Modified Madness: Same Sanity Rules, Different Dice

[TK Nyarlathotep]

Hey all,

So I had a thought.

In my opinion, sanity loss becomes just a little too swingy once you go higher than 1d10. To help alleviate this a bit, I've decided to try an experiment where, instead of 1d100 and the potential for the players to lose only 1 or otherwise negligible amounts of sanity, I'm gonna try increasing the number of dice the way one would with damage. So instead of witnessing a great old one and taking 1d10/1d100, they take 1d10/10d10, for a potential minimum number of 10 Sanity loss right there on the spot if they fail. It will take a bit longer to count, but I see it as a worthy risk for maximizing the impact of a truly terrible being. No escape into "Well, I might roll well". Just madness and despair.

What do you lot think? Good idea? Bad idea? Other ideas?

Edited October 3, 2016 by TK_Nyarlathotep

[EricW]

Reading the encounter between the crew of The Vigilant and Cthulhu, while most of the crew were killed by violence, died of fright, or went hopelessly insane, Johansen was able to act rationally. He went into shock after the encounter, but he retained his sanity, albeit with horrible memories of the encounter. So I think there is a case for allowing a small chance for players to somehow hang onto their senses no matter how horrific the encounter. 

http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thecallofcthulhu.htm

Three men were swept up by the flabby claws before anybody turned. God rest them, if there be any rest in the universe. They were Donovan, Guerrera, and Angstrom. Parker slipped as the other three were plunging frenziedly over endless vistas of green-crusted rock to the boat, and Johansen swears he was swallowed up by an angle of masonry which shouldn't have been there; an angle which was acute, but behaved as if it were obtuse. So only Briden and Johansen reached the boat, and pulled desperately for the Alert as the mountainous monstrosity flopped down the slimy stones and hesitated, floundering at the edge of the water.

 

But Johansen had not given out yet. Knowing that the Thing could surely overtake the Alert until steam was fully up, he resolved on a desperate chance; and, setting the engine for full speed, ran lightning-like on deck and reversed the wheel. There was a mighty eddying and foaming in the noisome brine, and as the steam mounted higher and higher the brave Norwegian drove his vessel head on against the pursuing jelly which rose above the unclean froth like the stern of a daemon galleon. The awful squid-head with writhing feelers came nearly up to the bowsprit of the sturdy yacht, but johansen drove on relentlessly. There was a bursting as of an exploding bladder, a slushy nastiness as of a cloven sunfish, a stench as of a thousand opened graves, and a sound that the chronicler could not put on paper. For an instant the ship was befouled by an acrid and blinding green cloud, and then there was only a venomous seething astern; where - God in heaven! - the scattered plasticity of that nameless sky-spawn was nebulously recombining in its hateful original form, whilst its distance widened every second as the Alert gained impetus from its mounting steam.

 

[TK Nyarlathotep]

That's actually a fairly good point. Perhaps rely on the players to affect their trauma, instead of their stats - accepting they make it out alive. My players are due for a date with Shubby without anything like a boat or any tricks to fight back - they should be allowed to survive if they get lucky enough to do so. Thanks for the feedback!

[MJ Sadique]

Change the dice is very good idea but the lost for an ancient should FEEL DANGEROUS. You can let them lose full SAN for each D10 roll but give them the choice to lesser the loss. - Choose your poison XD -

-Cthulhu Pulp give the choice For X pts to lose, to spend X Luck pts and then only lose half SAN. ( D10 giving -10 could become -5 SAN, -10 Luck)

-Cthulhu Gardian book (v7 French ed.) give Points of Aplomb, can act as

1. Shield for sanity lost : 5 aplomb = each SAN loss minus 5 pts. ( D10 giving -7 could become -2, any roll at 5 or less is ignored)
2. Upgrade any quality test except Sanity Loss (You can ignore this part of the rule).

-An old Basic rule is to get average score instead of rolling the dice... a "fully look at Cthulhu" D100 become -50 SAN.

-A vital tie compagnon (don't know the english offical term) who can help getting some sanity back (usually +1D6). (D6 roll a 3 lesser each D10 of 3 pts)

Another way to deal with madness is to upgrade them : Instead of getting a newer one you can upgrade them. They start at -1D and get one dice more by upgrade : A player with -3D Madness will have -3D at all actions if exposed to the subject of his madness.

The loss of sanity will not feel to strong and be a bit more realist (they will slowly think in the abyss of madness and they are screwed at -5D).