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This fear is not the panic of shock or surprise,
the adrenal reaction to a threat situation profiled under "Panic" in
the Combat Rules. This is a worse and more terrifying thing,
the primal horror that lurks within all humanity. After all,
being eaten alive is far more horrible than being shot.
The referee determines the fear situation and
difficulty level. For instance, suddenly discovering the girl
(or guy) you're kissing is a nameless horror would be a Difficult
test. On the other hand, being accosted by more human-like
monsters would only be an Easy test — it may be ugly, but it's more
or less normal looking. The fear level is largely determined
by the fearfulness of the creature. If the fear situation has
an appropriate setup, an atmosphere that has the characters half
frightened out of their wits before they encounter the creature,
increase the level of difficulty one level. If the characters
know what they are going to see or have seen it before, lower the
difficulty one level.
The Fear test is made using the
Willpower asset. Alternatively, a PC may use Initiative in
place of the
Willpower skill (INT + INI) if his Initiative is higher than his
Willpower.
Success allows the character to act normally.
Failure means the character is frozen in place with terror, unable
to do anything. A terrified character may use his actions to
test again, at one difficulty level lower, hoping to snap out of it
and do something. Outstanding Success allows the character to
take one free action immediately, even out of turn, to react to the
situation. Catastrophic Failure means that the character is
panic-stricken and can only flee for his life; if flight is
impossible, the character curls into a fetal position and
whimpers/quivers/is otherwise totally useless. A character
suffering the effects of Catastrophic Failure can test to remove its
effects once the source of the fear is gone (Easy:
Willpower or Initiative) or if a friend motivates him — "Snap
out of it!" Slap! (Difficult:
Willpower or Initiative).
This test is made in addition to the normal Panic
test, if the situation calls for a Panic test as well.
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