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The referee should wipe the boxer's gloves, get the boxer's attention. Look into their eyes. Are they looking right back at you? -- Assoc. of Boxing Commissions & Combative Sports Referee Manual[1]

Stun is a state that where one must Do Nothing until they pass some form of attribute check. Typically, physical stuns require a Health (HT) check (roll at or under your HT), while mental stuns require a Intelligence (IQ) check, once per turn (that is, once per second).

Types of Stun[]

"Or, as I call them, "Oof, Huh, and Eek" -- Cherrio

  • A physical stun can result from major wounds (including crippling injuries) or Afflictions that fail a HT check. It forces Do Nothing maneuvers and ends when a HT check is passed.
    • Failing a HT check by 5 or more (or any critical failure) causes Unconsciousness![2]
  • A mental Stun is a variation which happens when surprised, and requires IQ checks to break out of instead, but is otherwise similar.
  • A fright stun is similar to a mental stun, but requires a Will roll to break out of it.[3] See Fright Checks for more details.

What To Do When Stunned[]

  • Remember to roll your check to escape (HT, IQ, Will, see above)
  • You can still make active defenses (such as dodges, parries and blocks), but at -4[4]
  • You can still maintain a grapple (in a Quick Contest of ST) while stunned, although you're at -4. Likewise, if you're attempting to Break Free of a grapple, your opponent would be at -4 if they're stunned[5] (for instance, an ally bonks your opponent on the head with a lamp).
  • There doesn't appear to be any language preventing someone from completing their turn if they were injured mid-turn, such as Hurting Yourself or punching a Spines opponent and having an Extra Attack
  • There doesn't appear to be any language preventing someone with Compartmentalized Mind from having a Concentrate atop their mandatory Do Nothing

Animal IQ[]

B393 notes that animals or other groups with IQ 5 or less are exempt from the automative -2 to initiative that applies to totally leaderless sides.

The mental stun resulting from Total Surprise takes a long time for low-IQ creatures to break out of if they lack the +6 bonus from Combat Reflexes, leading some to posit ideas like floating this toll to Will or Perception to make it easier for these creatures to break free from.

Advantages[]

Disadvantages[]

  • Good Morning..? -- Mental stuns caused by waking up
    • Light Sleepers wake up easily, but are likely to be mentally stunned at first
    • Sleepwalkers might be mentally stunned if woken up (by a character or an obstacle)
  • Combat Paralysis can cause mental stunning during combat (although oddly enough, it uses HT to recover). See page for details.
  • Confused is not stunning--you just have trouble making a decision. You still defend normally and can even counterattack if need be.
  • Low Pain Threshold is pretty punishing

See Also[]

  1. โ†‘ Revision 7/2022, p.7, seen here
  2. โ†‘ Basic Set, p.420
  3. โ†‘ Basic Set, p.360
  4. โ†‘ Basic Set, p.420
  5. โ†‘ Basic Set, p.371
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