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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Turanil" data-source="post: 2438799" data-attributes="member: 9646">Fear Effects, by Ed. Wetterman, is a small 13 pages PDF (for 9 pages of actual game mechanics) aimed at providing very simple rules for insanity and fear checks in horror d20 games. It is presented as a supplement for d20 Modern, but could be used with D&D or even other games such as C&C with much ease (In fact, I think it would fit very well with Castles & Crusades, but that’s not the point). Note for those interested, that it is 100% OGC. Art and layout: This PDF is extremely well done, with good art and excellent layout. Of all the PDFs I have seen so far, it’s among the best. Nonetheless, this essentially concerns the cover art and the first five pages, as the remaining pages are just tables.This supplement was obviously designed as an easy-to-use add-on that doesn’t require any modification to the d20 rules, and doesn’t require being an expert gamer to understand. In fact, the rules are basicaly as follow: The DM first determines if a monster is so horrible as to require an horror check, and the fear effect’s intensity that it induces. Then, the PCs must make a Will save at DC10; if failed, they roll on the appropriate table and get an insanity effect that the affected PC must suffer. This ranges from getting a –1 penalty on all actions for one round, to suicidal urges. As much as the simplicity of use is a strong point, it also makes for simplistic game mechanics. For one thing, there are no true guidelines (just a vague indication) on how to determine which monsters and situations will induce such horror checks, and the level of induced horror. So on that point, it’s all about DM’s fiat. Then, the DC10 for all horror checks, regardless of what creature or situation induces it, is, IMO, really poor. It’s clear that at higher levels a character with better Will saving throws will rarely if ever fail a horror check, thus making this supplement quickly useless. Unless the DM decides to change the DCs, which however will require his own judgement. The small table detailing circumstances adjustments to the horror check, while useful in itself, won’t help a DM determine the horror DC of a lich compared to a ghoul for example. There is approximately a hundred horror /insanity effects in the table, some of which are easy to use and make sense, some others that again rely too much on DM’s fiat (particularly with many of the phobias). Lastly on recovery: there are guidelines for curing insanity with a psychiatrist. However, nothing about the effects of spells such as Heal on insanity, which would have been useful for using this supplement in a fantasy game, or even using it in a FX modern game.My conclusion is that Fear Effects is lacking in content to be of real use, unless your style of DMing involves lots of adjudication on the fly (reason for which I said it could be used with C&C as well). In most cases, you will have to add your houserules, or use these tables as an addition to the CoC d20 / Unearthed Arcana sanity-insanity rules. I give it a 3 because I cannot give it a 2.5, plus for reason of good art and layout.</blockquote>

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