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Breathing

You breathe whatever air touches your face: the room's air, or your own suit's air once its helmet is sealed. Your air is checked whenever you move, whenever the room's air changes, and whenever your suit changes.

Too little oxygen, or too much carbon dioxide, and you suffocate: first short of breath, then confused, then unconscious, then dying. Thin air, like a mountain top, only leaves you short of breath. Good air brings you round.

Vacuum, or pressure too low to keep your blood from boiling, gives you about twelve seconds on bare skin before you black out, and a minute or two before you die.

The bends: your body soaks up nitrogen from ordinary air. Drop to a much lower pressure, say from ship air into a 30 kPa space suit, and it fizzes out in your joints. Breathe pure oxygen for a while first (prebreathe) to wash the nitrogen out; about half an hour is enough.

Unconscious people can't fight or use abilities.

See also: help effects, help space suits, help eva.