TEXT: PHOENIX COMMAND MENTAL 
  DAMAGE SYSTEM 
   
   
   
  Rules Created by 
  Cpl Ferro 
   
   
  Edited by 
  Pvt Kastro 
   
   
   
   
   
  1. INTRODUCTION 
   
  Credit to R.J. Andron of www.phoenixcommand.com for the inspiring Integrated 
  Morale Rules.  
   
  Herein is my attempt to come up with some decent insanity rules for PCCS, to 
  allow it to simulate mind-bending situations all the way from incidental phobias up 
  to full-on fright-film scenarios. In so doing, I needed to design into it an 
  understanding of what sanity actually is and generally why some people lose it and 
  not others.  You probably won’t agree with this understanding, but that just means 
  that one of us is crazy… and that’s rather appropriate, don’t you think? 
   
   
  2. INCAPACITATION 
   
  A Knockout Roll is required whenever a character: 
   
  1) Senses the presence of an inimical creature or hostile animal, or 
      anticipates combat, and/or 
  2) Reacts fearfully to some unexpected circumstance. 
   
  Each fearful thing encountered is measured in Shock Points (SP), which are the 
  fuel of fear.  There are two types of SP:  Acute SP, are those which affect a 
  character instantly, akin to an electric shock, or being surprised by something 
  terrible.  Acute SP is what can panic someone or freeze them with fear.  Chronic 
  SP, are those which settle in the depths of the mind, eating away at sanity. 
   
  Below are some sample KV and SP values.  The GM must arbitrate these values 
  for the specific personalities of the characters.  A wolf-trapper, for instance, will 
  probably be inured to most fear of wolves.   
  
   
  Sample KV Stereotypes 
   
  Six year old child 
   
    2 
  Housewife 
   
   
    3 
  Grown man  
   
    5 
  Street tough  
   
  10 
  Crack combat vet 
   
  38 
  Bushido-code samurai 
  90 
   
  KV Modifiers 
  Adrenalin Rush 
   
  x5.0 
   
  Sample Acute SP Values (see also Stress-Induced Illness, below) 
   
  Surprised by popped paper bag  
   
   
      1 
  Argue seriously with an acquaintance 
   
   
      2 
  Argue seriously with a stranger 
   
   
   
      4 
  Alone, walk through an unlit park with no moon  
      5 
  Alone, lost in the woods at night  
   
   
    10 
  Broken arm  
   
   
   
   
   
    15 
  Anticipate an imminent fight with a stranger 
   
    20 
  Surprised by 4” long scorpion (e.g. open drawer) 
    30 
  Blair Witch creepiness, per night  
   
   
    50 
  Heather discovering the bundle 
   
   
   
    90 
  Alone at night, encounter a hungry Timber Wolf  
  150 
  Alone at night, chased by pack of Timber Wolves 
  300 
   
   
   
  PCCS Conversions 
    
  Acute shock points (broken bone)  
   
   
  SP/10 
  Chronic shock points (stomach ache) 
   
   
  SP 
  Physical injury to skull 
   
   
   
   
  PD/10 
  Physical injury elsewhere  
   
   
   
  PD/50  
   
  SP Modifiers 
  Creatures outnumber characters by 2 to 1 
   
    x1.5 
  Creatures outnumber characters by 4 to 1 
   
    x1.8 
  Creatures outnumber characters by 8 to 1 
   
    x2.0 
  Creatures outnumber characters by 16+ to 1 
   
    x3.0 
  Phobia 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  x10.0 
   
  Total all Acute SP, and add that to any Chronic SP (see below) the character may 
  have.  Compare the result to his Knockout Value (KV), and roll a 00 - 99 number 
  on the table below. If the SP Total is equal to or less than 1/10 of his KV, the 
  character does not need to roll. 
   
  
   
  Temporary Incapacitation Table 
   
  SP Total  
   KO 
     Stun        Daze 
   Disor      Fright    Caut 
    Bold 
   
  SP > 1/10 KV       00-00 
  01-02      03-05      06-09          -        10-49     50-99 
  SP > KV 
  00-02 
  03-08      09-16      17-24      25-49     50-97     98-99 
  SP > 2 * KV        00-13   04-31      32-52      53-74      76-89     90-97     98-99 
  SP > 3 * KV        00-26   27-53      54-82      83-97          -             -         98-99 
  SP 200+             00-60     61-94      95-96      97-97          -             -         98-99 
   
  KO = Knockout.  The character loses 2 Wpr (see below) and is unconscious. The 
  time he remains unconscious is taken from the Incapacitation Time Table (8B, 
  below), and double the result. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 4 Wpr, use the Frightened entry instead.  
   
  Stun = Stunned.  The character loses 1 Wpr (see below) and is semi-conscious 
  with terror but incapable of action or coherent thought. Incapacitation Time is 
  taken from Table 8B. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 2 Wpr, use the Frightened entry instead. 
   
  Daze = Dazed. The character is panicked, and if there is no support available, he 
  drops to the ground conscious but incapable of offensive action or thought, else 
  he clings to the support. After half a second, a Dazed character may flee and 
  take non-offensive actions at ½ normal efficiency. Incapacitation Time is taken 
  from Table 8B with a -1 modifier to the 0 - 9 roll. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 1 Wpr, use the Frightened entry instead. 
   
  Disor = Disoriented.  The character is panicked, but is fully functional and may 
  flee, cry for help, pull a trigger, slam a door, or duck to save himself. Except for 
  reflexive action, the character is incapable of offensive action and may not 
  advance toward the menace. Incapacitation Time is taken from Table 8B with 
  a -2 modifier to the 0 - 9 roll. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 1 Wpr, use the Frightened entry instead. 
   
  Fright = Frightened. The character acts normally, except that all offensive action 
  is conducted at ½ efficiency. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 1 Wpr, use the Cautious entry instead. 
   
  Caut = Cautious. This is the normal condition of characters in a “horror” scenario.  
  All offensive action is conducted at ¾ efficiency. 
  Wpr: If the character spends 4 Wpr, use the Bold entry instead.  (This cost is 
  high to remind the player that he is hurling caution to the wind, disobeying his 
  body’s urgent warnings.)  
   
  Bold = Bold. The character is fully capable of action.  A roll result of 98 - 99 on the 
  Temporary Incapacitation Table indicates an adrenalin rush. 
   
  
  Incapacitation Time Table (8B) 
   
  SP 
   
  Random Roll (0-9) 
  Total    0     1-2     3-5     6-7      8        9 
   
  0 
  1p 1p 
  2p 
  4p 
  6p 
  11p 
  50 
  4p 15p 
  29p 
  47p 
  73p 4m 
  100 
  25p 3m 
  5m 
  9m 
  14m 25m 
  200+ 
  3m 11m 21m 23m 53m 96m 
   
  p = 2-second Phases, m = Minutes 
   
  A character who recovers from an incapacitation, becomes Frightened, remaining 
  so until an hour after he has reached a safe, secure environment. If during that 
  hour, he is shocked again, begin timing again. 
   
  Willpower (Wpr): All characters start with a certain amount of Wpr to spend, equal 
  to their WIL. To give players more choice in how their character responds to 
  danger, they may spend Wpr (as mentioned in the incap. listings above), to avoid 
  incapacitation.  Notes: 
  1. If a character’s Wpr is reduced to either ½, or 4 or less of his WIL (whichever 
  comes first), then his long-term motivation is at three-quarters, and he is in a 
  Disoriented/Panicked state until he recovers that threshold, insisting on 
  leaving ASAP for a place of relative safety. He won’t fight or help search for 
  anything or anyone. If attacked, he flees.  
  2. If a character’s Wpr is reduced to 0, his long-term motivation is at half, and he 
  is in a Stunned state until he recovers at least 1 Wpr, but remains capable of 
  very slowly obeying simple, innocuous commands. 
  3. A character regains Wpr, when, while in a secure environment, he eats a 
  meal, imbibes refreshments, gets sleep, or is inspired by beauty.  Any such 
  act grants from 1 - 3 Wpr.  A character may regain Wpr equal to no more 
  than ¼ his WIL per 24 hours, and may never regain to Wpr to beyond his 
  WIL. 
   
   
  INSANITY 
   
  One-tenth of all Acute SP a character sustains, remains with him as Chronic SP.  
  Do not round off until actually using the Insanity Table (see below). To determine 
  whether a character sustains any long-term injuries from his experiences, multiply 
  total Chronic SP by 10, and divide by his Sanity (San), which equals the sum of 
  his Leadership (LDR), Moral Fitness SAL*, and his (Learning Roll minus ten, 
  divided by 10), rounded off. Rephrasing: 
   
  San = (LDR + Moral Fitness SAL*) + [(LR-10) / 10] 
   
  As this value will rarely change, it can easily be figured beforehand. 
   
  
  * Skill Accuracy Level. There’s no other term for this, for consistency with the 
  main PCCS rules. It is based on the skill, found on the table below. For those not 
  playing PCCS, the SAL can easily be substituted for the Moral Fitness score 
  itself. 
   
  Moral Fitness SAL 
   
  Fitness 
  SAL Fitness 
  SAL 
   
  0 
  5 
  3 
  10 
  1 
  7 
  4 
  11 
  2 
  9 
  etc. 
  etc. (increasing by 1 per level) 
   
  Skill Tradeoffs & Calculating Moral Fitness: 
   
  1. Note that especial non-Classical, mind-stilling meditative arts, termed here the 
  Meditation Skill, such as Zen or Raja Yoga, trade off to Moral Fitness at ½, 
  rounding off, and vice versa. Thus, a Zen Grandmaster (Meditation SL 15), 
  would have an effective minimum Moral Fitness SL of 8. Were he to enter into 
  a program of Classical spiritual exercises, any new experience would be added 
  on top of that experience. 
  2. The following skills trade off to Moral Fitness, as shown.  In this instance only 
  (and including Meditation, above), all accrued skill levels are cumulative, 
  rounding off at the end. 
   
  Exorcism / 4. 
  Theology / 10 
  Classical Art Specialty / 20 
  Science Specialty / 20 
   
  Example: An investigator has Meditation 4, Exorcism 4, Theology 8, Literature 
  9, and Astronomy 10.  His minimum Moral Fitness is therefore 2 + 1 + 0.8 + 
  0.45 + 0.5 = 4.75, rounding to SL 5. 
   
  Moral Fitness Skill: A mixture of effort and efficacy of pursuit of knowledge and 
  relationships with man and the universe, which develop the agapic, cognitive 
  quality which sets man apart from the beasts, and allows for successful survival 
  of the race by allowing man to develop his masterful relationship with the 
  universe. Moral Fitness is developed through what are called “spiritual 
  exercises”, namely things such as working through ontological paradoxes via the 
  Socratic method, as in the dialogues of Plato, and otherwise akin to that, 
  participating in the discovery and transmission of universal principles, as by 
  engaging in Classical art or science, which amount to the same thing. Moral 
  Fitness can (but is not the only means to) increase a person’s confidence, 
  motivation, calm, and intelligence (though it is the sole means of increasing 
  cognition per se, whether its practitioners know this or not).  
   
  On the 0 - 20 skill scale, here are both skills and their descriptions: 
   
  
  Physical 
   
   
       Moral 
  Fitness 
   
   
       Fitness 
  0 
  Invalid 
  Bona fide Nietzschean 
  1 
  Couch potato 
  Raised by television 
  2 
  Comp. Jockey 
  Bona fide Pentecostal 
  3 
  Stroller 
  Phoenix Command Nut  
  4 
  Walker 
  Bona fide Calvinist 
  5 
  Speed-Walker 
  Bona fide Catholic 
  6 
  Jogger 
  Philosopher 
  8 
  Boot camp 
  Jeanne D’Arc 
  10 
  Drill Sgt. 
  Classical Scientist/Artist 
  12 
  Olympian 
  The Pope 
  15+ Ubermensch 
  Philosopher-King 
   
  Enter the adjusted Mental Damage Total on the following table, to find the odds of 
  sustaining various types of long-term injuries. Roll a 00 - 99 number once, and 
  write down the number. On the appropriate row, for each column entry which the 
  roll is equal to or less than, that level of injury is sustained. Thus, a character may 
  sustain multiple levels of injury at once.  
   
  Insanity Table 
   
       Mental 
  Healing 
      Damage   Time 
        Total 
      HT      CTP 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
   
            1 
  1d 
   
  00 
            2 
  2d 
   
  01 
            3 
  3d 
   
  02 
  00 
            4 
  5d 
   
  03 
  01 
            5 
  7d 
  12h 
  04 
  02 
          10 
  14d 
  10h 
  09 
  06 
          15 
  21d 
  8h 
  13 
  09 
          20 
  30d 
  6h 
  17 
  12 
  03 
          25 
  38d 
  5h 
  21 
  16 
  03 
          30 
  43d 
  4h 
  25 
  19 
  04 
          35 
  48d 
  3h 
  29 
  22 
  05 
  01 
          40 
  60d 
  2h 
  32 
  25 
  06 
  02 
          45 
  90d 
  1h 
  35 
  28 
  07 
  03 
          50 
  120d 
  1h 
  38 
  30 
  08 
  04 
          60 
  150d 
  1h 
  44 
  35 
  09 
  05 
          70 
  180d 
  45m 
  49 
  40 
  11 
  05 
          80 
  210d 
  30m 
  54 
  44 
  13 
  07 
          90 
  240d 
  15m 
  58 
  48 
  15 
  07 
        100 
  270d 
  10m 
  62 
  52 
  16 
  08 
        200 
  300d 
  3m 
  86 
  77 
  31 
  16 
  02 
        300 
  1yr 
  10p 
  94 
  88 
  43 
  24 
  04 
        400 
  1.5yr 
  2p 
  97 
  94 
  53 
  31 
  06 
        500 
  2yr 
  2p 
  98 
  96 
  61 
  37 
  08 
  
        600 
  3yr 
  dur 
  98 
  97 
  68 
  43 
  10 
        700 
  4yr 
  dur 
  98 
  98 
  73 
  48 
  12 
        800 
  5yr 
  dur 
  98 
  98 
  78 
  53 
  14 
        900 
  6yr 
  dur 
  98 
  98 
  82 
  57 
  16 
      1000 
  7yr 
  dur 
  99 
  98 
  85 
  62 
  18 
      2000 
  8yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  96 
  85 
  34 
      3000 
  9yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  93 
  46 
      4000 
  10yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  96 
  57 
      5000 
  11yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  97 
  65 
      6000 
  12yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  98 
  72 
      7000 
  13yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  77 
      8000 
  14yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  81 
      9000 
  15yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  98 
  84 
    12000 
  20yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  91 
    16000 
  40yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  95 
    20000 
  55yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  97 
    40000 
  80yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  98 
    60000 
  100yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
    80000 
  300yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  100000 
  900yr 
  dur 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
  99 
   
  p = Phases; m = Minutes; h = Hours; d = Days; yrs = Years 
   
  HT = Healing Time. This is the amount of time it takes for the Mental Damage 
  Total to be removed. To prorate for any given stage in the recovery process, find 
  the Mental Damage listing for the remaining time. Thus, if a character sustained 
  7 chronic SP, healing time 7 days, then after two days, his total would become 
  4. 
   
  CTP = Critical Time Period. If the character is given successful emergency 
  psychiatric aid within this time after he has made his Knockout Roll, then he 
  may reduce his Mental Damage Total by a certain amount (see Psychiatry Skill, 
  below). The listing “dur” means that aid can only take effect if it is, somehow, 
  actually administered during the traumatic episode. Unfortunately, most patients 
  at that level will not notice the psychiatrist, and therefore administering aid will 
  be impossible. 
   
  1 = Traumatised. The character is shaken for a prolonged period, and will typically 
  suffer nightmares, phobia, amnesia, or even extended catalepsy, and other 
  deleterious effects.  Recovery follows normal Mental Damage recovery (i.e. 
  when all Chronic SP are healed, the trauma is fully recovered from, at least in 
  these terms – scars will remain). In any trying situation the character is treated 
  as automatically Frightened. 
   
  2 = Neurotic. The character’s mind is permanently altered by his experience in 
  some severe way.  He will probably suffer post-traumatic stress disorder for the 
  rest of his life, but may also or instead suffer some kind of schizophrenia.  As a 
  guide, full recovery time is on the order of Mental Damage Total * (10) months.  
  
  Type 2, 3, and 4 recovery times are concurrent. In the presence of trigger 
  circumstances (determined by the GM), treat the character as Disoriented. 
   
  3 = Psychotic. The character’s mind is permanently altered by his experience in 
  some grotesque way, whether visibly or invisible. Paranoid schizophrenia is 
  possible for those with such tendencies (or perhaps even those without). 
  Recovery from this state will typically be slow and very difficult, if possible at all. 
  As a guide, full recovery time is on the order of Mental Damage Total * (10) 
  months. Type 2, 3, and 4 recovery times are concurrent. In the presence of 
  trigger circumstances (determined by the GM), treat the character as Dazed. 
   
  4 = Mindless. The character is essentially mindless, either in a cataleptic shock, a 
  coma, or otherwise fantastically incapacitated by insanity. Recovery will typically 
  be slow and exceedingly difficult, on the order of years, if possible at all. As a 
  rule, full recovery time in on the order of Mental Damage Total * (10) months. 
  Type 2, 3, and 4 recovery times are concurrent.  Treat the character as Stunned 
  for the duration. 
   
  5 = Dead. The character is overwhelmed by the shock to his system, and dies, as 
  of a heart attack, stroke, total brain shutdown, etc. Apply his Mental Damage 
  Total as actual Physical Damage (PD) for the purpose of medical aid, 
  incapacitation time, and potential resuscitation. Treat the character as Knocked 
  Out, if prompt medical aid is conceivable.  
   
  Permanent Mental Injuries: A person who has gone insane with fear, horror, pain, 
  or stress, will be less resistant to subsequent shocks, even once cured. Use the 
  following table as a guideline, though the GM should apply his own rules for 
  special situations (e.g. a character with low WIL may increase it while manic, 
  etc.): 
   
  Permanent Mental Injury Table 
   
  Insanity Level 
  WIL/LDR 
   
  Traumatised  
       -2 
  Neurotic 
   
       -4 
  Psychotic 
   
       -8 
  Mindless 
   
     -16 
   
  Therapy (see Psychiatry, below) allows the character to regain back half of what 
  he lost. Therapy can never reduce the penalty to that for one category less severe. 
  E.g. A Neurotic character who lost 4 WIL and LDR, then was cured of his Neurosis 
  (while remaining Traumatised), would regain 2 WIL and 2 LDR. Further therapy 
  could cure his trauma, but he would never regain further WIL or LDR in that way. 
   
  Note that altering WIL by extension alters KV and LR. 
   
  Moral Fitness Effects: Whenever a character goes insane, it becomes, by 
  definition, a questioning event for his faith. There are two concerns here. 
  
   
  1. How much the person’s Moral Fitness is reduced. As only rational faith is 
  sane, only rationality can rationalise questions of faith, in a manner as to truly 
  sustain it. The character makes an INT roll: if he fails, he loses Learning 
  Points equal to his Mental Damage Total. If he succeeds, he loses LP equal 
  to his Mental Damage Total / 10. 
   
  2. In situations where the nature of the evidence inverts the very foundation for 
  faith itself (see my post, linked to below), the degree of faith is actually an 
  impediment to sanity. In these cases (whether or not said foundation is 
  actually inverted, rather than merely perceiving to have been so), the 
  character must make an INT roll: if he succeeds, he gains Acute SP equal to 
  his Learning Point Total * 10 for Moral Fitness. If he fails, he gains Acute 
  SP equaling his LPT. In either case his LPT is then reduced to 0.   
   
  If the revelation is spread out, as through a person brooding on some inexplicable 
  yet unsettling clue he has discovered, slowly fathoming its significant, prorate its 
  Acute SP value – there is less chance of immediate panic, but the ultimate spiritual 
  effect is the same. Once such a revelation has begun, it begins working through 
  the mind like an acid.  A character who makes some kind of perceptiveness or self-
  awareness roll (in PCCS, either raw Telepathic Sensitivity, or a skill out of either 
  Psychology, Theology, Moral fitness, Perception, or Traps & Spotting) has a 
  terrible, preconscious premonition of where his thoughts are leading to. Generally, 
  such characters attempt to drown out the looming knowledge through drug 
  additions, prayer, running away, and the like. Every 20 - INT weeks, he must 
  sacrifice a point of permanent long-term motivation (MOT) to avoid the revelation, 
  or else his Chronic SP accrual continues. During this time the character may not 
  recover from insanity (but he may recover from Incapacitation). Each said time 
  increment, he must check for suicide: If he rolls above his long-term motivation 
  (MOT), he is suicidal. If he then rolls equal to or less than his WIL, he spends all 
  his Wpr and attempts suicide. If the player feels it is in character, he may spend 2 
  Wpr to resist making the attempt. This continues until he either dies, deals with the 
  revelation, or reaches 0 MOT.  At 0 MOT he is in a state of pure and exhausted 
  cognitive dissonance, dividing his SAN by 10 for the purposes of resisting the 
  ultimate revelation.  He is no longer capable of volition, and will probably eventually 
  rot away of bedsores or die of the flu unless tenderly and constantly treated. 
   
  CoC: Transcript of a Tape-Recorded Psychiatric Session 
  http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?s=f648351337401abdb10fec52c024256f&thre
  adid=35526 
   
   
  PSYCHIATRY SKILL 
   
  This skill is modified by Teaching (TCH) and Telepathic Sensitivity (TS) 
  characteristics. This skill allows the character to perform emergency psychiatric aid 
  on a patient. The maximum Mental Damage Total which a given skill level can 
  attend, is given below. 
  
   
  Expertise Requirement Table 
   
  Mental 
   
  Psychiatry 
  Damage  
  Skill Level 
  Total 
   
  Needed 
   
      5+ 
   
      4 (Crisis Centre Help) 
    30  
         
      6 (Therapist) 
    50  
         
      8 (Psychiatrist) 
  100  
       
    10 (Excellent Psychiatrist) 
  200+ 
       
    12 (Renowned Specialist) 
   
  If sufficient aid is administered, the person’s Mental Damage Total may be 
  immediately halved. 
   
  If a REM-suppressing soporific is administered, the person is rendered 
  unconscious for the duration (varies), and his CTP is frozen, resuming countdown 
  when he awakes. If REM is not suppressed, the person’s CTP is multiplied by 100.  
  Forcing a pill or an injection on someone already panicked induces an additional 
  50 Acute SP; if the person is both insane and panicking, it induces 500 Acute SP 
  instead.  
   
  If an insufficient skill level is present, the person may attempt a Psychiatry skill roll, 
  in order to partially stabilise the patient until he can be gotten to a hospital or other 
  care facility with the needed expertise. Treat the task as being easy for the needed 
  skill level (listed above), and prorate the odds for the less-skilled, from there. The 
  GM should apply appropriate modifiers if the problem is compounded by 
  distractions, background noise, injuries, or even an ongoing assault. If the interim 
  skill roll is made, increase the patient’s CTP remaining by the original CTP times 
  the amount succeeded + 2. If a person is calmed sufficiently to allow him to 
  willfully take a sedative of some kind, his Mental Damage Total may be 
  temporarily halved for the duration, only for the purposes of attaining sufficient aid. 
   
  Example: One night at an unsupervised party, Jonas has takes a severe overdose 
  of lysergic acid, sustaining 200 Chronic SP. After 30 minutes of the trip the GM 
  demands an Insanity roll; Jonas rolls a 20 and goes psychotic. His Critical Time 
  Period is 3 minutes. His friends, themselves only partially aware, and squabbling 
  about what to do, decide two minutes later to try to calm him down. Despite the 
  distractions one of them makes his unskilled Psychiatry roll, succeeding by 0, 
  and therefore increasing his CTP by 6 minutes. They bring him to a next-door 
  neighbour’s house, who is a friendly registered nurse (SL 4), and whose roll 
  succeed by 2, thus calming him for an additional 12 minutes. They drive to the 
  hospital through the lonely streets, reaching the sanitarium where a psychiatrist 
  (SL 8) is working late. He realises that they need a specialist, and succeeds in 
  his roll by 6, calming Jonas for 24 minutes, or long enough to convince him to 
  take some anti-psychotic medication and a soporific, which renders him 
  unconscious for the night (freezing his CTP and artificially decreasing his Mental 
  Damage Total to 100). They restrain him in a hospital room and the doctor 
  
  makes an appointment with a specialist for the next day. When Jonas awakens, 
  as specialist (SL 10) is waiting for him, who is capable of treating him because 
  he was temporarily reduced to Mental Damage Total 100. This proper treatment 
  makes that reduction permanent. Reapplying his roll of 20 to the 100 row on the 
  Insanity Table, he is removed from his psychotic state, and is instead now only 
  heavily neurotic. Jonas will need months of therapy to recover. 
   
  A note on groups: A big risk in chaotic situations is that not everyone will 
  recognise, or have enough sense to defer to the most capable person there. 
  Anyone who wishes to take charge, must make a Leadership roll, cumulatively 
  modified negatively by any Will bonus of anyone present. If no one succeeds, 
  there is chaos. Whoever beats all comers by 0 - 2, causes an argument of 
  command, taking 10 Phases (20 seconds), whereupon new rolls may be made.  
  Whoever beats all comers by 3+, takes charge and cows all others for the next 
  Minute. Arguments should be roleplayed out normally, and the real time taken, 
  used as game time for the purposes of the patient’s CTP running out. Note that 
  a person with high Leadership may thus easily take charge, but aside from 
  maintaining order, he may not be person needed for the task at hand – and may 
  not be smart enough to realise it! 
   
  Therapy: A psychiatrist of sufficient skill (see above) may attempt to cure an 
  insane character, by applying therapy, psychoanalysis, drugs, and the like. For 
  the purpose of these rules, think along the lines of a Psychiatry skill roll, 
  modified by various circumstances, as situation, personality differences, 
  subsequent trauma, drug effects, head injuries, relationships, and so on – on 
  other words, this presents a distinct roleplaying opportunity. The GM may 
  consult medical manuals and other references to devise a particular mental 
  illness complex for the player to deal with as an ongoing in-game puzzle 
  (possibly secretly insoluble!), without simply flatly declaring a diagnosis. If the 
  psychiatrist in charge makes a diagnosis, the GM should roll the result secretly, 
  as even psychiatrists make mistakes. As a rule, a cure may be attempted once 
  every (6) months. Success will extinguish the most extreme column-result the 
  character suffers. Thus, a Mindless person will be coaxed down into mere 
  Psychosis. 
   
  Therapy can also tend to Permanent Mental Injuries (see above). 
   
   
  STRESS-INDUCED ILLNESS 
   
  Major life changes of any kind can, alone or cumulatively, weaken a person’s will to 
  life and immune system, making them more prone to illness. To determine the 
  chance of a person falling ill over various time periods, enter his Mental Damage 
  Total (determined above), on the Stress-Induced Illness Table below. Include 
  Chronic SP accumulated from the Major Life Change table following. The nature 
  and severity of the illness is left to the GM. 
   
  Stress-Induced Illness Table 
  
   
  Chronic 
  SP Total For  
      Illness Chance 
  That Year 
  Bi-Yearly 
  Yearly  
  Bi-weekly 
   
  2000 
  98 
  90 
  11 
  1500 
  97 
  82 
  08 
  1000 
  96 
  77 
  06  
   
    700 
  95 
  74 
  05  
   
    500 
  94 
  73 
  04  
   
    400 
  79 
  59 
  01+ 
    300 
  69 
  47 
  01  
   
    200 
  50 
  25 
  00  
   
   
    150 
  24 
  15 
    100 
  11 
  04 
   
   
   
   
      70 
  04 
  01 
      45 
  01 
   
   
   
   
      30 
  00 
   
   
   
   
  Major Life Change Table 
   
   Chronic 
       SP  
  Event 
   
  10  
  Spouse dies 
    7  
  Divorce 
    7  
  Marital separation 
    6  
  Detained in jail or institution 
    6  
  Death of close family member or old, close friend 
    5  
  Personal injury/major illness 
    5  
  Marriage 
    5  
  Fired from job 
    5  
  Marital reconciliation 
    5  
  Retirement 
    4  
  Health change, family member 
    4  
  Pregnancy 
    4  
  Sex difficulties 
    4  
  Gain new family member 
    4  
  Business readjustment 
    4  
  Change in financial state 
    4  
  Death of close friend 
    4  
  Change in line of work 
    4  
  Increased disputes with spouse 
    3  
  Large mortgage 
   
    3  
  Foreclosure, mortgage or loan 
    3  
  Change in responsibilities at work 
    3  
  Child leaves home 
    3  
  In-law trouble 
    3  
  Outstanding personal achievement 
  
    3  
  Spouse starts or stops work 
    3  
  Start or finish school 
    3  
  Change in living conditions 
    2  
  Revise personal habits 
    2  
  Trouble with boss 
    2  
  Change working hours or conditions 
    2  
  Change in residence 
    2  
  Change schools 
    2  
  Change in recreation 
    2  
  Change in church activities 
    2  
  Change in social activities 
    2  
  Loan on car, major appliances 
    2  
  Change in no. of family get-togethers 
    2  
  Change in sleeping habits 
    2  
  Change in eating habits 
    1  
  Busy Christmas 
    1  
  Major Vacation 
    1  
  Minor traffic violation 
   
   
  Example: A newly divorced man suffers the following SP: 7 (divorce) + 3 (major 
  changes in living conditions) + 2 (major change in eating habits) + 2 (change in 
  residence) + 4 (major change in financial state) + 4 (close friend dies) + 2 
  (trouble with boss) + 1 (traffic violation ticket) + 2 (major change in working 
  conditions at job) = 27. He makes a 00 - 99 roll and gets a 00, suffering a heart  
  attack an hour after signing the divorce papers. 
   
   
  POSSESSION 
   
  This is a state, in which a Satanic spirit possesses a character’s volition, rendering 
  him an incarnation of wrathful lust. It should be stressed that because of the 
  potential for psychological feedback, a GM must never force a PC to be Satanically 
  possessed. A player must be given the option, and then must freely choose to 
  allow the GM to engage in some kind of possession story-arc, which his character 
  is victimised by. This is an invasion, so remember that a devil is not a player-
  character (even though player-characters may be close to being devils).  NPCs, of 
  course, may be possessed normally, perhaps even being sufficiently evil or sick as 
  to choose to summon them, as decided by the GM. The point to be stressed here 
  is, the element of free will. If a PC is threatened with true possession, such as if his 
  character’s mind is entered by a devil, the question is how much free will he, as the 
  human possessed, retains. 
   
  In order to be potentially possessed, a person must have gone insane. This may 
  be caused either by the possession attempt itself, or the possession attempt must 
  take place in the context of a mind weakened by insanity (such as by psychotropic 
  drugs, or great faith-testing trauma). The resultant insanity must not have induced 
  either death or mindlessness in the character, or else the devil has nothing left to 
  possess. Once the devil has entered, in whatever form, the character’s odds of 
  
  being possessed, depend on his Moral Fitness skill alone. The odds of resisting, 
  per day of a new attempt, are 9 plus his Moral Fitness SL, minus the devil’s 
  Potency (P). If the character cannot find a quiet place to pray, meditate, or 
  otherwise get his head together for the bulk of the attempt duration, subtract 2 from 
  the base odds. If he is actually shocked somehow, rendering him Frightened at 
  any time during the attempt duration, subtract 4 from the attempt (cumulative with 
  being chronically distracted). Each attempt costs 1 Wpr; and note that Wpr may 
  not be regained while a character is engaged in a moral struggle. The GM should 
  roll secretly on 3(6), attempting to roll equal to or less than his success odds in 
  order to let him resist. Whether the character realises that he is winning his moral 
  struggle or not, is the GM’s call. 
   
  Demon Potency Example Table 
   
   
  Demon 
   
   
   
   
   
  Potency 
   
  Leviathan (John Carpenter’s The Thing)      
       15 
  Son of Satan (Prince of Darkness) 
        
       12 
  Sutter Cane (In the Mouth of Madness)       
       10 
  Legion (Mark 5:9) 
   
   
   
        
         7 
  Devil (The Exorcist)  
   
    
        
         5 
  Columbine spirit (Doom) 
   
        
       
         3 
   
  If the roll succeeds by 10+, the devil is rejected outright, and is gone from the mind. 
  If the roll succeeds by 7+, the character resists the attempt outright, but the devil 
  lurks somewhere in the cavernous recesses of the mind. 
  If the roll succeeds by 5 - 6, the character resists the attempt over the next hour, 
  and the devil lurks as above. 
  If the roll succeeds by 3 - 4, the character resists the attempt over the next full day, 
  and the devil lurks as above. 
  If the roll succeeds by 1 - 2, the character resists the attempt over the next week, 
  and the devil lurks as above. 
  If the roll succeeds by 0 (rolling exactly what he needed), the character succeeds 
  over the next (6) months, unless something happens to lower his Moral Fitness 
  SL, in which case treat it as a failure, below. And the devil lurks, as above. 
   
  If the roll fails by 1 - 2, the devil either gains possession of the character over the 
  next (6) months, else forfeits that chance to gain weak influence over him 
  immediately (GM’s choice), while lurking. 
  If the roll fails by 3 - 4, the devil either gains possession of the character within a 
  week, or forfeits that chance to gain moderate influence over him immediately, 
  then lurks. 
  If the roll fails by 5 - 6, again the process either takes a day, or the devil gains 
  strong influence over the character. 
  If the roll fails by 7+, the character is possessed outright. 
  If the roll fails by 10+, the character goes into fits and dies. 
   
  Weak influence means that the devil causes the character to think and do things 
  which are not true to his character. The fact that the devil entered his character in 
  
  the first place indicates that he does not know himself sufficiently well. If the 
  character realises he is possessed, he becomes Frightened whenever in a 
  stressful or inexplicable situation. The GM should not allow the character to 
  distinguish between impulses originating from his real self and the devil within; 
  instead, he will find that the universe simply acts differently – people are stupider, 
  more vexing, things don’t go right, police are incompetent, etc. The character 
  responds to this as if he were the normal one, thus guiding him toward evil. 
   
  Moderate influence means that the devil tries to shove him over an impulsive edge, 
  into committing murder, or some other act of depraved violence. The devil, 
  suddenly acting, takes control of the character’s body and emotions for a number 
  of half-seconds equal to 20 minus the character’s WIL. E.g. a character with 
  WIL 13 would “not be himself” for 3 full seconds. The character perceives what he 
  is doing, but the moral significance of the act is occluded. Aside from total 
  possession, this is probably the most beguiling manifestation, because the 
  character acts before he has time to reflect on what he is doing. 
   
  Strong influence means the devil controls the character’s body to a substantial 
  degree, but may be bound by certain idiosyncratic rules relating to the exact nature 
  of the possession (adjudicated by the GM). The character is effectively Dazed, but 
  if he realises he is possessed, he may spend 4 Wpr to roll his WIL or less on 3(6), 
  in order to take any simple action not directly related to countermanding what the 
  devil is trying to make him do. In other words, the only way to act in even the 
  simplest manner, is to trick the devil by either conjuring the impulse to do 
  something, which the devil also wants to do, or doing something which the devil 
  cannot find sense in, and therefore mistakes for some kind of insanity (which is the 
  nature of the situation, after all!). 
   
  Total possession means the individual has gone Mindless, after the devil has 
  taken him. Treat the person as being Knocked Out for the duration. This is 
  actually disadvantageous to the devil, because although it now controls the 
  person’s body, it cannot torture the character at its pleasure, as by allowing him to 
  scream, shout for help, etc. Thus, it cannot hide behind the person’s mind to avoid 
  tipping off potential exorcists. 
   
  Recognising a possession attempt in yourself is a Theology skill roll, with Base 
  Odds of 0, modified by INT. Recognising it by another person requires four hours 
  of face to face investigation with the subject while he is awake, with Base Odds of 
  8 minus the given devil’s Con/Acting SL (averaging 10+); if the possessed 
  person is totally possessed, add 4 to the Base Odds. Success also renders the 
  character automatically Frightened for the remainder of the possession attempt. A 
  character who is aware of such an attempt, can determine whether a devil is 
  struggling for full possession, or merely flanking his soul through lesser influence, 
  by making a Perception roll (modified by Telepathic Sensitivity), with Base Odds 
  of 8 minus the devil’s Con/Acting SL. A possessed person realises he is 
  possessed by spending 1 Wpr and rolling INT + 2 or less on 3(6); he may try 
  again whenever presented with compelling evidence. 
   
  
  Example: After being forced to ingest Liquid Satan, Calder (INT 9, WIL 17, Moral 
  Fitness 7) attempts to recognise that he is being possessed, spending 1 Wpr.  
  His odds are 8 - 1 (the Liquid’s Con/Acting SL) + 7 = 0. He rolls a 5, realising 
  he’s in supernatural peril. 
  Calder’s odds to resist are 9 + 7 (his SL) - 12 (Liquid’s Potency) = 4. Calder 
  rolls a 9. As the devil is on a schedule, it takes immediate strong possession of 
  him, and he rises up from the wet office floor. He makes an INT roll, scoring a 3 
  and realising with horror that he is possessed. He spends 4 Wpr, trying to clutch 
  a chair to stop himself from moving. The GM rules that the Liquid isn’t terribly 
  intelligent, and so mistakes this as an attempt to grasp a weapon. The chair 
  banging on the risers behind him, Calder ascends the stairs toward his friends. 
  Slowly realising this isn’t working, Calder struggles through his dread and 
  confusion, spending another 4 Wpr to begin singing, hoping to forewarn his 
  friends. As it happens, he is a fine Negro Spiritualist (Classical Singing 10) and 
  the devil disregards this in bemused mockery. Hearing singing and banging, his 
  friends gather at the top of the stairs, to find Calder, face drenched in sweat, 
  pouring his soul into “Amazing Grace”. 
  Standing at the top of the stairs, he realises that if he does nothing, he will 
  murder his friends. Unable to warn them, he spends 4 Wpr and rips a flat 
  wooden baluster from the nearby railing. The devil again thinks of this as a 
  weapon. Smiling and laughing, as if at the insanity of it all, Calder spends his 
  last 4 Wpr to kill the nearest innocent person by sticking the wooden knife 
  through his own throat. 
   
  A possession remains until the person is killed or the devil is cast out in some 
  manner.  This requires the use of the Exorcism Skill. See below: 
   
  Exorcism: This is modified by Leadership, Teaching, and Telepathic Sensitivity 
  characteristics. This is the special skill of detecting and casting out devils from 
  tormented souls. It trades off to Moral Fitness at ¼. Each exorcism proper 
  session takes four hours, and requires elaborate preparation, best left to the GM 
  to detail, tailored to his specific campaign, and arbitrate the effectiveness of 
  various methods, depending on the exact nature of the situation. For instance, a 
  Catholic Rite of Exorcism probably wouldn’t be able to exorcise the Liquid 
  Satan, any more than it could exorcise LSD; in those cases, a biotic, and an 
  abiotic contaminant is physically preventing the devil from loosening its grasp. 
  However, performing such a rite might furnish the beset character with additional 
  Wpr, in the form of added faith in his friends’ confidence. Proper exorcism’s 
  Base Odds are 5 minus P, where P is the Potency of the devil. 
   
  In a pinch, and provided both that the victim is not Mindless, and that the 
  character’s attention can be gained for sufficient time, an exorcist can try to 
  reconnect with the humanity of the victim for long enough to avoid further 
  calamity. In these cases, the attempt requires a few seconds or minutes -- use 
  the Command Time rules, treating this as a single command. On a success, the 
  devil is reduced to merely lurking for a minute, and whatever incapacitation state 
  the victim is in is drawn out. The GM must decide whether and when the devil 
  
  attempts to regain control. Note that this may give the victim a chance to get to a 
  proper place of sanctuary.  An exigency exorcism’s Base Odds are 12 - P. 
   
  Example: In the midst of a high-school shooting massacre, a Professor (LDR 15, 
  Moral Fitness SL 4), follows the strongly possessed Shooter into a dead-end 
  classroom. The Shooter raises the rifle to shoot, but the Professor has a 
  brainwave and attempts an on-the-spot exorcism, by pointing at his own face 
  and saying “Look into my eyes!” to call his attention to the humanity of his rifle-
  target. His odds are base 12 + 1 (his effective Exorcism SL) + 1 (Leadership 15) 
  - 3 (the devil’s Potency) = 11. The professor rolls an 11, and the Shooter 
  suddenly recognises Mr. Anderson, dropping the rifle and stumbling into a 
  corner to curl up in a ball. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Phoenix Command/Unofficial/Phoenix Command - Mental Damage System.pdf