Terror and Fear Checks.

by **doomedelf** Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:30 pm

Terror

p. B93, P86
30 points + 10 points per -1 to Fright Check
You can unhinge the minds of others. There are many way this effect can manifest: a chilling howl,mind-warping body geometry, or even divine awe or unbearable beauty. When you activate this ability, anyone who sees you or hears you (choose one when you buy this trait) must roll an immediate Fright Check (see Fright Checks, p. 360).
Modifiers: All applicable modifiers under Fright Check Modifiers (B. 360). You can buy extra penalties to this Fright Check for 10 points per -1 to the roll. Your victims get +1 per Fright Check after the first within 24 hours.
If a victim succeeds at his Fright Check, he will be unaffected by your Terror for one hour. Add the Melee Attack limitation (p. B112) if your Terror affects only those you touch.

A few entities provoke strong reactions other than fear. Gods and angels induce awe, while weird extradimensional creatures cause mind-boggling confusion. At the GM’s option, Awe and Confusion are separate advantages. Use the rules for Terror, but Fright Checks become “Awe Checks” or “Confusion Checks.” All the rules for Fright Checks apply to these rolls, including modifiers for advantages and disadvantages (see p. B360). The only difference is that failures go to the Awe and Confusion Check Table (p. P85).

Alternatives

An attack that causes the victim to halt in his tracks is an Affliction (p. P39), often with an enhancement such as Daze, Ecstasy, or Hallucinating. To exercise more subtle control over a victim’s emotions, use Mind Control (p. P61) – possibly with the Emotion Control enhancement.

Special Enhancements

Godlike beings often have the “irresistible attack” level of Cosmic (p. B103). Victims get no benefit from advantages such as Fearlessness and Unfazeable (unless those traits are Cosmic), and suffer their tormentor’s choice of Awe, Confusion, or Terror if they fail their Fright Check.
Active: Your Terror doesn’t affect everyone nearby – it’s a direct mental attack on one victim. Your target must be within 10 yards (modified by Increased or Reduced Range), and able to see or hear you. You must take a Concentrate maneuver to affect him. Roll a Quick Contest of Will with your subject. He’s at -1 for each -1 to Fright Checks you bought. If you win, roll 3d for the result, as usual, but add your margin of victory instead of his mar- gin of failure. +0%.
Presence: Your physical presence within 10 yards is enough to cause Fright Checks, even if your victims can neither see you nor hear you. You could be locked in a coffin and still terrify those who stray too close. Each level of Area Effect doubles your radius, but the GM should consider forbidding huge areas. +25%.

Special Limitations

Always On: You cannot turn off your Terror to engage in normal social activities. This limitation often accompanies the extreme levels of Appearance – usually Hideous or worse, but possibly also Transcendent! -20%.

Fear Checks

A Fright Check is a Will roll made to resist fear. Fright Checks can occur as often or as rarely as the GM wishes. In a horror campaign where ordinary people meet shockingly gruesome Things, Fright Checks might be very common! With only minor adaptation, the GM can use these rules for awe, confusion, etc. as well as fear. As a general rule, “ordinary” frightening things do not require Fright Checks. Fright Checks are for events so unusual and terrifying that they might stun or even permanently scar someone. What counts as “ordinary” depends on the characters and the setting. This is one place where a character story can be helpful! An ordinary, 21st-century American might have to make Fright Checks for encounters with monsters, dead bodies, and the supernatural. A battle-hardened commando in the same game might not have to roll for dead bodies. And in a fantasy campaign, all these things may be quite normal . . . threatening, but normal. On the other hand, a fantasy character might have to make a Fright Check if transported to the 21st century and given a ride down the interstate . . .

Fright Check Modifiers

The following modifiers are cumulative.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Any Fearlessness bonus or Fearfulness penalty; +2 for Combat Reflexes, or -2 for Combat Paralysis.
Other modifiers are conditional: -1 to -4 for Cowardice when your physical safety is at risk; +1 for Daredevil when charging into a scary situation; +1 for Higher Purpose when confronting threats you are sworn to oppose; +1 to +4 for Xenophilia when confronting monsters. Unfazeable characters don’t make Fright Checks!
Bodies: +6 for a peace full looking body, prepared for burial; +2 for a dead body with no signs of violence; no modifier for most victims of violence; and from -1 to -3 for grisly mutilations. Apply another -6 if the victim was your Dependent!
Heat of Battle: +5 if you are in combat when the terrifying thing happens or you first notice it.
Monsters: A given monster might give a basic -1 to -10 to Fright Checks. For hordes of monsters, roll at -1 for 5 monsters, -2 for 10, -3 for 20, -4 for 50, and -5 for 100 or more.
Physical Circumstances: -1 if the body, monster, etc. touches you; +1 if you witness it at a great distance (at least 100 yards); or +3 if you view it remotely (using Clairsentience, closed-circuit TV, etc.). Apply -1 if the area is physically isolated, -1 at night or in the dark (or in daylight, if you’re a night-dweller!), and -2 if you are (or think you are) alone.
Preparation: +1 if you have previous personal experience with this kind of threat; +1 per exposure to this particular threat in 24 hours; +1 to +3 (depending on the quality of the report) if you learned the details of this particular situation before you witnessed it.

The Rule of 14

If final, modified Will exceeds 13, reduce it to 13 for the purpose of the Fright Check. This means that a roll of 14 or more is automatically a failure. This rule does not apply to other Will rolls (resistance rolls, rolls to avoid distraction, etc.) – only to Fright Checks.

Fright Check Table

When you fail a Fright Check, roll 3d, add your margin of failure on the Fright Check, and consult the table below. This sometimes gives implausible results. The GM should either reroll these or change them to some- thing more appropriate – especially for Fright Checks stemming from awe (e.g., divine beauty) or mind-warping complexity (e.g., otherworldly geometry or radical philosophical concepts) instead of fear. Many of these results give a new mental quirk or disadvantage. The GM assigns this trait, which must be related to the frightening event. If possible, it should also be related to the victim’s existing mental traits! Traits acquired this way reduce the victim’s point value.

by **doomedelf** Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:41 pm

Fright Check Table:

Fright Check Table

4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then recover automatically.
6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every second after that, roll vs. unmodified Will to snap out of it.
8, 9 – Stunned for one second. Every second after that, roll vs. Will, plus whatever bonuses or penalties you had on your original roll, to snap out of it.
10 – Stunned for 1d seconds. Every second after that, roll vs. modified Will, as above, to snap out of it.
11 – Stunned for 2d seconds. Every second after that, roll vs. modified Will, as above, to snap out of it.
12 – Lose your lunch. Treat this as retching for (25 - HT) seconds, and then roll vs. HT each second to recover; see Incapacitating Conditions (p. 428). Depending on the circumstances, this may be merely inconvenient, or humiliating.
13 – Acquire a new mental quirk (see Quirks, p. 162). This is the only way to acquire more than five quirks.
14, 15 – Lose 1d FP, and take 1d seconds of stunning as per 10.
16 – Stunned for 1d seconds, as per 10, and acquire a new quirk, as per 13.
17 – Faint for 1d minutes, then roll vs. HT each minute to recover.
18 – Faint as above, and roll vs. HT immediately. On a failed roll, take 1 HP of injury as you collapse.
19 – Severe faint, lasting for 2d minutes. Roll vs. HT each minute to recover. Take 1 HP of injury.
20 – Faint bordering on shock, lasting for 4d minutes. Also, lose 1d FP.
21 – Panic. You run around screaming, sit down and cry, or do some- thing else equally pointless for 1d minutes. At the end of that time, roll vs. unmodified Will once per minute to snap out of it.
22 – Acquire a -10-point Delusion (p. B130).
23 – Acquire a -10-point Phobia (p. B148) or other -10-point mental disadvantage.
24 – Major physical effect, set by GM: hair turns white, age five years overnight, go partially deaf, etc. In game terms, acquire -15 points worth of physical disadvantages (for this purpose, each year of age counts as -3 points).
25 – If you already have a Phobia or other mental disadvantage that is logically related to the frightening incident, your self-control number becomes one step worse. If not, or if your self-control number is already 6, add a new -10-point Phobia or other -10-point mental disadvantage.
26 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, and acquire a new -10-point Delusion, as per 22.
27 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, and acquire a new -10-point mental disadvantage, as per 23.
28 – Light coma. You fall unconscious, rolling vs. HT every 30 minutes to recover. For 6 hours after you come to, all skill rolls and attribute checks are at -2.
29 – Coma. As above, but you are unconscious for 1d hours. Then roll vs. HT. If the roll fails, remain in a coma for another 1d hours, and so on.
30 – Catatonia. Stare into space for 1d days. Then roll vs. HT. On a failed roll, remain catatonic for another 1d days, and so on. If you have no medical care, lose 1 HP the first day, 2 the second, and so on. If you survive and awaken, all skill rolls and attribute checks are at -2 for as many days as the catatonia lasted.
31 – Seizure. You lose control of your body and fall to the ground in a fit lasting 1d minutes and costing 1d FP. Also, roll vs. HT. On a failure, take 1d of injury. On a critical failure, you also lose 1 HT permanently.
32 – Stricken. You fall to the ground, taking 2d of injury in the form of a mild heart attack or stroke.
33 – Total panic. You are out of control; you might do anything (the GM rolls 3d: the higher the roll, the more useless your reaction). For instance, you might jump off a cliff to avoid the monster. If you survive your first reaction, roll vs. Will to come out of the panic. If you fail, the GM rolls for another panic reaction, and so on!
34 – Acquire a -15-point Delusion (p. 130).
35 – Acquire a -15-point Phobia (p. 148) or other mental disadvantage worth -15 points.
36 – Severe physical effect, as per 24, but equivalent to -20 points of physical disadvantages.
37 – Severe physical effect, as per 24, but equivalent to -30 points of physical disadvantages.
38 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point Delusion, as per 34.
39 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point Phobia or other -15-point mental disadvantage, as per 35.
40+ – As 39, above, but victim also loses 1 point of IQ permanently. This automatically reduces all IQ- based skills, including magic spells, by 1.

by **doomedelf** Fri Aug 19, 2016 3:50 pm

Awe and Confusion Check Table

When you fail an Awe or Confusion Check, roll 3d, add your margin of failure on the Check, and consult the table below. Many entries give different outcomes for Awe and Confusion – read carefully. If new quirks or disadvantages result, the GM chooses these traits, which should suit the circumstances of the Check.

Awe and Confusion Check Table:

4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then recover automatically.
6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every second after that, roll vs. Will to snap out of it.
8, 9 – Stunned for 1d seconds. Every second after that, roll vs. Will to snap out of it.
10, 11 – Stunned for 2d seconds. Every second after that, roll vs. Will to snap out of it.
12, 13 – Awe causes (25 - Will) seconds of ecstasy. Confusion causes (25 - IQ) seconds of daze. See Incapacitating Conditions (p. B428). After that time, roll vs. Will each second to recover.
14, 15 – Acquire a new mental quirk. Awe inspires quirks that reflect admiration. Confusion leads to quirks that suggest bafflement or perplexity.
16 – Stunned for 1d seconds, as per 8, and acquire a new quirk, as per 14.
17, 18 – Awe causes 1d minutes of ecstasy. Confusion causes 1d minutes of hallucinating. See Incapacitating Conditions (p. B428). After that time, roll vs. Will each minute to recover.
19 – As 17, but effects last 2d minutes.
20 – As 17, but effects last 4d minutes.
21 – Awe causes you to worship at the feet of the one who awed you – you must obey his every command as if you had Slave Mentality! Confusion causes you to hallucinate (the GM specifies the details, which should fit the situation); you can try to act, but you’re out of touch with reality and at -5 on all success rolls. Either lasts 3d minutes; then roll vs. Will once per minute to snap out of it.
22, 23 – Acquire a -10-point mental disadvantage. Awe might impel you to adopt one of your new idol’s self-imposed mental disadvantages (see p. B121) out of solidarity, turn you into his servant (Reprogrammable), or make you feel inferior (Low Self-Image). Confusion “blows your mind,” most likely resulting in one of Confused (12), Delusion (Major), Indecisive (12), or Short Attention Span (12).
24, 25 – As 22, except that if you already have a -5 to -10-point disadvantage that could result from Awe or Confusion, it worsens to a -15-point trait!
26, 27 – Experience 1d minutes of ecstasy or hallucinating, as per 17, and acquire a new -10-point disadvantage, as per 22.[/b]
28, 29 – Experience 2d minutes of ecstasy or hallucinating, as per 19, and acquire a new -10- point disadvantage, as per 22.
[/b]
30, 31 – Experience 4d minutes of ecstasy or hallucinating, as per 20, and acquire a new -10- point disadvantage, as per 22.
32, 33 – Awe overcomes you. You immediately collapse in a helpless, ecstatic fit that lasts 1d minutes and costs 1d FP. After that time, roll vs. Will each minute to recover. Any critical failure costs you 1 Will permanently. Confusion drives you completely mad. You might do anything! The GM rolls 3d – the high- er the roll, the more dangerous the action. For instance, you might believe you can fly and leap to your doom. Should you survive your first reaction, roll vs. Will to recover. If you fail, the GM rolls for another insane action, and so on.
34, 35 – As 22, but the disadvantage is worth -15 points. Awe usually results in Fanaticism – either for the one who awed you or his cause. Confusion tends to cause Confused (9), Delusion (Severe), Indecisive (9), On the Edge (12), or Short Attention Span (9).
36 – As 22, but the disadvantage is worth -20 points.
37 – As 22, but the disadvantage is worth -30 points. To make up -30 points, the GM may have to select more than one trait.
38 – Experience 1d minutes of ecstasy or hallucinating, as per 17, and acquire a new -15-point disadvantage, as per 34.
39 – Experience 2d minutes of ecstasy or hallucinating, as per 19, and acquire a new -20-point disadvantage, as per 36.
40+ – As 39, but Awe costs you 1 point of Will and Confusion robs you of 1 point of IQ. These losses are permanent!

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Terror and Fear Checks.