Cold Damage

Cold damage can happen if the body temperature gets too low, if cold substances freeze parts of the body, or if wind chill does a combination of both.

For lowering body temperatures, the damage occurs as the body gets colder, regardless of the source of the temperature drop. It only takes a few degrees’ drop for the body to start being affected. The following information is based on a human scale, but of course some species operate differently, such as frostlings (immune to cold), undines (resistant), or ka’ar (weak to).

Drop	Stun	Wound
-3 degrees	2	0
-6 degrees	4	1
-9 degrees	6	3
-12 degrees	8	5
-15 degrees	10	7
-18 degrees	12	9
-21 degrees	14	11
-24 degrees	16	13
-27 degrees	18	15
-30 degrees	20	17
-33 degrees	22	19

Stun with hypothermia manifests first as drowsiness, then unconsciousness. Wound manifest as internal damage from cooling of systems that should not be so cooled. As the temperature drops, the damage escalates. Up to -9 degrees, damage results in shivering, increased blood pressure, quicker breathing, minor liver dysfunction, and possible hypoglycemia. After -9 degrees, new symptoms will include amnesia, confusion, slurred speech, slowed reflexes, and reduced dexterity. After -16, pulse and respiration begin to fail, the victim hallucinates, their skin puffs up, and they stop shivering. At this point, paradoxical undressing or terminal burrowing may occur. After a -20 drop, the person will almost certainly die without extreme efforts.

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Frostbite

Frostbite can occur in temperatures as high as 32 degrees. The main factors are temperature, wind chill, coverage, and time. As wind chill lowers temps, the chart below shows the total temp after wind chill is factored in, and it assumes absolute no coverage:

Temperature	Time till frostbite risk	Stun	Wound
32	1 hour	-6	4
-67	1 minute	3	12
-54	2 minutes	1	10
-97	3 seconds	13	22
-40	5 minutes	0	8
-95	6 seconds	11	20
-92	9 seconds	9	18
-18	10 minutes	-1	6
-87	15 seconds	7	16
15	30 minutes	-3	5
-80	30 seconds	5	14
-100	Instant	15	24

With coverage (i.e., adequate clothing and warm gear), these numbers drop dramatically. Only the parts that aren’t covered will be subjected to the damage. Unless the chest or head are fully uncovered, stun is always -12 lower than listed. Wound rolls from the same numbers, but if it does not affect the brain, chest, or abdomen, it will not kill.

Part	Tie	NF	SF	EF	CF
Finger/toe	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Hand/foot	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Leg/arm	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Midsection	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Ears	Pain (NW)	Deafness	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Nose	Pain (NW)	Olfactory damage	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Eyes	Pain (NW)	Eye damage	Blindness	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Tongue	Pain (NW)	Numbness (communication difficulties and tasting loss)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Elbows/knees	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	More severe stat loss
Neck	Pain (NW)	Stiffness (-1 ATH)	Permanent damage (stat loss)	Loss of body part (stat loss)	Death
Chest	Pain (NW)	Breathing passage damage (Endurance penalties)	Lung damage	Death	Death
Abdomen/belly	Pain (NW)	Temporary organ damage (Temporary stat loss)	Permanent organ damage (permanent constitution loss)	Death	Death
Head	Pain (NW)	Migraine (Stun/DW)	Brain damage (permanent AWA loss)	Death	Death

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Cold Water

Cold water has its own dangers. Even at above-freezing temperatures, it can cause cold damage. Prolonged exposure even to cool waters can cause damage to a body. Symptoms include itching, pain, numbness, color change, swelling, maceration, blistering, infections, and rotting.

This chart assumes no protection and complete submersion.

Temperature	Time till damage	Stun per time period	Wound per time period
61	5 hours	.05	.025
56	3 hours	.1	.05
52	1 hour	.25	.075
49	45 minutes	.4	.1
46	30 minutes	.5	.25
44	20 minutes	.6	.5
42	15 minutes	.75	.6
40	12 minutes	1	.75
38	9 minutes	1.25	1
36	7 minutes	1.5	1.25
34	6 minutes	1.75	1.5
33	5 minutes	2	1.75

For partial submersion, treat it like frostbite.