Chaos Fantasy: Source

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Chapter 5: Resistance
[ | Resist Rules | Stun | Distraction | Magic | Knockout/Death | Poison | Primal Nature | ]
Resist Primal Nature

This resist represents the instinctive nature of your character. As such, it may be different things that set you off. Whenever a situation greatly appeals to your emotional state or ethics (this includes mental stress or terrible events), you must resist Primal Nature. There are four main events that can appeal to your Primal Nature (the GM may make you roll for other related situations as well).

Fear: When your character stumbles upon a brutal murder scene or there is the reeking stench of a corpse, it's time to roll this Resist. Failing could mean your character simply can't operate within the scene due to the massacre or horrible distractions. If the scene is horrifying (perhaps a strange cold wind or a terrible sight flashes in the darkness), your character may run away or simply cower in terror frozen in position. If someone is trying to intimidate you, you may be visibly afraid of them and start to back off. Being Horrified means your character literally wets himself in a screaming panic.

Charm: There are times when someone will try to get you to trust them. And unless there is a glaring flaw in their lie, your character may take it as truth if he fails his resist. A lot of times you might be willing to go along with it, but sometimes being seduced or charmed isn't in your character's best interest; he just can't help himself. Roll this as well if your character is staring at objects or inanimate beauty (works of art) to see how your character is entranced.

Torture: If friends are being threatened, your character is held at gunpoint, or if mental or physical torture is involved, your character will start to break down. When that happens, makes this Resist roll. If it fails, your character will give into whatever emotion seems appropriate (this could be a blind rage or sobbing acceptance of the consequences).

Morals: It's generally assumed your character has natural limits to his humanity. Lying to hurt someone else, cheating a widow out of money, torturing someone for information, and especially killing in cold blood are general no-nos. When your character attempts to do something immoral (especially just for the sake of being pure evil), it's time to make a Resist check. Of course, there are those among us who have no qualms whatsoever about doing these things, even just for fun. Check the Virtues section for more information on that.

GMs, only have players make this roll when it's important to the plot or scene. It shouldn't be something simple like "Oh, I burnt the toast again." unless it's somehow strangely in-character for the player.

Here are some guidelines for penalties; the GM should feel free to adjust it based on the situation and the affected character:

+20% against Charm if you know the person is full of it.
Another +20% against Charm if you know they want something from you and you don't like them anymore.
+20% against Fear if you know the person means you no harm.

-10% against emotional manipulation. This is likely a particular recurring emotion.
-20% against hallucinations. These may be caused from the effects of poison, high mental stress, or magic.
-30% against harsh torture. The character will comply with his torturer to do whatever is necessary to stop the pain.
When being charmed or feared, apply the opponent's Charm/Fear as a penalty to your Resist Primal Nature roll.
-60% for a personal crisis. Example: the character fails a roll and someone close dies.
-70% for a serious crisis. Example: destroying the character's life (killing family, friends) or pushing him over the edge.
How much your character fails or succeeds by should be considered as a factor. If a character barely fails, he should get a chance to try again relatively soon. If he fails miserably, it should reflect on just how crazy he goes. If he succeeds by quite a lot, his opponent may not get a chance to try to charm or fear him again; he's just that calm.

Characters are assumed to be fairly inexperienced and are not yet accustomed to the sight of death, war, and other naturally traumatic experiences. There are Virtues which can be bought to reflect your character's experience with grisly situations or just how few morals your character now possesses after so many years. The behaviour stat may provide bonuses and penalties for certain situations.