The Colabrian System
Madness & Phobias
To really drive home the fact that this is a Dark Fantasy game setting, we added sanity as a feature with phobias and madness to give that extra gritty role playing experience. This was designed with many people on stream and we absolutely love how it’s all turned out and tied together. So below you will find the Short & Long Term Madness tables as well as the Phobia table to use when any sanity failure condition is met as the rules explain! We hope you all have as much fun play with this system as we have had making it!
Short Term Madnesses
Short Term Madness’ are not quite as damaging or dangerous as their Long Term counterparts, but they still require some dedicated attention to resolve. This could be finding a Dreamweaver who can manifest something to heal your mind, or, more simply, it could just require some dedicated therapy time. It is possible for these to heal on their own in time, at a GMs discretion, we would recommend a minimum time frame of 8 weeks without dedicated help or attention
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So much to remember, so much more to know… Your brain cannot ever be silent, and sometimes those thoughts escape your lips too. As such, you sporadically mutter thoughts and general ideas without knowing you’re doing it, not believing that you are when confronted.
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They’re lying to you, they’re all lying. Don’t believe a word they say, never! As such, insight checks can yield false results even on perceived successes.
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Something is always right there, dancing on the corners of your vision, taunting you, hunting you. As such, awareness checks can yield false results even on perceived successes.
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It doesn’t take much to make you feel worthless, alone, scared… A snide remark can throw you into a frenzy and you have no control. As such, any Temperament checks are 20% harder to succeed.
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Learned information quickly slips your mind, making it hard for you to keep track of tasks and insights. Any new information learnt until this effect wares off can only be remembered by you for 1 hour of in game time before fading from your mind.
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Your limbs can’t help but twitch against your mind making it hard to do anything that requires physical skill. As such, any Physique based check or skill finds Slight Successes counting as Slight Failures instead.
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Something has caught your eye, travelling to your mind and not letting you relax. You’ve become fixated on completing a task, a person or an object. Discuss with your GM what would best suit the situation!
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You try to speak but the sounds get stuck in your throat, jagged and uncomfortable. You become uncannily quiet and unable to speak, no matter how hard you try to.
Long Term Madnesses
Long Term Madness’ are much more dangerous and more difficult to get rid of. It would take more than a few prayers or therapy to find the answers to heal, needing a much more advance Dreamweaver who is skilled in mental manifestation or maybe even a specialist in the field of whatever madness has befallen you. They will not go away on their own - so seek help! They are also much more potent in their effects, having more damaging implications for both Role Play and Combat.
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You believe you have another person with you who can help or hinder situations as they please (they can’t). This could be someone from your backstory or just someone your GM makes up.
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You forget everything, who you are and what you’re doing. For added fun, we recommend giving your character sheet to the GM, and taking a new blank one for yourself so you can rediscover everything again for yourself by trying and failing things that fill it out!
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Surely everyone can see that… Right? You wholeheartedly believe in what you see that isn’t there. All Awareness results have something within the response that isn’t there but you don’t know what.
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Something in you has snapped, split you in two. Every time you wake up you must flip a coin (d2) and become a good/evil version of yourself and stay true to whatever disposition it lands on.
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One of your senses becomes inactive, making it impossible to use. Have a conversation with your GM to decide which makes the most sense: Touch, Hearing, Smell, Sight or Taste.
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You are starving. No matter how much you eat, you can’t stop feeling empty. Every time you come across food, you feel a compulsion to eat until you are unable to eat more, suffering a -5 to any Endurance checks for an hour of in game time after the fact.
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The burn of liquor, the draw of smoke… Something has got its claws in you and won’t let you go. You develop an addiction that you must appease or suffer exhaustion. For every six hours of in game time that you go without the substance of your focus, you gain 1 point of exhaustion.
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When this is rolled, whatever situation forces it has deeply affected you. Anything that reminds you of this situation forces you to become emotionally unstable (GM/Player Discretion) forcing you to react in a way that relates to the original event. Discuss with your GM how best to incorporate this and what exactly happens when this is triggered.
Phobias
Unlike Madness’, Phobias are incurable, permanent features of your character’s psyche. When a failed Sanity check forces you to take a Phobia, you can either choose to roll from the table below (d20), or you can discuss with your GM what fits the situation that gave it to you the most. All Phobias will impact both combat and role play scenarios and can add a whole new level of character development!
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Spiders are terrifying. So when you see one, you enter a state of fight or flight, flipped on a coin. If they enter flight mode, they must spend their turns moving away from a spider. If they enter fight mode, they must spend their turns attacking a spider at least once per turn and nothing else.
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Heights? Where? Nope, not going up there, no chance. Any ledge higher than 5m is terrifying to you. You are therefore unable to go within 5m of said ledges… Because you can never be too cautious.
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Imagine being stuck in a really small hole with no light or ease of escape… Yeah, no thanks. Whenever you find yourself in a tight space, you are unable to control your panic, raising your exhaustion by two levels as you struggle in vain.
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Wait… You don’t love being surrounded by people you don’t know or like? Weird. Ah well, when there are 3 or more unknown/enemy people within 2m of you, you must use your movement to get out of the situation until you are at least 5m from any unknowns/enemies for 1d4 turns.
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Death? Not for you, thanks. Artmus can wait for your soul! When you fall below 25% health, you must use your movement to stay 15m away from any perceived hostile until you are back above 50%.
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Don’t really fancy the thought of drowning? That’s fair. Whenever you’re in a body of water and your feet are unable to touch the ground, you panic and gain two levels of exhaustion and must use your turns trying to get out.
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People can be really mean can’t they? And that makes conversations really tough. All those snide remarks and sarcastic jests… Dialogue check markers are 10% harder for you to succeed.
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You never know what might linger in the dark… So when in darkness and further than 5ft from a friendly entity, your movement is halved. When within 5ft of a friendly entity, your movement is reduced by 10ft instead.
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Thoughts of your blood running freely from your veins terrifies you, it should be on the inside, right? As such, when you fall below 25% health, flip a coin (d2)! You fall unconscious from the sight of your own blood if you choose incorrectly for 1d4 minutes of in game time.
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Ever seen the look on someone’s face when they’re disappointed? Not fun is it? Just a few more tries and I’m sure you’ll get there! When you fail a roll, you must continue attempting to do the same thing repeatedly until you succeed (GMs discretion).
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Fears are silly, right? You keep telling yourself that… But what if there’s something to them? No, don’t be silly. Failing a Courage roll now has the same effect as failing a Sanity roll.
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Fire is destructive, unfeeling and utterly terrifying. You can’t go within 5m of any large fire source (e.g. a campfire) and cannot use torches or candles.
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That hurts! Stop that! What do you mean you only pinched me? You might as well have stabbed me! Every time you take damage, you take an additional 1d4 damage.
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The Dream is dangerous, you know this, you know how easy it can be to get lost in it, so you avoid it, you avoid sleeping. So you only recover half Health, Mana and Stamina from sleep.
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Everyone has abandoned you, left you to fend for yourself, all alone… Wait, never mind, they were just around the corner. If you have no line of sight to another known ally or friendly associate, you must make a Willpower check (marker 50%). Failing this check has the same effect as failing a Sanity roll.
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Most people think it’s a compliment to say that they can get lost in your eyes, you don’t. You get trapped in your own gaze, reflections twisted by your perception of yourself. Anytime you see your own reflection, you must flip a coin (d2). Failing results in you freezing, unable to look away or move until the reflective surface is broken or disrupted.
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Oh no, you’re not going to get caught by those nasty illnesses that keep floating around, no chance. Just got to keep clean, that’s all. Then you can’t get ill, right? Whenever you are near water, you must attempt to clean yourself off, removing any dirt from your person.
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Nothing is worse than a hug from someone you barely know, or a handshake from some merchant trying to make you a deal. Come to think of it, nothing is worse than having to touch anyone at all. You have disadvantage on any checks requiring physical contact with another creature.
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That could hurt someone you know? Parents always say to be careful around knives for a reason, and you still can’t stop yourself worrying that they are right to be scared of them. As such, you are unable to use sharp weapons or tools.
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Lightning is terrifying, it’s like the sky is angry and doesn’t care what it hurts. As such, loud and explosive noises such as thunder cause you to run for nearby cover, as do flashes of light, like lightning. If no cover is available, you simply drop prone and cover your head until the perceived threat has passed.