The nature of adventuring exposes characters to Bad Things. There are endless opportunities for characters to die from poison or drowning or vehicular mayhem or falling from a great height. Most likely, though, the damage comes from combat, so we'll start with that.
The Damage Divisor
On a successful hit in combat, or any similar damaging situation, divide the Difference by the victim’s current core dice + EN(+Size). The result is how much damage the character has taken – in dice. This is often referred to as the Damage Divisor.
By default, all damage reduces the core dice.
RCM’s and guest stars, however, can elect to lose points from Stats instead. For physical damage, they can elect to lose from any physical ability (ST, DX or EN). No ability can be reduced below –3. Once all of the abilities are at –3, they have no choice but to lose base dice.
This is the exclusive privilege of RCM’s and G*’s. Extras lose Dice – and that’s it.
It should be noted that damage assigned to Stats heals more slowly than regular Core Dice damage.
Knock-out Blows
If a character takes more than half of his current Dice in a single blow, that is a Knock-Out blow (often abbreviated KO) . This can also result in a broken limb, disarm, or similar consequence as the attacker (presumably - or whomever had the highest roll) so chooses. If knocked unconscious, that effect will last for 1 minute per dice of damage done OR until some suitably dramatic moment.
Mortal Blows
If a character takes his Dice or more in damage, and does not die (presumably because the player assigned damage to Stats), he has received a Mortal Blow. A mortal blow has all the consequences of a Knock-out (above) plus loss of one dice in a relevant stat permanently, meaning it will not heal normally. The affected player can choose this stat.
The Grace Period
The Grace Period (or GP) is the basic unit of measurement for exhaustion and damage. It is calculated as core dice+6. (So 10 for most RCM's). For physical tasks or damage, this is further modified by Endurance. For mental tasks or damage, this is modified by Willpower. For emotional tasks or damage, this is modified by Maturity. Size is not a factor when calculating the GP.
Do not confuse it with the Damage Divisor (above).
Types of Physical Damage