Created 09 Jul 2023, Published 09 Jul 2023, Last modified 10 May 2024 23:48
Cool is the characters natural ability to absorb the shock which comes from severe wounds, (see shock rolls) and the characters natural mental fortitude, (see fear rolls).
If a character receives a single wound at any one time that is equal to or greater than 1/2 of their total hit-points or their total damage exceeds the 1/2 and 1/4 H.P. damage marks then the character will require a cool roll. A successful roll means the character hasn’t gone into shock. A failed roll results in the character entering shock due to the pain.
Remember any wounds act as a minus penalty for any skill or statistic rolls. E.g. Ugg the Mighty has a cool of 80, he takes 10 hit-points worth of damage and as such exceeds a quarter of total hit-points in a single wound. Ugg must roll his cool with a -10 penalty against it. Ugg requires 70 or less to save against shock.
If a character enters shock they are stunned for that round and cannot act. Subsequently the following round those in shock act last, irrespective of their initiative. If say there are two or more PCs or NPCs in shock then those individuals initiatives determine which of them gets to act first. However in order to act the person in shock must succeed their cool roll again. A failed roll means they are still in shock and can’t act. A successful roll means they have recovered from shock and can act. A critical failure in a shock roll results in an automatic loss of consciousness for 1d6+1 rounds.
A fear roll is required if the players encounter a creature or entity which requires a fear roll if seen or if the players encounter opposition deemed by the referee to be vastly superior than the PCs party. The player must roll the characters cool for a fear roll. A success means the character isn’t afraid. A failed roll means that the character is frightened. While the character is frightened all actions are penalised by the amount that they failed their roll by. E.g. Ugg the Mighty has a cool of 80. He encounters a large enemy force and the referee declares Ugg has to roll his cool. Ugg rolls a 90. He fails by 10 and he is frightened. All of Ugg’s actions are at -10 until he recovers from his fear.
Critical failure results in a panic and the character will flee from the scene if they can at all costs. If they can’t escape they are frozen to the spot with fear and cannot act for 1d6+1 turns. To recover from fear or panic the player must re-roll their cool during their turn in the following turn. Those who are scared act last, frightened characters have the priority over scared ones. For multiple frightened or scared characters their individual initiatives will decide which will act first. Fear or panic automatically ends whenever the character(s) are considered to be no longer in danger, (referee’s discretion). E.g. Ugg is scared and is frozen to the spot as he is trapped in a sealed room with a vampire and he cannot flee. Luckily his two mates are in the room also and they manage to kill the vampire, (with no help from Ugg!). The referee decides Ugg, although shaken is no longer in danger, (as the vampire is dead) and as such he is no longer scared or frightened and (slowly) he recovers. The referee should carry the fear through to the next couple of situations.