Willpower

Willpower (WP) represents a character’s current mental resilience and state.

Your max WP equals your Will Score.

Losing Willpower

Willpower can be lost in a variety of ways. Most commonly a Failure or Critical Failure on a Mental Resolve check or a failed Obsession or Temper check.

On a success a character loses no will power. On a failure the character loses 1 point of Willpower, while on a Critical Failure the player rolls for 1d4 Willpower damage.

Stages

A hero at their max Willpower is considered "Steady"

A hero that has lost all their will power points is Shattered

Willpower Score	Dots per Threshold
4	1	O / O / O
5-- 7	2	O O / O O / O O
8 - 10	3	O O O / O O O / O O O
11 - 13	4	O O O O / O O O O / O O O O
14 - 16	5	O O O O O / O O O O O / O O O O O

Divide your Willpower in groups of dots to determine your track

For example for a Willpower of 9 a hero has a track of

O O O / O O O / O O O

With all the dots filled the hero is Grounded, if any of the dots on the left most section is lost the hero is Strained. If any of the dots in the middle is lost the hero is Unsteady, if any of the dots to the right is lost the hero is Fractured and finally if a hero losses all their dots then they are Shattered.

Steady/Grounded

“I’ve got this.”

• Emotionally stable and grounded
• No penalties
• Recovers Willpower normally
• Roleplay: confident, clear-headed, emotionally present

Strained

“Something’s wrong, but I can manage.”

This is the warning zone. Characters feel the pressure but are still functional.

+1 Penalty to All Skill or Attribute Checks

• Minor stress visible
• Occasional intrusive thoughts or emotional spikes
• May roleplay mild irritability, distraction, or fatigue
• No mechanical penalties (or very light narrative pressure)

Unsteady

“I’m starting to crack.”

This is where players should start worrying.

+2 Penalty to All Skill or Attribute Checks

• Focus slips under stress
• Emotions become harder to regulate
• Fear, Paranoia, guilt, obsession, avoidance, emotional numbness

Fractured

“I don’t know if I can keep going.”

The character is no longer reliably in control of their reactions.

+4 Penalty to All Skill or Attribute Checks

• Mental defenses actively failing
• Strong emotional reactions override logic
• Frozen, dissociation, rage, despair, reckless decisions

Shattered

“I can’t do this anymore.”

This is the brink — one more push could end them.

The player loses control of the character temporarily. The player rolls for permanent mental effects.

• Character is barely holding together
• Emotional collapse, paranoia, catatonia, or uncontrolled violence

Recovery

Meditation / Centering

Mental Resolve modified by the penalties given by current state and any other penalties or bonuses the might apply. Calming music, a warm beverage, use of medication can provide anything between (-1 to -3 bonus) while loud noises, combat environment presence of other triggers like people or blood etc can worsen the situation. (+1 to +5 additional penalty)

On an ordinary success the character recovered one point of WIllpower, 2 in ordinary and 3 on a amazing success. On failure the current willpower remains the same. On a Critical Failure the character succumbs to their intrusive thoughts and lose another 1d4 Willpower

Psychology Skill

Another character with the Psychology skill may help another character to recover some of their will power points. Attempting to do so cannot happen during an encounter and it takes around 1 hour of discussion. The check is modified in difficulty by the current stage of the characters will power (+1 per stage). A familiar environment, calming music, a warm beverage, use of medication can provide anything between (-1 to -3 bonus) to the check. On a successful roll the character gains back one point of willpower per rate of success. On an ordinary success the character recovered two points of Willpower, four in good and six on an amazing success. On failure the current willpower remains the same. On a Critical Failure the character succumbs to their intrusive thoughts and lose another 1d4-1 Willpower.

The Psychology skill can also be used to heal permanent effects. Depending on the severity of the effect this might take several 1-hour session (as per Storyteller's discretion )

Telepathy: Focus

See Focus

Being Shattered

Being shattered means that the character reached a point that they can no longer operate. Depending on the cause this might mean reaching a catatonic state, going into an uncontrollable rage, becoming completely paranoid or collapsing. This state can only be resolved by actions of the Storyteller as the character for the duration passes onto them.

When the situation resolves itself the player has to roll a Mental Resolve check with a +5 Penalty, plus any other penalties or bonuses. Calming music, a warm beverage, use of medication can provide anything between (-1 to -3 bonus) while loud noises, combat environment presence of other triggers like people or blood etc can worsen the situation. (+1 to +5 additional penalty).

On a success the player can recover a point of Willpower per success rate. On a failure the player gains a permanent effect. On a critical failure the character will suffer the shattered effects again and and gain two permanent effects.

Permanent Effects

All the permanent effects are here to provide a rich role playing experience. Successful roleplaying of the effects will provide the player with additional XP per month until/if resolved. All of the below must be agreed upon between the player and the Storyteller.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Triggers flashbacks, panic, dissociation
• Certain stimuli cause sudden WP loss
• Avoidance behaviors form naturally

Hypervigilance

• Always alert, never relaxed
• Disadvantage on rest-based recovery
• Advantage to notice danger — at a cost

Chronic Anxiety

• Constant low-level stress
• WP recovery is slower
• Calm moments feel unsafe

Emotional Numbing

• Difficulty feeling joy or connection
• Reduced benefit from bonds or comfort
• Pain hurts less — happiness does too

Depersonalization

• Feels unreal or disconnected from self
• Trouble trusting emotions or memories
• Identity becomes fragile

Derealization

• World feels distant, dreamlike, or fake
• Reality checks may be required under stress

Compulsive Control

• Obsession with plans, routines, contingencies
• Stress spikes when control is lost

Reckless Fatalism

• “Nothing matters; I survived worse”
• Risk-taking reduces fear but increases danger

Avoidance Conditioning

• Refusal to engage with certain places, people, or actions
• Severe stress if forced to confront them

Explosive Rage

• Anger triggers override reason
• Violence becomes a release valve

Cold Cruelty

• Emotional shutdown paired with brutality
• Empathy selectively suppressed

Projection

• Blames others for internal pain
• Relationships become strained or hostile

Survivor’s Guilt

• “Why did I live when others didn’t?”
• Self-sabotage or martyr behavior

Moral Injury

• Core beliefs shattered
• Struggles to justify actions or causes

Shattered Self-Image

• No longer sees themselves as hero, protector, or good
• Identity must be rebuilt or replaced

Chronic Hallucinations

• Voices, visions, symbolic figures
• Sometimes helpful, often not

Psychotic Episodes

• Temporary loss of reality under stress
• Requires safety and care to recover

Permanent Personality Shift

• The person they were is gone
• A new self emerges, shaped by trauma

Perks & Flaws Modifications

The willpower perk now costs 5 XP but also provides a -1d4 bonus to all Willpower checks

The spineless perk now costs 3/5/7 but also provides a +1/+2/+3 penalty to all Willpower checks