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Terror & Madness

Stress

Stress is a measure of psychological pressure on your mind, representing a build-up of negative emotions such as desperation, terror, frustration, and despair. Too much Stress is bad for your health and, if not treated carefully, leads to lasting consequences and death.

Measured in 6 levels, Stress is a cumulative resource.

Gaining Stress

You gain Stress when exposed to events of danger, hardship, and adversity. The more emotionally overwhelming, the more significant the cost on your mind. As a rule of thumb: unusually stressful events call for gaining 1 level of Stress, whereas monstrously stressful events call for gaining 2 levels.

When:

Succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or gain 1 level of Stress and take 1d6 Psychic damage.

When:

Succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or gain 2 levels of Stress and take 2d6 Psychic damage.

The more an event conflicts with your fundamental nature, the greater the amount of Stress you'll suffer.

Healing Stress

Stress is healed not merely with rest but through safety, connection, and emotional release. You may reduce Stress by:

The amount healed at a time, typically 1 or 2, depends on the significance to your character. The more it aligns with your character's personality, the more you heal (at the DM's discretion).

True Rests

When you complete a True Rest in a sanctuary, such as a village, town, or city, you heal 2 Stress.

Trauma

Trauma represents lasting psychological damage as a result of being pushed too far and hitting your mental snapping point. When you reach Stress level 6:

You can withstand up to 3 Trauma. When you gain a fourth Trauma, you become mentally Broken and suffer a vicious ego death. Your character must retire, leave play temporarily, or undergo a fundamental transformation (such as a change in class, oath, patron, or worldview) subject to DM approval in. You may also chose to die.

Trauma Table

d100 Trauma Effect
01–08 Lethargic You have a −2 penalty to Strength ability checks and Strength saving throws.
09–16 Shaky You have a −2 penalty to Dexterity ability checks and Dexterity saving throws.
17–24 Hypochondriacal You have a −2 penalty to Constitution ability checks and Constitution saving throws.
25–32 Irrational You have a −2 penalty to Intelligence ability checks and Intelligence saving throws.
33–40 Anxious You have a −2 penalty to Wisdom ability checks and Wisdom saving throws.
41–48 Wary You have a −2 penalty to Charisma ability checks and Charisma saving throws.
49–55 Sluggish Your Speed is reduced by 10 feet.
56–62 Depleted You gain 1 level of Exhaustion.
63–69 Paranoid You have Disadvantage on Stress checks.
70–76 Hesitant You have Disadvantage on Initiative rolls.
77–83 Unnerved You have Disadvantage on saving throws made to resist being Frightened.
84–90 Solicitous When you witness an ally dropping to 0 Hit Points, you have Disadvantage on your next D20 Test.
91–95 Distracted You have Disadvantage on Perception checks relying on sight.
96–100 Numb You have Disadvantage on Perception checks relying on hearing.

Overcoming Trauma

Trauma cannot be removed casually. Removing Trauma requires major narrative resolution such as confronting its source, completing a significant character arc, or through meaningful sacrifice.

Madness

Psychic attacks and extraordinary circumstances may push you towards Madness. Unlike Stress and Trauma, which are measures of your conscious psychological struggles, Madness represents a manifestation of your subconscious psyche and the pressures it succumbs to. When asked to roll on a Madness table, refer to the ones below.

Short Term Madness Table

d100 Effects (lasts 1d10 minutes)
01-20 You are rooted in place and gain the Paralyzed condition. The condition ends if you take any damage or if an ally spends Effort to shake you out of it.
21-35 You disoriented and cannot take any actions outside of movement.
36-45 You are significantly emotionally distressed. You have Disadvantage on all Charisma based skill checks and saving throws.
46-55 You become nervous and start trembling. You have Disadvantage on Sleight of Hand checks and all ranged attacks.
56-65 Your confidence is shaken. You have Disadvantage on Athletics checks, Acrobatics checks, and all melee attacks.
66-75 Your fear becomes hesitation, and you take a 1d4 penalty to all ability checks and attack rolls.
76-85 Your mind is clouded. Subtract 10 from your Passive Wisdom and Passive Insight. You cannot make Perception or Insight checks.
86-95 You gain the Frightened Condition. You must take the Dash action on each of your turns and uses your movement to get farther away from the source of your fear.
96-100 You gain the Unconscious condition.

Long Term Madness

d100 Effects (lasts 1d10×10 hours)
01-10 You are deeply rattled and can speak only falteringly, imposing Disadvantage on any spells that require a verbal component.
11-20 You are badly shaken and have Disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws that involve Strength or Dexterity.
21-30 You suffer extreme paranoia. You have Disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma checks.
31-40 You regard something (usually the source of madness) with intense revulsion, as if affected by the antipathy effect of the Antipathy/Sympathy spell.
41-45 You become fearful what what may lurk in the shadows. When not in Bright Light, all ability checks and attack rolls are made with Disadvantage.
46-55 You have become fatigued in response to the pressures of your mind and your Speed is halved.
56-65 Roll a 1d4. You gain the Blinded condition on a 1 and the Deafened condition on a 2-4.
66-75 You prefer to daydream rather than think about the stresses that have affected you. At the start of combat, you must roll a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw and become surprised on a failure.
76-85 You suffer from partial amnesia. You know who you are and retain species traits and class features, but do not recognize other people or remember anything that happened before the Madness took effect.
86-90 Whenever you take damage, you must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as though you failed a saving throw against the Confusion spell. The effects of this spell last for 1 minute.
91-95 You lose the ability to speak.
96-100 You gain the Unconscious condition. No amount of jostling or damage can wake you up.

Indefinite Madness

d100 Flaw (lasts until cured)
01-15 You suffer from night terrors. On a long rest, you must roll a d6; on a 1, you do not gain the benefits of a Long Rest. You may instead roll Hit Dice as if taking a Short Rest. You recover spent spell slots and may prepare new spells.
16-25 ”I have significant difficulty letting go of or discarding things that may be important, no matter how insignificant others might consider them.”
26-30 “I am extremely protective of those around me and worry constantly about the safety of my companions, likely to the point of annoyance at my fretting.”
31-35 “I am hyper-aware of how others view me, and am desperate for approval and praise to help me cope with my shaken confidence.”
36-45 “I try to keep mementos of who or what I’ve lost, no matter how odd, and become upset or enraged if someone suggests parting with them or tries to take them from me.”
46-50 “The stresses of life cause me to lash out at others. Though I likely regret my actions later, in the moment, I am often obstinate and unwavering in my frustration.
51-55 Your patience with others has worn somewhat thin. You have Advantage on Intimidation and Deception checks, but Disadvantage on all other Charisma-based checks, including saving throws.
56-70 “I have overcorrected for my shaken confidence and now view myself with elevated self worth and forced bravado.”
71-80 "Anyone who tries to inquire about me obviously has ulterior motives and will use any information gained against me."
81-85 “I am reluctant to admit when I don’t know something, fearing the judgment of others. I
sometimes jump to make assumptions in an attempt to fill the gaps in my knowledge.”
86-95 Your Madness has caused you to lose interest in something you were once passionate about. You are no longer proficient in a skill of your DM’s choice.
95-100 “I often doubt aspects of my surroundings and am hypervigilant of anything that I think may not entirely be as it seems. I might believe that a ‘suspiciously empty-looking’ clearing likely contains invisible enemies, or that every chest, door, or doorframe I encounter is a mimic.”

Curing Madness

Short term and long term Madness can be suppressed with the Calm Emotions spell or removed by the Lesser Restoration spell. Depending on the source of the Madness, Remove Curse or Dispel Evil might also prove effective.

Indefinite Madness lasts until removed by a Greater Restoration spell. It can be suppressed by a Calm Emotions spell.