Stress

Sporebound are brought into an otherworldly war against forces they can’t fully comprehend.The Mycos seek union and symbiosis with humanity, but the human psyche’s natural responses to violence drive their Sporebound to separate themselves from other humans. As Stress accumulates, the Sporebound becomes more paranoid and more “about” fighting a literally eternal war against the Blue Blight. It is important to note that neither Sporebound nor Mycos want this to happen.

Mechanically, when the Sporebound performs violent acts, they need to do a Personal Tension Test. For each test they fail, gain 1 Stress. Consult the chart below to determine the Personal Tension Test’s Difficulty, adding the difficulty from each section together.

Intentionality
+0 Accidental
+1 Intentional, or acts of Negligence
+2 Needlessly Cruel

Severity
+0 Property damage or physical damage that can be recovered within a month.
+1 Maiming someone
+2 Killing Someone

Scope
+0 One Individual
+1 A small group of individuals.
+2 Systemic, or large scale acts of violence.

When you have more Stress than the total level of all Anchors, you become Broken. The war against the Blue Blight becomes an eternal war for you and paranoia rules your actions. At this point, you have two options: Succumb or Rehabilitation.

If you Succumb, notify the Storytellers. You may no longer pass tests related to anything except fighting against the Blue Blight, and you must follow orders given by the Colony Leader. You may finish out this session. Next session will be your last, as the Mycos sends you on a dangerous mission where survival is not expected. If you somehow survive, you will become a Mycosian Consumed (a Hilum) and retire to the Sporelands. Storytellers, let them go out with a bang! Do they have an idea of a Bloom of their own to found?

If you Rehabilitate, you begin a long process of healing. If you Refresh your hand in any fashion other than Recovering, you immediately Succumb. If you would gain while Stress, you instead take 2 Damage. You may refuse refreshments from Beseeching. You lose all Anchors and all Achievements on those Anchors. This is your life until you form at least two new Anchors and gain 1 Achievement with each of those Anchors. When you do, you are no longer Rehabilitating and clearing all Stress.