Triple the Fun!

I am a big fan of the article The Last Gasp by Douglas Cole which expands the rules for fatigue and adds the concept of Action Points to provide action with a sort of ebb & flow. Theoretically, I really like the concept of Action Points, however, in reality, I found them to be a bit too “fiddly”. The one game that I used them in found the players managing them in what felt was an unrealistic way. They were trying to avoid an enormous cave lion that was running towards them, and they were counting hexes so they wouldn’t have to run fast enough to risk losing a Fatigue point, rather than risk their characters being out of breath when they reached safety. Now I realize that isn’t a particularly strenuous test case, but it left me somewhat dissatisfied with Action Points.

So came up with what seems like a workable and easy to use (if somewhat gamey) alternative. Whenever you roll triples in combat or a stressful non-combat situation, there is a chance you will accumulate a Fatigue Point.

Physical (includes psionics) rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose 1 FP.
If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a FP.

18 = You automatically lose 1 FP and make a HT roll (modified for Fatigue), on a successful HT roll no extra FP are lost. On a failed HT roll you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions; or you lose a extra FP.

Non-Physical rolls:

3 = No Fatigue lost, on a successful HT (modified for Fatigue) roll you regain a FP.

6, 9, 12, 15 = If roll succeeded then there is no effect. If the original roll was a failure you must spend 1d rounds taking either Do Nothing, Evaluate or Wait actions if in combat rounds, or 1d minutes resting if not in combat rounds; or you lose 1 FP.

Why I like low-powered games

I wanted to take a few moments to try and explain why I enjoy lower-point campaigns. Perhaps that is the wrong way to start. What I actually enjoy are campaigns where real-world style threats are actually threatening, like a pistol, or even a knife. I like stat “normalization” with a cap of around 13 to 14, because characters with more realistic-feeling attributes seem easier for players to get into, more so in modern day era settings. I want the players to feel like they can’t take any encounter for granted, and they have to use smart tactics and planning to get the upper hand on the bad guys. Now, to some extent I have to create bad guys that are somewhat on par with the PC’s (my dimension hopping campaign has an average point value of 120 with 30 points in disads (not counting lower than average attributes) and 5 Quirks). But on par doesn’t necessarily mean that all the NPC’s are equal to the PC’s, there are plenty of powerful bad guys, but the players know this (usually) and plan accordingly. Either ambushing the baddies, or negotiating if possible, finding an ally, or just coming up with a clever plan. Having characters that are grounded in what feel like realistic skill levels and attributes gives them a real sense of accomplishment when they do get the better of a serious bad guy.

Many great TV shows feature pretty normal folks dealing with a variety of RPG style adventures. Examples include Lost, Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy or Rome. All of those rely on [clever scriptwriters] the characters working hard to overcome various obstacles. None involve the protagonists wading into a firefight with a pistol skill of 25+ and a massive Dodge from their DX & HT of 18 and taking aimed shots at the eyes. The characters in these shows never seem optimized, or “efficient”, and they seem more believable and sympathetic as a result.

Domibian Races 9f: Sperm Whales

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

The K’t’so spend their lives much as their Earth counterparts do, swimming, eating, mating and avoiding predators. but they also have a fairly rich history of oral literature. The stories are rather odd to human(oid) ears and seem rather alien. The smaller K’t’so (the two dolphin species) interact regularly with humans and will form alliances with some maritime cultures. These alliances usually consist of food sharing arrangements, “we help you catch a bunch of fish in your nets and you dump a bunch overboard afterwards for us to eat without chasing”. They tend to have good relations with the Klombasi and often will provide them with information they have collected from fishermen and sailors.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

Each of the six species have their own spawning grounds in different parts of the world, and while they range all over, they do return home to give birth and raise the children to a safe age for travel.

SAFUG stats

The Sperm Whales average about 93,500 lbs and are 56′ long (females are 31,100 lbs and 43′ long). The have a Strength of 118 (females a 79) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) they have an intellegence of 11 and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 118 and 79, with the males getting SM +6 and the females +5. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. They should get the +1 IQ, DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Sperm Whales are fairly reclusive and don’t socialize too much with the smaller subspecies.

K’t’so (Sperm Whale) male [270 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +108 [*216], IQ +1 [20]
(* -80% for SM+6 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 6 (length x64) {leisurely dive ≈ 47 min} [12]
Damage Resistance 4 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [4]
Enhanced Move 1.5: Water x3 (average Move 9 with “sprints” up to 11 (22 mph)) [30]
Pressure Support 3 (10,500 feet) [15]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2] sperm-whale

Disadvantages: Basic Move -2 [-10]
Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +6.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Sperm Whale) female [192 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +69 [*138], IQ +1 [20]
(* -80% for SM+5 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Basic Move -2 [-10]
Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +5

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Sperm Whales travel all around but try and keep to themselves. They are sometimes sought out by other K’t’so as they have a reputation for wisdom.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9f Sperm Whales
#9e K’t’so Orcas
#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races 9e: K’t’so Orca

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Orca average about 14,450 lbs and are 25′ long (females are 7500 lbs and 21′ long). The have a Strength of 58 (females a 45) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 58 and 45, with the males getting SM +4 and the females +3. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Orca are more aggressive than the other subspecies and they are usually the ones called on if fighting is needed. Most humans think carefully before harming any K’t’so for fear of the wrath of a pod of Orcas.

K’t’so (Orca) male [126 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +48 [*96]
(* -80% for SM+4 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 3 (length x8) {leisurely dive ≈ 6 min} [6]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1.5: Water x3 (average Move 15 with “sprints” up to 18 (37 mph)) [30]
Pressure Support 1.5* (900 feet) [8] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +4.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Orca) female [135 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +35 [*105]
(* -70% for SM+3 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +3

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Orcas travel all around and are very gregarious. As I stated previously they are used as sort of the enforcement arm of the K’t’so culture.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9e K’t’so Orcas
#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races #9d: K’t’so Beluga

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Beluga average about 3300 lbs and are 13′5″ long (females are 2975 lbs and 12′ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 32) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 32, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling. They swim slower than the other K’t’so and so have a -2 to Basic Move (offset somewhat by Enhanced Move)

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values.

The Beluga tend to be more spiritual than the other K’t’so and are more often either Blessed or have Divine Favor than the other subspecies.

K’t’so (Beluga) male [96 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +23 [*92]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Breath Holding 4 (length x16) {leisurely dive ≈ 12 min} [8]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 5 with “sprints” up to 6 (13 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2 (2150 feet) [10]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Basic Move -2 [-10]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Beluga) female [92 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +22 [*88]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath Holding 4 (length x16) {leisurely dive ≈ 12 min} [8]
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 5 with “sprints” up to 6 (13 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2 (2150 feet) [10]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Basic Move -2 [-10]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9d K’t’so Beluga
#9c K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races #9c: Narwhals

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Narwhals average about 3525 lbs and are 15′5″ long (females are 1985 lbs and 13′1″ long). The have a Strength of 33 (females a 28) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 33 and 28, with both getting SM +2. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized” and occasionally have non-canonical values. The Narwhals rarely interact with humans and tend to avoid them when possible. They live in colder waters near the northern polar area. The tusk is actually a tooth, so they are somewhat hesitant about trying to lance things with it (also, while all males have a tusk, 15% of females have one as well).

K’t’so (Narwhal) male [127 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +23 [*92]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Breath Holding 4.5* (length x24) {leisurely dive ≈ 24 min} [9] *non-canonical
Damage Resistance 3 (Can’t Wear Armor, Tough Skin) [3]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water x1.5 (average Move 7.5 with “sprints” up to 9 (18 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 2.5* (4500 feet) [13] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Striker: Tusk; Impaling, cannot parry, long (+2 SM for reach only) [17]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Narwhal) female [90 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +18 [*72]
(* -60% for SM+2 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +2

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The Narwhals keep to themselves mostly and stay in the colder northern waters.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9c: K’t’so Narwhals
#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races 9b: K’t’so River Dolphin

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The River Dolphins average about 350 lbs and are 7′7″ long (females are 450 lbs and 8′2″ long). The have a Strength of 15 (females a 16) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 15 and 16, with both getting SM +1. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized”. Unlike the Bottlenose Dolphins the River Dolphins live mostly in a fairly shallow ocean called The Smoking Sea due to its volcanic activity. Because they live in more shallow waters they don’t have the same ability to hold their breath for long dives. They also do a lot of hunting in rivers where visibility is limited. Because of this they have keener sonar sense that the other K’t’so. They also can live comfortably in much hotter waters than the other subspecies.

K’t’so (River Dolphin) male [38 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +5 [*25]
(* -50% for SM+1 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Acute Sense: Sonar +2 [4]
Enhanced Move 1: Water x2 (average Move 10 with “sprints” up to 12 (24 mph)) [20]
Pressure Support 1/2 * (130 feet) [3] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]
Temperature Tolerance 2 (can be comfortable in water from 20° up to 95°) [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +1.

*********************************************
K’t’so (River Dolphin) female [43 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +6 [*30]
(* -50% for SM+1 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages:
Acute Sense: Sonar +2 [4]
Enhanced Move 1: Water x2 (average Move 10 with “sprints” up to 12 (24 mph)) [20]
Pressure Support 1/2* (130 feet) [3] *non-canonical
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]
Temperature Tolerance 2 (can be comfortable in water from 20° up to 95°) [2]

Disadvantages: Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +1

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

The K’t’so aren’t a major force in the world, they just kind of go about their lives. But occasionally they can be helpful if you can find something that they want (magic most likely). They can assist survivors from wrecked ships, help locate wrecked ships and possibly assist in recovering loot from the wreckage and act as scouts for humans that they are friendly with.
The River Dolphins have more contact with humans that the other K’t’so because they live in fairly shallow coastal waters. They are likely to be on speaking terms with all the friendly humans who travel through the Smoking Sea.

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9b K’t’so River Dolphins
#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Domibian Races 9a: K’t’so (Bottlenosed dolphin)

The K’t’so are a group of six different species that were all created by the same god. The name is a human-pronouncable version of “” which is difficult for human mouths to reproduce. The six different species are Bottlenose Dolphins, Yangtze River Dolphin, Narwhals, Beluga Whales, Orcas, and Sperm Whales. These are the only marine mammals on Domibia (except for unintelligent seals and otters) and they all are of human level intellect.

Unlike on Earth, nobody eats the K’t’so or uses their oil for lamps (at least no more than humans are eaten).

SAFUG stats

The Bottlenosed Dolphins average about 425 lbs and are 8′ long (females are 375 lbs and 7′ long). The have a Strength of 16 (females a 14) and a Health of 11. Their Dexterity is a fixed 3 (due to having no hands) and they have an Education of 4.

I’m going to keep the ST attributes at 16 and 14, with the males getting SM +1. The Health of 11 seems unneccessary, so I will give them the default HT of 10. DX is going to be 10 (with No Fine Manipulators) and finally they will have the usual Illiterate & Social Stigma: Uneducated to represent a cultural lack of formal schooling.

There are quite a few Advantages and I tried to make them real-world based, so they aren’t “optimized”.

K’t’so (Bottlenose Dolphin) male [34 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +6 [*30]
(* -50% for SM+1 and No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Advantages: Breath-Holding 3 (length x 8) {leisurely dive ≈ 6 min} [6]
Enhanced Move 1/2: Water 1.5 (average Move 7.5 with “sprints” up to 9 (18 mph)) [10]
Pressure Support 1 (335 feet) [5]
Racial Skill: Breath Control (HLT +0) [4]
Scanning Sense (Sonar) [20]
Sharp Teeth [1]
Striker: Tail (crushing) Cannot parry, Clumsy-1 [2]

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: SM +1.

*********************************************
K’t’so (Bottlenose Dolphin) female [28 points]

Attribute Modifiers: ST +4 [*24]
(* -40% for No Fine Manipulators)

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: None

Disadvantages: Congenial [-1]
Illiterate [-3]
No Fine Manipulators [-30]
No Legs (Aquatic) [-5]
Social Stigma (Uneducated) [-5]

Features: None (SM 0).

Italicized disadvantages are cultural or just common rather than racial, so they may not be universal.

What do I do with them?

Other Racial Write-Ups

#9a K’t’so Bottlenose Dolphins
#8 Idshus
#7 ZHEE!
#6 Zarugiza
#5 Vormade
#4 The Ready
#3 M’rrr
#2 Spawn of Enegala
#1a Feral Arajay
#1 Arajay

Alternate Disease Rules for GURPS

Disease

I originally wrote these rules for 3rd edition GURPS and sort of ignored them after 4th edition came out. But I guess I never really cared for how diseases were handled in 4th edition, it just didn’t feel “scary” the way real world diseases are. So here is my rewritten for 4th edition version of my disease rules. I also use d3’s for some things and don’t really violate the d6’s only ethos of GURPS…

These rules are an attempt to make GURPS diseases into the subtle and frightening killers that real-life diseases can be. In game terms this means drawing out the effects of the disease and making the player unsure of exactly what is wrong with him. Each of the diseases detailed here follow the same format, the details of which are described below. At the end of the list of maladies is an in depth treatment of various symptoms that accompany many ailments. The effects of many of these symptoms will be just as dangerous as the disease which causes them. All of the diseases that are described below are from reality, except Corpse Fever which is from Domibia. Also it should be mentioned that I have intentionally given treatments that are appropriate for a low tech or fantasy setting. At some point I might add the modifiers for modern drugs and treatment.
Note: Fatigue loss listed in the text is usually meant to remain until the disease has passed. Any HT rolls made while diseased should use HT-(1 for every full 20% of Fatigue currently missing, shorthanded as just “Fatigue mod”). Alternately, you can use Douglas Cole’s awesome “The Last Gasp” from Pyramid 3/44.

Virulence: To avoid infection an exposed character must roll a Resistance Roll using HT (- any Fatigue mod) versus the Virulence of the disease. The advantage Disease-Resistant gives the character +8 HT on this roll. For continuous exposure (like living in a place with plague-bearing fleas) a roll should probably be made every day.

Symptoms: The symptoms that accompany the disease are listed here, sometimes differing by what stage the disease is in. The details of the various symptoms are given game descriptions after the lists of diseases. Symptoms that use standard GURPS Conditions will be underlined in the text. Any symptom in italics has no game mechanics. Some symptoms are only seen during the second stage of the disease and are marked with an *asterisk. Some symptoms don’t always appear, make a 3d roll to see if that symptom is present (eg: 7+ means that that symptom is present on a roll of 7 or higher).

Incubation: All diseases have an incubation period, during which they are undetected. After the incubation period ends, the disease begins the 1^st Stage. Once the 1^st Stage has run its course the 2^nd Stage will begin, after which recovery is possible if still living.

Diagnosis: A diagnosis skill roll may not be attempted until the 1^st Stage of the disease has begun. All diseases have two modifiers to the Diagnosis skill, one for the 1^st Stage and one for the 2^nd. A failed roll will result in a misdiagnosis, the effects of which vary from disease to disease and are listed in the description of each disease.

Treatment: Treatments for each of the diseases are listed in the descriptions. Treatment that is begun during the 2^nd Stage of a disease will not be as effective, multiply any modifiers by 75% and round down.

Recovery: If a character receives proper treatment for a disease, they may attempt a Recovery roll after each Stage of the disease has passed. If a character does not receive proper treatment a Recovery roll may only be attempted when the 2^nd Stage has run its course. Recovery is a quick contest of (HT + Physician skill of person giving aid + Treatment modifiers) versus the Recovery number of the disease (highest margin of success wins). There is a chance of dying if the Recovery roll fails after the 2^nd Stage, the roll to avoid death is listed in the description of each disease.

Roll to Avoid Death: If the character fails the second Recovery roll they must roll to see if they die. This has nothing to do with remaining HP’s, they simply die from the disease or complications caused by the disease. The roll is unmodified, except for any Fatigue modifiers.

Post Recovery: If death is avoided then the character begins the Post Recovery Stage. The Post Recovery Stage has two values, one for use with characters who received no medical treatment and one for those that did. The effects of the Post Recovery Stage are given in Fatigue points, which will last for a certain number of days. Usually the Fatigue will heal over the course of the Post Recovery Stage, rather than having it all suddenly go away at the end of the period (so with dysentery, you would recover one FP every 2 days if you received no treatment, with the final FP healing on day 7). Every 2 points that you succeed or fail the Recovery roll by modifies the Post-Recovery Stage by an amount shown (eg: a Post Recovery Stage of 10 weeks (+/- weeks) would actually be 11 weeks if you failed the Recovery roll by 1 or 2 points).

Examples of some common diseases

*Bubonic Plague*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Rat-borne fleas	*Incubation Period;* 1d days
*Virulence;* 6	*1^st Stage;* 5 days
*Symptoms;* Fever, swollen lymph nodes, severe abdominal pain, moderate head pain, fluid-filled lungs, coughing	* 2^nd Stage; 10 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 21
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT-1
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor Disease, Pneumonia	*Post Recovery Stage;* 10 weeks (+/- weeks)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+1) & Fever (+2)	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Cholera*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contaminated food and/or water	*Incubation Period;* 1d-1 days
*Virulence;* 8	*1^st Stage;* 3 days
*Symptoms;* Fever, diarrhea, vomiting (7+)	*2^nd Stage;* 3 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 20
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT
*Misdiagnosed as;* Dysentery	*Post Recovery Stage;* 3 weeks (+/- 3 days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+2) & Fever (+2)	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Dysentery*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contaminated food and/or water	*Incubation Period;* 1d3+1 days
*Virulence;* 11	*1^st Stage;* 3 days
*Symptoms;* Abdominal pain, diarrhea	*2^nd Stage;* 7 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 17
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+3
*Misdiagnosed as;* Cholera, Minor Disease	*Post Recovery Stage;* 5 days (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Replace Fluids (+5), Relieve Pain (+3)	*With Treatment;* 2 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Food Poisoning*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contaminated food	*Incubation Period;* 1 day
*Virulence;* 6	*1^st Stage;* 2 days
*Symptoms;* Severe abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, diarrhea (10+), fever (11+), vomiting	*2^nd Stage;* 7 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 14
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+6
*Misdiagnosed as;* Cholera	*Post Recovery Stage;* 1 week (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Symptoms (+4)	*With Treatment;* 2 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Influenza*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with infected person, airborne particulates	*Incubation Period;* 1d3 days
*Virulence;* 10	*1^st Stage;* 1d days
*Symptoms;* Cough, fever, fluid filled lungs (14+), head pain, malaise, stuffy nose*	*2^nd Stage; 1d+1 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis -2	*Recovery;* 15
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+5
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor disease, smallpox	*Post Recovery Stage;* 4 days (+/-days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+1) & Fever (+1)	*With Treatment;* 2 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Minor Disease*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Varies	*Incubation Period;* 1d3 days
*Virulence;* 1d+2	*1^st Stage;* 1d days
*Symptoms;* Fever, general body pain, vomiting, discoloration (12+ for each), discomfort	*2^nd Stage;* 2d days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis +(1d-3)	*Recovery;* 10
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* as above + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* No chance of death
*Misdiagnosed as;* Another Minor Disease	*Post Recovery Stage;* 1d3 days (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Symptoms (+1d3+1)	*With Treatment;* none
	*Without Treatment;* 2 FP

*Pneumonia*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with contaminated person, air-borne particulates	*Incubation Period;* 1d3+3 days
*Virulence;* 8	*1^st Stage;* 5 days
*Symptoms;* Cough, chest pain, fever, fluid-filled lungs, general discomfort	*2^nd Stage;* 9 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 19
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+1
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor Disease, Plague	*Post Recovery Stage;* 4 days (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+2) & Fever (+2), on a successful Physician roll (+5)	*With Treatment;* none
	*Without Treatment;* 2 FP

*Pneumonic Plague*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with air-borne particulates	*Incubation Period;* 1d3 days
*Virulence;* 11	*1^st Stage;* 3 days
*Symptoms;* Cough, chills, fever, fluid-filled lungs	*2^nd Stage;* 7 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 22
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT-2
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor Disease, Pneumonia	*Post Recovery Stage;* 10 weeks (+/- weeks)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain & Fever (+1)	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Rabies*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with body fluids, usually through animal bites	*Incubation Period;* 1d weeks
*Virulence;* 6 (immediate washing reduces to 4)	*1^st Stage;* 1d3+1 days
*Symptoms;* Excessive sweating, fever, hyperactivity (10+), malaise, sore throat, *severe joint pain,	*2^nd Stage; 1 week
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 26
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT-6
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor Disease	*Post Recovery Stage;* 15 weeks (+/- weeks)
*Treatment;* none	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Smallpox*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with infected persons (direct or indirect)	*Incubation Period;* 2d+5 days
*Virulence;* 8 (5 if indirect contact, clothing, etc)	*1^st Stage;* 1d3+1 days
*Symptoms;* Abdominal pain (13+), fever, general pain, head pain, malaise, *rashes (face & limbs)	*2^nd Stage; 1d+7 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 18
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+2
*Misdiagnosed as;* Influenza	*Post Recovery Stage;* 2 weeks (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+1) & Fever (+1)	*With Treatment;* 2 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Tetanus (Lockjaw)*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Bacteria entering through break in skin	*Incubation Period;* 3d days (1d+2 days if wound is on the head)
*Virulence;* 8	*1^st Stage;* 3 days
*Symptoms;* Difficulty swallowing, lockjaw, *muscle spasms, sweating	*2^nd Stage; 2d days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Recovery;* 17
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 4	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+3
*Misdiagnosed as;* Dysentery	*Post Recovery Stage;* 8 weeks (+/- weeks)
*Treatment;* none	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Typhoid Fever*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Contact with contaminated person, contaminated food and/or water	*Incubation Period;* 1d3 days
*Virulence;* 6	*1^st Stage;* 1 week
*Symptoms;* Apathy, cough, general body pain, severe fever	*2^nd Stage;* 1-2 weeks
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis – 2	*Recovery;* 17
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+3
*Misdiagnosed as;* Pneumonia, Plague	*Post Recovery Stage;* 3 weeks (+/- weeks)
*Treatment;* none	*With Treatment;* 4 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Typhus*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Carried by body lice	*Incubation Period;* 1 day
*Virulence;* 6	*1^st Stage;* 5 days
*Symptoms;* Fever, headache, rash	*2^nd Stage;* 10 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Recovery;* 16
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 4	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+4
*Misdiagnosed as;* Minor Disease	*Post Recovery Stage;* 1 week +/- days)
*Treatment;* none	*With Treatment;* none
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

*Corpse Fever (Domibian)*	*Course of Disease*
*Transmission;* Bite or claw wound of a M’rrr	*Incubation Period;* 1d3 days
*Virulence;* 6 (4 for simple contact)	*1^st Stage;* 3 days
*Symptoms;* Fever, general body pain, malaise	*2^nd Stage;* 5 days
*Diagnosis; 1^st Stage;* Diagnosis	*Recovery;* 17
*Diagnosis; 2^nd Stage;* Diagnosis + 2	*Roll to Avoid Death;* HT+3
*Misdiagnosed as;* Plague	*Post Recovery Stage;* 1 week (+/- days)
*Treatment;* Relieve Pain (+1) & Fever (+2)	*With Treatment;* 2 FP
	*Without Treatment;* 4 FP

Symptoms

Apathy

Treat as Drowsy and the Absent Minded disadvantage.

Bleeding

Bleeding; You lose 1d3 HP which remain missing until the disease has passed. This represents a continuous slow loss of blood. Each day make a HT (- Fatigue mod) roll, on a Critical Failure the Bleeding becomes Hemorrhaging.

Hemorrhaging; You lose 2d3 HP which remain missing until the disease has passed, in addition you lose 1d-4 HP per day. You may roll to heal this extra HP point loss normally.

Coughing

You are treated as Coughing and in addition all sleep periods are treated as being only half as long when suffering from a cough. Thus an 8-hour sleep period would only count as 4 hours of sleep for the character, possibly assessing FP.

Diarrhea

Normal Diarrhea; Roll HT (- Fatigue mod) every day, a failed roll results in the loss of 1d-4 HP (in this case representing generic bodily fluids). Each point lost increases the amount of fluid needed to avoid dehydration by 10%. A Critical Failure results in Severe Diarrhea.

Severe Diarrhea; As per normal diarrhea, except the HT roll is at an additional -2 and the HP lost from fluid loss is 1d-3.

Excessive Sweating

Roll HT (- Fatigue mod) every day, a failed roll results in the loss of 1d-4 HP (in this case representing generic bodily fluids). Each point lost increases the amount of fluid needed to avoid dehydration by 10%.

Fever

Normal Fever; Each day the fever causes 1d-4 damage, which may be healed normally. Each day also requires a HT+2 roll to avoid the fever becoming severe.

Severe Fever; Each day of the fever causes 1d-2 damage, which may be healed normally.

Fluid Filled Lungs

Every day causes the loss of 1d-3 HP, representing general fatigue, loss of oxygen, strain on the body and the actual filling of the lungs.

Lesions & Rashes

Lesions; Open sores appear on the character. They start out as 1 point of damage and progress by 1d-4 points per day. These will not heal until the disease has run its course. Each major body location can be afflicted separately (head, torso, legs and arms). Rolls should also be made to avoid infection (B444) as well.

Rashes; Rashes cause 1d-4 damage per effected location each day. Once any damage is caused a roll for infection must be made as with Lesions.

Malaise

Treat as Drowsy and the Absent Minded disadvantage.

Muscle Spasms

Muscle Spasms; Treat as Moderate Joint Pain with occasional spasms that occur every HT minutes (an unmodified HT roll will avoid this). The spasms do 1d actual damage, representing torn muscles and broken bones. The spasms last for 1d3 minutes and the character is treated as being in Agony.

Pain

Abdominal Cramps; A HT-2 roll must be made every 10 minutes (just roll whenever it is necessary to know how bad the cramps are effecting the character), failure results in Moderate Abdominal Pain, and a critical failure results in Severe Abdominal Pain. The attack of cramps lasts for a number of minutes equal to the “pain” that is inflicted, decreasing in intensity by 1 point per minute.

Moderate Abdominal Pain; The character suffers Moderate Pain.

Severe Abdominal Pain; The character suffers Severe Pain and additionally has their Move score lowered by 20%.

Normal Chest Pain; The character suffers Moderate Pain.

Severe Chest Pain; The character suffers Severe Pain.

General Pain; The character suffers Moderate Pain.

Moderate Head Pain; The character suffers Moderate Pain.

Severe Head Pain; The character suffers Severe Pain.

Moderate Joint Pain; The character suffers Moderate Pain and additionally their Move score is reduced by 20%.

Severe Joint Pain; The character suffers Severe Pain and additionally their Move score is reduced by 40%.

Vomiting

Vomiting: Treat as Nauseated.

Chance for Disease to be Present

Encampments
Roll 14+ for disease to be present
3d Type of Disease

3-7 Dysentery
8 Food Poisoning
9 Cholera
10-11 Minor Disease
12 Influenza
13 Smallpox
14 Pneumonia
15 Typhoid
16 Typhus
17 Bubonic Plague
18 Pneumonic Plague

Settlements
Roll 15+ for disease to be present
3d Type of Disease

3-7 Dysentery
8 Food Poisoning
9-11 Minor Disease
12 Cholera
13-14 Influenza
15 Smallpox
16 Pneumonia
17 Typhus
18 Bubonic Plague

Animals
Roll 16+ for disease to be present
3d Type of Disease

3-9 Food Poisoning
10-13 Minor Disease
14 Typhus
15 Rabies
16-18 Bubonic Plague

Contaminated Water
Roll 16+ for disease to be present
3d Type of Disease

3-10 Dysentery
11-12 Typhoid
13-18 Minor Disease

Cuts and Scrapes
Roll 16+ for disease to be present (15+ in rural area)
3d Type of Disease

3-12 Minor Disease *
13-18 Tetanus

*This can just be an infection from a dirty cut. In that case the wound will not heal until the infection runs its course. Just assume the symptoms are General Body Pain & Fever rather than roll randomly).

Domibian Spirits

In a couple of posts I made back in 2015 regarding elements/elementals and spirits I mentioned that I was up in the air about how to model spirits and elementals in Domibia. I still am, to an extent.

For elementals I think that I will just go with the defaults in Magic, partly out of laziness, but it is already well integrated into the magic system. I just need to come up with stats for Light & Darkness elementals.
Here is a refresher on Domibia’s elements…

Ok, now spirits. This one is still eluding me a bit (maily the details).
I am leaning towards the ghost description from GURPS Voodoo (3rd edition) (pg 55). Instead of using Fatigue I will be using Energy Reserve (Magical) (which everyone on Domibia has equal to their Will²/10-Magery). So when you die you make a Will roll to resist dissipating and joining your god. If they make the roll they start with ER of 1 which increases by 1 per day til it is back to normal. Each month they must make a Will roll or have their HT lower by one. The Will roll has several modifiers including a +1 to +5 for propitiation by friends or family.

This fits with my idea of ancestor worship for a lot of the world’s cultures.

Back to elementals: I think that using the defaults will cover the “animism” worry that I had in my earlier post about spirits. If you summon an elemental it represents whatever local spirits of that type is around. The worry about people worshipping the elementals isn’t an issue on further reflection; people *know* that their deity is greater than a stream spirit (or whatever), and such beings are simply tools to be utilized.