Fear, Horror, and Madness - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Fear, Horror, and Madness

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
May 16, 2006 2:46:34 IMO the 3ed. idea to make all fear, horror, and madness checks into will saves is, for lack of a better word, stupid. Shouldn't a fighter be less susseptable to fear and a wizard to horror? Should there not be a balance? I've been looking at the 2ed. books trying to figure out who's good at what. I figured that fear could be a fort. based save, horror a reflex, and madness will; but it doesn't look like any class gets madness as one of their 'good' saves. On top of that, what modifiers could be added to the saves to keep them high enough? It just doesn't seem fair to all the other classes to make it all wisdom based, but, then again, how could it not be some mental quality? Can anyone give me any advise on this matter? Thank you in advance.
#2
Mortepierre
May 16, 2006 3:18:19 Why should a fighter be less susceptible to fear? The first thing you learn as a soldier is that only a fool or a madman knows no fear when going into battle. Fear is a healthy companion to have for any fighter.

Besides, if you want to portray a fearless in-game, there are enough specialized feats around to do it.

Personally, a Will save for Fear sounds logical. If you're tinkering daily with cosmic forces and can summon fiends from the netherhells just by snapping your fingers, you should be less susceptible to intimidate attempts than the guy wearing a bucket on his head.

Horror should be handled differently, possibly with a "learning curve" (the more you get exposed to it, the more jaded you become).

Madness.. that's the tough one. No class but monk should have an easy time resisting it. Plus, it should use the Call of Cthulhu method. In other words, the more resistant to Horror you become, the less sane you are.

IMC, I'm using the rules from the (excellent) CoC d20 sourcebook and it works fine. But there are other ways of looking at it, such as the one described in Darkness & Dread accessory (from Fantasy Flight Games).
#3
darkor
May 16, 2006 12:45:32
Madness.. that's the tough one. No class but monk should have an easy time resisting it.

Iwould say the Psion class two. They trasin their minds like maniacs after all!
#4
Mortepierre
May 16, 2006 13:17:29 True, I was only speaking "core" classes.

That said, not all Psions should have good "madness-resistance". After all, being able to bend a fork (for example) through mental power doesn't exactly prepare you for a trip down madness-lane.
#5
john_w._mangrum
May 18, 2006 18:07:50
Horror should be handled differently, possibly with a "learning curve" (the more you get exposed to it, the more jaded you become).

That's how it already works. It's called "level progression."
#6
Mortepierre
May 19, 2006 2:40:25 :heehee

Touché John
#7
zombiegleemax
May 19, 2006 11:31:42
That's how it already works. It's called "level progression."

I heart this guy.

What's next for you, John? Whatcha workin' on?
#8
john_w._mangrum
May 20, 2006 2:19:18
I heart this guy.

What's next for you, John? Whatcha workin' on?

As a professional writer/game designer, you mean? Nothing whatsoever. It's not for me and it took me far too many years to digest that fact. My "day job" these days is working with a nonprofit (a historical replica ship, actually).

Creatively, after a long, long period of utter burnout, I'm going back to my roots by working on a comic just for fun. If I stick to plan, I hope to start putting put it out as a webcomic starting within the next year. The comic is The Bolds, which Ravenloft/Kargatane fans with loooong memories might remember my mentioning in my first GenCon report nine long years ago.

Here's a partial character lineup (this is a scale reference for me):

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/bolds_lineup2.jpg

And two additional characters:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/goode.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/law.jpg

The Bolds has absolutely nothing to do with Ravenloft, however.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax May 16, 2006 2:46:34	IMO the 3ed. idea to make all fear, horror, and madness checks into will saves is, for lack of a better word, stupid. Shouldn't a fighter be less susseptable to fear and a wizard to horror? Should there not be a balance? I've been looking at the 2ed. books trying to figure out who's good at what. I figured that fear could be a fort. based save, horror a reflex, and madness will; but it doesn't look like any class gets madness as one of their 'good' saves. On top of that, what modifiers could be added to the saves to keep them high enough? It just doesn't seem fair to all the other classes to make it all wisdom based, but, then again, how could it not be some mental quality? Can anyone give me any advise on this matter? Thank you in advance.
#2 Mortepierre May 16, 2006 3:18:19	Why should a fighter be less susceptible to fear? The first thing you learn as a soldier is that only a fool or a madman knows no fear when going into battle. Fear is a healthy companion to have for any fighter. Besides, if you want to portray a fearless in-game, there are enough specialized feats around to do it. Personally, a Will save for Fear sounds logical. If you're tinkering daily with cosmic forces and can summon fiends from the netherhells just by snapping your fingers, you should be less susceptible to intimidate attempts than the guy wearing a bucket on his head. Horror should be handled differently, possibly with a "learning curve" (the more you get exposed to it, the more jaded you become). Madness.. that's the tough one. No class but monk should have an easy time resisting it. Plus, it should use the Call of Cthulhu method. In other words, the more resistant to Horror you become, the less sane you are. IMC, I'm using the rules from the (excellent) CoC d20 sourcebook and it works fine. But there are other ways of looking at it, such as the one described in Darkness & Dread accessory (from Fantasy Flight Games).
#3 darkor May 16, 2006 12:45:32	Madness.. that's the tough one. No class but monk should have an easy time resisting it. Iwould say the Psion class two. They trasin their minds like maniacs after all!
#4 Mortepierre May 16, 2006 13:17:29	True, I was only speaking "core" classes. That said, not all Psions should have good "madness-resistance". After all, being able to bend a fork (for example) through mental power doesn't exactly prepare you for a trip down madness-lane.
#5 john_w._mangrum May 18, 2006 18:07:50	Horror should be handled differently, possibly with a "learning curve" (the more you get exposed to it, the more jaded you become). That's how it already works. It's called "level progression."
#6 Mortepierre May 19, 2006 2:40:25	:heehee Touché John
#7 zombiegleemax May 19, 2006 11:31:42	That's how it already works. It's called "level progression." I heart this guy. What's next for you, John? Whatcha workin' on?
#8 john_w._mangrum May 20, 2006 2:19:18	I heart this guy. What's next for you, John? Whatcha workin' on? As a professional writer/game designer, you mean? Nothing whatsoever. It's not for me and it took me far too many years to digest that fact. My "day job" these days is working with a nonprofit (a historical replica ship, actually). Creatively, after a long, long period of utter burnout, I'm going back to my roots by working on a comic just for fun. If I stick to plan, I hope to start putting put it out as a webcomic starting within the next year. The comic is The Bolds, which Ravenloft/Kargatane fans with loooong memories might remember my mentioning in my first GenCon report nine long years ago. Here's a partial character lineup (this is a scale reference for me): http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/bolds_lineup2.jpg And two additional characters: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/goode.jpg http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d140/JWMangrum/Bolds/law.jpg The Bolds has absolutely nothing to do with Ravenloft, however.