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 implausi-
ble 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 geome-
try 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 pos-
sible, it should also be related to the
victim’s existing mental traits! Traits
acquired this way reduce the victim’s
point value.
4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then
recover automatically.
6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every
second after that, roll vs. unmodi-
fied 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 humil-
iating.
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 sec-
onds 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 min-
utes. 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 scream-
ing, 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. 130).
23 – Acquire a -10-point Phobia
(p. 148) 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 men-
tal disadvantage, as per 23.
28 – Light coma. You fall uncon-
scious, rolling vs. HT every 30 min-
utes 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 con-
trol; 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 disadvan-
tage 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.
The complete combat system occupies three
chapters. This chapter contains the core com-
bat rules. Chapter 12 adds rules for playing
combatants begin maneuvering for tacti-
cal advantage. The GM may also use these
rules to resolve “action” situations such as
chases and tournaments.