Injured Limbs, Lost Abilities
Hurt legs can't run, hurt hands can't aim: where you're hit decides what you can do.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Planning · Risk
No.122Kenshi01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01A body part is hurt
- 02Linked abilities drop
- 03Adjust roles or tactics
- 04Heal or replace the limb
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
The squad's shooter has a badly hurt right arm, accuracy −40%.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
Move him to guard duty and bring a melee fighter forward.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
Front-line firepower drops, but the shooter is back to 80% in three days.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
Save up for a bionic arm to solve it for good.
How it plays
Damage lands on specific parts, each tied to abilities: legs for movement, hands for manipulation. Severe damage can disable or sever a part, requiring long recovery or artificial replacement.
What the player weighs
- Keep the injured working or bench them
- Wait to heal or pay for a prosthetic
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Kenshi
Limbs and torso have separate health; limbs can be crippled or severed and replaced with robotic ones of varying quality, sometimes better than the original.
RimWorld
Damaged parts reduce capacities such as moving and manipulation, and missing parts can be replaced with peg legs, prosthetics or bionics.
The difference worth noticing
In Kenshi a lost limb is often a power upgrade path; in RimWorld it is a colony burden managed with medicine and resources.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Feed limb injuries into cover and flanking: a leg-hurt unit cannot dash between cover, so teammates must flank to protect them.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Stop the Bleeding
A wound is bleeding out the clock; use whatever is at hand.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Take a bleeding wound
- 02Break from danger
- 03Bandage with cloth
- 04Change or treat later
Juggling Survival Needs
Hunger, thirst, cold and fatigue all drain at once; you can only fix one at a time.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Read every need meter
- 02Pick the most urgent one
- 03Spend time and supplies on it
- 04Others slide meanwhile
Planning Around Sleep
You must sleep when tired, but the world keeps moving while you do.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Activity builds fatigue
- 02Find a safe place
- 03Choose how long to sleep
- 04Wake to a changed world