Health

Default value: 0 | Min value: -200 | Max value: 200

How does it increase? (Not a complete list)

• Slowly builds up to 0 if negative
• Taking the Gamma globulin shot‎
• By eating healthy food
• Certain mutations can boost health (for example, plant-like character standing barefoot on soil)

How does it decrease?

• Slowly decreases to 0 if positive
• Doing drugs, drinking certain alcohol, consuming junk food (especially sugary or salty) - if it's unhealthy in real life, it probably also is in DDA
• Certain mutations, bionics (especially leaky bionic), traits and diseases (parasites) can drastically lower health in the long-term

Effects

• Makes you cough heavily (4 sound), gives you itchy veins and body aches.
• Protects against common diseases
• Affects regeneration during sleep - doubles at 100, completely negates at -100 (for a character with no regeneration-related traits and mutations).
• Prevents bite wounds from turning into infected wounds
• Particularly strong effects (some addictions) can directly lower health directly, bypassing the usual mechanic (see below)

Inner mechanics

Internally health is handled as two different variables: health and health modifier. Most effects change the modifier, which is capped at -200 and 200. Modifier slowly, semi-randomly influences actual health, always one point up or down, weighted towards equalizing health and modifier. Each time this change triggers modifier is multiplied by 3/4.

The actual health value is used for effects of health. Modifier doesn't directly influence any value other than health.

As a result, regularly consuming foods that have a positive health value in small quantities will work much better than health binges and occasional drug abuse will only result in serious health problems if it causes harmful addiction. Effects of bad health might not be noticeable until it is too late, when bad health stops all natural regeneration. Recovering from -100 health to 0 can easily take 4 weeks.

After sleeping you get an incharacter reference to your health value, it contains a hint on how bad or good you are feeling. Using the Self-Aware mutation you can see your current health level. Using the [ mutations menu.