Madness

Madness points measure how much supernatural horror has eroded a character's sanity. They are tracked separately from life points.

Gaining Madness

Many Abyss encounters inflict Madness:

• Mind screamer hit: 1 Madness per wound.
• Tentacled brain aura: all characters save vs 5 each turn or take 1 wound + 1 Madness.
• Lich: all characters gain 1 Madness just from entering the room.
• Room of Horrors (Special Feature): all characters gain 1 Madness.
• Enchanted Banquet result 4 (Ghost Food): save vs 6 or gain 1 Madness.
• Book of Secrets (Unique Event): reading it risks d3 Madness.
• Lycanthropy infection: Madness may eventually trigger transformation.
• Campaign plots (e.g. Invasion artefact): 1 Madness per adventure while carrying the artefact.

Effects

• 1+ Madness points: The character becomes suspicious. You may not move items or gold from that character to other characters.
• Madness > Level: The character flees into the dungeon permanently, taking all their possessions. They are lost.

Wizard exception: Wizards resist Madness better. Add 1 to a wizard's level when checking this threshold (e.g. a 5th-level wizard endures up to 6 Madness before fleeing).

Curing Madness

| Method | Effect | Notes | |---|---|---| | Blessing spell | −1 Madness | During adventure | | Minstrel hireling song | −1 Madness (all) | Once per adventure | | "Hear my story" secret | −1 Madness (all) | Abyss secret | | Exit dungeon | −1 Madness | Only if ≥1 boss killed this adventure | | Confessor professional | −1 Madness | Between adventures; 6 gp per character; once per gap |