At a basic level, a character needs to eat, sleep, and drink. Eating and drinking are not handled or tracked separately, and a character with access to food is assumed to have access to hydration.
Nutrients
A character must eat at least a certain amount of food per day. This certain amount is called a "ration". A ration may represent a wide variety of foods and/or drinks. It may be heavy, bulky, light, perishable, or tasteless, but it represents enough food to reimburse the calories a character used for a day. Every 3 days a character goes without eating causes them to gain a level of Starvation. Each level of Starvation applies a −1 penalty to d20 rolls. If a character reaches 10 levels of Starvation, they die. Each day a character eats at least a ration of food removes 1 level of Starvation. Eating more than 1 ration in a day or eating a luxury meal doubles HP regeneration for the next rest.
There are two types of rations: stable and perishable. A stable ration does not decay and can be kept indefinitely until eaten, while a perishable ration must be consumed within 4 days or spoil and become inedible. Some rations must be prepared in order to be eaten, for example grain be prepared into a porridge, or meat cooked. Preparing a meal can be done in two ways: sautéing, which requires a fire, a mess kit, and a tenth of a flask of cooking fat, or stewing, which requires a fire, a mess kit, and an iron pot. Stable rations include: canned food, soldier's rations, jerky or cured meat, dry grain, dry beans, preserves, and dried spices. Perishable rations include: fresh fruit or vegetables, fresh meat, poultry or seafood, animal bones, edible fungi, and fresh spices.
Sleep
A character must sleep at least 6 hours per day to avoid exhaustion. Every day a character goes without sleeping causes them to gain a level of Exhaustion. Each level of Exhaustion applies a −1 penalty to d20 rolls. This penalty can stack with penalties from Starvation. If a character reaches 10 levels of Exhaustion, they die. Each day a character sleeps at least 6 hours removes 1 level of Exhaustion.
Rests
Sleeping for at least 6 hours classifies as a Rest, which allows a character to recouperate. On a Rest, a character can regain lost HP and Focus. A character regains 1 HP and 1 Focus (if applicable) and removes 1 level of Exhaustion (if applicable) per rest. A character with any levels of Exhaustion or Starvation does not recover HP or Focus on a rest.
Equipment Maintenance
Blades dull and rust from blood, and black powder and corrosive primers eat away at rifling. Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you, or ignore maintenance at your own hazard. All weapons must be cared for, but some are more involved than others. "Use" in these cases means any use that could introduce rust-causing agents to the weapon (eg. blood, black powder fouling).
Bladed weapons must be cleaned (washed and wiped dry) within a day of use or else become rusty. A rusty weapon suffers a −1 to damage. Rust can scraped off with steel wool or a whetstone. Bladed weapons also must be kept sharp. A bladed weapon becomes dull after a week of moderate usage without sharpening. A dull weapon suffers a −1 to damage. A dull weapon can be re-sharpened on a whetstone. To sharpen, you must wet the whetstone with either cooking fat or kerosene. A flask of either will last for 10 sharpenings.
Blunt metal weapons and metal armour must be cleaned (washed and wiped dry) within a day of use or else become rusty. A rusty weapon suffers a −1 to damage. A rusty armour piece suffers a −1 to all damage thresholds (minimum of 0). Rust can scraped off with steel wool or a whetstone.
Firearms must be cleaned thoroughly within a day of use or else become rusty. A rusty firearm suffers a −1 to to-hit bonus for each day rust is left in the weapon (to a maximum of −10). For every 7 days a firearm is left uncleaned, the firearm suffers a permanent −1 to to-hit bonus which cannot be remedied by cleaning. Surface rust (less than 7 days) can be cleaned off with the brass brushes in a firearm maintenance kit. Cleaning a firearm requires the use of a firearm maintenance kit and kerosene. A flask of kerosene will last for 10 cleanings.
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