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[Let's Read] The Nightmares Underneath: 2nd Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8076561" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/950zBZP.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter 6: Raiding the Nightmare Realms</strong></p><p></p><p>The past few chapters focused on the player-facing side of the rules, from character creation to community bonds. This chapter delves into more specific rules of the game beyond that provided by the Basic Resolution Rules section, most notably dungeon exploration and combat.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Braving the Underworld</strong></p><p></p><p>It wouldn’t be a proper retroclone without exploration of mysterious ruins, monster-filled caves, and other such places. Said rules can be used for more generic styles of dungeons than just nightmare incursions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Time</strong> passes during dungeon exploration in three ways: “in real time” when PCs are moving quickly but not in combat, where time is not measured save via use of the encounter die (in the following Chapter 7) or when light sources are at risk of dying out. In combat, time is measured in rounds which are generally less than a minute each but no hard and fast value is given. When PCs are moving carefully and searching, time is divided into 5-15 minute increments known as Turns. Turns during exploration phases don’t prioritize “order of actions” like in combat and rounds and so PCs can do anything that makes sense in the context of the time frame regardless of Speed or initiative order. For those wanting chronological exactness, there’s 1d6 rounds per minute, or 2d10 minutes per turn.</p><p></p><p>As for <strong>light sources,</strong> lanterns with glowing insects are the longest-lasting but need special drugs to keep them alive, while candles burn the quickest and emit the least light but are the cheapest. Torches and lanterns occupy a middle ground. Short/long rests in a dungeon automatically use up candles and torches, while lanterns lose 1 hour worth of fuel. You never want to be in complete darkness; you cannot attack anything that you aren’t physically touching, and moving carefully takes 6 times as long.</p><p></p><p>The quality of <strong>mapping and movement</strong> is divided into careful/quick results, where the former for maps allows cartographers in the party to get accurate GM handouts. If quick it can be inexact or even nonexistent depending on the party’s level of recklessness. Searching areas is easier to do for people with high Speed ratings, as that lets them cover a wider area (100 x Speed) in a single turn. When moving quickly only thieves may search for traps, secret doors, and hidden treasure, but when moving carefully anyone in the party can. Barring the class feature exceptions of Thieves and Scholars, searching in most circumstances takes a Turn, and a save against Dexterity is made, or half the score if the dungeon is higher level than the searcher. Disarming traps are a second roll beyond finding them via a search: assassins and thieves can safely disarm them via the same Dexterity score rules, but those of all other classes cannot disarm traps when in a dungeon level exceeding their own.</p><p></p><p>This is quite different from other OSR games, where said thieves often had trapfinding and disarming as an exclusive ability. However they’re not as frail due to a d6 Hit Die instead of a typical d4, and experience progression being unified removes a lot of the class’ ordinary weaknesses. Thus, having a thief-type character in the party goes from being a near-necessity to an advantageous choice.</p><p></p><p>For <strong>encumbrance,</strong> we covered the limits and item types back in Chapter 3. But what happens when you become Encumbered? Well, you always act last in initiative, cannot choose the dodge action in combat, cannot make attacks of opportunity, start drowning when swimming and cannot swim at all, and can only move and search half your Speed rounded up. There’s no true “max weight” provided, but if you don’t have the backpacks, pockets, or hands to manipulate and carry material the GM is within their rights to point this out.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dungeon Encounters</strong></p><p></p><p>Encountering humans in the nightmare incursions uses the same rules for individual social interactions, although said people are most assuredly corrupted at best, evil at worst, if they’ve been in there for any appreciable length of time. Encounters for monsters, the far more common fate, is covered here. Generally speaking monsters are either found wandering as part of a potential random encounter when a Turn’s exhausted or in a predetermined location set by the GM. Distance between the monsters and party is closer if the latter was moving quickly instead of carefully. Surprise rolls are done when one side or the other wishes to do an ambush. A party’s leader or look-out rolls 2d6 + Dexterity or Intelligence modifier and adds the monster’s Surprise Rating. 0 to 6 the entire party is surprised; 7 to 9 both groups are aware of each other and interaction/combat happens normally; 10 or higher the PCs become aware of the monsters first and have a window of opportunity to plan actions. The group that has the advantage of surprise has one free round in which to act; surprised PCs cannot use dodge or make attacks of opportunity.</p><p></p><p><strong>Interaction rolls</strong> for monsters are 2d6 + Charisma for the PC leading the conversation if the party displays no violent intentions. 0 to 3 the monster attacks with advantage on morale. 4 to 6 powerful or cowardly monsters attack or flee as normal, while others threaten the PCs but don’t initiate combat unless they deem it worth the risk; 7 to 9 the monsters are cautious and keep their distance, but may be possible to parley with; 10 to 11 the monster is neutral and stays out of the party’s business but may chat with them. 12 and higher the monster is friendly and may be willing to aid the PCs depending on the circumstances at hand, although ‘friendly’ in this case can just as easily mean the monster views the party as a useful pawn for its schemes. Monsters of the Nightmare type are akin to white blood cells for their incursion lairs, and as such are always hostile and never listen to reason.</p><p></p><p>If a rapport is struck up with a monster, the GM has a table and list of potential motivations, reasons for being in the incursion, and in some cases alternate attributes besides Charisma for overcome rolls.</p><p></p><p>Evasion is a detailed “running away/give chase” rule. Simple resolutions are an overcome roll of a PC vs their opponent’s Dexterity. But longer chases use 1d20 + Ferocity/Health modifier + Speed vs the enemy’s Dexterity + Speed. Each party takes turns doing overcome attempts until a certain number of failures by either party is reached. Said number being determined by how far apart the parties are when the chase begins. Obstacles that hinder movement force a save against an appropriate attribute; failure counts as a failed overcome roll in addition to whatever other consequences the obstacle imposes.</p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> In 1st Edition, Evasion was a simple 2d6 + Speed vs 2d6 + Speed resolution. Obstacle rules were still in play.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xNju9Lg.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Harm and Violence</strong></p><p></p><p>This covers combat as well as the various maladies that can afflict the inhabitants of the Kingdoms of Dreams. But before we go any further, we learn about how Disposition and Wounds work. Unlike other OSR games you do not get more Disposition as you level up: instead at a point between getting up for the day and the first combat, you roll double your Hit Dice (just one if you’re sick/lack sleep/etc) and add the results. If the result is lower than your level, you use your Level instead. When you are reduced to 0 Disposition, further damage causes Wounds; every time your Wounds score (starting at 0) increases you save against your Health or suffer an injury that prevents reliable use of a body part determined via a roll on the table. When you get more Wounds past your Health score you suffer a mortal wound (a permanent injury) and go unconscious on a series of failed saves, and Wounds equal to or greater than your Health score cause death. Injury outside of combat from traps, natural hazards, etc deal Wounds directly and bypass Disposition. Said traps and hazards that are d10 and higher pose a serious risk of death.</p><p></p><p>Disposition can be rerolled during an hour long short rest accompanied by food and drink, but a long rest makes the roll mandatory. Wounds and attribute score damage recover more slowly* and having a mortal wound means that you need medical attention or risk death or further injurious results. NPCs and monsters typically do not keep track of such things, and are considered to die/be defeated when they reach 0 Disposition. Attribute score damage to a monster/NPC can be resolved via doing Disposition damage instead.</p><p></p><p>*1 Wound per day if less than half Health, 1 Wound per week if treated by a healer if greater than half Health until they drop to the halfway point.</p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> Disposition was calculated much like typical Hit Points in 1st Edition. You rolled as many Hit Dice as you had levels to determine the results. Instead of Wounds, PCs took damage to their Health score and accompanying mutilated body parts and injuries.</p><p></p><p>Generally speaking, characters who suffer physical disabilities from wounds don’t suffer penalties in the use of said body parts; the only time it should come into play is if the loss prevents one from being able to do an action <em>at all</em> as opposed to still being able to do it but with difficulty. So you can totally play a character with an eyepatch and not suck at ranged combat!</p><p></p><p>Damage to attributes is more or less straightforward and recovers at the same general rate as wounds, but different things happen when you hit 0 in one of them. 0 Health is straightforward in that you die, but 0 Dexterity/Ferocity leaves you unable to move. 0 Charisma causes you to be unable to communicate or understand anyone else; you cannot fight and desire to be alone, but you can move and take care of your basic necessities. 0 Intelligence renders you insane, erratic, and unable to understand simple concepts and cannot rest to recover lost attribute points unless forced to by an outside party. 0 Willpower makes you lie motionless without a will of your own, and will do whatever task is asked of you by another.</p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> Characters who have a 0 score are effectively helpless and are at risk of losing Health over time unless they have access to food, water, and rest, with medical attention speeding the recovery. A 2d6 table is applied to those who are recovering on their own, with only a 10+ representing true progressive recovery.</p><p></p><p>PCs in the Nightmares Underneath have more staying power than in other OSR games in that they have “bonus hit points” equal to their Health score on top of rolling for Hit Dice. However, the additional detail on Wounds makes the game still feel gritty and in keeping with its horror roots, as characters who charge into battle are at high risk of suffering long-term damage even if they make it out alive.</p><p></p><p><strong>General combat rules</strong> hew closely to other OSR games, so I’ll outline some key differences:</p><p></p><p>Initiative is determined by PCs rolling 1d20 + Dexterity modifier. An enemy combatant has an initiative result equal to their Dexterity score.</p><p></p><p>Morale is not a binary attack/flee. It is rolled as 2d6 + their morale modifier, and the lower the result the more likely they are to outright flee vs tactical retreat/fighting defensively/fight to the death (said last result only being possible on a 12 or higher).</p><p></p><p>Actions are broken up into two types: Simple and Complicated. Simple actions are quick exertions and can often be done in tandem with moving during combat, like drawing a weapon and attacking, choosing to dodge, throwing/pulling/pushing an object that requires little force, etc. Complicated actions require more time and precision and cannot be done while moving; it includes such things as reloading a crossbow or firearm, casting a spell, aiming a ranged weapon, sprinting (double speed) instead of normal movement, etc.</p><p></p><p>A character’s movement is their Speed rating, which is x5 for determining how many feet they can move in a round, or x10 when sprinting. Given that the average Speed of a human is 7 and is modified by Dexterity, TNU PCs tend to be more agile than in D&D and other retroclones unless Encumbered.</p><p></p><p>“Attacking from behind” is an automatic hit and inflicts damage. Assassins ignore non-magical armour. Attacking this way can be done via stealth/surprise, if they are occupied by 2-3 other enemies depending on whether they’re in an open vs confined space (and not if they’re backed into a corner), or if left vulnerable via a Special Attack Maneuver.</p><p></p><p>You can choose to Dodge as a simple action; you cannot perform any harmful action while doing so, but any successful attacker must make an overcome vs your Dexterity score or miss. Versus attacks which force a save, you save vs half your Dexterity.</p><p></p><p>Grappling is simplified. It counts as an unarmed attack, but once you get a grapple you can inflict further damage at your full Hit Dice rather than a die lower and must overcome their Health score instead of Armour Rating.</p><p></p><p>“Charging” doesn’t mean a literal charge, but any form of movement where you are moving into the melee range of a target.</p><p></p><p>There are two major ways to attack when it’s not your turn, but in both circumstances force you to give up your turn during the round and you cannot have already acted. They are having a weapon with a longer length when someone charges you (there’s a table for weapon lengths, and readied non-thrown ranged weapons count as the longest), or via an attack of opportunity when another foe moves past you. Attacks of opportunity don’t have to be literal attacks, but can involve other hostile actions like grabbing something from them or performing a Special Attack Maneuver.</p><p></p><p>Special Attack Maneuvers represent disarming/tripping/pushing/etc where you attempt to make them more vulnerable to a future attack. You overcome a relevant score (usually Dexterity) and use an appropriate attribute modifier on the d20 roll. If successful, they either get disadvantage on an action, are disarmed of a held item, or are placed somewhere unfavorable (advantage/disadvantage as appropriate).</p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> In 1st Edition this was resolved as an attack; 20 or higher applied a full effect, but a hit that was 19 or lower let the target either suffer normal damage or the maneuver’s effect (their choice unless they’d be reduced to 0 Disposition, in which case they suffer the maneuver automatically).</p><p></p><p>Positioning is a catch-all category for gaining ideal terrain/placement. It’s a save vs your Dexterity and is done as part of movement, but failing the save imposes some type of risk (cannot attack this round, fall prone, etc). Success grants you advantage on an appropriate action.</p><p></p><p><strong>Edition Changes:</strong> In 1st Edition this was resolved as an attack roll which succeeded on an 11 or higher.</p><p></p><p>Fighting with a weapon in each hand is considered the same as fighting with a two-handed weapon (use damage die one higher than your Hit Die).</p><p></p><p>All monsters have attribute scores, but they do not apply the modifiers to their attack and damage rolls; they are already dangerous enough and said scores are there for purposes of skill rolls and saves.</p><p></p><p>There’s quite a healthy amount of options for combat, and no entry is at risk of becoming muddled in minutia and cross-referencing: everything you need for a rule at hand is on the page proper, and relevant rules from earlier chapters are handily reprinted!</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/p8rotw0.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>The Taint of Corruption</strong></p><p></p><p>This section covers the risks of braving the nightmare realm. From insanity to warped biology to the attention of inhuman entities, <strong>nightmare curses</strong> are more or less a nightmare creature living inside someone’s body. They’re permanent when gained, and even treatment in a sanitarium can only suppress their influence. When someone with a nightmare curse dies, said creature leaves the body immediately and may either die immediately from natural sunlight or go to enact wicked plots in the material plane. Outright cures are handled via GM Fiat in the form of adventure hooks like finding a skilled exorcist or powerful artifact.</p><p></p><p>NPCs must save vs their Willpower whenever they enter and then leave a nightmare incursion if they have spent more than an hour inside, unless they are of higher level than the dungeon. If they spend more than 24 hours they must make a Willpower save each day <strong>Edition Changes:</strong> vs half their Willpower in 1st Edition); every failure imposes a new curse, and they cannot physically leave the incursion until they make at least one save. PCs, and a rare few NPCs, are not at risk of gaining curses merely from time spent inside. PCs (and NPCs too) are at risk of gaining nightmare curses whenever one of their attributes is reduced to half its normal score or less while inside a nightmare incursion, and must make a Willpower save (half if dungeon is higher level) to avoid gaining one.</p><p></p><p>There are 36 nightmare curses to be gained on a d100 table; some of them may even be gained multiple times, reflecting a different manifestation of said curse. They range from the typical mental instabilities and compulsions to bodily changes and have creepily thematic names. A few of the more notable ones include:</p><p></p><p>Anti-Social Lust Parasite: You gain a sexual behavior that your culture regards as socially unacceptable. People who find out about your fetish can react to varying degrees of hostility on a 2d6 + Charisma modifier roll (attack, physically distance themselves from you, judge you on everything, 12 or higher they’re cool with it). <strong>Edit:</strong> yeah, this sounds like either a reroll or ask the players about it ahead of time. </p><p></p><p>Apostasy: Memories of the nightmare world become overwhelming whenever you visit or interact with an Institution and thus cannot gain its benefits.</p><p></p><p>Enemies Everywhere: There’s a 1 in 6 chance someone conspires against you every day you spend in a settlement. This persecution stops when you kill said conspirator.</p><p></p><p>The Heresy of Stigmatism: Whenever you take Disposition or Wound damage you bleed profusely and make a noticeable mess (this doesn’t do extra damage).</p><p></p><p>Infected Attribute: You suffer disadvantage whenever rolling a certain attribute for a save or skill test as long as you remain outside a nightmare incursion. Said attribute manifests as tell-tale signs, like spitting blood for Health, twitching for Dexterity, having dreams of alien worlds for Willpower, etc.</p><p></p><p>Living Hand of Glory: One (or both if gained twice) of your hands steals unattended objects without your knowledge. This happens on a 1 in 6 chance whenever you’re alone and near valuable handheld objects.</p><p></p><p>Masked: You believe that your face reveals your soul and must wear a mask to prevent the nightmares from getting inside. You cannot use any of your class features or re-roll Disposition as long as someone else can see your face.</p><p></p><p>Xenos: Other people can sense the taint of nightmare due to minor unnatural phenomena happening around you. Your Resentment score begins at 1 in every new settlement and can never be reduced below 0.</p><p></p><p>Your Secrets Bought and Sold. The nightmare realm gives a certain type of monster (beastling/dweller in the deep/etc) valuable information about you. You suffer disadvantage on all rolls against said monster type.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> The rules for exploration, combat, and nightmare curses are all serviceable and strike the right balance between “too complicated” versus “too barebones.” Just about every important situation or concept can be adequately covered for the former two, and the nightmare curses are a good means of showing the toll veterans endure. Hirelings are at much greater risk in the Nightmares Underneath beyond quick hit and run expeditions lasting less than 6 turns, and conscientious players may be hard-pressed to take them inside. That they and other cursed beings can spawn monsters upon death can really up the stakes. I do fear that players who grow savvy to these rules may prioritize speed over care, although the book takes this into account with the quick vs. careful speeds of exploration.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we cover Chapter 7: A World Full of Nightmares!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8076561, member: 6750502"] [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/950zBZP.png[/IMG] [B]Chapter 6: Raiding the Nightmare Realms[/B][/CENTER] The past few chapters focused on the player-facing side of the rules, from character creation to community bonds. This chapter delves into more specific rules of the game beyond that provided by the Basic Resolution Rules section, most notably dungeon exploration and combat. [CENTER][B]Braving the Underworld[/B][/CENTER] It wouldn’t be a proper retroclone without exploration of mysterious ruins, monster-filled caves, and other such places. Said rules can be used for more generic styles of dungeons than just nightmare incursions. [B]Time[/B] passes during dungeon exploration in three ways: “in real time” when PCs are moving quickly but not in combat, where time is not measured save via use of the encounter die (in the following Chapter 7) or when light sources are at risk of dying out. In combat, time is measured in rounds which are generally less than a minute each but no hard and fast value is given. When PCs are moving carefully and searching, time is divided into 5-15 minute increments known as Turns. Turns during exploration phases don’t prioritize “order of actions” like in combat and rounds and so PCs can do anything that makes sense in the context of the time frame regardless of Speed or initiative order. For those wanting chronological exactness, there’s 1d6 rounds per minute, or 2d10 minutes per turn. As for [B]light sources,[/B] lanterns with glowing insects are the longest-lasting but need special drugs to keep them alive, while candles burn the quickest and emit the least light but are the cheapest. Torches and lanterns occupy a middle ground. Short/long rests in a dungeon automatically use up candles and torches, while lanterns lose 1 hour worth of fuel. You never want to be in complete darkness; you cannot attack anything that you aren’t physically touching, and moving carefully takes 6 times as long. The quality of [B]mapping and movement[/B] is divided into careful/quick results, where the former for maps allows cartographers in the party to get accurate GM handouts. If quick it can be inexact or even nonexistent depending on the party’s level of recklessness. Searching areas is easier to do for people with high Speed ratings, as that lets them cover a wider area (100 x Speed) in a single turn. When moving quickly only thieves may search for traps, secret doors, and hidden treasure, but when moving carefully anyone in the party can. Barring the class feature exceptions of Thieves and Scholars, searching in most circumstances takes a Turn, and a save against Dexterity is made, or half the score if the dungeon is higher level than the searcher. Disarming traps are a second roll beyond finding them via a search: assassins and thieves can safely disarm them via the same Dexterity score rules, but those of all other classes cannot disarm traps when in a dungeon level exceeding their own. This is quite different from other OSR games, where said thieves often had trapfinding and disarming as an exclusive ability. However they’re not as frail due to a d6 Hit Die instead of a typical d4, and experience progression being unified removes a lot of the class’ ordinary weaknesses. Thus, having a thief-type character in the party goes from being a near-necessity to an advantageous choice. For [B]encumbrance,[/B] we covered the limits and item types back in Chapter 3. But what happens when you become Encumbered? Well, you always act last in initiative, cannot choose the dodge action in combat, cannot make attacks of opportunity, start drowning when swimming and cannot swim at all, and can only move and search half your Speed rounded up. There’s no true “max weight” provided, but if you don’t have the backpacks, pockets, or hands to manipulate and carry material the GM is within their rights to point this out. [CENTER][B]Dungeon Encounters[/B][/CENTER] Encountering humans in the nightmare incursions uses the same rules for individual social interactions, although said people are most assuredly corrupted at best, evil at worst, if they’ve been in there for any appreciable length of time. Encounters for monsters, the far more common fate, is covered here. Generally speaking monsters are either found wandering as part of a potential random encounter when a Turn’s exhausted or in a predetermined location set by the GM. Distance between the monsters and party is closer if the latter was moving quickly instead of carefully. Surprise rolls are done when one side or the other wishes to do an ambush. A party’s leader or look-out rolls 2d6 + Dexterity or Intelligence modifier and adds the monster’s Surprise Rating. 0 to 6 the entire party is surprised; 7 to 9 both groups are aware of each other and interaction/combat happens normally; 10 or higher the PCs become aware of the monsters first and have a window of opportunity to plan actions. The group that has the advantage of surprise has one free round in which to act; surprised PCs cannot use dodge or make attacks of opportunity. [B]Interaction rolls[/B] for monsters are 2d6 + Charisma for the PC leading the conversation if the party displays no violent intentions. 0 to 3 the monster attacks with advantage on morale. 4 to 6 powerful or cowardly monsters attack or flee as normal, while others threaten the PCs but don’t initiate combat unless they deem it worth the risk; 7 to 9 the monsters are cautious and keep their distance, but may be possible to parley with; 10 to 11 the monster is neutral and stays out of the party’s business but may chat with them. 12 and higher the monster is friendly and may be willing to aid the PCs depending on the circumstances at hand, although ‘friendly’ in this case can just as easily mean the monster views the party as a useful pawn for its schemes. Monsters of the Nightmare type are akin to white blood cells for their incursion lairs, and as such are always hostile and never listen to reason. If a rapport is struck up with a monster, the GM has a table and list of potential motivations, reasons for being in the incursion, and in some cases alternate attributes besides Charisma for overcome rolls. Evasion is a detailed “running away/give chase” rule. Simple resolutions are an overcome roll of a PC vs their opponent’s Dexterity. But longer chases use 1d20 + Ferocity/Health modifier + Speed vs the enemy’s Dexterity + Speed. Each party takes turns doing overcome attempts until a certain number of failures by either party is reached. Said number being determined by how far apart the parties are when the chase begins. Obstacles that hinder movement force a save against an appropriate attribute; failure counts as a failed overcome roll in addition to whatever other consequences the obstacle imposes. [B]Edition Changes:[/B] In 1st Edition, Evasion was a simple 2d6 + Speed vs 2d6 + Speed resolution. Obstacle rules were still in play. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/xNju9Lg.png[/IMG] [B]Harm and Violence[/B][/CENTER] This covers combat as well as the various maladies that can afflict the inhabitants of the Kingdoms of Dreams. But before we go any further, we learn about how Disposition and Wounds work. Unlike other OSR games you do not get more Disposition as you level up: instead at a point between getting up for the day and the first combat, you roll double your Hit Dice (just one if you’re sick/lack sleep/etc) and add the results. If the result is lower than your level, you use your Level instead. When you are reduced to 0 Disposition, further damage causes Wounds; every time your Wounds score (starting at 0) increases you save against your Health or suffer an injury that prevents reliable use of a body part determined via a roll on the table. When you get more Wounds past your Health score you suffer a mortal wound (a permanent injury) and go unconscious on a series of failed saves, and Wounds equal to or greater than your Health score cause death. Injury outside of combat from traps, natural hazards, etc deal Wounds directly and bypass Disposition. Said traps and hazards that are d10 and higher pose a serious risk of death. Disposition can be rerolled during an hour long short rest accompanied by food and drink, but a long rest makes the roll mandatory. Wounds and attribute score damage recover more slowly* and having a mortal wound means that you need medical attention or risk death or further injurious results. NPCs and monsters typically do not keep track of such things, and are considered to die/be defeated when they reach 0 Disposition. Attribute score damage to a monster/NPC can be resolved via doing Disposition damage instead. *1 Wound per day if less than half Health, 1 Wound per week if treated by a healer if greater than half Health until they drop to the halfway point. [B]Edition Changes:[/B] Disposition was calculated much like typical Hit Points in 1st Edition. You rolled as many Hit Dice as you had levels to determine the results. Instead of Wounds, PCs took damage to their Health score and accompanying mutilated body parts and injuries. Generally speaking, characters who suffer physical disabilities from wounds don’t suffer penalties in the use of said body parts; the only time it should come into play is if the loss prevents one from being able to do an action [I]at all[/I] as opposed to still being able to do it but with difficulty. So you can totally play a character with an eyepatch and not suck at ranged combat! Damage to attributes is more or less straightforward and recovers at the same general rate as wounds, but different things happen when you hit 0 in one of them. 0 Health is straightforward in that you die, but 0 Dexterity/Ferocity leaves you unable to move. 0 Charisma causes you to be unable to communicate or understand anyone else; you cannot fight and desire to be alone, but you can move and take care of your basic necessities. 0 Intelligence renders you insane, erratic, and unable to understand simple concepts and cannot rest to recover lost attribute points unless forced to by an outside party. 0 Willpower makes you lie motionless without a will of your own, and will do whatever task is asked of you by another. [B]Edition Changes:[/B] Characters who have a 0 score are effectively helpless and are at risk of losing Health over time unless they have access to food, water, and rest, with medical attention speeding the recovery. A 2d6 table is applied to those who are recovering on their own, with only a 10+ representing true progressive recovery. PCs in the Nightmares Underneath have more staying power than in other OSR games in that they have “bonus hit points” equal to their Health score on top of rolling for Hit Dice. However, the additional detail on Wounds makes the game still feel gritty and in keeping with its horror roots, as characters who charge into battle are at high risk of suffering long-term damage even if they make it out alive. [B]General combat rules[/B] hew closely to other OSR games, so I’ll outline some key differences: Initiative is determined by PCs rolling 1d20 + Dexterity modifier. An enemy combatant has an initiative result equal to their Dexterity score. Morale is not a binary attack/flee. It is rolled as 2d6 + their morale modifier, and the lower the result the more likely they are to outright flee vs tactical retreat/fighting defensively/fight to the death (said last result only being possible on a 12 or higher). Actions are broken up into two types: Simple and Complicated. Simple actions are quick exertions and can often be done in tandem with moving during combat, like drawing a weapon and attacking, choosing to dodge, throwing/pulling/pushing an object that requires little force, etc. Complicated actions require more time and precision and cannot be done while moving; it includes such things as reloading a crossbow or firearm, casting a spell, aiming a ranged weapon, sprinting (double speed) instead of normal movement, etc. A character’s movement is their Speed rating, which is x5 for determining how many feet they can move in a round, or x10 when sprinting. Given that the average Speed of a human is 7 and is modified by Dexterity, TNU PCs tend to be more agile than in D&D and other retroclones unless Encumbered. “Attacking from behind” is an automatic hit and inflicts damage. Assassins ignore non-magical armour. Attacking this way can be done via stealth/surprise, if they are occupied by 2-3 other enemies depending on whether they’re in an open vs confined space (and not if they’re backed into a corner), or if left vulnerable via a Special Attack Maneuver. You can choose to Dodge as a simple action; you cannot perform any harmful action while doing so, but any successful attacker must make an overcome vs your Dexterity score or miss. Versus attacks which force a save, you save vs half your Dexterity. Grappling is simplified. It counts as an unarmed attack, but once you get a grapple you can inflict further damage at your full Hit Dice rather than a die lower and must overcome their Health score instead of Armour Rating. “Charging” doesn’t mean a literal charge, but any form of movement where you are moving into the melee range of a target. There are two major ways to attack when it’s not your turn, but in both circumstances force you to give up your turn during the round and you cannot have already acted. They are having a weapon with a longer length when someone charges you (there’s a table for weapon lengths, and readied non-thrown ranged weapons count as the longest), or via an attack of opportunity when another foe moves past you. Attacks of opportunity don’t have to be literal attacks, but can involve other hostile actions like grabbing something from them or performing a Special Attack Maneuver. Special Attack Maneuvers represent disarming/tripping/pushing/etc where you attempt to make them more vulnerable to a future attack. You overcome a relevant score (usually Dexterity) and use an appropriate attribute modifier on the d20 roll. If successful, they either get disadvantage on an action, are disarmed of a held item, or are placed somewhere unfavorable (advantage/disadvantage as appropriate). [B]Edition Changes:[/B] In 1st Edition this was resolved as an attack; 20 or higher applied a full effect, but a hit that was 19 or lower let the target either suffer normal damage or the maneuver’s effect (their choice unless they’d be reduced to 0 Disposition, in which case they suffer the maneuver automatically). Positioning is a catch-all category for gaining ideal terrain/placement. It’s a save vs your Dexterity and is done as part of movement, but failing the save imposes some type of risk (cannot attack this round, fall prone, etc). Success grants you advantage on an appropriate action. [B]Edition Changes:[/B] In 1st Edition this was resolved as an attack roll which succeeded on an 11 or higher. Fighting with a weapon in each hand is considered the same as fighting with a two-handed weapon (use damage die one higher than your Hit Die). All monsters have attribute scores, but they do not apply the modifiers to their attack and damage rolls; they are already dangerous enough and said scores are there for purposes of skill rolls and saves. There’s quite a healthy amount of options for combat, and no entry is at risk of becoming muddled in minutia and cross-referencing: everything you need for a rule at hand is on the page proper, and relevant rules from earlier chapters are handily reprinted! [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/p8rotw0.png[/IMG] [B]The Taint of Corruption[/B][/CENTER] This section covers the risks of braving the nightmare realm. From insanity to warped biology to the attention of inhuman entities, [B]nightmare curses[/B] are more or less a nightmare creature living inside someone’s body. They’re permanent when gained, and even treatment in a sanitarium can only suppress their influence. When someone with a nightmare curse dies, said creature leaves the body immediately and may either die immediately from natural sunlight or go to enact wicked plots in the material plane. Outright cures are handled via GM Fiat in the form of adventure hooks like finding a skilled exorcist or powerful artifact. NPCs must save vs their Willpower whenever they enter and then leave a nightmare incursion if they have spent more than an hour inside, unless they are of higher level than the dungeon. If they spend more than 24 hours they must make a Willpower save each day [B]Edition Changes:[/B] vs half their Willpower in 1st Edition); every failure imposes a new curse, and they cannot physically leave the incursion until they make at least one save. PCs, and a rare few NPCs, are not at risk of gaining curses merely from time spent inside. PCs (and NPCs too) are at risk of gaining nightmare curses whenever one of their attributes is reduced to half its normal score or less while inside a nightmare incursion, and must make a Willpower save (half if dungeon is higher level) to avoid gaining one. There are 36 nightmare curses to be gained on a d100 table; some of them may even be gained multiple times, reflecting a different manifestation of said curse. They range from the typical mental instabilities and compulsions to bodily changes and have creepily thematic names. A few of the more notable ones include: Anti-Social Lust Parasite: You gain a sexual behavior that your culture regards as socially unacceptable. People who find out about your fetish can react to varying degrees of hostility on a 2d6 + Charisma modifier roll (attack, physically distance themselves from you, judge you on everything, 12 or higher they’re cool with it). [b]Edit:[/b] yeah, this sounds like either a reroll or ask the players about it ahead of time. Apostasy: Memories of the nightmare world become overwhelming whenever you visit or interact with an Institution and thus cannot gain its benefits. Enemies Everywhere: There’s a 1 in 6 chance someone conspires against you every day you spend in a settlement. This persecution stops when you kill said conspirator. The Heresy of Stigmatism: Whenever you take Disposition or Wound damage you bleed profusely and make a noticeable mess (this doesn’t do extra damage). Infected Attribute: You suffer disadvantage whenever rolling a certain attribute for a save or skill test as long as you remain outside a nightmare incursion. Said attribute manifests as tell-tale signs, like spitting blood for Health, twitching for Dexterity, having dreams of alien worlds for Willpower, etc. Living Hand of Glory: One (or both if gained twice) of your hands steals unattended objects without your knowledge. This happens on a 1 in 6 chance whenever you’re alone and near valuable handheld objects. Masked: You believe that your face reveals your soul and must wear a mask to prevent the nightmares from getting inside. You cannot use any of your class features or re-roll Disposition as long as someone else can see your face. Xenos: Other people can sense the taint of nightmare due to minor unnatural phenomena happening around you. Your Resentment score begins at 1 in every new settlement and can never be reduced below 0. Your Secrets Bought and Sold. The nightmare realm gives a certain type of monster (beastling/dweller in the deep/etc) valuable information about you. You suffer disadvantage on all rolls against said monster type. [B]Thoughts So Far:[/B] The rules for exploration, combat, and nightmare curses are all serviceable and strike the right balance between “too complicated” versus “too barebones.” Just about every important situation or concept can be adequately covered for the former two, and the nightmare curses are a good means of showing the toll veterans endure. Hirelings are at much greater risk in the Nightmares Underneath beyond quick hit and run expeditions lasting less than 6 turns, and conscientious players may be hard-pressed to take them inside. That they and other cursed beings can spawn monsters upon death can really up the stakes. I do fear that players who grow savvy to these rules may prioritize speed over care, although the book takes this into account with the quick vs. careful speeds of exploration. [B]Join us next time as we cover Chapter 7: A World Full of Nightmares![/B] [/QUOTE]
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