Delirium & Dementia

Previously:

I wrote about Resolve and Spirit.

Delirium & Dementia.

The Delirium and Dementia table is to mental health and stress what the Death and Dismemberment table is to physical health and injury.

When a character dips (momentarily) below zero Resolve or starts taking damage to their Spirit then roll 3d6 and add the number of points that the character would have gone into negative Resolve or the amount of Spirit damage taken. Depending on how you’re doing things. Compare the result to the table below.

Delirium is a temporary effect, typically an overwhelming fear, that hinders a character’s actions until they recover. However recovery is not without risk. Once the Delirium expires the affected character Saves versus Madness. If they succeed then they gain a point of Resolve instead of losing one. If they fail then they don’t lose any more Resolve but their Delirium becomes Dementia of a similar class (Light Delirium becomes Light Dementia, &etc).

Dementia is a longer lasting effect of a varied nature. There are six expressions of dementia. Choleric, which expresses itself as violence and aggression; Katochic, which expresses itself as multiple personalities, prophetic pronouncements and similar; Melancholic, which expresses itself as depression and anxiety; Phlegmatic, which expresses itself as apathy and catatonia; Phobic, which expresses itself as irrational fear; and Sanguine which expresses itself as mania and delusion.

There are four grades, or degrees, of Dementia, each of which has their own dementia score. Each affliction of Dementia should be recorded separately. 

Next post in this series should start detailing the different types of dementia.