Stress is a resource PCs can tap to even the odds & get out of trouble. However, taking too much stress puts them at risk of experiencing trauma.

This section will cover…

Taking Stress

Every PC has a pool of stress. On a job, PCs can take stress to even the odds & get out of tight situations.

Stress is what makes the PCs on the crew the main characters. Normal people (NPCs) must take difficult situations as-is, but PCs can tap stress to swing situations in their favor.

PCs can mark…

1 stress to assist a crewmate.
1 stress
1-2 stress to flash back.
1-2 stress to use a special ability that calls for it.
2 stress to push themselves.
6 stress to resist a consequence, minus the highest result of a resistance roll. </aside>

Assisting

Teamwork

Flashbacks

Special Abilities

Pushing

Resisting Consequences

Maxing Out Stress

Every PC has 9 boxes of stress. When someone marks their 9th box of stress, 2 things happen:

They are out of action until the next downtime.
They take a new trauma (see below).

“Out of action” means the PC is no longer an active participant in the current job. They could be…

Present, but too exhausted or overwhelmed to act.
Unconscious, either left behind or carried by their crewmates.
Captured by the crew’s opponents.
Trapped somewhere the rest of the crew can’t recover them.
Forced to retreat to safety.
Alive but unable to act in some other way.

Even if a PC maxes out, they can’t exceed 9 stress. If you only have 1 unmarked box of stress, you can’t max out to do something that takes 2 stress.

Clearing Stress

To clear stress, PCs can relax when they have downtime.

To relax and clear stress:

Say what activity the PC does to blow off stress. This can be a brief description, or a longer freeform RP scene.
Make a fortune roll. The GM can pick a relevant stat for the roll, based on the activity.
Read the single highest result:
- 6 means the PC relaxes without any problems.
- 1-5 means the PC’s relaxation triggers some immediate or future trouble.
Clear all marked stress. </aside>

As mentioned above, a brief description of where the PC goes & what they do to relax is enough to clear stress.

However, if there’s time, downtime relaxation is a great opportunity for a roleplaying scene. This is a chance to dig into who a PC is outside a high-stakes job. What are their interests & hobbies? How do they act differently in their everyday life? What are their relationships, and how do those grow & change from job to job?

As a bonus, downtime RP can net a player xp for expressing beliefs, drives, or background and/or dealing with traumas or personal flaws.

Notes on relaxing & clearing stress:

Relaxation scenes don’t have to be solo. In fact, downtime relaxation is great for building crew relationships outside a job. A PC can invite others’ to their relaxation activity. Or, multiple PCs can do the same relaxation activity.
Stress always fully clears after a relaxation activity. This happens regardless of how the fortune roll goes.
On a 1-5, the GM can opt to not immediately say what trouble occurs. Ideally, relaxation trouble is related to the PC’s activity, but it doesn’t have to be. The GM can “hold” the trouble as a complication for later.
Relaxation trouble is a narrative consequence. It shouldn’t deplete resources or punish the player for relaxing. </aside>

Trauma

A trauma is a permanent condition that affects a PC’s behavior. PCs gain a trauma when they max out their stress on a job.

Traumas are roleplaying prompts. They’re meant to affect how a Player plays their character. RPing 1 or more traumas in a session grants 1 xp at the end of the session.

Traumas include:

Cold – emotionally distant & unmoved by human feeling.
Haunted – plagued by disturbing memories & visions.
Obsessed – hyper-focused on a specific person or thing.
Paranoid – untrusting, constantly alert to unseen dangers.
Reckless – prone to risks that don’t help you or the crew, impulsive.
Soft – too passive or sensitive to take decisive or difficult actions.
Unstable – emotionally volatile; easily moved to anger, despair, etc.
Vicious – moved to hurt others for no reason.

A player can only circle each trauma once. Every time a PC maxes out their stress, they must take a new one.

A PC can only take 4 traumas. When they circle their 4th trauma, they are permanently out of the game. Usually, this means retiring to a less stressful life.

Notes on stress:

Players can’t mark stress on fortune rolls, except to pay for making a fortune roll in a flashback. (Players can’t assist, use special abilities, push, or resist on fortune rolls – hence, no stress). </aside>

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