Madness is a new stat and I think one of the harder things to deal with for new DMs (myself included). I'm posting what I'm experiencing in the hopes to hear from others.
What Works:
Players seem keen on this mechanic. I missed the first row when the prisoners were forced to watch the Drow skin alive three barbarian NPCs that made an escape attempt. They asked why I didn't make them roll when we ended the session. I told them I forgot and encouraged them to remind me. Won't happen again!
What Doesn't:
Unnecessary math. It slows down the game. This is a big module. From an encounters perspective I can't keep adding stats and tracking dice rolls. I want my players to experience the Underdark, not 10-key-excel-spreadsheets-dark.
------------------------------
Myself and 2 other DMs have created madness cards. They are printed in a series of 3. Short, Long, Indefinite. There are two of each type to allow for some cross over. Some are made up, e.g, Megalomania, Bi-Polar Disorder, OCD (ritualistic spasm after dice roll), etc. They do not affect combat but may result in actions taken in, out of, leading up to, or getting out of combat.
If an individual fails the save he picks a card at random. The significance of the event determines the length. This is based on my personal choice so your mileage may vary. The madness card will only be read by the player. They may keep it to remind themselves up until it's expiration, then it goes back in the appropriate pile.
So far only one card has been drawn. A dwarf who regularly headbutts things managed to get the first card. I gave him a long term affect since he has headbutted many things. He pulled Amnesia, which his character's cousin in another campaign (PotA) had. He's excited to play on Wednesday.
What Works:
Players seem keen on this mechanic. I missed the first row when the prisoners were forced to watch the Drow skin alive three barbarian NPCs that made an escape attempt. They asked why I didn't make them roll when we ended the session. I told them I forgot and encouraged them to remind me. Won't happen again!
What Doesn't:
Unnecessary math. It slows down the game. This is a big module. From an encounters perspective I can't keep adding stats and tracking dice rolls. I want my players to experience the Underdark, not 10-key-excel-spreadsheets-dark.
------------------------------
Myself and 2 other DMs have created madness cards. They are printed in a series of 3. Short, Long, Indefinite. There are two of each type to allow for some cross over. Some are made up, e.g, Megalomania, Bi-Polar Disorder, OCD (ritualistic spasm after dice roll), etc. They do not affect combat but may result in actions taken in, out of, leading up to, or getting out of combat.
If an individual fails the save he picks a card at random. The significance of the event determines the length. This is based on my personal choice so your mileage may vary. The madness card will only be read by the player. They may keep it to remind themselves up until it's expiration, then it goes back in the appropriate pile.
So far only one card has been drawn. A dwarf who regularly headbutts things managed to get the first card. I gave him a long term affect since he has headbutted many things. He pulled Amnesia, which his character's cousin in another campaign (PotA) had. He's excited to play on Wednesday.