tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post8144623577764404644..comments2023-09-18T15:13:07.133-04:00Comments on Cyclopeatron: Sanity in D&DBob Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12073807225519106277noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post-47465862071224720212010-06-26T16:52:12.330-04:002010-06-26T16:52:12.330-04:00As far as sanity and horror go, remember that the ...As far as sanity and horror go, remember that the real reason there is a Sanity mechanic in Call of Cthulhu is because characters who drop to 0 Sanity Points are lost to the player. This creates a cost to reading forbidden tomes, using magic and even to facing many of the monsters in the game, so that players become reluctant to do so. It creates player behavior that models the behavior of HPL/mythos characters: "I'm not going in that room!"<br /><br />That's why I don't use any sort of Sanity rules in FRP. Game mechanics should always reward genre-positive play. D&D gives out XP (reward) for killing monsters and horrors. If they also lose Wisdom/Sanity (punishment) for essentially the same activity, what are you telling people your game is about?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post-12413703391726111542010-06-25T18:59:56.151-04:002010-06-25T18:59:56.151-04:00I think a sanity mechanic might or might not be us...I think a sanity mechanic might or might not be useful depending on the tone/style of one's game. After all, <i>Rio Bravo</i>, <i>Unforgiven</i>, and <i>Blood Meridian</i> are all Westerns with violence, but they very different takes on the level of horror, and personal toll they horror might take on those involved.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post-58095967540447203172010-06-25T15:32:03.346-04:002010-06-25T15:32:03.346-04:00Hey, thanks for the mention. As the article you li...Hey, thanks for the mention. As the article you linked to states, I just let spell like effects handle sanity and horror in my games. Once I began approaching it this way things got much easier on the GM side of the screen. Having these things take a toll on a character's Wisdom is something I have used in the past, and it is a logical way to track mind shattering experiences the characters face, but in the end I decided not to add any additional rules as there were plenty of rules already there. <br /><br />Nice article!Shane Mangushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03865733072718219138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post-4122421759531226772010-06-25T12:22:00.402-04:002010-06-25T12:22:00.402-04:00We used to play a lot of GURPS and when it came to...We used to play a lot of GURPS and when it came to fantasy, we thought long and hard about using the sanity rules. Eventually we decided not to, arguing that the PCs were pretty much an armed band of homeless sociopaths who were quite comfortable with violence and horror.<br /><br />Looking back, I find it odd that there are no guidelines for handling the mass slaughter during adventures. I think this is one of the reasons why our D&D games turn into slapstick melodrama from time to time. The whole set up is kind of absurd at times. How can people not be tempted to play a drunken scottish dwarf when that dwarf's occupation is murder and plunder. :)christianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09650456794111980661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2005132770907882258.post-61032043115742085962010-06-25T12:10:16.970-04:002010-06-25T12:10:16.970-04:00Despite my love for CoC (and degrees in Psychology...Despite my love for CoC (and degrees in Psychology) I am not a fan of sanity in D&D. <br /><br />The pulpy, swords and sorcery world of D&D does not seem to mesh well with the modern ideas of sanity. After all, you should be a little crazy to go off and search for treasure and hunt monsters.<br /><br />Plus after all the monsters that the adventures encounter, not to mention the ideas that magic and other species co-exist side by side with them, what would unhinge them?<br /><br />I like fear in D&D and even some horror and terror. But I don't think sanity is a great mix. At least not as it is portrayed in CoC.Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.com