Seeds of Fear
A player can pick up to three Seeds of Fear during character creation to represent things their characters find truly terrifying. These can change over time as characters grow, overcome old fears, and develop new ones. A character never has more than three Seeds at a time; if you gain a new Seed and already have three, choose which one of your old fears is replaced by the new one.
| d12 |
Seed |
| 1 |
I can't stand dark places. |
| 2 |
I'm terrified a particular kind of animal. |
| 3 |
Deep water will be the death of me. |
| 4 |
I can't stand heights. |
| 5 |
I hate being stuck in tight spaces. |
| 6 |
Being around crowds unnerves me. |
| 7 |
I hate feeling isolated or alone. |
| 8 |
Storms and extreme weather rattle me. |
| 9 |
Being followed chills my blood. |
| 10 |
Sudden noises or appearances fray my nerves. |
| 11 |
I can't be comfortable around creatures larger than I am. |
| 12 |
Reflections always seem like they're looking right through me. |
Using Fear
When a character encounters one of their Seeds of Fear, they may need to roll a Wisdom save against becoming Frightened (base DC 15.) If it is mild, or would be a hindrance to the story, the DM can choose not to impose the save. The player can choose to fail the save and respond to the situation in a way that reinforces and strengthens their fear. If they do so, they gain Inspiration, but the DC to resist the fear next time raises by 1.
Stress
Stress can be gained in various trying situations, and is tracked numerically with a Stress Score. When a character is subjected to a truly harrowing experience, they gain 1 Stress. Whenever the character makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, they must apply their current Stress Score as a penalty to the roll.
A character can reduce their Stress Score in a variety of ways: spending an entire day relaxing or using a
calm emotions spell can reduce their Stress Score by 1, while a
greater restoration spell fully resets it.
