Status: Sanity

In the next couple of sessions I am going to start implementing a more intensive sanity system.  I have a few ideas on how I am going to do it but I have not pegged down everything.  One of the main things i am looking at is a reactionary roll that consist of players rolling 2d12.  A roll under one's sanity represents a healthy and normal reaction while rolling above represents a severe fright or mental break.

Any other ideas on the topic will help flesh out the experimental Ability Score.

or you can make it like an actual stat. like str, dex,int... this way we can have a modifier so if my sanity is 20 that's a plus 3 (or whatever it is I forget) so when we role a sanity role we add our modifier to it. this way it stay true to this game style. I believe you said that sanity is your two lowest mental stats divided by two so an average person who all tens would have a ten mental stat. sounds fare to me. let me know what you think

Random wrote:or you can make it like an actual stat. like str, dex,int... this way we can have a modifier so if my sanity is 20 that's a plus 3 (or whatever it is I forget) so when we role a sanity role we add our modifier to it. this way it stay true to this game style. I believe you said that sanity is your two lowest mental stats divided by two so an average person who all tens would have a ten mental stat. sounds fare to me. let me know what you think

That can work but as an ability score it would need to be subject to the same rigors of the other six including deducting from character points and I don't want that. Though it would open the door for new skills that are San(Sanity) based. Food for thought.

but now that I think about it. sanity should be all 3 dived by 3 this way it involes all 3 your charisma is low then you would start to look crazy, if int is low then you think crazy and if wiz is low you start to act crazy. and how you act depends on your lowest stat. lem can just look to see there charater sheet and go ok so you start to act like darnell and so and so.

no because you can say no you cant take away from this its not an actual stat it just works like one. you need the other mental stats to make this one anyway. so if they take away from the int then there taking half away from there sanity anyways. and you give them this stat after they make there character anyways.

With my original idea i actually have the insanity charts from Cthulu d20 and a failure earns a role on the insanity chart and aptly a lot of the results are... well, crazy.

The player should be a factor in this.

If he/she is actually scared...then it affects the role.

Also, if the player should be scared and is acting all tough shit then maybe it should play a factor.

(in)Sanity is a mental state. The mood of the session or location or ..... should have a reaction.

Or you can use it like a saving through??

Leetin McBeatin wrote:The player should be a factor in this.

If he/she is actually scared...then it affects the role.

Also, if the player should be scared and is acting all tough shit then maybe it should play a factor.

(in)Sanity is a mental state. The mood of the session or location or ..... should have a reaction.

Or you can use it like a saving through??

I would love for a player to have a say in the mental well being of their character but in my experience it is rare for players to demonstrate that kind of commitment to the game. Players like to explain that yeah their character might be scared but they are capable of making hard and rational decisions. I life some people are capable of such things but many people aren't. Since this is an aspect that most are not willing to play it has to be taken out of their hands. Let the dice decide the random results based on a number constantly under attack by the fright around them.

Chaos' Plague wrote:

Leetin McBeatin wrote:The player should be a factor in this.

If he/she is actually scared...then it affects the role.

Also, if the player should be scared and is acting all tough shit then maybe it should play a factor.

(in)Sanity is a mental state. The mood of the session or location or ..... should have a reaction.

Or you can use it like a saving through??

I would love for a player to have a say in the mental well being of their character but in my experience it is rare for players to demonstrate that kind of commitment to the game.  Players like to explain that yeah their character might be scared but they are capable of making hard and rational decisions.  I life some people are capable of such things but many people aren't.  Since this is an aspect that most are not willing to play it has to be taken out of their hands.  Let the dice decide the random results based on a number constantly under attack by the fright around them.

i dont want to agree but bubbly is right. People cant get that personal when time is divided so many times.

Thank you, Pat.

I recomend you follow something like Vampire does with Humanity. It is hard to keep the higher poits as you are like a walking saint but the lower points harder to lose as you at the level of a mass murder or animal at these points.

Ie to keep a Sanity of 50 you must lot even litter as has you know you are hurting naruter but by sanity 5 you have no problem talking to and killing the voices in your head let alone others around you.

Of caurse you need to set the range on that your self on what number represent what. If you document it it can even help the players know how they should be acting based off thier score.

That was an option I thought about but it comes from the Storytelling system where the players are leaned on more heavily for RPing. In this system with these players I am becoming more convinced that Sanity should be more like something deplete-able like HP or EP. It is like pulling teeth to get players to talk to each other and to keep assholes from killing each other for no reason. To expect them to rp is starting to look like too much.

Personally I think you should do something like the fumble chart. Certain events could cause a D(x) of sanity. Every time you lose sanity you should have a temporary status effect inflicted. As far as current sanity, there should be a chart. Like if you lose 25% sanity, you might get a minus to some stat, like attack something. Or you might even have a harder time telling friend from foe (say when an ally fumble hits you). Or maybe instead of hitting an ally or falling down on a 1, the character perceives the person who he's attacking has such great skill over them that they suffer from the fear effect. Just some thoughts.

Yea,  how about an option to temporarily loose Sanity for "x" turns.


You get the great Octisludge of 100 eyes and you "fumble", now 1 or 2 sanity is lost, but also you loose 10 teo sanity.....Now how does the player act?

No, like you said....it will be used as an excuse to do something really stupid or PC kill..

The chart I am using is d20 based and has reactions for low sanity, medium sanity, and high sanity.

Ahh , structure.

It gives the players something concrete to complain about.