Sanity
Sanity is the natural mental state of ordinary life. Normal mental balance is endangered when characters confront horrors, entities, or activities that are shocking, unnatural, and bewildering. Such encounters cause a character to lose points from their Sanity score, which in turn risks temporary, indefinite, or permanent insanity. Mental stability and lost Sanity points can be restored, up to a point, but psychological scars may remain.
Sanity Points
Sanity points measure the stability of a character’s mind. This attribute provides a way to define the sanity inherent in a character and the current level of sane rationality that a character preserves. Sanity is measured through total sanity and current sanity, current sanity can never exceed total sanity and total sanity can never exceed 100.
Starting Total Sanity
A character’s starting Sanity equals his Wisdom score multiplied by 5 capping at 100. This score represents a starting character’s current Sanity, as well as the upper limit of Sanity that can be restored. After creation, a character’s current Sanity often fluctuates considerably and might never again match starting Sanity. A change in a character’s Wisdom score changes his Total Sanity in terms of what treatment with the Heal skill can restore. Current Sanity, however, does not change if Wisdom rises or falls.
Current Sanity
A character’s current Sanity score fluctuates often, sometimes more than their hit points. When a character encounters a gruesome, unnatural, or supernatural situation, the DM may require the player to make a Sanity check using percentile dice. The check succeeds if the result is equal to or less than the character’s current Sanity. On a successful check, the character either loses no Sanity points or loses only a minimal amount.
A character’s Sanity is also at risk when reading certain books, learning certain types of spells, and attempts to cast them. These Sanity losses are usually automatic (no Sanity check is allowed) the character who chooses to undertake the activity forfeits the indicated number of Sanity points.
Going Insane
Losing more than half their Wis score in Sanity points at one time may cause a character to go temporarily insane. If a character’s Sanity score drops to 0 or lower, they begin the quick slide into
permanent insanity. Each round, the character loses another point of Sanity. Once a character’s Sanity score reaches –10, they are hopelessly, incurably insane effectively losing control of free will. The Heal skill can be used to stabilize a character on the threshold of permanent insanity or to be pulled back from temporary insanity.
Sanity Resistance
All Characters have a sanity resistance equal to their will saving throw. This stat works as a reduction to any received sanity loss.
"Magic? Are you insane..?! Do you want to end up like one of those madmen in the South? Or worse, one of those flesh eaters from the North."
Sanity and Magic
Magic relies on the physics of the true universe. By casting spells, characters visualize the unimaginable, warping their minds to follow alien ways of thought. These visualizations wound the mind. Although spellcasters expose themselves to such traumas voluntarily, they are shocks all the same.
Divine magic is a noticabely less stressful burden on the caster and all spells cost 2 less sanity with healing spells having no cost at all.
Sanity Recovery
There are three main ways to recover sanity, rest, magic and drugs. Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep in reasonably nice conditions will provide Wis mod+2 sanity. While some spells can offer a more immediate relief at the expense of the caster.
Calm Emotions: Along with its original effects restores 1d6+Wis mod sanity to all targets while inflicting an extra 1d6 sanity loss on the caster. While in affect the targets act calmly and ignore behavior changes due to sanity.
Heal: In addition to its normal effects heal removes all forms of temporary insanity.
Mind Blank: While in effect the target is immune to sanity lose.
Restoration: The caster may choose to restore sanity instead of health.
There are three main ways to recover sanity, rest, magic and drugs. Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep in reasonably nice conditions will provide Wis mod+2 sanity. While some spells can offer a more immediate relief at the expense of the caster.
Calm Emotions: Along with its original effects restores 1d6+Wis mod sanity to all targets while inflicting an extra 1d6 sanity loss on the caster. While in affect the targets act calmly and ignore behavior changes due to sanity.
Heal: In addition to its normal effects heal removes all forms of temporary insanity.
Mind Blank: While in effect the target is immune to sanity lose.
Restoration: The caster may choose to restore sanity instead of health.
Drugs
Many magic users and seekers of knowledge turn to drugs as a way to stave off the insanity that such actions would normally cause. Overendulgence can however have permanent affects on the users mental state.
Sake
The most common "drug" of Kenshi, Sake can be found in all corners of the moon and is a staple within the United Cities.
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