When an attack successfully connects or an event occurs that might damage a character, a damage roll must be made to determine the severity of the injury. Damage rolls are at Difficulty 6. With firearms and missile weapons, the number of successes is added to the damage dice pool. Most dice penalties are not subtracted from the damage dice pool, which cannot be reduced below one except by a soak roll. 1s rolled on a damage roll do not subtract successes as normal, but are instead ignored. The backgrounds Hands of Death, Lethal Accuracy, and Precision Striking may grant automatic successes on these rolls.
Damage comes in three flavors: Bashing, Lethal, and Aggravated.
Bashing
Bashing Damage is typically dealt by bare hands or blunt wooden weapons. (However, an attacker with Strength 4 or above using a blunt wooden weapon may choose to inflict Lethal Damage.) Falls, collisions, impacts, and some poisons and diseases can also deal Bashing Damage.
Lethal
Lethal Damage is typically dealt by sharp weapons, guns, long falls, and other lethal weapons or events, including some poisons and diseases.
Aggravated
Aggravated Damage is dealt by magic, fire, molten slag, high-voltage power cables, many supernatural creatures, and some toxins and venoms. Supernatural beings are typically more vulnerable to Aggravated Damage.
Soak
Bashing Damage can be soaked with Stamina. Armor, but not Stamina, can soak Lethal and some types of Aggravated Damage.
To soak Bashing Damage, roll Stamina + Armor at Difficulty 6. To soak Lethal Damage, roll Armor at Difficulty 6. 1's are not subtracted from successes. Each success subtracts one level of damage.
The successes gained on the soak roll are subtracted from the successes gained on the damage roll. The difference is applied to the target as damage to his or her health.
A character who suffers 4 levels of Lethal or Aggravated Damage from a single attack may suffer permanent injury or maiming, depending on the nature of the wound.
