“The other one flinches, and you haven’t heard anything yet.”
When a companion falls down a pit, knocks against an edge or suffers a hazard of the environment, the others see it. Their figure jolts for an instant, as if the body shrank in on itself. It is what wanderers call a blow between survivors. It decides nothing, it only warns.
What it is and what it isn’t
The flinch is only what you see. It does not change what the other one is carrying, or how much health they lose, or what they can do afterward. The real damage takes its own course and the jolt only mirrors it. If two survivors hit each other, the damage happens as usual and the tremor goes along with it.
What it looks like
A brief jolt, of about 0.3 seconds. The back is thrown gently backward and returns to its place. You can see it in the whole body, from far away, before the sound of the blow arrives.
How it behaves
- Only someone who takes real damage jolts. If a wound heals or its state is corrected without anyone having hit them, there is no jolt.
- Several blows in quick succession can merge into a single jolt. For a warning, that is enough.
- Someone who joins the group after it has happened does not see false jolts from earlier, only what happens from the moment they are present.
- The Skinstealer does not follow this rule. If you see its body flinch, it is something else.
How to use it
If someone in your group flinches and you haven’t heard anything, look around before you ask. Whatever hit them may be within reach of both of you. Look at their body afterward too: the wounds will tell you more than the tremor.
What people say
- It’s often said that the flinch changes depending on where the blow comes from. The archive has only seen the same gesture, whichever direction it comes from.
- Some believe a severe blow jolts harder and for longer. This has not been confirmed.