The Old World: Grim and Perilous

Terrified
A terrified character suffers strain every time
they take an action. If the action is targetted at
the source of terror, they additionally upgrade
the difficulty of the check twice. Terror lasts until
the end of the scene or until the source of terror
is defeated, forced to flee, or removed from
the scene in some other way. A character cannot
be frightened and terrified at the same time. In
such instance, Terror always takes precedence.
Rally!
While the new effects of fear are a bit more harsh
than the base ruleset, we are also introducing
a countermeasure. A character that passed the
fear check may perform an Average (kk) Leadership
check to inspire their allies within medium
range. If the check is successful, for each s
one ally may remove their frightened status. If
the check also generated aaa or t you may
spend it along with s to remove the terrified
status from one allied character.
Effects of Fear
Below, we provide mechanical effects for failing
and succeeding fear checks. Remember that you
should also add narrative effects to the check,
depending on the circumstances.
• Frightened: The character is scared and suffers
from the Frightened status. This is a good
penalty for a simple failure.
Failure with a or t:
• Trembling hands: The character is frightened
but determined enough to act almost normally.
They suffer the Frightened status, but add
j instead of jj to the checks. This is a good
penalty for failure with aa.
• Heart in Mouth: The character is frightened,
but they quickly recover. The character suffers
from the Frightened status, but the status lasts
until the end of the character's next turn. This
is good penalty for failure with t or a lot of a.
Failure with h or d:
• Frozen: The character suffers from the Frightened
status. In addition, they are immobilized
until the end of their next turn. This is a good
penalty for a failure with a small amount of h.
• Terrified: The character is overwhelmed by
terror and suffer the Terrified status (instead
of the Frightened status). They also suffer
a mental trauma (see Sanity). This is a good
penalty for a failure with hh or d.
• Heart Attack: The character immediately suffers
the Heart Attack Critical Injury (see page
). This is a good penalty for a failure with
dd or lots of h.
success with a or t:
• Steady Nerves: The character keeps their nerve
and suffers no ills effects. Obviously, this is a
good result for passing their fear check.
• Stand with Me: The character's steadfast response
emboldens their allies. Any allied characters
forced to make a fear check from the
same source add j to their check. This is a
good result for passing a fear check with aa.
• Fearless: The character faces the source of
fear and finds that it no longer has any hold
on them. They automatically pass any further
fear checks from that source. This is a good
result for succeeding with t, but you should
not apply these results if the source is the character's
Fear motivation (see Genesys Core
Rulebook, page )
success with h or d:
• Adrenaline Rush: Momentary panic gives the
character a rush of adrenalin, but at a cost.
The character adds j to their next check, but
suffer strain. This is a good penalty for a success
with a small amount of h.
• Traumatized: The character keeps their nerve,
but the terror they face leaves a mark on their
mind. The character suffers a mental trauma
(see Sanity). This is a good result for passing a
fear check with d or a few h.
• Heroic Idiocy: The character initially appears
to be calm, but quickly rushes straight to the
source of fear and attacks. They automatically
pass any further fear checks from that source
and upgrade the ability of combat checks targeting
the source of fear once, but they will
fight with it to death and cannot retreat. If
the character exceeds their wounds threshold,
they automatically pass the check to stay conscious
(see Resisting Loss of Consciousness
and Instant Death, page ) and continue
the combat. This is a good result for passing
a fear check with d or hhh when facing
monsters and unnatural beings.
132 The Old World: Grim and Perilous