Last time I talked about the preferences system and how activities affect people differently depending on their likes and dislikes. Today I'd like to talk about status conditions, which stack on top of preferences to create even more powerful feelings.
There are broadly two categories of status conditions:
1. Very low probability but high-damage or permanent changes like arthritis.
2. High probability but temporary changes like getting agitated or getting a hangover.
All conditions have a set of preferences. For example, if you get the agitated condition you'll have a stronger dislike for working or authority but be more receptive to caffeine or alcohol.
An agitated person's dislike for work means their fun would fall faster than normal while working.
On the other hand, someone who might normally dislike alcohol would gain more fun from drinking at the bar while in an agitated state.
This leaves you with a choice - do I force the character to work through the pain and then use alcohol to recover their fun? Or avoid alcohol and accept the penalties that come with having a negative fun need? Or skip work altogether and hope the performance hit doesn't get them fired?
Every status condition will come with its own set of changes that you will have to consider.
How are status conditions gained?
Status conditions are gained or lost at the start of every month and there are a number of sources.
If your fun need goes negative, the risk of gaining the agitated condition starts to increase. If your fun need goes beyond the maximum, the risk decreases.
Some actions can also change the risk of conditions appearing. A run in the park will increase the risk of gaining a body smell, while a shower will reduce it.
Finally, you can gain conditions simply from getting older. Every month that passes increases your risk of things like arthritis or diabetes. Certain activities might increase these risks as well (e.g overeating can lead to diabetes) but everyone has a small chance to randomly gain these conditions over time.
I was planning to talk about how you can mitigate these risks but this is already getting too long, so until next time thanks for reading!