A Bout of Madness - Summary

(Back to Insanity Phase 1: A Bout of Madness)

If the bout of madness happens away from the company of other investigators, or if all the investigators present suffer a bout of madness simultaneously, the Keeper can simply fast-forward the action and describe the outcome. The Keeper may describe the crazy things that the investigator has done, or simply say where the investigator has found theirself when the bout of madness comes to an end. In this way the investigator may be lost in madness and thus not under the player's control for minutes or hours (typically 1D10 hours, or as the Keeper judges appropriate). Note that these minutes or hours are not played out; they are simply summarized by the Keeper. The Keeper may just describe the unfamiliar place in which the investigator returns to their sense with no memory of where they have been or what they have done.

Most of the outcomes require the investigator to leave the place where the onset of insanity occurs. If this is not possible, the Keeper should adapt the outcome accordingly. If there is a chance that another investigator might hear or see the insane investigator leaving, they should be given a chance to intervene. If the insane investigator is confronted by another investigator before their bout of madness is over, the Keeper should hand control of the investigator back to the player at that moment and allow the players to roleplay the scene. This may mean that the intended outcome is cut short.

To determine the nature of the bout of madness, either roll on "Bouts of Madness - Summary" table, or the Keeper may choose an appropriate option.

''Example: Harvey is investigating an office at night. Opening a locked cabinet, he finds a metal canister. As he touches it a metallic voice speaks to him - the voice of a recently deceased friend. The players fails a Sanity roll, and Harvey loses 6 points of Sanity. The Keeper asks for an Intelligence (INT) roll, which Harvey's player makes successfully - Harvey realized what this means! Harvey becomes temporarily insane, beginning a bout of madness. As Harvey is alone, the Keeper opts for the "summary option" and rolls 4, which indicates some form of violence. The Keeper decides that Harvey trashes the room in his search for hidden cameras, listening devices, and speaker units. The Keeper then describes the scene to the player, "When you recover your wits, at least 3 hours have passed. You find yourself with the contents of the office looking like a bomb has hit it. There's a guy lying on the floor with a bloody wound on his head, and he's either dead or unconscious." (This is a non-player character - a security guard - that the Keeper has thrown in. "The canister is full of bullet holes, and you're holding the smoking barrel of a gun to your own temple."''

''Another example: The investigators have retired for the evening, each one to their own hotel room. Late that night one of the investigators, Kratos, is haunted by a spectral figure. Kratos fails his Sanity roll and loses 5 Sanity points. His player then rolls 23 on 1D100, passing his Intelligence roll (INT). Kratos is temporarily insane. Kratos is alone, so the Keeper rolls 1D10 on the "Bouts of Madness - Summary" table with a result of 6, which indicates Significant People. His backstory states that Kratos is in love with a young woman by the name of Alice. At present, Kratos is in Paris, while Alice is back in London. The Keeper decides that Kratos will flee the hotel and head for the train station, boarding the first train for Calais. The other investigators might hear Kratos leaving and are allowed a Listen roll to do so. One of them succeeds, hears Kratos slamming his bedroom door and follows him (this would be a good opportunity to use Chase rules). The Keeper hands control of Kratos back to the player and tells them what Kratos's bout of madness is driving him to do, leaving the rest to the player.''