Derangements

Often times the mental health of a character will begin to degrade as they go on more and more games. This is typically through the acquisition of derangements.

Each Derangement represents a mental quirk, instability, or illness. There is no maximum to how many derangements a given character can possess, but the character may become nearly unplayable after a certain point.

Derangements are typically given as two point flaws.

Acquiring Derangements

There are several ways to acquire derangements. Here are a few examples:

• Failing or botching a virtue roll
• As the result of a spell or power
• Mythos Casting
• As specified in a special template

Examples of Derangements

• Compulsion : A compulsion represents a particular primal urge that a character finds difficult to resist. Resisting such an impulse requires a self-control roll. Some examples would be compulsions to steal, interact with technology, or stalk strangers.

• Phobia : A phobia represents an overwhelming fear of something that a character has. These fears are always unreasonable or taken to an unreasonable level, and a character with a phobia will typically need to roll courage when they encounter the subject of their phobia. Common phobias include snakes, needles, small places, being alone, and the dark.

• Curiosity : Curiosity could be described as a compulsion to explore the unknown. Self control rolls are required when a mystery presents itself. This can be extremely dangerous and has led to the deaths of many characters who just couldn't resist messing with things they shouldn't have.

• Delusions of Grandeur : A character with this derangement finds himself beyond reproach. He is the master of everyone's domain, the big boss. He is unable to accept advice or credit others without a self-control roll.

• Paranoid Megalomania : This derangement causes the bearer to believe that others are conspiring against them because of their (often newfound) power or wealth.

• Schizophrenia : This character hears voices that are not there. Besides being frightening, these voices may fuel other derangements, increasing the difficulty of related virtue rolls.

• Distrust : Characters with Distrust are unable to trust others. It should be noted that just walking on the street requires a certain amount of trust in the strangers around you, and certainly participating in a game with armed teammates requires even more trust.

• Trusting : Characters with this derangement are on the opposite end of the spectrum from those with distrust. They are likely to accept anyone as an ally, even when it is obvious that they intend harm.

• Hallucinations : At the storyteller's discretion, characters with hallucinations suffer visions or sensations of things that are not there.