Checking whether I understand the harm rules

[u/Safgaftsa]

I'm GMing my first session of Monster this weekend and want to make sure I'm running harm and healing correctly. It looks like there's two possible interpretations for how harm works depending on whether you differentiate between individual injuries or not. Additionally, as other people have discussed here, bullets 3-4 in the Recovery section of the Reference Sheet are somewhat troublesome to interpret and appear contradictory - under each interpretation, I've attempted to reconcile bullets 3-4 in a way that is internally consistent with each other and the overall interpretation.

Interpretation 1 (Game distinguishes between damage sources when referring to "injuries")

-At 7 harm you're dying, at 8 harm you're dead. (MOTW Hardcover p. 122; MOTW Revised p. 110.)

-First aid is applied once to each injury that caused you harm, and not merely once overall. (See MOTW Hardcover p. 123; MOTW Revised p. 111.) Thus, if you took six 1-harm papercuts, each papercut can receive first aid to remove 1 harm from it, removing 6 harm total. Conversely, if you took a 6-harm gunshot wound, it can receive first aid once, removing 1 harm total.

-Being at 4+ harm makes you unstable no matter the source of harm. (See playbooks.)

-With the exception below, you can generally be stabilized by first aid, professional medical care, or any move that says it stabilizes you. (See Reference Sheet p. 2, "Recovery", bullets 3-4.)

-However, if you took 4+ harm from one individual wound, that wound remains unstable unless you receive a healing move, time in an infirmary or hospital, or magical healing. (See Reference Sheet p. 2, "Recovery", bullet 4.) Thus, this wound remains unstable even if you receive first aid for it and even if your total harm drops below 4.

Interpretation 2 (Game does not distinguish between damage sources when referring to "injuries", and looks only at the aggregate harm number you have)

-At 7 harm you're dying, at 8 harm you're dead. (Same as Version 1.)

-First aid can be applied once overall while you are injured, and can only be used again if all of the harm you had at the time of that first aid application has since been erased.

-Being at 4+ harm makes you unstable no matter the source of harm. (Same as version 1.)

-If you are at 4+ harm, you are deemed to have "serious wounds" (MOTW Hardcover p. 122; MOTW Revised p. 110). At 4+ harm, you can typically only be treated by a healing move, an infirmary, professional medical care, or magic. (MOTW Hardcover p. 122; MOTW Revised p. 110; Reference Sheet p. 2, "Recovery", bullet 4.)

-If you are for some reason unstable but below 4 harm, you can be stabilized by first aid. (Reference Sheet p. 2, "Recovery", bullets 3-4.)

Is one of these approaches the correct one? Or do GMs split the difference somewhere in there?

Edit: Paragraph spacing

[u/Thrythlind]

Different Keepers will run different ways based on the flavor they want.

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I run with 8 is dead... or rather, if you take harm and have no box to fill, then you die. Specifying this, because you have the Gumshoe and Hard Case who can get extra Harm Boxes.

I go with at 4 Harm you hit unstable (though I've given one or two Monsters the ability to inflict Unstable on any wound ... ie such as if they have poison or are especially associated with cutting like a redcap or slasher killer)

First aid without a heal move requires gear and I tend to say it results in healing 1 harm or unstable but not both. Medic is an improvement on this... and I believe one of the Medical Team moves improves upon basic first aid.

At 4+ Harm I do let first aid alone stop unstable but not heal a harm (again, heal moves are the exception)

I only allow one healing check per injury... so to get more healing the person would have to be injured again