Key mechanics: Fear

I've hit upon what I think are some of the key mechanical ideas in the system, so I thought I would begin presenting them here in a summarized form, both so that I do not forget them, as well as to give my audience here something to read.

Fear: This is a game with a feeling of horror, after all, and there are many scary things hiding out in the dark. Fear of the dark itself is one of the most basic of human fears, and the one that inspired ASID from the very beginning.

Different situations and potential horrors the players face are represented by a Fear Factor, which serves as both a modifier and a success threshold. The player makes a Willpower attribute check, attempting to roll under his base Willpower minus 1 x5, minus the Fear Factor, on a d100 roll. If the character rolls under his modified Willpower by an amount greater than the Fear Factor, he maintains control of his composure, and may act normally.

If the character achieves a marginal success, beating the roll by less than the Fear Factor, he is now in Fight Response. In Fight Response, a character will immediately attempt to attack whatever the nearest threat is to his safety. However, he is not in a fully composed state of mind, and as such receives modifiers to his combat actions based on what form of weapon he is using. If a ranged weapon, he begins firing wildly, giving him -10% to hit a target unless he is using an automatic weapon, but a +10% to his Defense, as the wall of bullets repels potential attackers. If a melee weapon, he charges into the fray with no concern for his own safety, giving him a +10% to all his attack rolls but a -10% to his Defense. If the object of the character's fear is not an actual physical threat, he will instead try to destroy it or disable it some how. A radio producing ominous sounds might be smashed or yanked from it's power source, for example.

If the character fails the roll, but not by more than the Fear Factor, the character is in Freeze Response. His mind is uncertain how to respond to the potential threat, and so he is unable to act. The character will remain frozen in place, unless the character succeeds at a Willpower attribute check to have his character hide behind the nearest cover.

If the character fails the roll by more than the Fear Factor, the character enters Flight Response. He will immediately attempt to flee the object of his terror as quickly as possible. The character must move away from the source of his fear by as direct a route as possible, and will evade any attacks against him with heightened reflexes, giving him +10% to his Defense.

A character only makes a Fear check once, when first encountering whatever horror is present. The effects of a Fear effect remain in place for at least as many rounds as the Fear Factor divided by 5, rounding up, with a minimum of 1. After this requirement has been met, characters may make a Willpower attribute check to attempt to break the effects of the Fear.

The character may also expend a Spirit Point, to waive any Fear check and continue as normal.

Fear Factors may come from a variety of sources. The freakish mutated beasts that the characters encounter in the wastes, the PCs personal fear chosen at character creation, or simply unusual circumstances. The GM is encouraged to apply Fear checks only when he feels it is something terrifying enough to produce a Fight, Freeze, or Flight response. Simple creepy surroundings are simply part of the atmosphere, for example. The Fear check is a dramatic tool, and loses it's usefulness when over applied.