If I acquire an insanity from having distressed willpower, it gets no tokens on it, right? And so, after the encounter, if I managed to keep it from acquiring tokens, it automatically goes away?

No. It is a simple (0d) check (errata FAQ confirms this). You roll your check but no challenge dice. Note, you can still fail.

I've wondered this myself. On this point, the FAQ says:

Insanity: Preventing a Permanent Insanity When a PC attempts a Willpower check to determine whether or not a temporary insanity becomes a permanent insanity, it is a Simple (0d) check. However, unlike standard or opposed checks, this Willpower check must generate a number of successes equal to or greater than the number of tokens on the insanity card to avoid the effects of permanent insanity, rather than just a single success.

That makes it seem that if there are no counters on the insanity, then the required number of successes is zero. If the text was you must "succeed on a check, with a number of successes equal to or...", then it would be clear minimum of one success is required.

Min 1. I don't have the books on me (its in the basic mechanic section), but it states that after taking away the crossed swords, at least one success must show to pass a test. The first section (0d) refers to the distressed will. The second section (not just ONE success) refers to the strained condition and tokens.

So even though you can look at it going 'I need 0 successes', its really just 1.

Any check requires at least one success to be a successfull check. Whatever the challenge level is (0d or more), no success = failed check.

From what you quoted, you need at least a number of success = to # of tokens on the Insanity. No tokens on an Insanity card only means you just need 1 success as fo any other check.

Similar yet not exactly on topic question (I tend to do that, sorry)

Let's say an encounter starts, you get stressed get an insanity with a few tokens, then you do that assess thingy some times and become UN-stressed (????) , if you get stressed again, do you get a new insanity to add tokens to or do you go on with the old one?

Keep adding Tokens to the Current temporary Insanity, even if you don't get "unstressed" inbetween.

You'd pick a new one only if the current Act ended and checked for the permanency of that Insanity. Once permanent, you don't add token on an Insanity, it's there!

Cwell2101 said:

Nope, not so.

I sent a query to FFG on this point and the question and answer follows:

Question: For temporary insanity recovery, the FAQ states that check must generate number of successes => number of tokens on insanity card. If there are no tokens, does that mean no successes are required? Or is the check still required to be "successful" (at least one success), it's just that being simple (no challenge die) that's not too hard. If latter, I suggest FAQ should say ""check must succeed, with at least as many successes as severity of insanity."

Official Answer: If a character ends an encounter with a temporary insanity with no tokens on it, there's no need to roll - barring other special circumstances, he'll recover from the temporary insanity automatically. In essence, he can't fail to roll at least 0 successes. Enjoy the game! ~Dan Clark
Creative Content Developer Fantasy Flight Games

Whelp that contradicts their basic rules. Hope they make sure that's in the new corebook!

If you don't roll, you don't have to succeed. He's saying that no tokens on the Insanity card leads to no permanancy check (requires clarification, FAQ-errata or otherwise)

I'm fine with it, you have been affected by it for the encounter/act and allows the GM to distribute them more often

Can You make willpower check in some stances (using 2-3 red dices) or always in neutral?

Always in neutral as it occurs out of encounter mode.