Long has it been that man values nothing more than his health, and the health of no organ is more important than that of the brain.  What lurks in the minds of men and contorts them into what they are?

Concerning the seven common attributes, lower scores inflict hindrances, but a character doesn’t suffer too much and often gets by quite nicely.  With the Sanity attribute, life isn’t so easy.  When the Sanity attribute is low, the character can quite easily become insane…and insanity is awful.

A character’s Sanity is the result of averaging his Intelligence and Wisdom scores together.  A character with INT and WIS both below 3 will result in the character being automatically insane at the point of character generation (and I would say totally unplayable).  For an average score above 26 (truly an epic character!), extrapolate the rest of the table.  The maximum phobia/personalities never falls to zero, meaning the character is always capable of contracting at most one phobia or one alternate personality.

These are the base sanity points the character starts out with.  When the sanity points fall to zero, the character may develop an insanity as described below.  Whenever a character fully recovers from his insanity, this is what his sanity points will revert to.

If a character contracts a phobia or certain dissociative disorders (e.g. schizophrenia), this numbers represents the maximum possible number of different phobias or distinct personalities that could be present in the afflicted.  Developing phobias or split personalities just once opens up the character to a higher susceptibility for multiple layers of the insanity.  That is, someone with a phobia must make a sanity check every time he encounters a truly fearsome event (horrifying creature, fear spell or attack, etc) or develop an additional phobia, besides losing sanity points.  Normally, failed sanity checks result in only losing sanity points, not automatically developing additional sanities.

This is the modifier that is added to the d20 roll for a sanity check.  The DM may decide to modify the roll further by any number of factors (like INT, WIS, circumstances, current sanity points, etc.).

For a character with psionic power, add this modifier to his base PP score.

The DM decides which situations require a Sanity check.  The DM should determine if a character would be so mortified by a situation that it tests his sanity.  If so, the player must make a Sanity check, modified as described above.  The DC for this check is 10 for most situations, but simple events like the normal death of a loved one or the first encounter with a troll might be deemed DC 5, while extremely traumatic events like the gruesome death of a loved one or the first encounter with a demon might be deemed DC 15, 20, or higher.

If the character makes the check, then he has survived a sanity-testing experience and adds to his current Sanity Points the difference between his Sanity check and the target DC.  For example, Rock has a Sanity attribute of 15 (+2 to the roll).  The DM requires a Sanity check against DC 10.  The player rolls a 13 (+2 makes it 15), thus making the check.  He adds 5 (the difference) to his current Sanity Points.  Note that, as with any save, rolling a natural 20 is automatic success.

If the character fails the check, then he comes that much closer to insanity and subtracts from his current Sanity Points the difference between his Sanity check and the target DC.  For example, Rock has a Sanity attribute of 15 (+2 to the roll).  The DM requires a Sanity check against DC 20.  The player rolls a 6 (+2 makes it 8), thus failing the check.  He subtracts 12 (the difference) from his current Sanity Points.  Note that, as with any save, rolling a natural 1 is automatic failure.

Culture and upbringing may determine which scenes can terrify a character into insanity.  For example, an inexperienced character may go crazy on his first encounter with a lich while an experienced undead hunter will not.  Some unnatural, horrific scenes that may do it to a character are a rotting pile of body parts crawling with worms and flies; twisted, perverted creatures such as powerful undead; or terrible evil beings from the Lower Planes.  Dramatic events could also make a character a little crazier.  The death of a comrade or loved-one is definitely dramatic.  Being resurrected is one of the most dramatic experiences a person can go through and the DM should always require a check when this happens.  Whether these scenes are possible insanity-inducing encounters is left up to the DM and the player.

Certain situations override the Sanity check and lead to automatic insanities.  The insanity spell, for instance, creates a mental disorder in the target with merely a failed save.  A DM might also rule that rolling a natural 1 on the saving throw for the fear spell results in the creature developing an automatic phobia.  Similar rulings could be made for other spells (like feeblemind, confusion, weird, etc.) or some creatures whose visage or attack forms are indescribably horrible.

Whenever a character's Insanity Points equal zero, he goes insane.  When this happens, the player must make a separate Sanity check.  Failure here indicates that the insanity is permanent (until cured by heal or greater spells).  Success indicates that the insanity is temporary, lasting d4 months.  In either case, roll on the Insanity table.

Insanities can add spice and excitement to the game or they can totally throw it out of balance.  The DM should consider the disorder and its effects on the game (not just game continuity or balance, but the player whose character will be affected).

Realize that not all people suffer in the same degree.  For example two people with the exact same phobia will have the phobia to varying degrees, generally defined as “lesser,” “intermediate,” and “debilitating.”  Most insanities require a “trigger” to set them off—the character appears and acts perfectly normal otherwise.  When this occurs, the PC makes a Willpower save DC 10 for lesser, DC 18 for intermediate, and DC 25 for debilitating.  Failure means the insanity manifests, lasting for a time appropriate to the particular mental disorder.

Being insane does not necessarily imply that the character is spitting crazy or non-functional (but he would be if he had mania or catatonia).  For purposes of the game, insanity is purely a mental disorder, one that does not reflect upon or modify the character’s Intelligence or Wisdom, though certain insanities might affect one’s Charisma, but only while the insanity was manifest.  Just because a PC has hallucinatory insanity, for instance, does not mean that he cannot accurately memorize and cast arcane spells, figure out puzzles, gather information, etc.  (But he might cast spells at things that aren’t really there!)  A PC with a phobia will still be able to accurately sense someone’s motive, pray for and cast divine spells, and resist mental influences and illusions, but he’ll always be afraid of spiders, running water, or something.  Except with the truly debilitating mental disorders, insanity should not prevent a PC from continuing his adventures.  Think of “Monk” the TV show.

Anal-Retentive - The character suffering from this disorder experiences recurrent obsessions and compulsions that a causes distress (anxiety), occupies much of his time that interferes with normal functioning.  A compulsion is a behavior repeated in a ritualistic manner often in response to an obsession.  An obsession is a persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that causes distress and feels out of the person’s control.  The following is a list of the common compulsions and their related obsessions.  Roll 1d6 to determine which obsession the PC has (a “6” means one additional obsession & roll again.)

1.     Hand washing - The obsession is fear that germs are everywhere.

2.     Checkers - They are obsessed with being sure they did everything necessary before leaving.  A person may be three hours late for an appointment because they checked and rechecked over and over.

3.     Rigid behavior patterns - These people will have such behavior patterns as: always putting the left boot on before the right, or put the shirt on before the pants in order for it to be right.

4.     Counting - These people are obsessed with counting.  Taking the same amount of steps with the left foot as the right foot, counting buttons on people’s shirts, et cetera.

5.     Cleaning - These people feel that “it’s never clean enough.”  They are obsessed with cleaning & straightening.  Things out of place, crooked, non-symmetrical, layered in dust, spills, stains…these (and more) are problems.

Depression, avoidance behavior, and substance abuse are sometimes seen in these people…for obvious reasons.  This disorder is often found among people in the upper socio-economic status.  It differs from the personality disorder of the same name because in the personality disorder you do not find the ritualistic behavior or the anxiety and distress that people with the anxiety disorder experience (cf. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder).

Generalized Anxiety - The character with this disorder worries about minor problems, tends to magnify the extent of problems, and is often pessimistic in his outlook on life.

Nervous Breakdown - The character has a nervous breakdown.  He is not “dangerous”; he just needs a nice quiet place to spend some time.  For humans the time needed to recuperate is typically a few months.  For long-lived races like elves and dwarves the time needed to recuperate is typically a few years.  The DM decides the time period need for recuperation.

Obsession - The character becomes obsessed to a person, place or thing.  The obsession becomes his life and it totally consumes him to the point where he ostracizes his friends and family, spends all his wealth on his obsession, etc.

Panic Disorder -The characteristic most prominent of this disorder is a panic attack.  A panic attack includes intense fear and physical discomfort, fearful thoughts, many bodily sensations, and a fear of losing control.  Another characteristic of this disorder is anticipatory anxiety (fear of panicking), that is, they engage in avoidance behavior because they are not sure when they’ll have their next panic attack.  With its onset and for its duration, the character is considered “panicked.”

Paranoia - The character becomes convinced that “they” are plotting against him, spying, listening, and always nearby.  As the affliction develops over several days, the character will become convinced that everybody around is part of the plot.  Conversations are about him, laughter is directed at him, and every action of former friends is aimed at deluding him so as to fulfill the “plot.”  The character will be principally concerned about position or goods first, but as the insanity advances, he will realize that the plotters are actually after his life.  The paranoid will evidence signs of increasing suspicion and take elaborate precautions with security.  In the later stages of the insanity, he will have highly irrational behavior, hire assassins to do away with “plotters,” and even become homicidal in order to “protect” his life.  The character will trust no one when the affliction has advanced, regarding his former close comrades and friends as his worst enemies.  This regression usually takes several years and/or character levels.

Phobia - Many a time will a character come upon something so strange or gruesome that it will shock the mind itself.  A phobia is an intense, abnormal, or illogical fear of something.  See the Phobia section to determine what phobia the character gains.  An example of how a phobia can severely disrupt a person’s life; a person has a phobia of snakes.  He will not walk by bushes for fear that snake is hiding inside, he will not walk under trees because snakes have been known to live in trees, he will not sit down to go to the bathroom (who knows what kind of serpent is down in that hole), etc.

Post Traumatic Stress - This is generally defined as a reaction and re-experiencing of a traumatic event with symptoms of anxiety and depression.  A traumatic event is one that would evoke significant symptoms of distress in almost everyone, usually outside the range of normal experience (although most of an adventurer’s life fits into this category).  There are four symptoms that point to this insanity:

1.     Traumatic event outside range of normal experience (rape, floods, combat).

2.     Traumatic event persistently re-experienced in any of the following ways: distressing recollections of event; recurrent distressing dreams; feeling that event is happening again (flashback); intense distress at exposure to events that resemble some aspect of the trauma.

3.     Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma or “numbing” of general responsiveness.  Avoiding thoughts and feelings about the event, or avoiding things that would remind the victim of the trauma.  For example, if Rock’s friends were decimated in a dragon fight and he barely escaped with his life, Rock may be apprehensive about petting his pet lizard (he might kill the poor beast as a result of the trauma).  “Numbing” refers to the inability to recall some aspect of the trauma, restricted range of emotional expression.  Perhaps Rock can’t quite remember how one of his arms got ripped off, he just knows that one minute he had it, and the next thing he knew it was gone.

4.     Increased arousal/activity.  Things such as insomnia, difficulty concentrating, being easily startled, and increased aggressiveness or irritability.

Amnesic Disorder - Psychogenic amnesia is caused by psychological reasons.  Amnesic disorder is caused by a biological reason.  There are two forms of this disorder: retrograde amnesia (characterized by memory loss of events prior to the problem that caused the amnesia), and anterograde amnesia (characterized by inability to learn or remember events taking place after the event).  The problem is chronic and the person is unlikely ever to recover.

It is up to the individual DM to dictate if any experience levels are lost due to retrograde amnesia.  Some players may find this hard to take, so DMs should be very careful in implementing level loss.  If the DM does so, it is suggested that the character lose one level and no more than half his current levels.  An unfortunate problem with anterograde amnesia is that the afflicted character cannot advance in level or learn new skills.

Catatonia - The character completely withdraws from reality.  He will sit staring and unmoving, will not react to any outside stimuli, and will eventually die of dehydration if left alone.  The catatonic character can be moved, led around, fed, and so forth; but he will do nothing personally.  If continually provoked and irritated in order to get a response, there is a 1% cumulative chance per round that the character will react with homicidal mania (see this insanity).  Once provocation ceases, the catatonia returns.  This disorder can only be classified as “debilitating.”

Delirium - This disorder involves a temporary state in which a person’s thoughts, level of consciousness, speech, memory, orientation, perceptions, and motor patterns are very confused, unstable, or otherwise grossly disturbed.  The person may also experience delusions and/or hallucinations, as well as emotional disturbances (anxiety, euphoria, etc.).  Delirium is caused by a change in brain metabolism.  This can be caused by brain damage from head injury, drugs, fever, and others.  It has a quick onset and a brief duration, usually and it rarely lasts longer than a month because the person either naturally recovers, or dies from the underlying physical condition.  DMs should be very careful in killing off a character with this insanity.  This disorder can only be classified as “debilitating.”

Homicidal Mania - The character appears absolutely normal.  He will behave with what seems to be complete rationality, and nothing unusual will be noted regarding the individual - except he will occasionally manifest an unique interest in weapons, poisons, or other lethal devices (but for adventurers this may seem normal).  The insanity causes the character to be obsessed with the desire to kill.  The desire must be fulfilled periodically.  Once a week the character must make a successful Insanity check or go kill.  If prevented from killing, the frustrated individual will become uncontrollably maniacal and attack the first person he encounters, wildly seeking to slay.  After a kill, the character will fall into a fit of melancholia (see this insanity) for 1d6 days before returning to a homicidal state once again.

Lunacy - The violent and often homicidal state occurs whenever the three days of a full moon (day before, day of, and day after).  The DM may allow the character to make a Sanity check on full moon nights to keep from flipping out.  The character will generally behave as one in a maniacal state, with paranoid, hallucinatory, or homicidal tendencies.  When the moon is absent or in its first or last quarters, the character will be melancholic.  At other times, he will be relatively normal - perhaps a bit suspicious and irascible.  The person with this insanity is –4 to saves versus lycanthropy.

Mania - The character must make a Sanity check every day.  If he fails, he freaks for 2d6 minutes.  The character (roll 1d6) will become hysterical (1-2), enraged (3-4) or completely maniacal (5-6).  The character will shriek, rave, and behave in a violent manner.  His strength will increase by 2d4, dexterity by 1d4, and constitution by 1d4.  The maniac is unreasoning when spoken to, but he possesses great cunning.  The afflicted will desire to avoid entirely or to do something according, but not necessarily appropriate, to the situation at hand.  When the maniacal state passes, the afflicted will not remember his insane actions and will not believe that he is insane.

Manic-Depressive Disorder - This alternating insanity form causes the afflicted to swing from one state to the other 1d4 day intervals.  When excited, the character must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, he becomes maniacal (see mania insanity).  When disappointed or frustrated the character must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, he becomes melancholic (see melancholia insanity).  Thus, in addition to the usually 1-4 day cycle of manic-depression, he can jump from one state to the other depending on outside stimuli.

Melancholia - Similar to dementia praecox, this malady makes the afflicted given to black moods, fits of brooding, and feelings of hopelessness.  Every time a situation presents itself, the character must make a Sanity check or have a fit of melancholia.

Suicidal Mania - The character has overwhelming urges to destroy himself whenever means are presented - a perilous situation, a weapon, or anything else.  The more dangerous the situation or item, the more likely the individual is to react self-destructively.  Use a scale of 10% to 80% probability, and if the afflicted does not react suicidally, then he will become melancholic for 1d6 days.  If he is frustrated in suicidal attempts, then the character will become maniacal for 2d4 turns, and then fall into melancholy for 2d6 days.

Hebephrenia - The character will withdraw from the real world.  He will wander aimlessly, talk to himself, giggle and mutter, and act childishly - sometimes even reverting to such a state as to desire to play childish games with others.  This insanity is constant, but if sufficiently irritated by somebody nearby, the character is 75% likely to become enraged and maniacal, attacking the offender fiercely.  If the character does not become so enraged, he will become catatonic for 1d6 hours and then revert to hebephrenic behavior once again.

Psychogenic Amnesia - The individual is unable to remember important facts of personal importance (details and experiences).  There are three types of psychogenic amnesia:

1.     Localized amnesia (the most common) - The individual forgets all events during a specified time interval.  This period usually follows a distressing event.

2.     Selective amnesia - A survivor of a flood may remember going to the hospital but not how he got there.

3.     Continuous amnesia - The person can't remember anything from a certain date to the present.  For example, a war veteran may remember his childhood up to the point of going into the service, but has forgotten everything that has taken place after that.

Psychogenic Fugue - The person becomes confused about personal identity, and suddenly and unexpectedly travels to another place.  The person may assume another identity.  Once the fugue has passed the person can’t recall what happened during the fugue.  This is rare and often passes quickly.

A variation could be that the character never recovers from the fugue and travels to a far off land only to join a certain party of characters.  This could easily explain why the oriental is traveling with the Westerners.

Schizoid - This insanity manifests its effects in a personality loss.  The afflicted has no personality of his own, so he will select a role model and make every attempt possible to become like that character.  Selection will be based upon as different a person as possible with regard to the insane character.  Thus an insane mage will begin to follow the habits of a fighter, for example, dressing and speaking like that character and seeking to be like him in all ways.

Schizophrenia - Having multiple personalities is considered to be a mental illness which shows itself with the different attitudes of the person.  This is especially dangerous to the balance of a game.  Careful consideration is required on the DM’s part.  This insanity often manifests itself in wizards and psionicists, in whom mental strain is part of everyday life.

This sanity also manifests in a person who experiences severe and protracted trauma.  During the experience the person dissociates during the trauma (like self-hypnosis, escape mentally if you can’t escape physically).  During this period of dissociation an “alter” steps in and develops a memory and personality.  For example, if Rock was captured during a raid and was tortured daily, when the torturer walks into to give Rock his daily beating, Rock disassociates and an alter steps in.  It must also be noted that people with this illness can function perfectly normal in society or it can totally hinder their ability to function properly at all.

“Host” or “core” refers to the real person; there is only one host personality.  “Alter” refers to all other personalities present.  There are two common personality types: the victim (the personalities of an abused person), the protector (the personalities keep the host from acting on self-damaging behavior).

The number of personalities the character depends of on the severity of what causes the insanity to manifest itself.  If the cause was relatively mild, the character only gets one or two additional personalities.  For very harsh, traumatic experiences, the character gains multiple personalities.  The total number of personalities that may develop are limited by the Sanity table.

A personality takes complete control over the person’s behavior.  Therefore, only one personality can be in control at one time.  Switching personalities can happen at completely random intervals.  However, being in tense situations (like combat) can trigger a change to another personality.  When a DM deems that the character is in such a situation, the character must make a Sanity check or switch to another personality.

The transition from personality to personality is subtle and quick.  Physical clues of transition are fluttering eyelids, eyes roll up in head, and/or a small head jerk (like a flinch when startled or suddenly coming out of a doze).

A new personality can actually be of a different class and have different ability scores.  For example, an insane fighter can enter combat, switch personalities, and begin casting spells because he now is a mage.  On the same token, he could believe he is just a 10-year-old girl (with an Intelligence to match).

Another personality that may develop is one that already exists.  That is, a personality of somebody else such as an adventuring comrade, a high official, etc.

The DM should develop tables for a player to roll on to find out which personality is currently active.  The DM may want to make certain personalities more popular than others.

Co-consciousness is the phenomenon that allows the personalities to talk to each other.  However not all personalities may be known of, this explains some of the bouts of amnesia that people with this insanity often report.  After every personality switch, the character has a percentage chance equal to his Intelligence of becoming aware of one of the other personalities.  When personalities meet (i.e. in the mind), the character becomes paralyzed for 1d6 hours, while both sides are trying to take control of his mind.

The following list of symptoms are often found with this insanity: depression, substance abuse, sleep disturbances, somatoform disorders, severe headaches, suicide/self-mutilation, anxiety, intrusive images/flashbacks, amnesia/blank spells, auditory hallucinations.

Avoidant Personality Disorder - The character with avoidant personality disorder refrains almost entirely from social encounters.  He feels if he goes out he’ll cause some catastrophic situation.  He desires no relationships.  He likes to be alone.

Dementia Praecox - The afflicted character will be quite uninterested in any undertaking when suffering from this form of madness.  Nothing will seem worthwhile, and the individual will be continually filled with lassitude and a tremendous feeling of ennui.  No matter how important the situation if the character fails a Sanity check, he is will choose to ignore it as meaningless to him.

Dependent Personality Disorder - The character is strongly attracted to others.  He feels like he can’t make the simplest decisions without others help.  For example, Rock doesn’t believe he can pick his clothes for the day without his mother’s opinion.

Histrionic Personality Disorder - The character shows extreme emotions for the sole purpose of the effects it has on others and not the expression of his actual feelings.  He also expects others to fulfill his expectations, but he has no concern for others.  He resents people who are more beautiful, successful, etc.  The term comes from the Greek legend of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection in the pond.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - The character is not like the anal-retentive anxiety disorder; this character is a perfectionist.  He concerns himself with schedules and is very methodical.  For example, Rock will refuse to start a meeting until the exact second it was scheduled to meet.

Paranoid Personality Disorder - The character with this insanity is extremely suspicious and is always on guard against danger.  It is impossible for him to trust others, and he always projects blame on others.

Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder - The character cannot express his anger appropriately.  He is either conniving or very outward.  Either way he expresses his anger in very spiteful ways.

Alignment Change - The character suffers a major alignment change.  The DM can decide what the character’s alignment becomes.  Chaotic Neutral is typical of an insane person however a DM may wish the alignment to be completely opposite of the character’s original alignment.

Delusion Control - The character has the feeling that he is being controlled by others, or even by machines or appliances.

Delusion Grandeur - The character has grossly exaggerated conception of the individual’s importance.  He is convinced that he is a famous figure such as a monarch, deity, or similar personage.  Those who “fail” to recognize the afflicted as such will incur great hostility.  In normal affairs, the character will seem quite sane, but he will act appropriate to a station which he does not actually have and tend to order around actual and imaginary creatures, draw upon monies and items which do not exist, and so on.

Delusion Infidelity - The character has a false belief usually associated with pathological jealousy.  He believes that a spouse or lover (or even close friend or comrade) is unfaithful (or disloyal) with no reason or evidence.

Delusion Nihilism - The character has the feeling that he, others, or the world is nonexistent.  He commonly has feelings of unreality or the feeling that he is in a dream.

Delusion Persecution - The character has the belief that another person or persons are trying to inflict harm on him or his family and friends.

Delusion Poverty - The character has the belief that the he has no material possessions of value.  When confronted with the real value of his items, he may say that they’re not his or insist on their worthlessness.

Delusion Reference - The character has the belief that the actions of others are somehow personal references to him.  For example, the nobleman goes to opera and believes the opera is telling the story of his life.

Delusion Self-Blame - The character has the feelings of remorse without justification.  For example, a man may feel responsible for a famine because of some sin he committed.

Delusion Somatic - These delusions are much more psychotic than the somatoforms to be discussed.  The afflicted has inappropriate concerns about his body, typically relating to some disease.  Without justification a person may feel his liver is missing, or ants have invaded his brain.

Delusion Thought Broadcasting - The character has the ideas that his thoughts are being broadcast to others.  For example, a man believes everyone in the room can hear what he’s thinking.

Delusion Thought Insertion - The character has the belief that someone else’s thoughts are being inserted into his mind by outside forces.

Delusion Thought Withdrawal - The character has the belief that thoughts are being extracted from his mind.

Hallucinatory Disorder - The character sees, hears, and otherwise senses things that do not exist.  The more exciting or stressful the situation, the more likely the individual is to hallucinate.  When in such a situation, the character must make a successful Sanity check or hallucinate.  Common hallucinations are: ordinary objects which do not exist, people nearby or passing when there are none, voices giving the character information or instructions, abilities or form which the character does not really have (strength, sex, wings, etc.), threatening creatures appearing from nowhere, etc.  Unless stimulated or under stress, the character acts normal.  Hallucinations will then commence and continue for 2d10 minutes after the excitement/stress passes.

This malady is often confused as a supernatural ability to see into the ethereal plane.

Induced Psychotic Disorder - A person develops the disorder by being in close relationship to a psychotic person.  That means if the character knows someone who is psychotic, chances are he’ll develop that same psychosis.

Megalomania - With this insanity, the insane character will be absolutely convinced that he is the best at everything: the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, handsomest, and most powerful character of his profession.  The character will take immediate umbrage at any suggestion to the contrary, and he will demand the right to lead, perform any important act, make all decisions, etc.

Dipsomania - This mild insanity form manifests itself periodically.  About once per week, or whenever near large quantities of alcoholic beverages, the afflicted will begin drinking excessive quantities of ale, beer, wine, or like spirituous liquors.  Roll CON checks DC 12 to hold your liquor, failure indicating drunkenness.  Then roll d6 for the specific effect it has on you: 1) you get silly, loud & raucous, 2) you become loose-tongued, telling all you know, whether prudent or not, 3) you become violent, 4) you get horny and flirtatious, 5) you fade into depression, & 6) you pass out.  Repeat the d6 roll for each drink (only intensifying the original result, not altering your condition) until a six is rolled.  Such drinking will continue until the character passes out.  It is 50% likely that the dipsomania will continue when he/she awakens if anywhere near alcohol, 10% likely otherwise (in which case the individual will seek to find drink and become violent if denied).

Kleptomania - This mild insanity manifests itself in an ardent desire to steal any small objects available.  You will furtively pocket small items regardless of their intrinsic value whenever the opportunity presents itself, and you will usually seek out such opportunities.  Kleptomaniacs steal things not on a whim or out of economic need, but from persistent urges to steal.  The targets can be the market, work, or people.  It is not the value of the object that matters.  There is usually a lack of interest in the stolen item after it’s stolen.  Once a day, the character must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, he must steal something.  There is a 90% probability of being caught stealing if the character is being observed, 50% likely to be caught when others are merely in the vicinity, and 25% likely to leave evidence behind of your misdeed in any case.  Some DMs may require the character to become a rogue and stop progress in his current class.  Kleptomaniacs incur a –2 inherent penalty to Sleight of Hand checks due to the overpowering urge to immediately steal an item.

Monomania - The character will seem absolutely normal until presented with an idea, goal, or similar project that seems promising or purposeful to him.  As of then, the character will become obsessed with the accomplishment of the purpose.  He will think of nothing else, talk of nothing else, plan and act to accomplish nothing save the fixed end.  The character will brook no swerving from any friend or associate, and he will insist that such individuals serve the “cause” with the same devotion that the afflicted shows.  Hostility and violence could result, but certainly a measure of suspicion and mistrust if cooperation is not inherent.  Once the desired end has been accomplished, the insane character will manifest symptoms of dementia praecox for d4 weeks, thereafter seeming normal again.

Pyromania - Fire fascinates many people, but it fascinates no one more than a pyromaniac.  He has a compulsive urge to set fires deliberately.  He often enjoys watching his fires, too.  Motivation is not criminal or financial.  Once a day, the character must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, he must set fire to something.  The bigger the fire, the better he feels.

Pathological Gambling - A person with this disorder may lie, cheat, steal in order to fuel his habit.  The person is driven to the big win and believes he can make up the losses easily.  Whenever a character is near a gambling situation or can make such a situation, he must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, he must gamble.

Pathological Liar - A person with this insanity makes outrageous statements regarding his abilities, possessions, experiences, or events.  Whenever anything important or meaningful is discussed or in question, the character cannot tell the truth, and not only will he lie, but do so with the utmost conviction, absolutely convinced that the prevarication is truth.  "Yeah, that's the ticket..."

Sado-Masochism - This insanity is coupled with maniacal urges and behavior.  The character is equally likely to be in a sadistic or masochistic phase.  When sadistic, the victim of this insanity has a desire to physically hurt and (and probably kill) living things.  When masochistic, the victim of this insanity has a desire to be physically hurt.  Normalcy returns for 1 to 3 days.  Note that friends and associates do not matter to the afflicted individual, nor do enemies.

Trichotillomania - Trichotillomaniacs have the urge to pull out their hair.  People become so obsessed with removing body hair they fail to realize they are marring their appearance by giving themselves bald spots, or removing their eyebrows.  These people often times suffer from anxiety disorders and are potential substance abusers.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder - These people are unable to hold back urges of rage brought on by no apparent reason.  They are very aggressive and destructive.

Bitchamania - This insanity can only manifest itself within females.  Males should re-roll for another insanity.  Females with this insanity suffer the effects of “The Bitch Rule” (see the Complete Guide to Sex for details).

Exhibitionism - This insanity causes the victim to have a fascination of being observed while nude or having sex.  The more who witness the person the better.  The person must exhibit himself/herself a minimum of 1d10+4 times a week.  A few examples are to have sex in a public places, flash people, streak, etc.

Fetishism - The victim has a fascination and desire to have sex only if a specific object is in his/her possession or (if possible) if the object is used in the act (like rods, rings, balls).

Foulmouthia - The victim has an uncontrollable desire to say something perverse when he/she sees somebody of the opposite sex.  When the victim sees such a person, he/she must make a Wisdom check with a –3 modifier.  Failure means the victim says something profane, patently offensive, and thoroughly laced with crude sexual innuendo.

Geroniophilla - This insanity causes the character to strongly desire sex with older people (a minimum of 1d4 times per week).  The older person must be at least be twice the character's age and is 50% of the time a three times the character's age (if possible).

Homosexuality – The afflicted strongly desires a person of the same sex (male to male; female to female).  The opposite sex is viewed with scorn, loathed and detested.

Innecrophilia - This insanity causes the character to have an obsessive fascination with the undead.  This obsession extends to the point of engaging in sexual intercourse with undead creatures when the opportunity arises.  When coming across undead the afflicted character is 75% likely not to cause harm to the undead.  Furthermore, he/she is 50% likely to rape unintelligent undead or seduce (to the point of begging) intelligent undead.  The DM and players can see the dangers of a character desiring the likes of a vampire.

Masochism - This insanity causes the character to like to be hurt by the partner (normally a sadistic one), using the same ways as the sadism.  In other words, he/she likes to be on the receiving end of physical pain during sexual encounters.

Mirusmania - This insanity causes the victim to desire to have weird sex (although some characters may already do weird things).  Some examples are during fly, jump or levitate spells; while polymorphed or ethereal; in strange places like a dungeon, temple, or tree; under the influence of various transmutations.  The DM and player should flesh out this insanity for good role-playing purposes.

Necrophilia - This insanity causes the character to have an obsessive fascination with death and corpses.  This obsession extends to the point of engaging in sexual intercourse with a corpse.  The afflicted character is 50% likely to attempt a sexual act with a corpse of the opposite sex when such an opportunity arises.  Thus, a character adventuring in catacombs may sneak away from the party for a quick interlude with the dead.  This insanity could reach a point where the character keeps a supply of dead handy to serve his/her purposes.

Nymphomania - Sex!  Sex!  Sex!  This insanity manifests itself in an ardent desire to have sex (lots of sex).  The afflicted will furtively attempt to seduce a person of the opposite sex, whenever the opportunity presents itself, and he/she will usually seek out such opportunities.  The afflicted must have sex a minimum of 1d10+10 times per week.  Not getting the minimum weekly requirement causes the person to gain an accumulative +1 to constitution, but lose an accumulative –1 to intelligence and an accumulative -1 to wisdom until relief presents itself.  Other problems could be continuous dissatisfaction, inability to prioritize, egotistic view that everyone wants it, patronizing view that all need to be defiled by sex because they are naturally evil, or that he/she is doing people a “favor.”  He/she will not go to the extent of rape or molestation, but hiring prostitutes is not above the insanity.

Pedophilia - This insanity causes the character to strongly desire sex with younger people (a minimum of 1d4 times per week).  The younger person must be at least be half the character’s age and is 25% of the time a fourth of the character’s age.  Of course this insanity can cause a lot of trouble with governmental laws on statutory rape.

Periculuphilia - This strange insanity causes the inflicted to have a desire for sex only in dangerous situations and places.  When in such a situation, the character is 50% likely to go into a sexual frenzy in which he/she must have sex immediately, preferably with a close sexual partner.  Thus, a character will usually have such a partner along with him/her when adventuring.  Note the afflicted must have this dangerous sex a minimum of 1d4+1 times per week.  Not getting the minimum weekly requirement causes the person to gain +1 to Constitution, but lose -1 to Intelligence and Wisdom (all cumulative per week) until relief presents itself.  Some examples of dangerous situations and places would be when he/she is surrounded by a few dragons, in front of an angry lich, or maybe in any battle he/she is involved in.

Pygmalionism - This insanity causes the character to have an obsessive fascination with statues and golems because they are cold, have hard muscles, nice form, unemotional, etc.  This obsession extends to the point of engaging in sexual intercourse with a statue (if physically possible).  The afflicted character is 50% likely to attempt a sexual act with a statue when such an opportunity arises.  Thus, a character adventuring in a temple may sneak away from the party for a quick interlude with a lovely statue.  This insanity could reach a point where the character collects statues to serve his/her purposes.

Sadism - The victim of this insanity has a desire to physically hurt the person that he/she is having sex with.  This attack can be done by various strange ways like whipping, kicking, chaining the partner, etc.  This insanity could reach a point where the character, under an orgasm, kills his partner.

Transvestitism – The insane has a strong belief that “he” is really a woman…or that “she” is really a man.  This malady usually manifests in wearing the clothes and displaying the mannerisms and voice of the opposite sex, frequenting establishments and reading material devoted to the opposite sex (e.g. segregated restrooms), or even actively seeking out a helm of sex reversal.

Unus-????mania - This insanity manifests itself in an ardent desire and obsession to have sex with a particular race or class.  The afflicted will furtively attempt to seduce this type of creature (still of the opposite sex), whenever the opportunity presents itself, and he/she will usually seek out such opportunities.  He/she will not desire to have sex with any other, even his/her own race; and will actually reek at the thought.  When he/she has sex with such a creature, he/she likes the creature to do weird things relative to the creature’s abilities and talents (see examples below).  Naturally, some creatures may be harder to obtain as partners than others.  The table below is small and simplistic; a DM may add any creatures he wants.  Roll 1d20 on the following table to get the type of creature that is desired:

Example: A person with unus-sacerdosmania insanity will have a desire to have sex with clerics.  When having sex with cleric, he/she might want the cleric to pray.  A person with unus-pugnamania will only have sex with fighters and might want the fighter to punch, scratch, and wrestle during sex.  A person with unus-vatesmania will only have sex with bards and might want the bard to sing during sex.

Voyeurism - The person affected by this insanity only has pleasure from observing the other’s sexual organs or people having sex, especially in secret.

Zoophilia - This insanity manifests itself in an ardent desire and obsession to have sex with a particular type of normal animal.  The afflicted will furtively attempt to seduce this type of animal (still of the opposite sex), whenever the opportunity presents itself, and he/she will usually seek out such opportunities.  He/she will not desire to have sex with any other, even his/her own species; and will actually reek at the thought.  The table below is small and simplistic; a DM may add any animals he wants.  Roll 1d20 on the following table to get the type of creature that is desired:

Dyssomnias are sleep disturbances interfere with quantity and quality of sleep.  Parasomnias make up nightmares, wake-ups of screaming, and sleepwalking, which is most common in children.  The character experiences a sleep disorder every night.

Dream Anxiety Disorder - The character experiences nightmares on a repeated basis.  The dreams are very distressing.  An adventurer can have some real nasty ones.

Hypersomnia - This is when the character never feels rested.  He often has problems getting up in the morning.

Insomnia - This is the chronic inability to get sleep.  The character may have difficulty falling asleep.  He may wake up frequently or have a full night's sleep but not be rested.

Sleep-Schedule Disorder - is basically "jet lag" in a chronic course.  There is a mismatch between body sleep rhythms and the demands of their environment.

Sleep Terror Disorder - The person wakes up suddenly and in pain from a sound sleep.  There are physical and psychological conditions involved.  The physical conditions include sweating, increased heart rate, and gasping for breath.  The person is hard to calm and is often confused or disoriented.  Most people do not remember night terrors.

Sleepwalking Disorder - The person is unresponsive to others and their attempts to awaken him.  He does not remember sleepwalking.

Suprasomnia – The person constantly falls asleep, no matter how much sleep he gets.  He is not actually tired, and has no problem falling asleep at night, but if he’s not moving, he’s always battling staying awake.

Somatoform disorders involve psychological conflicts transferred into physical conditions.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder - The character feels his body is defective or ugly.  This is similar to the somatic delusion, but is not quite as psychotic.

Hypochondria - The character feels that he has a serious illness or disease, when he is experiencing normal bodily functions.  This is different from conversion disorder because he does not have unexplainable medical symptoms, and he does not experience la belle indifference.  No amount of reassurance will relieve him of his fears.

Hysterical Neurosis / Conversion Disorder -This disorder involves the translation of unacceptable drives or troubling conflicts into physical symptoms.  The person is not intentionally producing the symptoms.  However, a medical basis for symptoms cannot be found, and it is assumed that the person is converting psychological conflicts or need into a physical problem.

Once the psychological problem passes to the physical side, it is no longer a source of mental stress for the person.  This is called la belle indifference or “beautiful lack of concern.”  They often dismiss it, even if it’s incapacitating.  For example, before the big game the quarterback’s hand becomes paralyzed.

Conversion disorders fall into four categories: motor disturbances (tremors, paralysis), sensory disturbances (hearing loss, tunnel vision), symptoms simulating physical illness (involve conversions that mimic the actual symptoms of a physical illness), symptoms complicating physical illness (complicate or delay physical recovery from a physical disorder).

A phobia is an intense, abnormal, or illogical fear of something.  Almost everybody is afraid of something to one degree or another.  Even great adventurers can have an intense fear of something.

The maximum number of phobias a character can potentially have is dependent on his Sanity score.  If his Sanity score changes, so might this number.  When a character first contracts a phobia, he becomes highly susceptible to additional phobias, and will thereafter gain one additional phobia each time he encounters a fearsome event or fear effect and fails his Sanity check.  He may also gain additional phobias as a separate insanity during his adventuring career.

The first step is to determine what class of phobia the character has.  This is done by rolling d% and comparing the result to the Phobia Class Table.  The second step is to determine the exact nature of the phobia.  Roll on the appropriate phobia class table to get the phobia the character has.

Whenever a character is insane, he has other problems besides his insanity.  He suffers from a few minor problems as well.  Distraction: Small pieces of conversation make the character go off on humorous (but somewhat annoying) sidetracks.  For example, “Fish?  I like fish, fish boiled, fish fried, fish grilled with a spicy sauce, fish soup, fish for breakfast, fish for lunch, fish for snacks…”  Relationship mistakes: The character has a percentage chance equal to his Sanity attribute to permanently alienate someone due to strange behavior or unpredictable bad attitude.

Magical wild spurts: The insane arcane spellcaster has a chance for a spell to become slightly twisted when cast.  The DM determines the effect but the more bizarre the better.  For example, a wizard casts magic missile but instead shoots forth magic flowers that inflict normal damage.  The DM should not necessarily penalize the character.  The bizarre effects can be beneficial (but still strange).

Prayer misunderstandings: If an insane cleric tries a prayer, there is a percent chance equal to the character’s Insanity score that the cleric’s deity will not answer his request for spells.  There is an equal percent chance the call will be answered instead by a deity of insanity (Tharizdun???) or maybe trickery.  The deity of insanity doesn’t exactly give the cleric the spells he wants.

Freaky Powers: When using psionic powers a natural roll of 20 usually indicates additional powers.  For an insane psionicist, a roll of 18, 19, or 20 will have this effect.

Wild Talents: The psionicist gains a wild talent outside of his psionic devotion.  Although this may seem beneficial to a psionicist, it tends to be more unnerving gaining freakish wild abilities of the mind.

The caster suffering from insanity can temporarily give this affliction to any living creature for the spell duration, after which time he gets it back.

The spell creates an alter ego of the person.  The duplicate will take on the schizoid-ego of the caster.  The duplicate can perform any action that the caster can perform, including spellcasting and combat.  The caster can communicate via telepathy with the duplicate.  The image does not have to be within the caster’s view to continue to exist.

The duplicate can cast the spells that the caster has memorized; they are no longer available to the caster for use once the duplicate has cast them.  However each can cast spells independently of each other.

The major power of the duplicate is that he can destroy the life force of a living being within spell range by willing it.  The victim must make a Fortitude save or he dies.  If he succeeds, he still suffers 3d6 points of damage.

There are a few side effects to this power.  First, the caster cannot control if and when the duplicate will use it.  The caster can only point out his enemies to the duplicate.  Secondly, when the duplicate uses the ability, the caster must make a Sanity check.  If he fails, the spell ends, he goes insane and becomes his Schizophrenic alter ego.

Schizophrenic Projected Image requires the material component of a clay image of the mage that must be torn in two pieces.

This spell enables the caster to cure insanities by placing his hand upon the insane creature.  When casting, the caster must make a Sanity check.  If the check is successful, the insane patient is cured of his insanity and all is well.  If the check is a failure, the insanity of the patient is duplicated in the caster.

This spell enables the caster to cause insanity in a creature.  Roll on the Insanity Table to decide which insanity the victim contracts.  For every level of the caster, the caster may move up or down on the Insanity Table, this giving him a small choice of which insanity to inflict.

When the caster becomes 9th level, he may choose the insanity of his victim from the entire table.

Split Personalities is a form of exorcism, but instead of forcing outsiders to leave a person, this spell forces schizophrenic personalities into distinct physical bodies, which are created on the spot.  An insane person suffering from schizophrenia (or anyone with similar personality disorders) can be freed of their affliction with this spell.  For example, if the spell is cast on an insane person with three distinct personalities (including his normal one), two physical bodies will manifest, each containing one of the two additional personalities.

A new personality will usually not have a physical body identical to the insane victim.  The new body tends to reflect the schizophrenic personality.  For example, if one of the alter personalities is that of a 12- year old girl, then the body created will likely be that of a 12-year old girl as well.  There is a 90% chance that the newly formed body will represent the personality; however, there is a 10% chance the new body will be the physical twin of the insane person.

Each personality gets a saving throw, using the insane person’s save.  If the save succeeds, the personality remains in the insane person.  If it fails, the personality gets a new physical body.

Where these bodies come from (and how “real” they are) is a matter of much heated debate.  Where these bodies go afterwards is equally debated, as few people have successfully kept track of their comings and goings.  Some theorize that the bodies are only temporary and de-materialize after a time.  They say that since the bodies were not inhabited with a real soul to begin with, they are only “animated.”  Others contend that the whole spell involves a powerful illusion that none have been able to disbelieve, and that the curing of the insane person is really “all in his head.”

The material components are small dolls fashioned after the likeness of each personality to be split off.

Shouldn’t the sanity of a character be left to the player and not to the whim of the DM?

-- If a DM is blessed with good role-players, then he may not need the Sanity attribute as the role-players welcome insanity without having rules to tell them so.  However, most players don’t do things that may put their character at a disadvantage.  With the insanity attribute, the players have fair rules that dictate advantages and disadvantages to their characters.

A RPG character is supposed to be a great hero of adventure and not an average citizen.  Should he be so susceptible to insanity?

-- A character was an average citizen who changed his lifestyle to go adventuring and should be treated no differently.  In fact, because he is in treacherous situations while adventuring he should be more susceptible to insanity.