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[Let's Read] The Nightmares Underneath: 2nd Edition
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8080942" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/lCWgfzq.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>This system hack was released as an additional PDF to the base book as opposed to a product of its own. Between this and the 2nd Edition rules update, one could say that The Nightmares Underneath is 3 products in one. I will admit that I have not played Apocalypse World, although I have read a bit of Masks, so there are chances I may misunderstand some system features. But overall the rules here read quite cleanly and simply and I hope that fans of the system can grok the gist of things.</p><p></p><p>A World Full of Nightmares is a 32 page book. Its “core rules” are self-contained, but there are a few references made to the main sourcebook of the Nightmares Underneath for things like magic and nightmare curses albeit with appropriate changes.</p><p></p><p><strong>Character Creation</strong> is a straightforward affair: there are three major classes of Arcanist, Rogue, and Warrior, and the six attributes are the same but arranged as modifiers of +2, +1, +1, 0, 0, and -1. These modifiers apply to 2d6 rules which are the prime resolution mechanic. Arcanists master one spell per level and do 2 damage in combat, Rogues get to ask 1 extra question when they search and deal 3 damage in combat, and Warriors can wear a suit of plate and deal 4 damage in combat. Each class has a list of 9 special abilities to choose from at each level, and can choose from each other’s lists beyond 1st level but not 2 levels in a row. Said Special Abilities are quite broad, including things such as adding +1 modifier to an attribute, +1 (or the rare +2 bonus) on things such as damage, Disposition, certain Basic Moves, and some things that aren’t specific to die rolls but open things up narratively like being able to be impossible to detect nonmagically by hiding in shadows.</p><p></p><p>Alignment and Motivations are the same as in the base system, but when you act in accordance with said goals you get 1-2 additional xp at the end of the session. Your other main means of gaining experience are recovering valuable items from a nightmare incursion, and you need 3 xp times your current level to level up.</p><p></p><p>Health and injuries are simplified, where Disposition is a primary health score without Wounds and is equal to Level plus Health modifier. Damage of NPCs and monsters in the base system are converted from Hit Dice to a rating of 2-6, and Armour Rating is converted to Armour which directly reduces damage. PCs (and only PCs) may opt to ignore damage by taking a debility, which imposes a -1 to all rolls for a specific attribute and serve as the generic ‘debuffs’ but can apply only once per attribute and thus do not stack. Encumberment still exists but is highly simplified (encumbrance is 4 + Health) and you cannot roll a 7 or higher when Going Into Danger (initiative and avoiding hazards basically).</p><p></p><p><strong>Basic Moves</strong> are PbtA’s signifier for common narrative actions which are resolved via 2d6 + modifier. 6 or less imposes an unfavorable result, 7 to 9 indicates success but at a cost, and 10 or more indicates sterling success at no cost and/or grants a bonus positive feature. There are 11 Basic Moves which cover a variety of actions: for example, Cast a Spell is 2d6 + Intelligence and can range from being cast correctly (10+), miscast if higher level (7-9), and miscast regardless of level (6 or less). Fight is 2d6 + Ferocity whose 7 to 9 result deals damage but the enemy completes an intended action/threatening move; 10 deals damage, prevents the enemy from acting, and grants an additional boon; 6 or less deals no damage and the enemy completes their action/threatening move, and the GM can describe narratively how the fighter is now disadvantaged. Volley is similar to Fight but is 2d6 + Dexterity, covers ranged combat, and has different advantages and complications (running out of ammo, collateral damage, etc). Search is 2d6 + Dexterity and the PC can ask a number of pre-arranged questions based on the result which the GM answers honestly (How can I avoid the danger here? Who or what was here before me? etc); 6 or less reveals something disadvantageous to the searcher or makes the current situation worse. Recover has automatic results (recover Disposition) but the 2d6 + Health roll is made for seeing how many debilities one can remove (6 or less can only be removed via magical healing).</p><p></p><p><strong>GM Section</strong> gives a sample list of problems, complications, and consequences for rolls based on a variety of situations, whether the risk involves an character, an environmental obstacle, and so on. In combat the special abilities of monsters and NPCs are considered to be Threatening Moves, and in lieu of initiative the GM asks players what their characters do and have them perform the Basic Move that is most appropriate to their stated course of action. Once the rolls of PCs are resolved, the GM describes the actions of NPCs performing their intended actions if capable. Go Into Danger and Hold Steady are suggested to cover what would ordinarily be saving throws, skill checks, and attribute tests for various task resolutions.</p><p></p><p>Since counting individual cyphers is not a thing and PCs can just as easily advance via role-playing their Alignment and Motivations, currency and valuable items are abstracted into three categories: Units of Purses, Valuables, and Fortunes, and for how long said units can help you live poorly, live well, or live like royalty. Similarly said units can be spent to improve Institutions: Purses make them Notable, Valuables Significant, and a single Fortune Exceptional.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Nightmare’s Curses</strong> provide alternate rules to said maladies. They trigger whenever a character takes a debility inside a nightmare incursion and they fail to Hold Steady, which is interesting as only PCs are capable of opting for such debuffs. Are NPCs assumed to get them automatically? Most nightmare curses function the same in a World Full of Nightmares save where the rules are changed. For example, Your Secrets Bought and Sold would impose disadvantage on a PC’s rolls when interacting with a certain monster type, but in this variant they suffer -1 to rolls involving said monsters instead.</p><p></p><p><strong>Card-Based Lair Creation</strong> is a variant means of dungeon generation, the rationale being that level disparities are less dangerous in an Apocalypse World Engine game than the base system. The GM takes a deck of playing cards minus the Jokers and lays them down left to right until there’s at least one spade and one diamond. The first card of each suite and its order of magnitude informs an element of the dungeon. The suite of Diamonds represents Anchors and what kinds of valuable items (or groups of items) hold the incursion together. The suite of Spades represents the Crown, and we have 2 tables showing results from the bestiary and generic adjectives for the GM to invent. All diamonds after this are counted as spades, and all diamonds/spades after the first represent other monsters in the lair. The suite of Clubs represents various types of traps, and their position relative to the crown/anchor cards represents their generic location and roll: they may pieces of the nightmare realm itself, are set up to defend the anchor, and so on. The suite of Hearts represents the lair’s ties to the outside world, representing various groups and their relationship to the incursion. Like traps. the card’s position relative to the anchor/crown cards indicate the specifics of said relationship (in one case they may be potential allies for the PCs!).</p><p></p><p>Optionally, 2-3 more cards drawn can be keyed to the lair’s sins, with each suite representing a variety of related themes. Results indicate how these negative aspects of human psychology manifest in the lair.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> A World Full of Nightmares is a rather simplistic system, but from an initial read seems capable of recreating the experience of the Nightmares Underneath in a rules-lite way. The fact that the base system already has a lot of 2d6 + modifier tables means that said rules can be easily ported over to the Apocalypse World system. The major thing I noticed is that a few of the standard classes may not be so easily represented at Level 1: a Champion of Chaos would need to start out as a Warrior, but at a later level must choose an Arcanist Special Ability to grant them mastery of additional spells. The Bard’s Disposition transfer is now a Warrior Special Ability, even though the class best fits the Rogue conceptually. There are a few other details that will need ironing out, such as how bare-bones spellcasting is: a few spells have some outs even if cast correctly, like Charm Person allowing the target a bonus save to break free of the influence depending on circumstances. Said bonus save doesn’t seem to be a thing in this system, where players roll all of the dice.</p><p></p><p>But overall I have no major quarrels, and feel that actual play will help me get a better view of things.</p><p></p><p><strong>Final Thoughts:</strong> The Nightmares Underneath is truly something special in not just the OSR, but among tabletop games as a whole. It combines various familiar fantasy elements and tropes into a novel blend, and its mechanics feel both fresh and daring in their relative newness for D&D-alikes while also being straightforward and internally consistent. I ran a few sessions of this as a GM, and while I had some new system hiccups the rules overall did not feel labyrinthine or jumbled to the point that I was regularly making things up on the spot. The setting is also really cool, and the concept of nightmare incursions is broad enough to host a variety of dungeons that may not make ordinary sense for the world and terrain in a more typical setting.</p><p></p><p>I hope that those reading along had as much fun as I did writing this review. I’m feeling quite elated and look forward to writing for another product, but as of now I’m unsure what to review next. I already have some books in mind, but I’ll give it a few days before deciding on one and making my first draft.</p><p></p><p>Until next time, faithful readers!</p><p></p><p>~Libertad</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8080942, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lCWgfzq.png[/img][/center] This system hack was released as an additional PDF to the base book as opposed to a product of its own. Between this and the 2nd Edition rules update, one could say that The Nightmares Underneath is 3 products in one. I will admit that I have not played Apocalypse World, although I have read a bit of Masks, so there are chances I may misunderstand some system features. But overall the rules here read quite cleanly and simply and I hope that fans of the system can grok the gist of things. A World Full of Nightmares is a 32 page book. Its “core rules” are self-contained, but there are a few references made to the main sourcebook of the Nightmares Underneath for things like magic and nightmare curses albeit with appropriate changes. [b]Character Creation[/b] is a straightforward affair: there are three major classes of Arcanist, Rogue, and Warrior, and the six attributes are the same but arranged as modifiers of +2, +1, +1, 0, 0, and -1. These modifiers apply to 2d6 rules which are the prime resolution mechanic. Arcanists master one spell per level and do 2 damage in combat, Rogues get to ask 1 extra question when they search and deal 3 damage in combat, and Warriors can wear a suit of plate and deal 4 damage in combat. Each class has a list of 9 special abilities to choose from at each level, and can choose from each other’s lists beyond 1st level but not 2 levels in a row. Said Special Abilities are quite broad, including things such as adding +1 modifier to an attribute, +1 (or the rare +2 bonus) on things such as damage, Disposition, certain Basic Moves, and some things that aren’t specific to die rolls but open things up narratively like being able to be impossible to detect nonmagically by hiding in shadows. Alignment and Motivations are the same as in the base system, but when you act in accordance with said goals you get 1-2 additional xp at the end of the session. Your other main means of gaining experience are recovering valuable items from a nightmare incursion, and you need 3 xp times your current level to level up. Health and injuries are simplified, where Disposition is a primary health score without Wounds and is equal to Level plus Health modifier. Damage of NPCs and monsters in the base system are converted from Hit Dice to a rating of 2-6, and Armour Rating is converted to Armour which directly reduces damage. PCs (and only PCs) may opt to ignore damage by taking a debility, which imposes a -1 to all rolls for a specific attribute and serve as the generic ‘debuffs’ but can apply only once per attribute and thus do not stack. Encumberment still exists but is highly simplified (encumbrance is 4 + Health) and you cannot roll a 7 or higher when Going Into Danger (initiative and avoiding hazards basically). [b]Basic Moves[/b] are PbtA’s signifier for common narrative actions which are resolved via 2d6 + modifier. 6 or less imposes an unfavorable result, 7 to 9 indicates success but at a cost, and 10 or more indicates sterling success at no cost and/or grants a bonus positive feature. There are 11 Basic Moves which cover a variety of actions: for example, Cast a Spell is 2d6 + Intelligence and can range from being cast correctly (10+), miscast if higher level (7-9), and miscast regardless of level (6 or less). Fight is 2d6 + Ferocity whose 7 to 9 result deals damage but the enemy completes an intended action/threatening move; 10 deals damage, prevents the enemy from acting, and grants an additional boon; 6 or less deals no damage and the enemy completes their action/threatening move, and the GM can describe narratively how the fighter is now disadvantaged. Volley is similar to Fight but is 2d6 + Dexterity, covers ranged combat, and has different advantages and complications (running out of ammo, collateral damage, etc). Search is 2d6 + Dexterity and the PC can ask a number of pre-arranged questions based on the result which the GM answers honestly (How can I avoid the danger here? Who or what was here before me? etc); 6 or less reveals something disadvantageous to the searcher or makes the current situation worse. Recover has automatic results (recover Disposition) but the 2d6 + Health roll is made for seeing how many debilities one can remove (6 or less can only be removed via magical healing). [b]GM Section[/b] gives a sample list of problems, complications, and consequences for rolls based on a variety of situations, whether the risk involves an character, an environmental obstacle, and so on. In combat the special abilities of monsters and NPCs are considered to be Threatening Moves, and in lieu of initiative the GM asks players what their characters do and have them perform the Basic Move that is most appropriate to their stated course of action. Once the rolls of PCs are resolved, the GM describes the actions of NPCs performing their intended actions if capable. Go Into Danger and Hold Steady are suggested to cover what would ordinarily be saving throws, skill checks, and attribute tests for various task resolutions. Since counting individual cyphers is not a thing and PCs can just as easily advance via role-playing their Alignment and Motivations, currency and valuable items are abstracted into three categories: Units of Purses, Valuables, and Fortunes, and for how long said units can help you live poorly, live well, or live like royalty. Similarly said units can be spent to improve Institutions: Purses make them Notable, Valuables Significant, and a single Fortune Exceptional. [b]The Nightmare’s Curses[/b] provide alternate rules to said maladies. They trigger whenever a character takes a debility inside a nightmare incursion and they fail to Hold Steady, which is interesting as only PCs are capable of opting for such debuffs. Are NPCs assumed to get them automatically? Most nightmare curses function the same in a World Full of Nightmares save where the rules are changed. For example, Your Secrets Bought and Sold would impose disadvantage on a PC’s rolls when interacting with a certain monster type, but in this variant they suffer -1 to rolls involving said monsters instead. [b]Card-Based Lair Creation[/b] is a variant means of dungeon generation, the rationale being that level disparities are less dangerous in an Apocalypse World Engine game than the base system. The GM takes a deck of playing cards minus the Jokers and lays them down left to right until there’s at least one spade and one diamond. The first card of each suite and its order of magnitude informs an element of the dungeon. The suite of Diamonds represents Anchors and what kinds of valuable items (or groups of items) hold the incursion together. The suite of Spades represents the Crown, and we have 2 tables showing results from the bestiary and generic adjectives for the GM to invent. All diamonds after this are counted as spades, and all diamonds/spades after the first represent other monsters in the lair. The suite of Clubs represents various types of traps, and their position relative to the crown/anchor cards represents their generic location and roll: they may pieces of the nightmare realm itself, are set up to defend the anchor, and so on. The suite of Hearts represents the lair’s ties to the outside world, representing various groups and their relationship to the incursion. Like traps. the card’s position relative to the anchor/crown cards indicate the specifics of said relationship (in one case they may be potential allies for the PCs!). Optionally, 2-3 more cards drawn can be keyed to the lair’s sins, with each suite representing a variety of related themes. Results indicate how these negative aspects of human psychology manifest in the lair. [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] A World Full of Nightmares is a rather simplistic system, but from an initial read seems capable of recreating the experience of the Nightmares Underneath in a rules-lite way. The fact that the base system already has a lot of 2d6 + modifier tables means that said rules can be easily ported over to the Apocalypse World system. The major thing I noticed is that a few of the standard classes may not be so easily represented at Level 1: a Champion of Chaos would need to start out as a Warrior, but at a later level must choose an Arcanist Special Ability to grant them mastery of additional spells. The Bard’s Disposition transfer is now a Warrior Special Ability, even though the class best fits the Rogue conceptually. There are a few other details that will need ironing out, such as how bare-bones spellcasting is: a few spells have some outs even if cast correctly, like Charm Person allowing the target a bonus save to break free of the influence depending on circumstances. Said bonus save doesn’t seem to be a thing in this system, where players roll all of the dice. But overall I have no major quarrels, and feel that actual play will help me get a better view of things. [b]Final Thoughts:[/b] The Nightmares Underneath is truly something special in not just the OSR, but among tabletop games as a whole. It combines various familiar fantasy elements and tropes into a novel blend, and its mechanics feel both fresh and daring in their relative newness for D&D-alikes while also being straightforward and internally consistent. I ran a few sessions of this as a GM, and while I had some new system hiccups the rules overall did not feel labyrinthine or jumbled to the point that I was regularly making things up on the spot. The setting is also really cool, and the concept of nightmare incursions is broad enough to host a variety of dungeons that may not make ordinary sense for the world and terrain in a more typical setting. I hope that those reading along had as much fun as I did writing this review. I’m feeling quite elated and look forward to writing for another product, but as of now I’m unsure what to review next. I already have some books in mind, but I’ll give it a few days before deciding on one and making my first draft. Until next time, faithful readers! ~Libertad [/QUOTE]
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