a few questions for anyone who's like to answer:

1. Do spells add a stress die (or any kind of advantage) to their damage modifier (a couple specify a simple die but most say nothing) as a 'source of damage' like fire and falling or is their damage a combat total like weapon damage. This would mean that a hapless peasant (whose soak is also fixed) who was the target of a pilum of fire from two magi would suffer exactly the same result from each?

2. Fatigue in Combat. I know you can exert yourself to deliberately attack or defend but what about other fatigue loss in combat. The rules say that fatigue is lost from engaging in strenuous activites like combat but don't say anything about how often you might have to roll Fatigue for combat. Some editions ago it was everytime you changed opponent or something loose like that. What do people think?

thanks

(1) Usually spells - other than PeCo, PeAn and such - add a stress die to damage stated as +X. See p.116.
Exceptions should be stated in the spell description.

(2) IMO rolling fatigue at a change of opponent just added a boring thing to keep track of to combat. The idea of exerting oneself for some in-combat benefit is certainly more dramatic, hence better suited to a storytelling game.

Kind regards,

Berengar

AM5 Page 116, many spells list damage as +X, which means stress die +X. PeCo and PeAn spells don't cause +X damage. Instead they cause direct Wounds depending upon the level of the spell, or just kill that target or destroy aspects of the target.

Fatigue in combat I think has been much improved, the idea that they spend a fatigue level to improve their attack or defense is a great idea. Other than that I'd have fatigue acrue two other ways in a battle. Botches would be a great way to add fatigue, as well as when they simply rolling a 0 on an attack or defense, in such a situation I'd give them a achance to avoid it with a Sta+Ath-Enc roll, though if they actually botched, losing a fatigue level or two automatically is a decent price for a low botch (they already get a 0 for whatever they were ttempting, which in combat can be very bad). Any fight that lasts 10+ rds I'd also have them make the fatigue roll, and keep rolling every 2 rounds, with an increasing difficulty.

"... but would you have no mandatory loss of fatigue or fatigue rolls in combat?"

Not me, for sure. I even forgot to have my players roll for fatigue loss in ArM4- combat most of the time: they just kept me too busy with their ideas.

Kind regards,

Berengar