There are certain things in the Traveller universe that have been known to cause insanity. The one that comes to mind immediately is a misjump. My model for the sanity system is the d20 Call of Cthulhu game but I use my own version of it.
The essence of my sanity system is that a character has a Sanity score, expressed as a percentage which can go down or can increase as time and events progress. Characters are required to make occasional d100 checks verses their Current Sanity. The failure of a Sanity Check can cause the character to develop one or more mental illnesses/behavioral aberrations or to simply lose points from their Current Sanity. There are three scores that need to be recorded to use this system: Starting Sanity, Current Sanity, and Maximum Sanity.
A character’s Starting Sanity score is equal to their wisdom score times five. A referee should probably set a lower limit to Starting Sanity appropriate for their game which might be significantly more than wisdom times 5 depending on how grueling the game is for the characters and how often they will have to make Sanity checks. I suggest a lower limit of 60. If by some chance the character’s Starting Sanity score is greater than their Maximum Sanity score then the Starting Sanity is reduced to match it.
A character’s Current Sanity score is equal to their Stating Sanity score at character creation but is modified as the game progresses.
A character’s Maximum Sanity score is equal to 99 minus the total number of terms of service a character has had. Think of the Maximum Sanity score as the absolute top potential of sanity that a character could, but probably never will, reach.
Sanity Loss
Characters can lose points from their Current Sanity score through any event that has potentially significant emotional impact. The referee can set a number of sanity points to be lost when a certain event occurs or when characters fail a Sanity Check. A typical number of sanity points to lose might be 1d6 points.
Typical Events That Produce Sanity Loss:
One jump: 2 sanity points
Misjumps: automatically reduce sanity by the number of parsecs misjumped plus 1d6
Being knocked unconscious in combat: 2 sanity points
Being exposed to open space without a vacc suit: 2 sanity points
Situations That Might Require a Successful Sanity Check to Prevent Sanity Loss:
Meeting a very unusual or strange alien species
Exposure to noxious chemicals or atmospheres
Being held hostage
Supernatural or Unexplainable Events
Jump Sanity Loss
Being in jump space stuck on ship can be quite boring. It can also lead to conflict among the passengers and crew. This is reflected by a 2 point sanity loss for each jump. If a character buys 100 credits of “entertainment materials” before a jump they can reduce this loss to 1 point per jump. Entertainment materials can be bought at any planet of TL 6 or greater or any class B or A starport.
Insanity/Behavioral Aberrations
When a character loses a number of sanity points equal to or exceeding his wisdom score in one week then the character has to make an immediate Sanity Check using any loss greater than the wisdom score as a positive modifier to the DC If the character fails this check then he or she develops a mental disorder or behavioral aberration assigned by the referee. So, let’s assuming a character has a wisdom score of 10, a Current Sanity of 50, and has lost 12 sanity points in the last week. At this point we would allow the character to make a Sanity Check verses his Current Sanity + (lost points – wisdom) = 52. Full-blown insanity such as schizophrenia is probably not appropriate for characters to develop in a game unless they have a really low Current Sanity but interesting quirks and behavioral aberrations can add some flavor and unpredictability to the scene. Use your imagination.
Restoring Sanity/Preventing Loss
IMTU I allow sanity points lost from regular jumps to be regained at the rate 1 point per 2 days a character is off the ship they made the jump on.
New Skills:
Psychotherapy (specify race) – the character who takes this skill has some formal training in dealing with emotional states of a specific sophont race. A successful use of the psychotherapy skill by one character on another will improve the Current Sanity score by the total skill modifier divided by 4 with a minimum of 1 point regained. The person providing the skill must be in contact with the patient for a minimum of 5 hours. This 5 hours can be spread out over different days but the roll is not made until complete. Characters can take this skill multiple times but must find training for the specific race and must chose a different race each time. This is an intelligence based skill. The DC for this skills is 15. This skill can not increase Current Sanity beyond the Starting Sanity.
Yoga – the character is skilled in meditation and balancing the personality. Every week the character can make a Yoga check ( base 10 DC + number of sanity points gained in the last week) to reduce sanity loss on a jump by 1 or to increase Current Sanity by 1 point. This skill can not increase Current Sanity beyond the Starting Sanity.
New Feat:
Emotional Resiliency: the character with this feat automatically reduces all sanity loss by 1 point including only 1 point per jump and the character gets a +5 bonus on all sanity checks.
The essence of my sanity system is that a character has a Sanity score, expressed as a percentage which can go down or can increase as time and events progress. Characters are required to make occasional d100 checks verses their Current Sanity. The failure of a Sanity Check can cause the character to develop one or more mental illnesses/behavioral aberrations or to simply lose points from their Current Sanity. There are three scores that need to be recorded to use this system: Starting Sanity, Current Sanity, and Maximum Sanity.
A character’s Starting Sanity score is equal to their wisdom score times five. A referee should probably set a lower limit to Starting Sanity appropriate for their game which might be significantly more than wisdom times 5 depending on how grueling the game is for the characters and how often they will have to make Sanity checks. I suggest a lower limit of 60. If by some chance the character’s Starting Sanity score is greater than their Maximum Sanity score then the Starting Sanity is reduced to match it.
A character’s Current Sanity score is equal to their Stating Sanity score at character creation but is modified as the game progresses.
A character’s Maximum Sanity score is equal to 99 minus the total number of terms of service a character has had. Think of the Maximum Sanity score as the absolute top potential of sanity that a character could, but probably never will, reach.
Sanity Loss
Characters can lose points from their Current Sanity score through any event that has potentially significant emotional impact. The referee can set a number of sanity points to be lost when a certain event occurs or when characters fail a Sanity Check. A typical number of sanity points to lose might be 1d6 points.
Typical Events That Produce Sanity Loss:
One jump: 2 sanity points
Misjumps: automatically reduce sanity by the number of parsecs misjumped plus 1d6
Being knocked unconscious in combat: 2 sanity points
Being exposed to open space without a vacc suit: 2 sanity points
Situations That Might Require a Successful Sanity Check to Prevent Sanity Loss:
Meeting a very unusual or strange alien species
Exposure to noxious chemicals or atmospheres
Being held hostage
Supernatural or Unexplainable Events
Jump Sanity Loss
Being in jump space stuck on ship can be quite boring. It can also lead to conflict among the passengers and crew. This is reflected by a 2 point sanity loss for each jump. If a character buys 100 credits of “entertainment materials” before a jump they can reduce this loss to 1 point per jump. Entertainment materials can be bought at any planet of TL 6 or greater or any class B or A starport.
Insanity/Behavioral Aberrations
When a character loses a number of sanity points equal to or exceeding his wisdom score in one week then the character has to make an immediate Sanity Check using any loss greater than the wisdom score as a positive modifier to the DC If the character fails this check then he or she develops a mental disorder or behavioral aberration assigned by the referee. So, let’s assuming a character has a wisdom score of 10, a Current Sanity of 50, and has lost 12 sanity points in the last week. At this point we would allow the character to make a Sanity Check verses his Current Sanity + (lost points – wisdom) = 52. Full-blown insanity such as schizophrenia is probably not appropriate for characters to develop in a game unless they have a really low Current Sanity but interesting quirks and behavioral aberrations can add some flavor and unpredictability to the scene. Use your imagination.
Restoring Sanity/Preventing Loss
IMTU I allow sanity points lost from regular jumps to be regained at the rate 1 point per 2 days a character is off the ship they made the jump on.
New Skills:
Psychotherapy (specify race) – the character who takes this skill has some formal training in dealing with emotional states of a specific sophont race. A successful use of the psychotherapy skill by one character on another will improve the Current Sanity score by the total skill modifier divided by 4 with a minimum of 1 point regained. The person providing the skill must be in contact with the patient for a minimum of 5 hours. This 5 hours can be spread out over different days but the roll is not made until complete. Characters can take this skill multiple times but must find training for the specific race and must chose a different race each time. This is an intelligence based skill. The DC for this skills is 15. This skill can not increase Current Sanity beyond the Starting Sanity.
Yoga – the character is skilled in meditation and balancing the personality. Every week the character can make a Yoga check ( base 10 DC + number of sanity points gained in the last week) to reduce sanity loss on a jump by 1 or to increase Current Sanity by 1 point. This skill can not increase Current Sanity beyond the Starting Sanity.
New Feat:
Emotional Resiliency: the character with this feat automatically reduces all sanity loss by 1 point including only 1 point per jump and the character gets a +5 bonus on all sanity checks.
