Fear Checks Revisited

Nothing is quite as rewarding to a GM as when they can provoke a realistic reaction from a player and have their character act appropriately. Many times in roleplaying games the player distances themselves from the action because they know it's only a game. When that huge nasty monster crawls out from the cave the player's instinct is, "OK, time to fight the monster." Any person who was really in that situation would more likely say, "Time to get the hell out of here!"

This is especially appropriate for the horror genre where the characters are more then likely inadequately equipped to handle such unknown horrors. In these situations running away is always the best option, but players don't always get that. We've all had that group of players who just didn't know when to run away for their own good.

This is where the "fear check" comes into play. There have been many different ways of handling the Fear Check within the Fudge rules, including other articles by myself. The following rules apply to a more cinematic horror campaign where characters are likely to be shaken up but no suffer any long term affects from their experiences.

How Fear Works

Think of fear as an attack on the character's sanity. The fear may not be that bad at first but can progressively get worse and worse. Now apply this thought to the normal Fudge damage chart. A monster's ability to scare a person is treated the same as a weapon's ODF. The person, trying not to be scared, uses their Willpower (or other appropriate attribute/skill/gift, etc.) to resist. This works exactly the same as the basic damage system given in the Fudge rules.

This system of fear assumes that characters have some sort of Willpower, Sanity, or other appropriate trait to roll against fear with.

Example

The great monster Herazagaltha as a fear factor of Legendary (+4). After climbing out of a sewage drain it stares our hero, Johnny Two-Fists, down. Johnny has a Willpower of Good. Both sides roll 2dF (for simplicity we'll say they both rolled +0). The monster's final result is Legendary and Johnny's is Good. The monster gets a relative degree of +3. Apply that to Johnny's fear chart as a "hurt" wound. Johnny will now be at -1 to all his next actions due to fear.

You can see how fear acts exactly the same as normal damage. Any character will have a fear chart that looks just like their damage chart. The names could easily be changed to fit.

Scratched	Shaken
Hurt	Badly shaken
Very Hurt	Quivering, mumbling buffoon
Incapacitated	Fainted
Near Death	Coma

The same way weapons add to ODF, various outside factors could influence a monster's ability to instill fear. A hideous appearance may grant a +1 or +2 depending on how severe. Even the actions the monster takes could give a plus or minus.

The following are some examples of possible modifiers.

Hideous Appearance	+1 to +3
Violent Action	+1
Extremely Violent Action	+2
Monster related to character Fault/phobia	+1
Surprise	+1

Example

Johnny has managed to get away from the monster and is hiding in an alley nearby. He hears a noise and turns around just to see a drunken bum staggering down the alley. But just then he hears a thumping coming from the ground. Suddenly the monster busts through the ground throwing trash and concrete everywhere. The monster grabs the bum and instantly tears him apart with his sharp teeth. The next fear roll is made. This time the monster surprised Johnny (+1) and committed a horrible action (+1) for a total fear factor of +6. Both roll off. The monster rolls +2 and Johnny rolls -2. That gives the monster a final relative degree of +9!! Johnny instantly crumbles to the ground and blacks out. Hopefully his friends will arrive soon to save him.

By treating fear as damage it is easy to keep track of. Naturally once the character is removed from the source of the fear they can make a full recovery. The time it takes to recover depends on how badly the character had been frightened. A "Hurt" wound may only take an hour or so for the character's nerves to settle. An "Incapacitated" wound could takes days or weeks. A "Near Death" wound could leave the character comatose for a time. It all depends on campaign style and how badly the GM wants to scare the living daylights out of their players.