Horror Effects

GM note

These are the horror effects and lesser madness effects that I picked out from the 3e Ravenloft Campaign Setting and Pathfinder Horror Adventures because they seemed relatively interesting and fun to play and were pretty well balanced with each other (well, within the categories, anyway--obviously, the major effects are much worse than the minor or moderate effects). If there's another effect that I didn't include that you think would be appropriate, let me know, because your definition of "interesting and fun to play" might be different from mine. :) Also, I'm open to nonconventional ways to run these horror effects. I was envisioning Helene, the anchorite who wanted to be infected with lycanthropy, as suffering from a version of Fascination--she didn't go Renfield, but she definitely did decide that if she couldn't beat the chaotic evil predatory monsters, she should join them. You two are cool, creative people; use these as guidelines and jumping-off points.

Minor Horror Effects (roll d4)

Minor horror effects come into play when you fail a horror save by 1-5 points.
Aversion (1): The character is frightened for 5d6 rounds.
Fearstruck (2): The character is panicked for 5d6 rounds.
Frozen (3): The character is momentarily overwhelmed by the scene and can take no action for three rounds. They are considered flatfooted for the duration.
Nausea (4): The sight causes the character to become physically ill. They suffer an effective decrease of 1d4+1 points of Constitution. For an equal number of rounds, they cannot cast spells and can take only partial actions as they struggle to retain their last meal. The character regains these lost Constitution points at the rate of 1 per hour.
For all four results, the immediate effects last only a few rounds to a few hours. However, for as long as the character suffers from any minor horror effect (at least a week--see Recovery below), they must make another horror save at the same DC whenever they come within 50 feet of the location of the failed save. If they fail, they become shaken.

Moderate Horror Effects (roll d4 or choose)

Moderate horror effects come into play when you fail a Horror save by 6-10 points.
Mania (1): The character suffers a minor Horror effect. Afterward, they become obsessed with some risky or taboo object or behavior that’s somehow connected to the source of their horror, either because they’re becoming obsessed with the source of horror itself (i.e. they can’t stop thinking about death or dark magic) or because they’re deep in denial and glomming onto something seemingly unconnected to their horror (i.e. “I can’t think about death if I’m constantly drinking and having one-night stands *cough*Vanyarightaftermakinghisbargain*cough*!”). If the character comes within 30 feet of the source of their mania, they have to make a DC 16 Will save to avoid engaging with it.
Nightmares (2): The character is shaken for 5d6 rounds, but tries to repress their horror afterwards. The bill comes due when they try to sleep. Every night, they must succeed at a DC 16 Will save or suffer from terrible nightmares, usually causing them to wake up screaming. If they fail this save, they wake up fatigued, and they haven’t had a good night’s rest in terms of regaining spells.
Phobia (3): The character suffers a minor Horror effect. Afterward, anything that reminds the character of the source of their horror fills them with fear. If the character comes within 30 feet of something that reminds them of the scene, they have to make a DC 16 Will save or become shaken. The character can try to make a second Will save to push past their fear and not be shaken anymore, but if they fail, they become frightened instead.
Rage (4): The character drops anything in their hands that is not a weapon, then rushes to attack the source of their horror in melee. This functions like a barbarian’s rage ability, except that the character can take no action other than attacking the trigger. If anyone, including an ally, tries to block the character and the character cannot move around them, the character will attack that person until they get out of the way. The rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3+ the character’s (heightened) Con modifier. After the rage, the character regains control of their actions but is fatigued.
If the character is in a situation that triggers an additional Fear or Horror check, they must make an additional DC 16 Will save (regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails) or fly into another rage. This time, someone blocks the character from their target and the character cannot move around them, the character may make another Will save to end the rage.

Major Horror Effects (roll d4 or choose)

Major horror effects come into play when you fail a horror save by 11-15 points.
Fascination (1): It's the Renfield horror effect! A more extreme form of Mania. The character’s obsession with the source of horror becomes so overpowering that it warps their personality. In the fascinated character’s mind, the source of the horror effect becomes more and more powerful. The fascinated character may eventually believe that the source is omnipotent, and may even revere it. For example, a character who becomes fascinating after witnessing a vampire attack may seek out the vampire and offer their servitude. As the fascinated character warps themselves into a willing slave of their own horror, they suffer the a cumulative, effective drain of 1 point each from Wisdom and Charisma each week. (GM note: since Wisdom and Charisma are the key stats for both Rose and Vanya, we can talk about whether and how to adjust this if you go in this direction. Not that I ever see Rose going in this direction, but you never know.) Once the character recovers from Fascination, lost Wisdom and Charisma points return at the rate of 1 per day.
Flashbacks (2): The character’s mind continually returns to the events that triggered the horror effect. At the time, the character is terrified for 5d6 rounds (as panicked, but can’t treat any character as an ally). Afterwards, whenever the character is in a stressful situation (any situation that triggers an Initiative check or saving throw), they must immediately roll a Will save with the DC of the original Horror check or become confused for 2d6 rounds as disjointed scenes and images from the source of horror flood their mind.
Haunted (3): Witnessing the horrific scene shatters the character’s ability to see any good in the world. They continually replay the events in their mind, which clouds their thoughts and interferes with rest. The character suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to Perception for each day of restless obsession (to a maximum penalty of -4), and cannot take 10 or 20 on skill checks. The character ignores their health while haunted; they cannot regain hit points through natural healing, and each full week without rest inflicts 1 point of effective constitution decrease. Additionally, the character suffers 1d6+1 points of effective Charisma decrease as their spirit becomes hardened and withdrawn. (GM note: again, we can talk about this if Vanya gets it, because as written it’s THE BARD-KILLER—maybe the hardness manifests as his alignment shifting to neutral or something.) Once the character recovers from the Haunted effect, lost Constitution and Charisma point return at the rate of 1 each per day.
Mental Shock: The character’s mind simply shuts down, unable to comprehend what it is witnessing. While suffering from mental shock, the character can take no actions and is considered flatfooted. They will walk if dragged along, but cannot run.
Mental shock lasts three rounds. At the end of that duration, the character must make another Horror save at the same DC to escape the effects. If they fail, the effects persist, but they can retry the saving throw once every three rounds until they succeed. If the horrific scene is no longer present, the character gains a cumulative +1 morale bonus to each retry until they succeed. If the character encounters something that reminds them of the scene, they must succeed at a DC 16 Horror save or go into mental shock.

Catastrophic Failures

If you ever fail by more than 16 points (Ezra forbid), you get a major horror effect AND have to make an immediate Madness save (DC=DC of the failed horror save -5).

Treatment

Minor Horror effects last one week. Moderate effects last two weeks. Major effects last thirty days. A the end of this duration, the character rolls a recovery check: a new Horror save, with a -2 morale bonus (since time and distance heal all wounds). If the character succeeds at this check, the Horror effect is removed. If they fail, the Horror effect persists for another duration period, at which point the character can make another recovery check. The -2 DC modifier is cumulative with each attempt.

Prognosis

A character can carry only a single Horror effect at a time. If a subsequent failed Horror save indicates a result of equal or lesser severity, use another outburst of the existing effect. If a failed Horror save indicates a result of greater severity, remove the existing effect and default to the greater one instead. Horror effects do not stack, but they do superimpose (the duration is measured from the time of the latest failed Horror save).

SEE ALSO: Madness Effects