Persistent rules interpretation

Conan: Adventures In an Age Undreamed Of
1

I was re-reading the description for Persistent.

So before I get there I will look at Incendiary as they are similar effects. Incendiary sets the target ablaze for a number of rounds equal to the effects rolled on the damage. At the end of the targets turn they suffer an additional Xcd damage, effects increase the number of rounds the target is set ablaze, but the damage is only applied once per turn.

Persistent says the target suffers Xcd at the start of each subsequent turn. This lasts for as many rounds as effects are rolled and new effects rolled add additional rounds. I haven’t used persistent a whole lot, if ever, but wanted some feedback on how I am interpreting that rule, see below, where I am inflicting the persistent damage multiple times in a round.

So. We have our heroic adventurer bob fighting against 3 scorpions.

Round 1
Bob attacks and kills the first scorpion.
The second scorpion hits Bob and does Persistent 1, with 2 effects rolled, so it lasts for 2 rounds.
The this scorpion attacks, this is the start of a subsequent turn. Bob takes 1 more damage from the persistent. This scorpion misses.

Round 2
Bob attacks, the start of a subsequent turn, bob takes another damage, but an effect is rolled and so the persistent duration increases by a round. Bob kills the next scorpion
Final Scorpion attacks and again this is the start of a subsequent turn and so Bob takes another 1cd of damage from the persistent effect.

2

From the book:

Persistent X
The attack has a lingering, deleterious effect. If one or more
Effects are rolled, the target will suffer X§ damage at the
start of each subsequent turn for a number of rounds equal
to the number of Effects rolled. Each effect rolled on the
ongoing damage adds one additional round of duration. This
condition can be avoided entirely at the time it is inflicted by
adding a number of points to Doom equal to the number of
Effects rolled; after this, it can only be removed by waiting
for the duration to end or by taking the Clear action.

Your increasing of the duration based on additional effects rolled is accurate. Poison untreated can be extremely deadly to any character. It isn’t that difficult for the pcs to deal with it but if they don’t it can quickly end their adventuring career.

3

@Rouroni More directly do you apply the damage to it multiple times in a round, or once like it is described under Incendiary.

The rules seem to indicate to me that it’s multiple times in a round.

4

I have always read it, meaning the start each subsequent turn of the person effected. So once per round.

5

I agree with Jolly. When using persistent I only apply the damage once per round. Applying it multiple times per round just feels unfair to the players but it also would work in reverse when they inevitably decide to utilize things with persistent effects.