Mental illness is a sensitive topic. It’s often the result of an inborn chemical imbalance (in the case of things like schizophrenia) or a response to unbearable mental stress (such as traumatic amnesia). In either case it’s a transmogrification from within; when you become mentally ill, you are quite literally “not yourself”—or at least, not the self you thought you were. Focusing on this topic in a game played for fun opens us up to the charge that we’re belittling or distorting the seriousness of mental illness and the oppression people with it (like me) face. Nothing could be further from my intent. Rather, I consider madness important to the world of Middens and Morals for two reasons ~ (1) we exist, and I want to assert that we can be worthy heroes and protagonists because of rather than in spite of our divergence from the mental norms, and (2) it highlights the dichotomies I want to explore in the game. To put it in perspective: a character in the action film Conan the Barbarian is not going to suffer mental trauma from seeing a lot of violence. A character in Flesh+Blood is. They’re both movies, and both aim to entertain; but you can entertain and be serious at the same time. I wouldn’t have written this game if I didn’t think the portrayal of insanity would be handled seriously. When a character in a bad movie goes insane, it usually involves either scene-chewing melodrama or some fairly crude comedy, both of which present distorted stereotypes of and further oppressive attitudes toward us. Reality is a bit more complex. Lots of disorders become apparent only in certain circumstances. (Phobias are a perfect example.) Just because a character has become “insane” doesn’t mean that the player has to be limited to playing a caricature, that the character can no longer behave according to his or her own interests, or that the player is no longer in charge. After all, none of those things are true in our real, lived experience.
It’s critical to discuss character insanity with the player. If there was a dictatorial chart the GM rolled on (“Too bad! Now you’re a nymphomaniac!”) insanity would unrealistically remove layers of character, by denying choice to the player. Instead, because the player is involved, more characterization can be added—or revealed. Even though madness is intended to be primarily a matter of character, it is still a mechanical system. (A few objective rules keep people honest.) Here’s an outline so you can walk through the process the first few times.
I. The Situation Occurs
Each roll involves a particular type of Trauma and has an intensity level (rank-3 Hardened Violence for getting briefly tortured, rank-2 Failed Helplessness for being exiled; for the discussion at hand, we are ignoring the Virtue involved). Compare the intensity level of the roll with the character’s appropriate Hardened Trauma.
A. If the character has a Hardened score equal to or greater than the intensity level of the roll, nothing happens. (For instance, someone with Hardened Violence 4 can get tortured briefly without risking their sanity. Someone with Hardened Helplessness 2 can get exiled without freaking out.)
B. If the character’s Hardened Trauma is less than the intensity level of the roll, they check the unkept dice of the roll.
1. If the majority of these dice are over the intensity level of the roll, they increase their Hardened Trauma of the appropriate tye by 1, and has successfully confronted the stress.
2. If the majority of these dice are equal to or under the intensity level of the roll, that character increases their Failed Trauma of the appropriate type by 1, and must immediately decide to freeze, fight, or flee.
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
The medieval world doesn’t offer many options to process your Traumas, but talking to that rarest of treasures, a good friend, can still help you with your mental problems before you become totally mad—that is, before you reach Failed 5 in a Trauma. You cannot perform this on yourself. After a few soul-revealing conversations, you make a rank-0 TrFI+level 29 roll and your friend makes a rank-0 to rank-3 (depending on the situation) MeHH+Listening 34 roll for each session.
--Any time either you or your friend succeed with an Inpiration, you can reduce any one Hardened or Failed Trauma by 1.
--Any time both you and your friend succeed, you can reduce a Hardened or Failed Trauma of your choice by 1.
--If you succeed and your friend fails, you can choose to reduce any one Failed Trauma by 1.
--If you fail and your friend succeeds, you can choose to reduce any one Hardened Trauma by 1. (Or choose not to erase any notch)
--Any time both of you succeed with an Inspiration, you can reduce any one Hardened or Failed Trauma by 3. (You cannot reduce some of each; excess reductions are lost.)
Another option is to get talked down in the moment, though this only works to reduce Failed Traumas, not Hardened ones. If you’ve got a good friend you can actually trust, they can attempt to counsel you right away—as long as you talk to them within an hour of your freakout. Anecdotal evidence indicates that people who get counseling right away tend to do better in the long run. After all, if your friend can put things in perspective right away, it saves the effort of uprooting an entrenched and sick attitude. If you can get counseling that fast, your friend makes a rank-3 MeHH+Listening 29. If they succeed, you don’t have to increase your Failed Trauma.
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