New Rule: FEAR and FAME

Player characters will not always be necessarily expecting to run into everything they may end up experiencing. A lot of players and creatures will be experienced that a character likely has never seen or experienced before. Many of these things can be intimidating or even terrifying for the character.

Each time a character encounters a monster or creature, or sometimes even a place, for the first time, they must make a Fear Check. This will indicate whether Fear has an effect on the character.

The characters make a Willpower skill roll (or Wisdom if no Willpower skill) against the Fear rating of the creature. That Fear number is multiplied by the number of creatures present. So if a creature has the Fear rating of 4, but there are five of that creature present, the difficulty of the Willpower roll is 20.

If the Willpower roll equals or exceeds the Fear rating total, the character is unaffected by site of the creature/place. Rolling under the Fear rating total means the character is affected by trepidation for a time while interacting with the creature or place.

Fail by 1-6 = Character is hesitant to engage. Suffer -1D to any attack rolls for the first two rounds against the item/creature.

Fail by 7-11 = The Character is rather intimidated by the site. Suffer -2D to any attack rolls for the first two rounds against the item/creature, and then -1D to all attacks for the remainder of the battle.

Fail by 12-15 = The Character is frightened. It is difficult to concentrate due to the fear the character is experiencing. Suffer -3D to all attack rolls for entire battle, and -1D to all defense and skill rolls for the entire battle.

Fail by 16 or more = The Character is terrified. The urge of fight or flight is strong and the feeling of dread at the site of the creature/item is enough to cause panic. Suffer -5D to all attack rolls for entire battle, and -3D to all defense and skill rolls for the entire battle.

Note This Fear is useful when running Fantasy games with massive creatures or horrific things, or Horror games with macabre settings or vile creatures.

Fear will never force a character to flee. That will remain up to the player to decide. It will only affect the willingness of the character to present themselves in a bold manner to the dangers before them.

Removing Fear:

If the creature or place was successfully defeated or overcome when encountered, and no significant damage was done the character or other players in the group, any future encounters with the same type of creature or place will not require a Fear check. If, however, the character suffered dearly or others were killed or maimed from the first encounter, a new Fear check would still need to be made the next time.

If, after SIX encounters with the same creature or place has not successfully been defeated or overcome, then the character is assumed to have built up a tolerance to the fear of that creature/item and will not need to make further checks against it.

Fame:

Fame is when the exploits of the Characters has propelled them to famous status. Killing creatures, finding lost treasures, journeying to dangerous places and returning alive are all examples of what can increase the Fame of a character.

Fame can be gained, and lost, by the characters’ actions.

Effects of Fame:

Fame works to counteract Fear, and it can even have the same effect as Fear but AGAINST the creatures you encounter. Add up the Fame of each character in a group, and compare that against the total Fear rating. If the Fame is less than the Fear rating, the Fear is actually REDUCED by the amount of the Fame before the Willpower check is made. If the Fame exceeds the amount of the Fear rating, then the player characters will not need to roll for Fear, and the actual creatures will need to make an Intellect/Intelligence roll against the FAME of the group/character to see if the creatures even want to tangle with the characters.

Fame equivalency:
1-2 Fame = while you may be known to a few simply by name, most have probably not heard of you.

3-4 Fame = Your name has probably been spread around and chances are decent that a few know of you simply by your reputation.

5-7 Fame = You’re known by reputation only, but more than a few have heard of you, and there may even be some embellishments on your accomplishments. Some may even consider you to be a hero.

8-10 Fame = Most everyone has heard of something about you, and there will be some who will recognize you on sight. There may be larger-than-life embellishments made about your exploits and many will consider you a hero. You may even have a couple people who want to follow you or be like you.

11-15 Fame = You are known in all the land, and your exploits have been turned into folklore. Many consider you are hero or supreme caliber. Many will assist you in any way if you ask for help. You are known immediately upon being seen.

16-22 Fame = You are legend and will likely have many things made up about your exploits. Everyone in the nearby lands will know you and people will be able to identify you immediately. They will flock to see you. A statue might be erected in your honor.

23-30 Fame = Legends abound about you and people revere you. Groups may have been formed to carry on your ideals and beliefs, and a kingdom may even make significant changes to itself in your honor (coins with your image on them, renaming a town or other geographical feature for you, creating a special holiday for you, etc.)

31-40 Fame = You are such a legendary hero you will never be forgotten. Everyone, even from far distant lands have heard of you and respect you, even those that might be enemies. Books are written about you and your exploits, and some are exaggerated so much that many consider you “untouchable” due to your greatness.

41+ Fame = You are god among men and may even be worshiped by some as such.