Fear system
by RylethThe fear system I'm using is a modification of this I haven't used it yet, first time will be tonight, so it'll probably end up being tweaked and adjusted a bit as we get a feel for how it works. One of my players has it in her backstory that she was captured by a Greater Servitor of Yurrgh-Thal (the party found her petrified in a temple) and she's always asking me about how things affect her character, so I figured I needed a system for it. Here's what I have so far:
Fear
Sometimes, when delving through lost ruins, reading through ancient books, or walking over ancient mountains, a character may encounter That-Which-Man-Was-Not-Meant-To-Know. Mortal minds are not prepared to handle this kind of information, and upon such an encounter, a fear check must be made.
To make a fear check, the character makes a wisdom saving throw. Consult the following table for the results:
1: You faint and cannot be awakened for 1d6 hours; roll again to determine your state upon waking. A second result of 1 means you immediately die of fright.
2-5: You cannot act this round; gain 2 levels of fear.
6-10: You cannot act this round; gain 1 level of fear.
11-15: You may act normally but gain 1 level of fear.
16-20: You are unfazed and can act normally.
20+: You are roused to action! Gain 1d8 temporary hit points.
Fear levels
A source of fear can be either Lesser or Greater. A failed check for a lesser fear increases your fear level by 1. A failed check for a greater fear increases it to a minimum of 4, or increases it by 1 if it is already 4 or higher. Fear levels may be decreased by spending one full round calming down. Make a wisdom save with a DC of 10 + your current fear level. A success reduces your fear to a maximum of 3, or reduces it by 1 if it is already 3 or less. A failure increases it by 1, though it cannot increase from 3 to 4 this way.
Lesser
1 Spooked: You are uneasy and twitchy. You take a -2 penalty on future fear checks, as well as perception. However, you are ready to face danger, and cannot be surprised.
2 Shaken: Fear has taken hold of you and you can no longer think or act clearly. You take a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
3 Scared: You are noticeably afraid, jumping at every unexpected thing. You take a -4 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Greater
4 Frightened: You are so afraid that she cannot help but flee. On your turn, you must move away from any source of fear you perceive. Once you can no longer perceive the source of your fear, you may act normally, though if the source of your fear presents itself, you must flee again. If you are unable to flee, you may fight.
5 Panicked: You are frightened, but you also drop whatever you are holding and flee in a random direction. In addition, you treat all sources of danger as fear sources and must flee from them as well. If you are unable to flee, you cower.
6 Terrified: You are panicked, but you do not recognize allies, consider them as sources of fear, and must attempt to resist anything they do, even if those things would be beneficial to you. If you are unable to flee, you cower.
7 Horrified: You are transfixed with fear and can take no actions, except that you may try to calm down if you can no longer perceive the source of your fear. You take a -2 penalty to your AC and are considered helpless.
Recovery
To recover, you must spend rounds calming down until your fear level reaches 0. At this point, make a Constitution save with a DC of 10 + the highest level of fear you suffered. On a success, you suffer no ill effects. Consult this table on a failure:
1-3: Gain that many levels of exhaustion
4-6: Gain 1 neurosis
7: Become catatonic for 1 day; roll again each day. On a failure, you remain catatonic; on a success, you recover with 1 neurosis.
Neuroses
Those who walk the paths of forbidden secrets and live to tell about their experiences are not unchanged by them. Roll on this table if you gain one.
1: A streak of white forms in your hair.
2: You take on the habit of talking to yourself. -1 Charisma.
3: You become a bit unhinged and prone to wild flights of imagination. You will be temporarily insane for 1d6 days, and thereafter suffer -1 Wisdom.
4: You become forgetful and absent-minded. You will have no memory of this event. -1 Intelligence.
5: You become sickly and weak, requiring 1d6 days of bed rest. -1 Constitution.
6: You are plagued by nightmares. A long rest now takes 10 hours rather than 8.
7: You become paranoid. +1 to perception but -1 to insight.
8: You lose some of your willpower. -1d6 hitpoints.
9: You suffer hallucinations.
10: You become extremely attached to an item that you were holding or wearing at the time, becoming unable to function without it.