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Originally Posted by Nightshade

Probably true, but at that point I'm not sure why a round-to-round tally is worth the bother.

I think mostly becuase it is very, very easy. I'd say easier than most other fatigue systems. Probably not that useful, but easy.
IMO, fatigue isn't as big a deal as (over)encumberance.

Originally Posted by Nightshade

Well, as I recall, by RQ3 that shouldn't have been much of an issue any more; most spells had a duration long enough that if you cast them in combat, even a long combat was _very_ unlikely to last long enough for them to wear off. Even Spirit Magic typically lasted 5 minutes/25 melee rounds, after all. You might occasionally see one of those wear off. The 10 minute sorcery spells or 15 minute divine spells on the other hand, where pretty much "forever" if cast after the actual start of a battle.

I thought that too. Problem was, with a 5 minute duration, characters could cast spells before moving into position. For instance, tossing up some bladesharp and protection before sneaking up under silence. In play, the 2 minute/ten round thing was easier for us.

Originally Posted by Nightshade

That's mostly the tact that RQ: AIG took, and it had the best handling of this issue I've seen to date. It was theoretically possible to pass out in a fight from fatigue, but it virtually would have required that you were already almost exhausted when you got into it, or some magical process had made you so.

It's a solid method. A few games use fatigue levels, and that works out okay, too. Doing something strenuous requires a test, and the more strenuous the more difficult or often the test.

I also liked the way the James Bond RPG handled it. You got so many minutes of activity, based on stats, and then you were exhausted and suppered a penalty (about 1/2) to rolls. In extreme cases (like in the outback on a hit day) exterion counted at a faster than normal rate.

Originally Posted by Nightshade

I think that's a seperate process and a bit disconnected from fatigue issues, though.

Not entirely. A wounded person should tire faster than a healthy one. So an injury penalty would seem appropriate. Likewise someone who is exhausted is more likely to pass out from an injury, and vice versa. The bit in all those army movies where one person gets injured during a hike and can't keep up is true. Even something like a broken arm will cause people to tire faster. Injury is probably at least as significant as encumbrance.