Fear Table
| d20* | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Adrenaline Surge: The character’s “fight” response takes over. They act as if they had a Joker this action! |
| 4-6 | Distracted: The character is Distracted until the end of their next turn. |
| 7-9 | Vulnerable: The character is Vulnerable until the end of their next turn. |
| 10-12 | Shaken: The character is Shaken. |
| 13 | The Mark of Fear: The character is Stunned and suffers some cosmetic physical alteration—a white streak forms in their hair, their eyes twitch constantly, or some other minor physical alteration manifests. |
| 14-15 | Frightened: The character gains the Hesitant Hindrance for the remainder of the encounter. If they already have it, they're Panicked instead. |
| 16-17 | Panicked: The character immediately moves their full Pace plus running die away from the danger and is Shaken. |
| 18-19 | Minor Phobia: The character gains a Minor Phobia Hindrance somehow associated with the trauma. |
| 20-21 | Major Phobia: The character gains the Major Phobia Hindrance. |
| 22+ | Heart Attack: The hero is so overwhelmed with fear that their heart stutters. They must make an immediate Vigor roll at –2. If successful, they're Stunned. If they fail, they're Incapacitated and die in 2d6 rounds. In the latter case, a Healing roll at –4 (or activation of the healing power at –2) saves their life, but they remain Incapacitated. They may be treated normally thereafter. |
*Add the creature’s Fear penalty as a positive number to this roll.
Cold dread seizes the heroine as she enters the lost tomb. A dragon emerges from the cave, belching smoke and fire at the adventurers who threaten its hoard. An investigator stumbles upon a scene of grisly, ritualistic carnage.
These rules reflect the horror of these terrible situations upon your heroes’ psyches.
When to Use These Rules: Characters in realistic, horror, or “dark” games should usually be subject to the constant effects of fear and terror. Fear in high fantasy or super hero games is probably only used as the effect of a creature ability or arcane power.
The Basics: Characters make a Spirit roll when confronted by creatures or situations that cause Fear.
Fear Checks
The heroes make a Fear check (a Spirit roll as a free action) when they first spot a creature with the Fear ability or come upon a particularly horrific scene.
Success means a character manages to overcome the situation and carry on. A failed Fear check means the unfortunate soul faces the consequences below, depending on whether the source of fear was grotesque or terrifying in nature:
- Nausea: If the scene was grotesque or horrific, such as a grisly discovery or learning a secret “Man Was Not Meant to Know,” the character is Shaken and Fatigued. Critical Failure means the victim must roll on the Fear Table as well.
- Terror: A terrifying trigger, such as a monstrous creature or unknowable evil, is much more intense. Extras are typically Panicked. Wild Cards must roll on the Fear Table (at +2 with a Critical Failure on the Fear check). Roll a d20 and add the monster’s Fear penalty, if any, to the roll (a −2 adds +2 to the roll, for example).
Becoming Jaded
After encountering a particular type of creature, the character shouldn’t have to make Fear checks every time he sees another in that particular scenario. If the party clears out an asylum full of spectral inmates, for example, they should only have to roll the first time they encounter them—not in every room. The Game Master might require a roll if the heroes encounter such horrors in a particularly different or frightening situation, however.
Fear in Deadlands: The Weird West
Each area your posse visits has its own “Fear Level”—a measure of the how much fear has taken over a given area, transforming the region into an ever greater nightmare. Unless otherwise noted, assume any locations within a geographic area share the general Fear Level.
Fear Penalty
| Fear Level | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 3 | -1 |
| 4 | -2 |
| 5 | -3 |
| 6 | -4 |
The Fear Level inflicts a penalty to all Fear checks equal to −1 for each Fear Level above 2, as shown on the table. (Supernatural, evil creatures are immune to this penalty.)
Tale-Tellin'
The best way for your heroes to fight evil is to fight fear. When the posse defeats a deadly abomination, captures a murderous outlaw gang, or rescues missing children, the heroes can round up the locals and give them hope by making a Persuasion roll for gripping oratory or rhetoric, or a Performance roll to sing a song, recite poetry, or dramatically narrate a rousing tale of the group’s victory over the forces of evil.
The epic needs to be recounted to a sizable audience—or at least an influential one, like the local press—and should always be accompanied by an actual recounting by one or more players. It must also be told within the area affected—an audience in Salt Lake City doesn’t care so much what happens in Podunk, Montana.
Don’t penalize a player if they're not a good storyteller—that’s their character’s job, as reflected by their skill roll and the Tale-Teller Edge—but make them try. The Performance or Persuasion roll is modified by the Fear Level penalty and any other appropriate situational modifiers (e.g. the audience doesn’t like them, most don’t speak English, etc.). Multiple heroes may Support the storytelling. And you can certainly give an additional bonus of +1 or +2 if it’s a really good tale. Edges that negate Fear penalties don’t help here, though—that’s a personal thing.
With success the local Fear Level is reduced by 1, and the local's Reaction to the posse members improves by one level. With a raise, Reactions improve by two levels. A Critical Failure on the Persuasion roll sends the wrong message and does little more than reinforce the notion that people should be afraid of the dark—the Fear Level actually increases by +1!
Conviction: When a hero with the Tale-Teller Edge successfully lowers the local Fear Level, they and anyone who Supports them automatically gain Conviction. This is a major event that steels a posse’s resolve.