Sanity rules in D&D - your views?

[Snoweel]

I almost bought CoC for the sanity and magic rules, but always found something else to spend my money on. So of course I was stoked when I heard that the sanity mechanics would be included in UA.

I'm just wondering if anybody has used them before (or are using them now) and what effects it had on your game beyond "Some PCs went mad".

Personally, I'm not planning on running a game with any particular horror/dark fantasy bent, but I like the way that sanity mechanics can add an air of danger to magic use.

So how was it for you?

 

[Gort]

Hmm. I considered using sanity briefly in my game - it was an adventure on halloween, so I stuck my guys in a haunted house and threw as many horror cliches at them as possible.

Thankfully, my team are good enough roleplayers that they acted scared enough that I didn't need sanity rules, so I didn't bother.

 

[Snoweel]

Sanity's not so much about being scared as about your brain activating a certain defence mechanism in response to certain stimuli and turning you into an NPC.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Currently, I'm using a slightly modified version of the sanity rules that are the focus of Book of Broken Dreams (Bloodstone Press). I'm likely going to stick with it, although there are some modifications I'm considering based on in-game events, and I've yet to examine the UA version (my copy should finally get here in the next day or two... Thing's taking for-ev-er...) but will do so to see if there's anything I want to add.

One thing I didn't like about the rules in Cthulu (or, that is, the rules-variant it includes for using Insanity in D&D) is that mundane things (orcs, goblins, bugbears, etc.) cause Sanity Damage, which only makes sense if these things are exceptionally rare and alien to the PCs (example: "You see a horde of kobolds... Make a Will save."). Otherwise, it's a sound system (I just couldn't include it in my game over that trickly OGL deal...).

I haven't had any actual cases of PC insanity yet, although a few have gone into "Shell-Shock" after being heavily wounded on occassion, one of them being in a zombie-state for about a week of game time and another on a severe paranoia kick (originally determined to be a 3-4 hour event, but ended after another PC knocked him out cold with a large plank). At the same time, I don't go as heavy as Cthulu does; While insanity is a "real possibility" in my game, it's not an over-riding theme like it is in CoC, and thus is more like a looming threat that may never actually appear rather than an eventual and unavoidable occurance.

 

[Snoweel]

Regarding your "OMFG a bunch of kobolds!! I think I'm going insane !!!!!", there is an option in UA's sanity system (and I think I might've seen it in CoC as well) called 'sanity hardness' (two actually - either your level or your WIS modifier).

There's also a table that says only particularly horrific creatures of the animal or humanoid type can damage your sanity.

So you can decide that kobolds (for example) are insufficiently disturbing to affect sanity.

 

[danzig138]

called 'sanity hardness' (two actually - either your level or your WIS modifier).

In CoC d20, the number is 3 + Level. I've used Sanity in my games, and it worked quite well. It was Greyhawk, involving Tharizdun, with an overall darker feel. The players enjoyed it, except for one, but he has never had any luck in any game involving Sanity. . .

 

[Snoweel]

heh

 

[Dark Jezter]

Regarding your "OMFG a bunch of kobolds!! I think I'm going insane !!!!!", there is an option in UA's sanity system (and I think I might've seen it in CoC as well) called 'sanity hardness' (two actually - either your level or your WIS modifier).

There's also a table that says only particularly horrific creatures of the animal or humanoid type can damage your sanity.

So you can decide that kobolds (for example) are insufficiently disturbing to affect sanity.

The effect of seeing a bugbear on a mind without sanity hardness.

 

[green slime]

IMC, only outsiders and truly horrific events can cause sanity loss.

 

[Dark Jezter]

If I were to use Sanity Rules in my campaign (which I wouldn't do unless I decided to give it a horrific feel), then I would make it so that sanity checks would only be taken when the PCs encountered certain types of aberrations, outsiders (demons and devils, mostly), and undead.

After all, a PC being knocked into a catatonic state because they saw a hill giant or a dire wolf wouldn't be very fun for the player (although it would probably cause a lot of laughter for the GM and the other players ).