already taken a critical wound,and take another, is t calculated differently? Does location matter?
When you have exceeded your wounds, is that when wounds become "critical"?
Yes.
The book sets rates for healing critical wounds, but how are they counted?
Eh.. How to answer...
If a character has sustained any Critical Wounds, then he's considered Critically wounded.
When the character is has recovered from all Critical Wounds, then he is no longer considered Critically Wounded, but will normally be considered Heavily Wounded instead. Once he has recovered from being Heavily Wounded, he will be Lightly Wounded.
You can find the particulars on p.211 in the Core Rules.
EDIT: Derp! Missed half your questions.
Critical Damage stacks, so if your character has suffered 2 points of Critical Damage to his arm already, and suffers another 2 points of damage to his body, the new injury will be a Critical Damage 4 effect to the body location. And for the purposes of healing, the character is considered to have 4 Critical Wounds.
How that answers all your questions
Basically, you don't stop subtracting wounds at 0, you keep going into the negatives.
Have 3 wounds, and take 5 damage? You're now at -2. Take another hit for 3? You're now at -5.
Negative wounds are considered Critical Damage, and every time you take a hit which leaves you "in the red" so to speak, you also suffer a Critical Effect. These become lethal at around 7 IIRC.
Got it
Do critical wounds stack overall or by location? For example if I take 2 critical to the body, then another 5 to the head, do I look up 7 on the head chart or 5?
Whoops - ignore last ?
Got it
Do critical wounds stack overall or by location? For example if I take 2 critical to the body, then another 5 to the head, do I look up 7 on the head chart or 5?
They stack overall, so in your example you'd look up 7 on the crit chart.