damage
During this game, your hero is in constant mortal peril. Whether they live or die, win or lose, depends on their physical vitality and combat readiness. The hearts on the right side of your hero's portrait card represent their physical health. The shields on the left side of the portrait card represent their defense readiness.
Different heroes have different health scores reflecting their individual toughness, but all have a maximum of five defense.
At the start of the game, you should begin with maximum health and 0 defense.
If you gain defense points, move your defense slider accordingly. Defense represents your hero's readiness to defend themself from damage whether by assuming a defensive posture, hiding, or casting a protective spell. It functions like a buffer that soaks up damage they would have taken if they weren't ready.
Whenever your hero takes damage, first move down the defense points accordingly. If there are no defense points available, move the slider on the health side accordingly.
Knocked-Out, Dead, or Game Over
If you are reduced to 0 HP (or less) during combat you are knocked unconscious and must move your HP slider to the KO heart on your hero's portrait card. You can't take any more turns while knocked-out, but not all hope is lost. Another hero may yet revive you with a potion or an ability. Alternatively, if any single hero survives the encounter, all knocked-out heroes return to consciousness and regain 1 HP.
Most monsters, will stop attacking you and move on to the next hero if you become knocked-out. However, if for some reason your hero takes any more damage after becoming knocked-out, your hero dies. Also certain traps may kill your hero instantly. Move the health tracker to the skull and crossbones, but don't despair. Death isn't necessarily the end. Another hero may be able to return your hero to life.
But keep in mind, If all the heroes become either knocked-out, dead, or petrified (or any combination of the three) at the same time, the game is lost. Better luck next time.
Raising the dead
Fallen heroes may be brought back to life by healing them. However, they can initially only be healed 1 HP to knocked-out regardless of how many health would have been restored to a living hero. Once they've been brought back to unconscious, however, they may then be healed a second time as they would normally.