Personalizing Your Character

I. Health and Sanity

Health and Sanity are two of the most important metrics in the game, and measure your overall survivability physically and mentally. Once either of these reach zero, your character will likely be out of the game, having fallen victim to the horrors of Midnight, or the actions of other players.

• Health Points (HP) represent your character's physical well-being and their ability to withstand damage and injuries. It measures their resilience, endurance, and overall vitality. HP serves as a numerical representation of your character's remaining physical health. At the beginning of the game, each character starts with 6 HP. This value may be modified slightly by your chosen occupation, but changes beyond this adjustment are not permitted during character creation. During the game, your character's HP will fluctuate based on the challenges they face, combat encounters, and other dangerous situations. When your character takes damage, whether from a physical attack, environmental hazard, or supernatural force, their HP will be reduced accordingly. As your character's HP decreases, they become more vulnerable to incapacitation or even death. When their HP reaches 0, they are on the brink of defeat and must take urgent action to survive. In such a critical state, characters have only 4 minutes to pull through before succumbing to their injuries. They can attempt one luck roll (Luck + 1d6) each minute, with the target number starting at six and increasing by one for each failed attempt. Successfully passing the luck roll allows the character to regain consciousness with 1 HP, providing a slim chance at survival. Remember, maintaining a high HP is crucial for Surviving Midnight. Be cautious and strategize your actions to minimize damage and protect your character's physical well-being.

• Sanity Points (SP) represent your character's mental fortitude and stability in the face of the horrors and terrors that lurk in the town of Midnight, Mississippi. It measures their ability to cope with the supernatural, disturbing scenes, arcane forces, and terrifying encounters. At the start of the game, each character begins with 6 SP, however, certain occupations may adjust this score, reflecting the psychological toll that specific roles may carry or additional fortitude they maintain. Throughout the game, your character's SP may be tested when exposed to supernatural phenomena, witnessing gruesome scenes, or encountering eldritch abominations. When such situations occur, you may be required to make a Mind roll. Rolling equal to or above your character's Mind score indicates that they can maintain their composure, and no SP is lost, however, failing the roll causes your character to lose 1 point of sanity permanently. The loss of SP can have severe consequences for your character. If their SP reaches zero, they have succumbed to the horrors they have witnessed, losing their grip on reality and becoming unplayable. The Game Master (GM) may choose to utilize the character as an NPC antagonist at this point. Recovering lost sanity points can be challenging. Only certain skills or professions possess the means to restore some of these points, and with the danger of other players seeking to end your run in Midnight just as much as some of the dangers that lurk there, you never know who you can trust and for how long. It is essential to consider your character's mental well-being and take precautions to preserve their sanity. Facing the horrors of Midnight requires mental resilience and a careful balance between uncovering the truth and preserving your character's fragile state of mind.

II. Stats

Your stats measure your character's capabilities physically and mentally, and are the measure by which your success or failure will be determined. Often these will be used in conjunction with skills or abilities for a rolled outcome using six sided dice in either an attempt to defeat another creature or player's roll, or the threshold set by the Game Master (GM) needed to overcome an obstacle or circumvent a situation. Below are the stats as well as a general listing of the types of aspects that the stat will cover. All characters start with a baseline of 3 in each stat: Body, Strength, Mind, and Agility and 6 Luck Points. These points may be shuffled around as desired, though for every point added to one stat, one must be subtracted from another, and no more than one point per stat. The only exception to this rule is Luck. The only thing that will alter a character's Luck Points is their profession. No Stat can exceed a maximum score of six.

Body

• Vitality: The character's overall energy and robustness, affecting their ability to endure physical strain.
• Resistance: The capacity to resist and recover from diseases, poisons, or harmful effects on the body.
• Stamina: The character's endurance and ability to engage in prolonged physical activity without tiring quickly.
• Resilience: Mental and physical fortitude, aiding in resisting mind-affecting or debilitating effects.
• Health: General well-being, including the character's resistance to illnesses and their capacity to recover from injuries.
• Constitution: The character's innate physical makeup, determining their overall durability and ability to withstand damage.
• Endurance: The character's ability to endure physical hardships, such as long journeys, harsh environments, or extended battles.
• Healing: The effectiveness of natural healing abilities or the character's capacity to recover health through rest or magical means.
• Fortitude: The strength of the character's body to withstand stress, pain, or adverse physical conditions.
• Immunity: The character's resistance to specific diseases, toxins, or negative effects that could otherwise harm their health.
• Defense: Strength's contribution to physical resilience and the ability to withstand or shrug off blows.

Strength

• Melee combat: The effectiveness and damage output of melee attacks, such as wielding heavy weapons or engaging in close-quarters combat.
• Carrying capacity: The ability to lift, carry, or drag heavy objects or equipment.
• Breaking objects: The force applied to break through barriers, doors, or obstacles.
• Throwing distance: The distance a character can throw objects with strength and accuracy.
• Intimidation: Using physical strength to intimidate or exert dominance over others.
• Athleticism: Physical prowess in activities like climbing, swimming, or jumping, relying on strength and muscle power.
• Physical Resistance to forced movement: The ability to resist being pushed, pulled, or knocked prone by external forces.
• Physical feats: Demonstrating strength in tasks like bending bars, lifting heavy gates, or performing mighty acts of force.
• Impact damage: The effectiveness of delivering powerful blows, whether unarmed or with melee weapons.
• Blocking: Using strength to parry or block incoming attacks, improving the character's ability to defend themselves.
• Shoving: Overpowering opponents by pushing or knocking them off balance.
• Wrestling: Strength's impact on wrestling or grappling maneuvers, including pinning, lifting, or throwing opponents.
• Clinging or hanging: The ability to hold onto ledges or hang from objects through sheer physical strength.

Mind

• Intelligence: General intellectual capability, including problem-solving, logical reasoning, and knowledge recall.
• Memory: The ability to retain and recall information, such as facts, details, or previous experiences.
• Analytical thinking: The capacity to break down complex problems or situations into smaller components and identify patterns or solutions.
• Perception: Heightened awareness and attentiveness to the surrounding environment, allowing the character to notice details, hidden objects, or potential threats.
• Focus: Concentration and the ability to maintain attention during critical moments, such as during spellcasting or performing intricate tasks.
• Mental resilience: The character's resistance to mental attacks, mind control, illusions, or other forms of psychic manipulation.
• Willpower: Determination and mental strength, enabling the character to resist temptation, fear, or psychological pressure.
• Problem-solving: The aptitude for finding creative or logical solutions to challenges, puzzles, or riddles.
• Knowledge: Accumulated information, expertise, or proficiency in various subjects, such as history, science, magic, or specific fields of study.
• Perception of magic: The sensitivity or attunement to magical energies, allowing the character to detect magical phenomena, identify spells, or understand arcane concepts.
• Strategic thinking: The ability to devise long-term plans, anticipate outcomes, and make informed decisions during conflicts or complex situations.
• Language proficiency: The character's aptitude for learning and understanding languages, including fluency in multiple tongues.
• Concentration: The capacity to maintain focus on a task or spellcasting, even in distracting or stressful situations.
• Mental agility: Quick thinking, adaptability, and the ability to process information rapidly, especially during fast-paced encounters or high-pressure scenarios.
• Psionic abilities: The utilization and control of psychic powers or abilities that rely on mental strength, such as telepathy, telekinesis, or mind reading.

Agility

• Dexterity: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and precision in tasks requiring manual agility.
• Reflexes: Quick reaction time and the ability to respond swiftly to stimuli or sudden events.
• Acrobatics: The capacity for agile and nimble movements, such as flips, jumps, rolls, or other impressive physical maneuvers.
• Stealth: The ability to move silently, blend into the environment, or remain unnoticed by others.
• Evasion: Agility's contribution to avoiding or dodging attacks, traps, or other sources of harm.
• Balance: The aptitude for maintaining stability and equilibrium, even in precarious or challenging situations.
• Climbing: The ability to ascend vertical surfaces or navigate difficult terrain through agile climbing and scaling techniques.
• Dodging: Quick movements and agility to evade incoming attacks, projectiles, or hazards.
• Quick hands: Agility's impact on tasks involving sleight of hand, pickpocketing, or other acts requiring nimble fingers.
• Archery and Firearms: Proficiency in ranged combat, including accurate shooting and drawing a bow with precision.
• Speed: Swiftness in movement, both in short bursts and covering distances quickly.
• Contortion: Flexibility and agility required for contorting the body, fitting through tight spaces, or escaping restraints.
• Dance or Performance: Graceful movements, fluidity, and coordination in performing arts or dance routines.
• Trap Disarmament: Agility's impact on disabling or circumventing traps, snares, or other mechanical hazards.

Luck Points

• Each character has a luck score that can be spent to influence rolls.
• Luck points can be used at any time, but they are also the only means of getting back up when incapacitated.
• Players can spend as many luck points as they want on a single roll.
• The only way to get luck points back is to Survive Midnight.

III. Skills

Skills are your basic abilities by which your majority of altercations and conflicts will be determined. Within this list is your combat and defense capabilities. While any number of skill based attempts may be made utilizing your Stats, when it comes to combat or avoidance of it, your rolls will matter more than most others, as you will most likely be fighting for your life. Skills start at a baseline of 3 in each, Initiative, Stealth, Grapple, Melee, Ranged, Dodge, and Soak. As with stats, these may be adjusted as desired at the cost of subtracting one point for every point added and no more than one point per skill, with no skill exceeding 6 points.

• Initiative: The initiative skill determines a character's speed and readiness to act in combat or other time-sensitive situations. Initiative represents how quickly a character can react and take their turn in relation to other participants or creatures in the game. It determines the order in which characters act during combat rounds or when faced with time-critical events.
• Stealth: The stealth skill represents a character's ability to move silently, remain unseen, and avoid detection. It encompasses techniques and behaviors used to minimize sound, hide in shadows, and blend into the environment. The stealth skill is commonly employed for activities such as scouting, infiltration, or surprise attacks.
• Grappling: The grappling skill represents a character's ability to engage in close-quarters combat maneuvers that involve restraining, immobilizing, or controlling an opponent through physical grappling techniques. Grappling can be a crucial aspect of combat, allowing characters to neutralize foes, gain tactical advantages, or set up follow-up attacks.
• Melee: The melee skill represents a character's proficiency in engaging in close-quarters combat using melee weapons. This skill encompasses the character's ability to wield weapons effectively, deliver accurate strikes, and maximize damage in hand-to-hand combat encounters.
• Ranged: The ranged skill represents a character's proficiency in engaging in combat or other activities using ranged weapons. This skill focuses on the character's ability to accurately aim, shoot, or throw projectiles at a distance, allowing them to effectively engage targets beyond melee range.
• Soak: The soak skill represents a character's ability to resist or mitigate damage taken from various sources. It reflects the character's durability, toughness, and capacity to withstand physical harm. The soak skill allows the character to absorb or reduce the impact of incoming damage, improving their overall survivability.
• Dodge: The dodge skill represents a character's ability to evade and avoid incoming attacks or harmful effects. It reflects the character's agility, reflexes, and instinct for self-preservation. The dodge skill allows the character to actively maneuver, react swiftly, and minimize the chances of being hit or affected by adverse events.

IV. Abilities

Each character has one or two unique abilities based on their occupation, providing various benefits. While most of these are one use abilities with a lasting duration, some offer variances from this rule. In almost every case, use of the ability has a drawback as well as a benefit, and should be used carefully.

V. Combat

Engaging in combat in Surviving Midnight requires quick thinking, strategic decision-making, and a bit of luck. Let's delve into the mechanics of combat to ensure you're prepared to face the horrors that await.

• Initiative: Combat begins with an initiative roll to determine the order of actions. Each participant rolls Initiative + 1d6. The highest number goes first, with ties being resolved by comparing the initiative scores. In the case of persistent ties, the involved parties roll 1d6, and the highest result determines who acts first.

• Attacking in Melee: To initiate a melee attack, you roll Strength + Melee + 1d6. The target of your attack will then attempt to either dodge or soak the incoming damage. You must beat their Dodge or Soak attempt to successfully inflict harm.
• Attacking at Range: To initiate a ranged attack, you roll Agility + Ranged + 1d6. The target of your attack will then attempt to either dodge or soak the incoming damage. You must beat their Dodge or Soak attempt to successfully inflict harm.

• Target's Defense: When a character is targeted with a melee attack, they have two defensive options. The target rolls either Body + Soak + 1d6 or Agility + Dodge + 1d6 to avoid or mitigate damage. The specific defense method used depends on the situation and the character's chosen tactics.

• Baseline Health Points (HP): At the start of the game, each character begins with a baseline of 6 HP. This relatively low starting point means that even a few successful attacks can quickly debilitate a character. Be cautious and strategize your actions to protect your character's health.

• Makeshift Weapons and Basic Attacks: All professions possess the ability to make basic attacks using punches, kicks, or improvised weapons. These attacks are often the most straightforward and accessible means of inflicting harm upon your adversaries.

• Damage and Dealing with Injuries: The damage inflicted by successful attacks varies based on your chosen weapon or method of attack. Damage values for specific weapons can be found in the character sheets and can be easily added during combat. Remember that damage is deducted from the target's remaining HP. Injuries should always be played realistically depending on the source of the damage dealt. Some types of injury will continue to cause damage even after the combat is over, such as bleeding, poison, and other lasting effects. Without a way to counter these effects, your character will eventually falter and fall.

• Critical Conditions and Recovery: When a character's HP reaches 0, they are in critical condition and must act swiftly to survive. The character has only 4 minutes to roll a luck check once per minute, aiming to beat a target number of six that increases by one with each failed attempt. If successful, the character regains consciousness with 1 HP, however, while downed, they are vulnerable to attacks and can be finished off without further rolls.

Combat in Surviving Midnight is designed to be fast-paced, intense, and potentially unforgiving. Always consider your character's HP, plan your actions carefully, and be prepared to face the consequences of engaging in combat. More often than not, only one of the parties involved will walk away.

VI. Movement

In Surviving Midnight, movement plays a vital role in navigating the treacherous terrain of the town and evading danger. Let's explore the mechanics of movement to ensure you're ready to traverse the dark and foreboding landscapes.

• Baseline Movement Speed: The baseline movement speed for characters is 5 feet per round when walking and 20 feet per round when running. This speed represents a general measure of how quickly characters can move across the game world.

• Time Measurement: To maintain consistency, each round in Surviving Midnight represents 3 seconds. This time frame is used for the duration of combat rounds. Outside of combat, there is a bit more freedom, but your characters have a limited amount of time before the stroke of midnight, and there is a timer running constantly to build a sense of urgency and to keep things moving on a unified scale between conjoined sessions.

• Tokens and Actions: Tokens on the battlefield, representing characters or creatures, have the option to move or attack during their turn, however, attempting to perform both actions in a single round incurs a disadvantage. In this case, two rolls are made for movement and attack, and the worst result is chosen. This rule emphasizes the difficulty of engaging in combat while maintaining full mobility.

• Occupation-Based Movement: Occupations can slightly affect movement speed. Some occupations may grant up to a 5-foot variation in movement speed, reflecting the unique capabilities and training associated with specific professions. Take note of your character's occupation and any adjustments it provides for movement.

• Terrain and Encounters: The environment of Midnight, Mississippi, is filled with perilous obstacles, dark alleys, and ominous landscapes. Various terrains may impact movement, such as difficult or hazardous terrain, which can impede or slow down characters. Additionally, encounters with eldritch horrors or supernatural forces may further hinder movement or introduce unexpected challenges.

• Strategic Considerations: When planning your character's movements, always assess the situation and consider the potential risks and rewards. Balancing movement and combat is key to surviving in this dangerous world. Evaluate the best course of action for each encounter, weighing the advantages of reaching safety or gaining a tactical advantage against the risks of being caught off guard.

VII. Inventory

• Characters start with a select few items based on their profession.
• The inventory is limited to what can reasonably fit in pockets or containers.
• Additional items can be picked up but must be carried in the character's arms if they don't fit in existing storage.
• The items in a character’s inventory are meant to inspire creative use of mundane things, as most of the items carried by the specific professions are useful to their given profession, but many times, not so obviously useful in a horror/survival scenario. Be creative!

VIII. Healing Mechanics

In Surviving Midnight, healing plays a crucial role in your character's survival and resilience. The core rules provide a straightforward method for healing within the limited timeframe of the game.

• Rest and Recovery: To facilitate healing, characters can prioritize rest and recovery during the game. Taking breaks from intense encounters, finding a safe location, or creating a temporary sanctuary allows characters to catch their breath and tend to their wounds. Each hour of uninterrupted rest grants the character 1 HP of natural healing.
• First Aid Kits: Characters can utilize first aid kits to tend to their wounds and heal. A first aid kit represents a basic collection of medical supplies and materials that can assist in treating injuries. When a character has access to a first aid kit, they can attempt to heal themselves or others. The amount healed is equal to your character's Mind stat subtracting the amount of damage the character has taken. Luck Points may be added to this total.
• Limited Healing Opportunities: Due to the intense and time-limited nature of the game, healing opportunities are restricted to the available in-game time. Surviving Midnight takes place from dusk until midnight, which provides a limited window for rest and recovery. Players should consider time management and make strategic decisions about when to rest, heal, or push forward.
• Occupational Abilities: Certain occupations may grant specialized healing abilities or access to resources that aid in recovery. These abilities will be unique to each profession and may provide small bonuses to natural healing or the recovery of HP. Review the specific details of your chosen occupation to understand any healing benefits it offers.
• Resource Management: As you navigate the game, manage your character's resources wisely. Consider the trade-offs between resting to regain HP and progressing through the challenges that Midnight presents. Balancing rest and exploration is crucial to maintaining your character's health and achieving your objectives within the limited timeframe.

Remember, Surviving Midnight is a game of limited resources and constant danger. Every decision matters, and choosing when to prioritize healing can be a strategic challenge. Make the most of the available rest opportunities and ensure your character's health remains stable to increase their chances of survival until the stroke of midnight.