Fear and Stress

D&D 2024 rule: Fear and Stress. Source: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. rule type Rule Terror takes a toll. The ramifications of frightful experiences might be an instant of instinct-triggering shock or a lasting, traumatic echo. The Dungeon Master's Guide presents options for fear and horror to help reinforce terrifying themes in play. This section presents an alternative system, exploring reactions personalized to individual characters and offering incentive for players to embrace roleplaying moments of fear. Options exploring fear provide guidance to create frightening moments for a character outside of spells or monster abilities, while rules for stress model the lingering toll such events can take. None of these options are required to create an enjoyable horror roleplaying experience, but they provide ways to measure the effects of characters facing and overcoming their fears. Seeds of Fear Aside from supernatural sources of dread and monsters who strike terror in their victims, fear is subjective and often quite personal. A battle-hardened warrior and a reclusive scholar might not deal with frightful circumstances in the same way. During character creation, a player can choose up to two Seeds of Fear to represent things their character finds truly frightening. The Seeds of Fear table offers some examples. These can change over time as characters grow, overcome old fears, and discover new uncertainties. Work with players to determine when their Seeds of Fear might change. A character never has more than three Seeds of Fear; if you gain a new seed and already have three, choose which of your old fears is replaced by the new one. 1 "I can't stand dark places." 2 "I'm terrified of a particular kind of animal." 3 "Deep water will be the death of me." 4 "I can't stand heights." 5 "I hate being stuck in tight spaces." 6 "Being around crowds unnerves me, for I always feel judged." 7 "I hate feeling isolated or being alone." 8 "Storms and extreme weather rattle m...