Understanding Fear and Mental Stress in D&D

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Adventurers in Dungeons & Dragons typically don’t shy away from danger, but occasionally they encounter foes so horrifying that even the bravest heroes might feel the urge to retreat. To address this, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide introduces guidelines on managing fear and the psychological strain that comes with it.

These suggestions aren’t meant for every single encounter; they might not even align with your specific campaign. However, if you’re planning a session centered around exploring the Shadowfell or the even more unsettling Far Realm, incorporating a system to reflect how characters experience fear in these unsettling places can enhance the gameplay.

Understanding Fear Effects

The new Dungeon Master’s Guide suggests a straightforward method for handling characters’ fear: applying the frightened condition. This condition prevents characters from approaching the source of their fear and imposes a disadvantage on D20 rolls for its duration.

Typically, a Wisdom saving throw is required when facing fear, and characters can attempt the saving throw again at the end of their turns as they try to summon the courage to confront their fears. The difficulty for this roll depends on both the situation and the individual character’s past experiences.

For instance, confronting a portal to the Abyss could be a particularly daunting challenge. However, a warlock serving a demon might not be phased at all by such a sight. It’s essential to discuss with your players whether incorporating fear effects is something everyone is comfortable with and consider if it fits within your campaign’s narrative.

Incorporating Fear Effects

If your session has a horror theme, you might add extra layers to the frightened condition to heighten tension. Be cautious, though—the encounters shouldn’t become overwhelmingly difficult since the fear itself already ramps up the challenge.

The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide provides three examples of how to enhance the frightened condition:

• Forcing the dash action: Each turn, scared players must flee as quickly as possible. This approach is more suitable for puzzles rather than combat scenarios.
• Granting advantage on attacks against frightened creatures: Effective for climactic confrontations or stealthy ambushes.
• Limiting actions when frightened: Players can either move, take an action, or use a bonus action—this should be reserved for the most terrifying scenarios.

Since these effects hinge on the frightened condition, characters with high Wisdom scores will often avoid these penalties. If your group consists of clerics and druids, keep in mind they may engage with fear in ways you might not expect.

Mental Stress Effects

Unlike fear, mental stress can occur from being exposed to something sinister for an extended period. In the past, the Dungeon Master’s Guide included a detailed section on madness, but the 2024 edition simplifies this to focus on mental stress, offering a more streamlined approach to handling it.

Whereas fear is an instinctual reaction, mental stress can leave lasting impressions—your courageous characters may stand firm against inhuman horrors but could still suffer effects on their minds afterward.

Representing Mental Stress

When a character experiences a surge of mental stress, it can feel like their mind is under siege. Dungeons & Dragons uses psychic damage to depict these mental assaults. The Guide lists various situations that could inflict mental stress and includes sample challenges and damage:

Typically, a Wisdom saving throw is required for these effects, although you could use any relevant mental ability score based on the context. A recommended house rule allows characters to use their highest mental score for saving throws, reflecting their mental defenses.

Prolonged Effects of Mental Stress

Similar to the madness mechanics in older editions, mental stress can have lasting consequences, but without lengthy tables to reference. You should create effects that fit within your campaign’s context while ensuring player consent.

• Short-Term Effects: Duration lasts 1D10 minutes and can be removed via the Lesser Restoration spell. These effects might manifest as conditions like frightened, incapacitated, or stunned.
• Long-Term Effects: These last for 1D10 times ten hours and impose disadvantages on skill checks. They can still be removed by Lesser Restoration.
• Indefinite Effects: Similar in impact to Long-Term Effects, but without a time limit. Greater Restoration is required to remove these effects.

By approaching fear and mental stress with these guidelines, you can add depth to your game and provide your players with memorable, thrilling experiences.

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