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Old 03-12-2018, 07:40 PM   #1
Empada
 
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mülheim an der Ruhr
Default Fright check table variants

Hi!
before the actual question some introduction.
I know that Powers has a table with Awe and confusion, I also searched the forum and find some topics related to fright checks (at the time I didn't save the link to reference here) and learned that the table is actually a damage table for the mind (fell free to correct me if I learned wrong).

I'm playing a supers game more cinematic than realistic and don't want to use the F.C. table, or the Awe confusion table, but I want to put some fright checks on the game.

well, are there another table to use? I was thinking something toward reputation damage with funny (or silly) things like "scream like a child", "pee on your pants", 'Run crying for your mother for x turns" and so on...

In case there aren't, can you give some ideas to make one?
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Old 03-13-2018, 12:36 AM   #2
Arith Winterfell
 
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Default Re: Fright check table variants

Hm... I can't quite recall. I think GURPS Horror 4e has expanded fright check tables with variations for different campaign type styles like Gothic vs. Cuthulhu Horror vs. Dark comedy type maybe.
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Old 03-13-2018, 12:45 AM   #3
Kelly Pedersen
 
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Default Re: Fright check table variants

Quote:
Originally Posted by Empada View Post
I'm playing a supers game more cinematic than realistic and don't want to use the F.C. table, or the Awe confusion table, but I want to put some fright checks on the game.

well, are there another table to use? I was thinking something toward reputation damage with funny (or silly) things like "scream like a child", "pee on your pants", 'Run crying for your mother for x turns" and so on...
Honestly, I think the regular Fright Check tables would work just fine for this, you just need to interpret them right. Most of the table results that regularly come up, barring really frightening stuff that imposes serious penalties, are basically "stunned for some length of time". It's easy to decide that the stunning takes the form of babbling, screaming for one's mother, and so forth. As long as you're not doing anything useful in the time you're stunned, its exact form is flexible.

If you don't want to impose mental disadvantages, I'd suggest switching them for social ones, "reputation damage", as you said. So, for example, instead of getting a mental quirk for result 13 on the Fright Check table, you could give someone a -1 point Reputation for "screamed like a baby when they saw the Monster of the Week", among people who saw it happen. That will generally be small enough to be worth only -1 point. Similarly, for the larger disadvantages, you can either impose similarly-sized social disadvantages, or take away appropriate social advantages.
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Old 03-14-2018, 12:48 PM   #4
GodBeastX
 
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Default Re: Fright check table variants

I enjoy the Dungeon Fantasy (Powered by GURPS) method of handling fright checks and tables.
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Old 03-14-2018, 03:31 PM   #5
hal
 
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Default Re: Fright check table variants

Mental Stun might also be a function of where the person starts shouting conflicting things - not making any effort to do anything useful as relates to the situation at hand. Being mentally stunned might also mean that the individual is totally quiet and making an effort to assess the environment rather than doing anything. So, someone who fails a fright check - might see snakes slithering towards them, and looking around them to see where they might be safe, and spending way too much time in place as they try to decide whether the ledge nearby is really safe, or if they think they'll fall on their backs trying to climb that rock face to the ledge and being even more vulnerable to the snakes than if they remain upright and not moving.

Fight or flight as a descriptor exists for a reason. A GM for example - could have a party besieged by monsters, have an NPC or player character fall, and ask the players to make both a fright check AND a Morale check at the same time. Having the player succeed at his fright check roll, but then being told "right now, you realize that the monsters are just too numerous to fight - your morale is plummeting and as a result, all rolls fighting the enemy (defending is fine) are at -1" sort of gets the point across that things are looking dire.

And, as pointed out, doing something dishonorable might very well earn you a -1 reaction from a small group worth only -1 in points. But if that individual is someone whose actions can impact on your character's life in a situation further down the line, well... what is the worth of that?

Keep in mind too, that just as buying an ally who owes you a favor is worth 1/5 the point cost of the ally, you could also rate having someone do your character dirt as if an enemy (once!) might also be worth 1/5 the point total. The GM might roll against the reaction of the NPC who might act as an enemy once, get a bad reaction roll, and then use the "disfavor" to punish the player character by saying "Remember when you did that one thing at the tomb? This is payback for it. Win and you get my respect, lose, well, karma's a female dog isn't it?"

As GM, how you portray your game world is entirely up to you. Tables are nice, and building up your own table customizes things in a way that no published book can do.

If you want? When you are about to award a quirk for a failed fright check roll, make a will saving roll for the character or let them roll for it on their own. If they save? Make the quirk "Transitory" and short lived. If they fail, make it lasting. If they crit fail, then make it a major reputation damage kind of thing such as voiding one's bladder or what have you (or even fleeing for that matter). If the DICE decide the results, and the player rolls against his attributes for his character - he might not be so inclined to resent the transformation. Or not. Horror games are tricky to run. ;)
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