Chapter IX: The Game Master
But then the GM turns to Gregor and says: “No doubt they’re worn out from following you. You couldn’t help but notice the one in the fancy outfit slyly looking your way, and secretly motioning his travelling companions to do the same. Now he’s whispering something to one of them, the big guy with a sword. You think you’ve seen his face before on a wanted poster in Middenheim.” At that same table is Beatrix, who’s been suffering from the Glorious Corruption for some time. The GM turns to her and says: “You sense that the man in the fancy clothes has just managed to steal one of the nails in your shoe using his magic powers. You’re not sure what he’s going to do with it, but you think it’s something bad.” For addicts and other characters with compulsive disorders (Terrible Thirstings, Mandrake Man, Fortune’s Thrall, Restless Fingers and Firebug) it’s much easier to integrate their disorders into the game. First, most of them need to make a daily Will Power Test to keep their addiction at bay. Secondly, as GM you can throw them into situations where they’ll be forced to make a Will Power save. For example, also at the table in the coaching inn is Otto, who is a Firebug. The GM can simply turn to him and say: “Lots of pretty candles around here.” The goal is for the GM not to lead players by the nose necessarily, just give them enough information they can run with. And be aware that roleplaying with disorders can sometimes take the game in unexpected directions. C urIng I nsanITy Insanity is not commonly treated in the Old World. The afflicted are usually locked away in madhouses, condemned to desperate lives of privation and brutality. There are some techniques that can help the insane, though none of them are widely available. Of these, only magic can cure the insanities that are actually Daemon possession. s urgery The first is surgery. This is a crude experimental process that is quite dangerous for the patient. To even attempt it, the medical practitioner must have the Heal Wounds skill and the Surgery talent. The process takes 1d10 hours, at the end of which a Heal Wounds Skill Test must be made. The Test Difficulty is either Challenging, Hard, or Very Hard, depending on what the surgeon is trying to achieve. Actually curing an insanity is Very Hard. Table 9-2: Insanity Surgery summarizes what tests and what can be achieved with a successful Heal Wounds Test. All surgery of this type reduces the patient to 0 Wounds (they are operating on the brain after all!). Normal healing can take place once the surgery is complete. Should the test fail, no matter the difficulty, the GM should roll on Table 9-3: Botched Surgery to find out what happened. Example: Dr. Nicholas wants to treat a patient who’s on the verge of going insane (he has 7 Insanity Points). He opts to make a Hard (–20%) Heal Wounds Test. If successful, his patient will lose 1d10 Insanity Points, hopefully returning him to normalcy. Dr. Nicholas, unfortunately, fails his Skill Test and so must roll on Table 9-3: Botched Surgery . He rolls a 25, so his surgery actually causes his patient to gain 1d10 Insanity Points. This may be enough to push the patient over the edge and become insane. Dr. Nicholas decides to leave town before his failure becomes apparent…
T able 9-2: I nsanITy s urgery Heal Difficulty Effects of Successful Test Challenging Patient loses 1 IP Hard Patient loses 1d10 IPs Very Hard Patient cured of 1 insanity T able 9-3: b oTChed s urgery Roll Result 01-20
A Surgical Triumph: Whilst the surgery was ineffective, neither did it damage the patient. You Won’t Feel a Thing: The patient gains 1d0 Insanity Points. Whoops!: The unfortunate patient loses 1d10 Intelligence permanently. I Hate It When They Thrash : The patient must make a Toughness Test or die under the knife. Even if he survives, he loses 1d10 Intelligence permanently and gains 1d0 Insanity Points. We’ve Got a Bleeder!: The patient dies on the operating table from severe trauma and blood loss. Sure-Fire Cure: The drug is useless and the apothecary knows it. Whim and Tonic: The drug is useless but counts as an alcoholic drink. May Cause Drowsiness: The drug knocks the imbiber out for 1d10 hours. Tincture of Mercury: The drug causes the imbiber to gain 1 Insanity Point. Medicinal Purge: The drug is poison. The imbiber must make a successful Toughness Test or lose 1d10 Wounds, regardless of TB.
21-40
41-60
61-80
81-100
T able 9-4: q uaCk m edICIne Roll Result 01-20
21-40
41-60
61-80
81-100
d rugs Herbal and chemical concoctions can’t actually cure insanity. At best they can suppress the madness for a short time. Drugs that affect the mind are hit or miss to say the least. Each one must be specially crafted for its recipient, so it can properly counteract the insanity. Making a drug requires Trade Tools (Apothecary), 2d10 gold crowns worth of ingredients, and takes 1d10 hours. If a successful Very Hard (–30%) Trade (Apothecary) Test is made, the drug works and can suppress the character’s madness for one week. If the test is failed, the mixture is off and potentially dangerous. The GM should roll on Table 9-4: Quack Medicine to find out what sort of effect it will have on the imbiber. The maker of the drug always believes he’s gotten it right, unless the table result says otherwise. m agIC There are several spells that can help the insane, most notably the Shallyan spell cure insanity (see page 165). Transmutation of the unstable mind (see page 157) also may help (or not!). The main difficulty with magical cures is not side effects, but finding those sufficiently powerful to cast the spells. Only a handful of priests and wizards in the entire Empire are powerful enough to use magic such as this. Finding them and convincing them to help would be an adventure in and of itself.
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