Disorders

By Tseretaris, in Black Crusade House Rules

So, I noticed that amidst all the (absolutely gorgeous) house rules in here, nobody's re-written the insanity system, which always irritated me because I thought that getting a different one depending on your alignment was kinda silly. So I worked up a massive table, here's what I got:

If a Heretic fails a Fear Test by more than four Degrees of Failure, they must roll on the Disorders table below, adding +10 for every degree of Failure on the Fear Test beyond four, and an additional +10 for every Disorder they already possess.

Disorders

Roll

Effect

01.-.10

Unhinged – The Heretic is considerably more sensitive to Fear. The Heretic treats all Fear-inducing sources as being one point higher (so for example, a Daemon with the Fear (2) Trait would instead affect the Heretic as though it had the Fear (3) Trait).

10.-.19

Tremors – The Heretic is racked by constant muscle spasms which are small, but enough to interfere. They suffer –10 to all WS and BS tests. Fine motor function in narrative time can only be accomplished with a successful WP test at –10 and five minutes of concentration to steady their permanently shattered nerves.

20.-.29

Amnesia – The Heretic loses all memory of who they are, anybody they once knew, places they've been or things they've done. The Heretic does not lose any of their working knowledge, however their skills are not affected by this loss of memory.

30.-.39

Conspiracy Theorist – The character sees conspiracies everywhere, even in the most mundane situations. Conspiracies seem to be the only subject they are capable of discussing, and they find a way to work their theories in to every conversation. They suffer a –5 penalty to all Interaction Tests that do not involve others who agree with their theories or directly relate to “uncovering” their current pet conspiracy.

40.-.49

Self Improvement – The character is driven to constantly change and improve themselves. Their clothing, speech, even their loyalties are in flux. They are forever scarring, branding, tattooing, or modifying their body through cybernetics or forced mutation. Due to this constant and rapid evolution, the character suffers –5 to all Interaction tests, as those around them are unsure who they deal with on a day to day basis.

50.-.59

Perfectionist – The character is never satisfied with the state of themselves, their surroundings, and their lot in life. They are forever fiddling and dithering, fixing, or attempting to fix, some perceived flaw in something that seems only to matter to them. Unless they can make a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test when required by the Game Master, the player suffers –10 to any skills that require concentration until they can make whatever flaw is distracting them “just right.”

60.-.69

Entropy – This character’s mere presence seems to cause the breakdown of anything within their possession. Weapons jam, vox systems malfunction, and vehicles become unreliable. This is not due to a warp-manifested malady, simply an apathy whereby the character completely fails to mend, replace, properly use or otherwise care for their possessions. Any items such as weapons, armour, gear, clothing, ammunition, vehicles, or anything else that has a Craftsmanship Rating has its rating reduced by one step while in the character’s possession.

70.-.79

Echopathy – The Heretic develops one of two peculiar habits, at the GM's discretion: Echopraxia, the involuntary habit of copying the physical actions of others; or Echolalia, the involuntary habit of repeating what other people say. The Heretic suffers –10 to all Interaction skill tests as they waste time and irritate others by their constant mimicry.

80.-.89

Absolute Pleasure The character’s sense of touch has been heightened, and they experience both pleasure and pain much more intensely than a normal person. Unless they take special care to distance themselves from physical sensations, by wearing gloves or heavy clothes for example, they suffer a –10 penalty to any skill tests that require concentration, as even the slightest pressure or the lightest breeze distracts them with either delicious pleasure or exquisite agony. This does not affect the character's actual perceptive abilities, however – their brain simply becomes distracted by the information, rather than receiving more of it.

90.-.99

Psychosomatic Sensory Impairment – The Heretic suffers from psychosomatic blindness, deafness or dumbness, with all associated penalties. This extends even to artificial replacements for such senses – the problem lies in the mind rather than the body, after all.

100.-.104

Phobia – The Heretic suffers from an unceasing fear of a nature determined by the GM, and is terrified by the mere sight of it. The Heretic treats all such objects or situations as having Fear (1), from which no further Disorders may be gained.

105.-.109

Night Terrors – The Heretic suffers from horrific nightmares, and awake screaming nearly every night. Those nearby will suffer as well – the Heretic and all those who sleep within earshot suffer 1 level of fatigue (maximum) due to interrupted sleep. However, the Heretic has a 10% chance of sleeping normally, thereby losing levels of fatigue as normal.

110.-.114

Megalomania – The Heretic is convinced that they are legitimately supremely powerful or otherwise authoritative. They will take on nearly impossible challenges because they have a fundamental belief in their own omnipotence. Due to their boorish nature, they suffer –10 to all Interaction tests unless they are in the presence of actual authority figures, where the penalty becomes –20 as they are so irritated with the character's monumental arrogance.

115.-.119

Quixotism – The character adheres to a set of lofty ideals, and considers anyone who doesn't believe the same to be foolish, weak, uncouth, or otherwise simply not worth the effort of talking to. The character suffers a –20 penalty to all interaction tests with people who don't share their morals as they berate, judge or simply refuse to speak with them.

120.-.124

Dissociative Identity Disorder (X) – The number in parentheses indicates the total number of personalities inhabiting the Heretic, each of which is distinct. The switching of these personalities is determined by the GM, however, and can happen at any time.

125.-.129

A Touch of Plague – The character is convinced that they are afflicted by some chronic disease. While they don't believe it to be contagious, it slowly consumes the character from the inside. Thanks to their “illness”, this character sees their Toughness reduced by 5 and permanently suffers from a level of Fatigue.

130 - 134

Compulsive Lying – The Heretic cannot help but weave falsehoods, no matter the situation. Even the tiniest truths are excessively coloured. The character's roleplay should reflect this – everything must be false, or at least a gross exaggeration of the truth. Any actual lies are, in fact, much easier to detect, as the Heretic is simply awful at telling them. The Heretic suffers a –10 penalty to all interaction skill tests, and an additional –20 penalty to all Deceive attempts, as well as the implications for roleplay.

135 - 139

Unspeakable Urge – The character has a deep, hidden desire (be it for a substance, activity or otherwise). The character must indulge in their desire once a week. If they have not satiated this hunger within the previous week, they suffer a –5 penalty to any Skill Tests that require concentration as their mind becomes distracted with thoughts of their desire. For every subsequent week they go without, they suffer an additional –5 penalty to a maximum of –20. During this time they are irritable, distracted, distant, and generally unpleasant. As soon as they gets to a place where they can satisfy their need, they seek it out immediately, often recklessly and with little thought to any consequences.

140 - 144

Paranoid Schizophrenia – The character's mind is in constant turmoil, distorting normal mood activity and even their perceptions of reality. Their inconstant emotional state causes them to suffer –20 to all interaction skill tests, –20 to any test that requires concentration, and finally they cannot pass a Fear test – any passing result is treated as a Failure with 0 degrees. They are permanently unhinged, and may well not last much longer.

145 - 149

Dead Inside – This character has seen things. Unspeakable things. Their soul has been seared, and left them an empty shell. The character is brooding, quiet, and withdrawn most of the time and tends to stare fixedly into space and speak in a flat, monotone voice. Their presence is unnerving, as such they suffer a –20 penalty to all Interaction Tests and can no longer make Charm tests. Additionally, they suffer a –20 penalty to any test that requires concentration, as their mind inevitably wanders back to whatever destroyed their psyche.

150 . +

Comatose – The character slips into a coma from which they can never recover – they are as good as dead. It is still possible to draw information from their mind, such as via psychic powers, but all such attempts suffer a –20 penalty. Without constant medical care, the character will die within 1d10 days.

I understand that it gets a little samey what with all the penalties to interaction skill tests, but I figured the roleplay element would be hilarious.

(At one point, the party Noise Marine go Psychosomatic Deafness. The party just fell apart with laughter).

All thoughts, comments and tweaks welcome!