Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6094856" data-attributes="member: 336">It does and can happen to "hardened adventurers", or maybe real life soldiers are not "hardened" enough.  Combat & Operational Stress Reaction (COSR),  in the past referred to as battle shock and one of the precursors to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), presents psychological and physical stressors that if continued over time can lead to death.  If stress persists too long, it can cause physical and mental illnesses. Extreme stress with hopelessness can even result in rapid death, either due to sympathetic nervous system overstimulation (such as stroke or heart attack) or due to sympathetic nervous system shutdown (not simply exhaustion). An individual giving up can literally stop the heart from beating.So yes, in combat conditions the stressors are sufficiently there and it is actually possible to die from "shock" even with no actual physical injuries.  Some of the symptoms such as disorientation, fatigue, and hyperventilation can even precipitate the cascading failure of other systems by reducing oxygen levels and impacting the body at the cellular level.  I know it's not "heroic" enough but dying from a single save, or die effect is not heroic either, and it still happens. People shouldn't die from such a trivial thing as a bee sting, but it's obvious that it is serious enough, and some people do.  I agree that "hardened adventurers" should probably not die from "shock", but in an abstract system of HP, there is no reason to assume that none do.  In the same manner that it's not reasonable to assume that some can't be brought back from the brink by calming them down and relieving the stressors, or inspiring them.  One of the PTSD manuals that I've looked through even notes that a capable small unit commander can serve to inspire his troops and relieve/reduce these stressors by imparting confidence in them and their capabilities.  You don't think that all that screaming that happens in boot camp is simply for the drill instructors benefit, do you?  No it's training to impart confidence that the recruit can overcome the stress.  So when he has a real stressor he can feel confident that he can overcome it, and others like his commander can also make him feel confident that he can overcome them.The mind is a very unusual thing, in combat it's even more unusual.  Treat it lightly at your own risk.</blockquote>

Verification