Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6889652" data-attributes="member: 6801286">If you are going to use horror/sanity checks, you have to be consistent about it. Call of Cthulhu gives a pretty good overview of the sorts of things that require such a check. And depending on the degree of awfulness, the sanity damage is also greater.Examples of unnerving situations:-Finding a mangled animal corpse-Finding a human body part-Finding a human corpse-Hearing a frightening soundExamples of shocking situations:-Finding a stream flowing with blood-Finding a mangled human corpse-Finding a corpse dangling from a rope-Finding a wall covered in writing made in bloodExamples of horrifying situations:-Awakening trapped in a coffin-Witnessing the violent death of a friend/someone you know-Seeing a ghoul or ghost-Meeting someone you know to be dead-Witnessing it literally raining blood-Being attacked by a horrible monsterExamples of traumatic situations:-Undergoing severe torture-Seeing a corpse rise from its grave-Seeing a gigantic severed head fall from the sky-Being pulled into another dimensionExamples of even worse situations:-Coming face to face with a cosmic horror. For example, Great Cthulhu.But understand that people also get used to awfulness. So if a player finds a human hand, that would trigger a check. But if the same person then finds the other hand as well, or a finger, the game master could rule that this does not trigger a second check. After all, you've already had the shock of finding a human body part. So finding a second one isn't as much of a big deal. If you find a human corpse, that is a big shock. But you shouldn't have to roll a sanity or horror check every time you look at the same corpse, or other corpses for that matter. A second check for the same thing would have to be justified narratively. For example, the game master could make a difference between just a human corpse, and a mangled human corpse, or a human corpse that is crawling with maggots.I think the goal of horror/sanity checks is not to force players into behaving a certain way. Instead, they are there to give motivation for role playing, and also to encourage players to avoid traumatic situations. In a normal role playing game, a player might not be afraid to check out a basement to look for a corpse. But in a game with sanity checks, the player knows that there's a penalty for looking at horrible things. This encourages more realistic behavior from characters in a horror game. But it is important for the game master to understand that it's not the mechanics of the horror checks that should be doing all the legwork. They also still need to describe the emotions that the player feels. For example:"Lucy discovers a weak wall in the basement, and decides to break it open with a shovel. She uncovers a hidden room, where the corpse of the owner of the house is dangling from the wooden beams. A horror check is made, and Lucy receives sanity damage. The game master now describes the shock of seeing the old lady dangling from the beams, and hearing the rope softly creaking. He tells her how it conjures up memories from the last time Lucy saw a dead relative as a child, and how she can't even bring herself to look at the corpse. Her hands are shaking, and her feet feel like lead. The game master also describes there's a suitcase on the other side of the room, but Lucy hears the creaking of the rope, and feels terrible just being in the same room with the corpse. Being a good role player, the player who plays Lucy decides to ask another party member to check out the room, while she stays outside."</blockquote>

Verification