# General The stress meter is for when your character is going through something extremely stressful, find themself in a dangerous or life-threatening situation, or is going through something more terrifying than anything they've been through before. It can also be for when your character goes through something so reality-altering that they have a hard time handling it, or when they are in a place or are in the presence of a being that somehow has stress- or fear-inducing effects. While most games probably won't use the Stress Meter extensively, as it's designed specifically for thriller- or horror-type games, it can be used here and there when your character goes through something stressful and there needs to be a mechanic to capture what they feel and how they're acting. # Gaining Stress In a stressful situation, whenever your character fails a check they gain a level of stress. Until the stressful situation has passed completely your character may reduce stress in the ways included below. Your GM will also have you do checks to resist the stress itself, usually when you see something horrific, have something traumatizing happen to you, or have a life-altering realization. Failing these checks will induce more stress, and often the worse you fail the more stress you will gain. # Stress Meter | Level | Effect | | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0 | You aren't stressed, so there's no effect on your capabilities or your mind. | | 1 | You've just started to feel the stress. You have a -1 on Int and Wit. | | 2 | More pressure. You have a -1 on all checks. | | 3 | Pretty stressed now. You have a -2 on all checks. | | 4 | Starting to feel a bit panicky. You have a -2 to all checks. | | 5 | You're quite anxious, and you start shaking lightly. You have a -3 to all checks. | | 6 | The panic is starting to overtake you. You have a -3 to all checks. | | 7 | You have a blinding headache. Your vision is partially impaired, and there's a loud ringing in your ears. Disadv. | | 8 | You're dizzy and are having a hard time breathing. Fight or flight or freeze. Disadv. | | 9 | Full-blown panic attack. You're thinking irrationally now, and your emotions are unchecked. Double disadv. | | 10 | You're blind with panic. Immediately do anything your character can think of to get out of this situation, including something so rash that they'll end up hurt. Triple disadv. | # Reducing Stress There are only a couple of ways to reduce stress, and each of these may only reduce 1 or 2 levels of stress. Your GM might have you do a check (of any stat) to determine how successful you are at calming down. Here are some ways to try to reduce stress: - Succeeding on consequential checks - You did something! You feel a bit more confident. - Thinking of pleasant memories - This one will have varying success depending on how potent the memories are and how well you roll. - You have to have a bit of time in a relatively safe environment to make this work. - It will usually be a Wit or Int check to recall the memory in detail and immerse yourself in its details anew. - Holding a emotionally charged object is a variant of this tactic and may make it easier to alleviate stress. - Doing something brave - Can include saving someone you care about or doing something else to get yourself or someone else to safety - Almost always includes sacrificing or being willing to sacrifice your own safety! - Often will reduce stress by more than 1 - Taking some time away from the stressful situation - This one works automatically, without a check. - If you are able to get far enough away from the situation you will lose some stress, especially if the place you pick is well-lit and secured. - Often you will only be able to lose a couple of points of stress this way, especially if the situation has not completely passed. - Sometimes this isn't an option at all! - Relaxation exercises - Yoga, aromatherapy, a deep massage, meditation, or tai chi work very well for reducing stress (I prefer soothing crystals and singing bowls, myself) - Fix the situation itself - The only permanent solution. - Can include getting safe permanently, destroying the threat, or diffusing the situation. - Deep Rest - As long as you're not still in danger, a Deep Rest will remove all levels of Stress Even when you get out of the stressful situation you will usually still suffer some lasting effects! See below to see some examples of more long-lasting effects of extreme stress (also known as trauma). # Examples of Stress Responses Try to pick a behavior that "makes sense" for the character under the given circumstances. Put yourself in their irrational mind: what would *they* think would make this situation better or make themselves feel better? Be creative and have fun descending into darkness (or climbing back out of it)! ## Emotional and Mental - Unchecked emotions - Depression or negative thinking - Fear of something unrelated - Paranoia - Fainting - Delusion - Amnesia or having trouble remembering - Hallucination ## Physical - Laughing, crying, or screaming - Jaw clenching and teeth grinding - Yelling - Violence against others or themselves # Trauma Here are some ideas of trauma effects you can give your character after they get out of the stressful situation. These can be permanent or you can have your character go some sort of physical or emotional journey to heal from them. - Guilt-stricken - Emotionally cold - Haunted by flashbacks and day-time terrors - Become obsessed with something to deal with or distract from the trauma - Always tired but have trouble sleeping - Paranoid - Reckless - Turn to [[Drug Rules|Addiction]] - Emotionally unstable - Vicious