The cumulative toll of neglecting basic survival needs — not eating, not drinking, and not resting properly. Exhaustion stacks, and each stack makes it progressively harder to function. 6 stacks is lethal.
Effects (per stack)
Stacks Effect 1 -1 🎯 Accuracy, -1 Evasion 2 -2 🎯 Accuracy, -2 Evasion 3 -3 🎯 Accuracy, -3 Evasion, healing from all sources is halved 4 -4 🎯 Accuracy, -4 Evasion, healing halved, -2 ⚡ AP 5 -5 🎯 Accuracy, -5 Evasion, healing halved, -4 ⚡ AP, Disadvantage on all Tests 6+ 💀 Death — your body gives out Removal
- Completing a 🏕 Long Rest with food and drink removes 2 stacks
- Completing a 🏕 Short Rest with food and drink removes 1 stack
- Certain medical treatments, chems, or special items may remove additional stacks at the GM’s discretion
Gaining Exhaustion
You gain 1 stack of Exhaustion when:
- You complete a 🏕 Long Rest without eating
- You complete a 🏕 Long Rest without drinking
- You go 24 hours without any rest (no Long Rest or Short Rest)
These can stack independently — a character who doesn’t eat AND doesn’t drink during a Long Rest gains 2 stacks (one for no food, one for no drink).
Eating or drinking harmful consumables (irradiated food, polluted water) does prevent the Exhaustion stack from hunger or thirst. The side effects of the bad food are separate from Exhaustion.
Choosing a Rest Activity other than Sleep does not cause Exhaustion.
You still ate, drank, and rested — you completed the 🏕 Long Rest, so no stack is gained. Repairing, crafting, reading, scavenging, providing care, and standing Lookout are all safe. What you give up is the Recovery upgrade (1d8 instead of 1d20) and the ability to mend your own injuries, not your health over time.
Removing Exhaustion
Exhaustion stacks are removed by properly resting and eating:
- Completing a 🏕 Long Rest with food and drink removes 2 stacks of Exhaustion
- Completing a 🏕 Short Rest with food and drink removes 1 stack of Exhaustion
- Certain medical treatments, chems, or special items may remove additional stacks at the GM’s discretion
Exhaustion cannot be removed faster than 2 stacks per Long Rest under normal circumstances. A character at 4 stacks needs at least 2 full Long Rests with proper nutrition to fully recover.