On of my PCs is going INSANE! Advice needed.

[HaveDiceWillTravel]

I usually post under another name, but I don't want any nosey nellies from my group to see this unless necessary.

I am running a game with four people in a generic setting. The group just reached fourth level. We have all been playing together for a while now and are comfortable with each others playing styles, and I'm not too concerned about player conflicts.

One of my players just revealed to me that he has been playing his character, a ranger, as if he were slowly going insane. He has been a bit more erratic in combat and is getting a shorter fuse with NPCs from time to time. What we are trying to do is work out a role playing bonus for this. My idea had been to give him one or all of the following.

+2 vs enchantments and compulsions (these spells don't work especially well on a warped mind)
-2 to spot and listen - crazy folks might have a bit of trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is imagined.

Fit of Rage
Will save DC 10 + 1/2 encounter level
If a will save is failed at the start of a combat, the character gets a +2 to STR and CON for 1/2 their character level + Will. Stunned, dazed or fatigued at the end. I'm not sure which.

I was thinking of pulling in the Cuthulu rules for insanity to cap this off.

If you can think of anything else, lett me know. I am interested in seeing how this goes.

 

[lastalas]

I would be careful how crazy he goes...if it goes too far then it can seriously disrupt the campaign. I would work with the PC to set guidelines/definitions of his psychosis. You don't want his insanity to become a free ticket to dangerous or erratic behavior. Even madness has a structure. It would also be more fulfilling for all invovled if he had defined what had pushed him over the edge, what was the nature of his psychosis, how does it manifest, is it getting worse or plateuing, etc?

How about when he fails Spot/Listen/Search checks, he doesn't fail so much he sees/hears/feels something that isn't there. For example, he swears that the pile of rags in the corner just moved, and he likewise attacks it. Or, the Don Quixote syndrome, he finds a shaving basin but swears it is the "Helm of Mombrino", charges at windmills, etc.

Keep us up to date on what you do, I am very curious to see how it turns out.

 

[isoChron]

Look at the alienist prestige class. It's very close to insanity
I think there is a WIS penalty and social skills are at a heavy penalty, too. Don't have the book right here at the moment. Sorry.

 

[Infiniti2000]

+2 vs enchantments and compulsions (these spells don't work especially well on a warped mind)

I disagree. I think they are more susceptible.

-2 to spot and listen - crazy folks might have a bit of trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is imagined.

If that's true, you should also have a minus on saves vs. illusions.

Fit of Rage

Sign my character up for insanity! The penalty in spot/listen are nothing compared to the benefits. What does rage have to do with going insane? Can't anyone go into a rage? Instead, you should have it be a fit of confusion. That more properly depicts insanity.

On the other hand, insanity has many varying forms. Which one exactly is the player thinking of heading down? Having a shorter fuse is not 'insane', it's merely have a shorter fuse.

 

[Tarangil]

I dunno about the +2 vs enchantments and compulsions. I would assume someone with unstable and erratic behaviour would be a little easier to tip over the edge, even moreso with magic to give that extra 'push'.

Perhaps give him something like Unorthadox fighting which could perhaps not allow opponents to use their dodge bonus against him and lose 1/2 of their dex bonus to boot.

You could have fun with this.

 

[HaveDiceWillTravel]

Here is a chunk of the e-mail I got. It explains a bit of his motivations and the idea for the Fit of Rage.

For the next game or two this will be characterized by further and more noticeable mood swings. Perhaps total passivity during combat or headlong confrontation that may not be advantageous to the party. His behavior will become increasingly more erratic and eccentric. He has already begun to hear voices. I want to stay away from any hard and fast phobia (afraid of water) because:
1)I think that's lame; and
2)There's no reason to develop a phobia like that at this point on the game

If this is role played right, I do want to be able to offer some bonuses. Someone mentioned that my idea of a +2 will save vs enchantments and compulsions would likely make them more susceptible. I kind of think that the spells are keyed to work a certain way for a certain mindset and they just plain wouldn't work right against a goofed up mind. However, I do like the idea of -2 vs illusion.

 

[IcyCool]

If this is role played right, I do want to be able to offer some bonuses. Someone mentioned that my idea of a +2 will save vs enchantments and compulsions would likely make them more susceptible. I kind of think that the spells are keyed to work a certain way for a certain mindset and they just plain wouldn't work right against a goofed up mind. However, I do like the idea of -2 vs illusion.

For some ideas on how you might come up with some real penalties, take a look at the madness domain spells in Complete Divine. Then you can start dropping bonuses on. But seriously, -2 spot and listen for all of the bonus he's getting in return? Sign me up too! Crazy is the new uber!

 

[Nonlethal Force]

When it comes to insanity ............

have you looked at the Derro? I realize their madness is racial, but what about doing something like that?

My problem with allowing a system of balanced pluses and minuses is that insane people are shunned in society. We push them away, we lock them up, we try and fix them. My take on the DMship of such a condition is to offer more in-game negatives to reflect the sociological implications.

A few suggestions:

This one's kinda a joke: At each level, give the player a -1 to WIS and +1 CHA. Once the player starts down the road of insanity only a miracle or wish can remove these bonuses/penalties to ability scores. If removed the character is permanently sane and the bonuses/penalties are removed. If the character never becomes sane, the character dies when WIS drops to zero.

Okay, more seriously:
Give the character a circumstantial penalty to all WIS checks and a circumstantial bonus to all CHA checks. Something like a +/-1 or a +/-2 should be harmless enough.

Each round, the character has a 10% chance of striking at an imagined foe.

Limited spellcasting ability (5% per character level chance that the spell simply doesn't work because they can't focus intently). This could be balanced by a bonus (5% per character level that the effect is increased by one increment - duration is longer, spell damage die increases by one, etc).

Certain feats are no longer an option for this character.

...

But personally, I'm not keen on the idea of insanity. Sounds like a campaign destroyer to me.

 

[Nyeshet]

A) The Strength of the Insane is a somewhat common saying. Its credence is in that some suffering from insanity can perform acts of greater than typical strength due to (1) the chemicals in their bloodstream that energize them and remove their fear, and (2) their bodies literally stretching their muscles to the tearing point in their desperation to do whatever it is they are trying to do.

So perhaps they can briefly act as if their strength score is +2 higher than it is, suffering -1d2 hp per character level in exchange. That way it is dangerous even at high levels.

B) And perhaps they can act even when reduced to negative hp, but if they take any action they automatically fail their stabilization check. They continue to act, but ever so slowly their life dwindles away until they suddenly fall dead at -10.

C) They may hear voices, but perhaps this paranoia means they also hear things most do not pay attention to, and that they are always expentant of an attack. They gain +2 to Initiative, and are immune to Surprise, but they also receive a penalty to Spot and Listen equal to their Character level, and if they fail they hear voices, see movement, etc that does not actually exist.

It should not be random, however, and the player should not know whether their roll succeeded or failed. What he sees should make sense for the surrounding. If he is hunting a werewolf, tell him he hears a howl or sees a wolf-shaped shadow, etc.

Do not tell him the DC he is aiming to overcome, just tell him to roll and the result. That way even the player never knows if he rolled high - and spots a true danger in time, or rolled low and is attacking his shadow or a pile of clothing.

D) He receives a penalty to all positive social interaction equal to half his character level, but he also receives a bonus to all negative social interactions (intimidate, etc) equal to half his character level. His erratic behavior lends a certain uneasiness to dealings with him. Sometimes its an aid to him (intimidating another), while other times its a hindrence (gather information, diplomacy, etc).

E) Illusions and Enchantments affect him oddly. He rolls 1d6 each time he is to be affected by an illusion or enchantment. If positive he gain a +1 to +3 benefit to his roll to resist, if negative he gains a -1 to -3 penalty to his roll to overcome. Sometimes his insanity lends him an edge due to his erratic thought patterns, paranoic fear of possession, insane insight, etc, but other times it clouds his reasoning, alters his senses, etc.

Again, as mentioned before, do not let him no what you rolled on the d6, just add or subtract it from whatever he tells you he rolled, and then tell him whether or not he succeeded.

Do any of these ideas work for you? I would have added Rage to the list above, but I could not think of an adequet penalty that also made sense. I think A, B, and E make up for it, however.

 

[Cabral]

I love d20SRD.org ... check out the OGL Sanity Rules ... I don't think there's much in the way of benefits there, but it might be a nice reference resource anyway.

If he has difficulty diferentiating between what's real and not, he should get a penalty versus illusions

A couple benefits could be so many uses or at will uses of Stone Tell, Speak with Animals, and Speak with Plants to simulate voices... but only if you don't think your player will abuse it.

"Your mule's name is not Bill"
"What? Of course it is"
"It's not"
"I think I know the name of my own mu--"
"It's not"
"what is it then?"
"Fjord the mighty, son of Dangus the tall, crusher of grass!"