psyche.
The Psyche components paint a general picture of who the character’s internal makeup. They are interrelated and can influence each other during play and can potentially feed into the Condition stats below (see the Character Dynamics chapter). Psyche components can also be added to freely during play.
Note: for convenience, I will be using the pronoun “you” to refer to the character in this section.
Hunger - This is a basic, fundamental need that drives and motivates you. This is the shining goal you quest for. It is a hole in your personal fabric that yearns to be filled. Freedom, true love, power, truth, honor, acceptance, salvation; these are Hungers.
• You need not necessarily be conscious of your hunger.
• The desire to live is implied and does not qualify as a hunger.
• If you want wealth, fame, or power as a means to some end, it does not qualify as hunger; however, if you want one of these things for its own sake, as an end in and of itself, then it does qualify.
• Hunger comes with a numeric rating called Frustration that increases when Hunger is ignored or resisted.
• All characters should have one Hunger each; no more, no less.
Who wants money just for the sake of money? Well, f’rinstance, there’s misers, and probably some insane people who are psychotically driven to collect money. Then there’s the Treasure Seeker’s Union, about whom you can read further on.
Vice - Coping with the brutality of the ‘Belt is not easy, and most people turn to Vice to help them. Now, Vice is kind of a loaded word, so it needs some definition for the purpose of the game: if its an activity or substance that helps you cope and there are times when you might run out or have to avoid doing it, it’s a Vice.
Each Vice’s influence over you is measured with a numerical rating called Grip.
Faith - This includes beliefs, hopes, and any concepts that you give credence. Religion, the power of love, the bonds of friendship, human decency, the validity of science; these are examples of things people might have Faith in.
But it’s not limited to that. Being in denial is a kind of Faith, and so is racial prejudice. Every concept you put stock in, every axiom that guides your worldview, and every rationale you use to justify your actions is Faith.
Your devotion to and reliance on each Faith is measured with a numerical rating called Zeal.
Woe - This is grief, sorrow, guilt, regret, or remorse. The death of a loved one, the loss of a friend, failing in the eyes of your father, an act of cowardice, a crime, a sin; these are the sort of thing that produces Woe. Anything that the character beats himself/herself up over inside, whether it produces depression, rage, disgust, longing, or something inbetween, that’s Woe.
The grievousness of each Woe is measured with a numerical rating called Depth.
Limits - Limits are the lines you are unwilling to cross, the prices you are unwilling to pay, the chances you are unwilling to take, and the sacrifices you are unwilling to make in order to attain your goals.
The Psyche components serve two important purposes. One is that they feed into the Character Dynamics (read about ‘em further on) systems. Another is that it’s very useful to have these things written down about your character on a sheet, where you can see them. Visual association is a powerful tool. The other use is as “flags,” to throw a touch of jargon at you; that is, they are signals of sorts to the GM. It is the GM’s job to shape situations such that they provide opportunity and adversity relevant to your PC’s Psyche.
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hunger.
If you decline a chance to pursue Hunger or are prevented from pursuing it, choose one:
• regret it and take on Woe, or Deepen Woe (see below) if already taken
• Cope using Faith (see below)
• Cope using Vice (see below)
• have an Outburst (see below)
• Suppress it: add 1 to Frustration and take Tears equal to Frustration (in that order)
Reduce Frustration by pursuing Hunger or having an Outburst. When in doubt, take half.
Hunger can Motivate you (earn 5 extra dice in resolution) when you need to get through an obstacle or problem in order to pursue your Hunger. If you use this Motivation and fail, however, it counts as being prevented from pursuing your Hunger.
vice.
If you kick a Vice or run dry, you go into Withdrawal: take on special effects as applicable, and Sweat equal to Grip; this Sweat cannot be removed, changing only when Grip changes, until Withdrawal ends. Withdrawal ends when Grip hits zero or you succumb to temptation.
What sort of special effects might Withdrawal have? It depends on the Vice. Nicotine withdrawal tends to make people fidgety, nervous, and irritable. Morphine withdrawal first produces a sensation of all-encompassing need, then typically causes debilitating cramps, nausea, diahrrea, and occasionally symptoms similar to allergic reactions (hives, itching, the sensation of “crawling skin”). Alcohol withdrawal brings on hangover (headache, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, fatigue) plus, in extreme cases, the delirium tremens: the shakes, auditory and/or visual hallucinations, and paranoiac delusions. And, of course, you can always borrow William S. Burroughs’ bag of tricks and invent strange, new drugs with equally strange withdrawal symptoms.
You can reduce Grip by doing any of the following during Withdrawal:
• resisting temptation. Every day reduces Grip by 1.
• relying on Faith that the Vice is wrong: add X to Zeal, then reduce Grip by X.
• substituting another Vice: add X to the other Vice’s Grip, then reduce the initial Grip by X.
You can Cope with Woe, Hunger, and horrible experiences by indulging in a Vice. Every time you use a Vice to Cope, add 1 to its Grip.
Vice can Motivate you if there’s the promise of indulging after getting through an obstacle or problem. However, if you use this Motivation and fail, you go into Withdrawal. You can also earn the Motivation dice if you use Vice to steady your nerve just before taking a dangerous or frightening action (this counts as Coping).
faith.
If your experiences run counter to Faith, choose one:
• reduce Zeal (when in doubt, take half). If Zeal hits zero, the Faith becomes Lost (see below).
• modify or add Faith to “explain away” the experience.
If you break your Faith, choose one:
• Lose the Faith
• regret the action, and take on Woe related to that regret with Depth equal to the Zeal
• feel good about it, take on Vice related to what you did with Grip equal to the Zeal, and reduce Zeal to zero and Lose the Faith (in that order).
You can Cope with Hunger, Woe, and horrible experiences through Faith. Every time you use Faith to Cope, increase its Zeal by 1. You cannot use Lost Faith to Cope.
If you Lost a Faith, put an X next to it on the character sheet. If it had more than zero Zeal, it creates Woe related to the bitterness over the Lost Faith, with Depth equal to the Zeal. Lost Faith can be regained when that Woe is Healed, at player discretion.
Faith can Motivate you if it would provide some inner strength in facing an obstacle or problem. However, if you fail in such a task, your Faith has let you down, which counts as experiences running counter to Faith. You can also earn the Motivation dice if you use Faith to steady your nerve just before taking a dangerous or frightening action (this counts as Coping).
woe.
If Woe is Triggered (circumstances remind you of it in a hurtful way), choose one:
• have an Outburst
• Cope using Faith
• Cope using Vice
• Suppress it: add 1 to Depth and take Tears equal to Depth
The Depth of a Woe can be reduced through appropriate absolution, redemption, or salvation in-game. When in doubt, reduce it by half. If Depth is reduced to zero by this, the Woe becomes Healed (put an X next to it on the character sheet). Healed Woe can no longer be Triggered as normal, but it’s still there as a scar that can be reopened if the event that created the Woe or something suitably similar to it happens again. If this happens, the Depth should immediately be set at 1 point higher than it ever was before, and it should be immediately treated as Triggered.
Woes should be added anytime you do something you regret and cannot justify by Faith. You may set the starting Depth of the Woe anywhere between 0 and 20, as you see fit based on how intensely you regret the action. When a Woe is added in this manner, it should be immediately treated as Triggered.
Woe can Motivate you if there’s a promise of redemption or absolution after dealing with an obstacle or problem (this includes having a chance to prevent a recurrence of the event, or an event similar to it, that created the Woe. “I can’t allow these people to die in a blizzard like my brother did” and similar “stretches” are perfectly fine). If you use this Motivation and fail, however, the Woe becomes Deepened.
limits.
If you break a Limit, you Lose it (draw a line through it on the character sheet) and choose one:
• regret it and take on Woe
• justify the action with Faith (add or modify Faith if necessary)
• feel good about it and take on what you did as a Vice
If you perform an action that is regrettable and/or of questionable morality, and it is not justified by your Faith, it is treated like a broken Limit. In fact, if you like, write it down under Limits and put a line through it.
A Broken Limit can be regained at player discretion if the Woe, Faith, or Vice produced is Healed/Lost/Kicked.
Limits can Motivate you when facing a problem or obstacle wherein success means keeping in line with the Limit and failure means breaking it.
outbursts.
Outbursts are when your emotions get the best of you, and you act out in some manner. This could be a crying jag, or a murderous rage, or anything in between; as long as it’s sensibly derived from the in-game event that prompted the outburst, it’s fine. Outbursts can be prompted by Frustration, Woe, and unpleasant experiences. They can also be used to purge yourself of Tears. The intensity of an Outburst should be based on the intensity of whatever prompted it—although if you’ve got pent up emotions (i.e., Tears), it’s perfectly fine to add them onto what would otherwise be a minor Outburst, transforming it into a major one (and probably one with an intensity that will surprise the people around you—I’m sure we’ve all had such an outburst in real life, where something small set off a huge reaction due to pent-up frustrations).
As we probably all know from being people, outbursts can cause all sorts of problems; they tend to figure negatively in people’s opinions of you, and they tend to prompt you into doing things that you regret.
(As you can see, Faith is now quite parallel to Vice, which I find really cool because it raises some interesting questions)
-Marshall
