NPC reactions to the supernatural and Revelation Saves

In the last session of my urban-fantasy Scarlet Heroes game the player characters introduced several NPC’s to the supernatural for the first time and I realized I was ill-equipped to play that out. Introducing a character to the paranormal can be a really cool scene and it can lead to some compelling consequences and challenges, but it’s also hard to do on the fly. Part of the intrigue inherent to pulling back the curtain, so to speak, is that different people will react in very different ways. This makes for a diverse range of possible consequences as well as a way to reveal more about a character through their actions. However, this diversity also makes it hard to discern reactions on the fly, especially for characters that have just recently been introduced. Characters having to explain things on the fly to an innocent bystander endangered by the monster they’re hunting is really cool, but thinking up how the bystander reacts to this information off the top of your head is really difficult, especially when it’s on top of improvising the bystander’s personality. Thankfully, when a GM is having trouble with something the rules are there to help them out. As such, today I’m going to build a rule that will have my back when I need to figure out an NPC’s reaction upon their introduction to the supernatural.


First a pair of non-rules reminders I’m writing to myself:
  1. When writing up an NPC for an adventure in a supernatural setting consider how they’d react if introduced to the supernatural, either by the characters or presented with it firsthand. Would they accept it or dismiss it out of hand? Would they freeze up or would they keep going? How might it interact with their beliefs and personality traits? Considering these things, even briefly, when writing up a character can save you a lot of trouble down the line. It’s a lot harder to come up with this stuff under pressure and on the fly than ahead of time.
  2. Take a minute if you need to. If you find yourself at a loss as to how a character will react you can always take a short break to consider it. This is something you can apply to a lot of situations when gming, as long as you’re not hurting too much for time it’s possible to take five minutes to consider what the PC’s course of action might entail or how an NPC might react.


And now the rule I’ve created:


Revelation Saves
This version of the rule was built for Scarlet Heroes by Kevin Crawford and the difficulties for rolls reference that system. However, it should convert to other systems easily. Feel free to put up a comment if you’d like my input in converting it to your system of choice.


When a character is credibly exposed to the supernatural, that is to say, they are given a credible reason to believe in paranormal phenomena, they must make a revelation save. This is a roll based on the character's willpower that decides how they can react to the situation. If they succeed the roll they may be scared or confused but they are able to act however they choose. If they fail they have a choice, they can break down, giving in to fear, confusion and doubt and being rendered unable to perform actions of their own volition for the remainder of the scene. If this is the case they can either run away, lash out or do nothing, though they might be commanded to perform simple actions by a charismatic or trustworthy figure. The other option upon failing a role is to dismiss the revelation; A dismissing character refuses to believe what they just heard or saw is the truth. They might invent some rational explanation, insist that this is all a dream or hallucination or simply refuse to acknowledge the event or conversation in which the revelation occurred. The dismissal does not preclude the character from further rolls, and accepting a revelation will reveal the truth of any and all previously dismissed revelations.


The roll’s difficulty starts at 11 and is modified based on circumstances. A table of common circumstances is provided below, though it is not an exhaustive list.
Circumstance
Difficulty Modification
Subject in mortal danger
+2
The environment is dark and/or foreboding
+2
Subjects worldview is especially rigid.
+2
Introduced by a trusted friend
-2
Explained in a calm setting
-2
Subject is especially open to the bizarre
-2


Random table of possible reactions
Roll Result
Success
Failure
1
Nervousness
Terror
2
Determination
Anger
3
Curiosity
Worry
4
Skepticism
Uncertainty
5
Ambition
Self-doubt
6
Reverence
Distrust

Comments

  1. I revised the base difficulty of the role from 13 to 11, having played with the rule 13 was really high, NPC's would rarely save and it didn't feel like the rule was being accurate to the situation I wanted it to represent

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