One of the things that is missing in The Fantasy Trip is a simple set of rules for dealing with insanity. Here are some simple house rules that make a stab at guiding players and GMs on insanity (madness!), but keep things as simple as possible.
The Case for Insanity
Madness or insanity comes in many forms, and can have small or large impacts on game play. Whether you are playing the evil wizard who slides into madness because of his dabbling in the necromantic arts, the victim of trauma at the hands of a demon or just a warrior who has seen too many friends die bloody deaths–insanity adds color and roleplaying opportunities to any game.
(One important caution: It is an unfortunate fact that a large number of men and women in America have PTSD (and many other forms of mental illness). Please be sensitive to your group–other players may take offense at your roleplaying of an illness they live with every day).
In practical terms, madness will not be an issue in most games, simply because it takes a pretty dedicated roleplayer to go that far, except in small doses. Mostly it will be seen when an NPC is obviously insane or character is afflicted somehow by magic (such as the Madness spell) or as the victim of some creature.
Situations where insanity can be possible for a character include magical or demonic possession, encountering demonic or mind-blowing creatures (think: Cthulhu) or being the victim of some kind of madness spell. One additional situation is that of PTSD. In traditional fantasy stories or gaming, that is never brought up–warriors wade through seas of gore and go home to a sound sleep.
That is not realistic–but this is also a fantasy game. GMs may just decide not to deal with those effects in fantasy games, but maybe deal with it if playing in a science fiction setting where most people are not used to that level of violence. Your call.
A Simple Solution
No matter how it is implemented, insanity is not detailed in the rules of TFT. Here is a simple method for integrating insanity into TFT without going full-on GURPS. These rules are heavily borrowed from the Dragon Warriors game, but with some tweaks thrown in. I thought about using a form of Insanity Points, like Call of Cthulhu, but discarded that idea–I wanted to keep this as simple as I could.
When a character is in a situation where madness is possible, and the character fails any saving roll (usually 3d vs. IQ), the GM makes 2 dice rolls: one determines the severity of the affliction and the other determines the form.
Severity Table
Roll 3 dice to determine how severe the affliction is:
| 3-10 | Mild | The character suffers a mild form of the insanity once and recovers completely. |
| 11-15 | Intermittent | In any situation where the insanity may manifest itself, roll 1d. On a 6, it appears. |
| 16-18 | Acute | The form of insanity appears at all times. |
Insanity Form Table
Now roll 3 dice to determine the exact form the affliction takes:
| 3-4 | Catatonia | The character behaves as he normally would, but stands as if petrified. No actions can be taken during the attack. The circumstances that trigger the attack are known only to the GM, but should be related to the situation that inflicted the madness. |
| 5 | Paranoia | The character believes that one or more people or groups are out to get him. The character gets a -1 on all reaction rolls when dealing with the suspected people or groups. |
| 6 | Obsessive mania | The character has an obsessive-compulsive behavior. The focus of his obsession should be related to the situation that caused the madness, but could also be related to the exact opposite. The character may be forced to repeat actions, or become obsessed with daily rituals. This may earn him a -1 on reaction rolls. |
| 7-8 | Phobia | The character develops a strong fear of some object or situation. This should be related to the situation where the insanity was caused. |
| 9-11 | PTSD | The character has lingering effects due to highly traumatic events. This can take the form of anger and irritability, loss of sleep and lack of concentration. This can lead to a -1 on reaction rolls made during the attack, or -1 ST in fatigue and -1 on IQ-based rolls. |
| 12-13 | Hysteria | The character laughs uncontrollably. This can be at an awkward or even dangerous moment. The character can take no other actions during the attack. |
| 13 | Amnesia | The character loses memory of certain events, usually associated with the situation that inflicted the madness. The memory may or may not return. |
| 14 | Uncertainty | The character loses the ability to take decisive action. Even simple, obvious decisions become difficult, if not impossible. The character may not be able to decide between spells or weapons to use, which path to take or make any decision in similar circumstances. |
| 15 | Megalomania | The character becomes arrogant and overbearing. He believes he is better than everyone else, knows more, is of better birth, etc. He is particularly arrogant regarding anything that relates to the situation where he gained the madness. This leads to a -1 on all reaction rolls. |
| 16 | Multiple Personalities | The character develops one or more additional personalities. The GM and player must work out the details of the new personality, but it usually will be some form on “protector” of the main, original personality. |
| 17-18 | Psychotic Break | The character becomes a true psychopath during the attacks. He may stalk and kill people or creatures that somehow relate to the situation where he was afflicted with the insanity. This form of madness is particularly dark and dangerous, and must be worked out between the GM and player. |
How To Use This in The Fantasy Trip
The intent here is not to provide rigid rules for every possible situation of insanity, but rather a slightly more structured way of guiding the GM and player than just saying "roleplay it!" Use the dice rolls and results tables to provide a starting point for working an interesting story line into the game–do not be a slave to the dice rolls.
If the severity of the madness is acute, it will appear at all times–ignore any die rolls to see if it appears.
Once the madness is determined, though, it should be difficult to get rid of. About the only way to cure the madness is the IQ 19 spell Remove Curse or the IQ 15 spell Major Healing–or a Wish. Any character that struggles through his insanity and somehow fights his way back to sanity should get a heavy dose of experience points for it.
One final suggestion: don’t let any instance of insanity get in the way of having fun. Some forms can be light, but some forms can definitely be dark and bring the mood of the game down. Be careful, and be sensitive to your group. If that is what your group is playing, thematically–go for it. But it might not be for everyone. After all–we game to enjoy ourselves and escape from life for a bit, not to be reminded of the problems around us in daily life.
Marko ∞
(Originally published on inthelabyrinth.org, on 12/15/2017.)
