CHROME Rulebook /// rules

Panic and Distortion

Panic Checks

There are times when the tension and pressure can become too much for an Operator to handle. A Panic Check determines whether they can keep it together or if they suffer a Panic effect. To make a Panic Check:

To make a Panic Check, roll a d20

  • If the result is lower than your score, your Operator does not Panic.
  • If the result is equal to or higher than your Conviction score, then your Operator Panics.

Compare the dice result to the Panic Effect table to determine what happens to your Operator.

Control should call for a Panic Check when it is appropriate; these are some examples:

  • Rolling a on any kind of
  • Encountering a biomechanical horror or powerful Voidspace entity
  • Seeing a squad member die
  • Receiving Deadly (6) damage
  • Seeing multiple squad members Panic

Panic Effects

00
- - - -
20

Ultra-Sharp. Advantage on all Stat Checks or Saves until the end of the Scene.

19

Adrenaline Boost. Advantage on your next Stat Check.

18

Grit. Receive a +10 bonus on your next Save.

17-16

Creeping Tension. Receive 1 Stress.

15-14

Bad Vibes. Receive 2 Stress. The nearest Operator to you also receives 1 Stress.

13-12

Nosebleed. Receive 2 Stress and take Standard (2) damage

11

Gutless. Until the end of the Mission, you must succeed on a Fear Save to engage in combat, or else you must flee.

10

On the Edge. Until the end of the Mission, you must make a Panic Check anytime you or any nearby Operator fails a Prime Save.

09

Reality Blur. Until the end of the Mission, you suffer from hallucinations and have trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy.

08

Crash and Burn. Your Conviction immediately drops to zero (0).

07

Crushing Doubt. Until the end of the Mission, you cannot recover or gain Conviction.

06

Trust No One. Until the end of the Mission, whenever an Operator or NPC joins your group (even if they only left for a short time), you must succeed on a Fear Save or receive 1 Stress.

05

Violent Frenzy. Immediately attack the closest Operator until you do at least Deadly (6) damage or are incapacitated. If there is no Operator nearby, you attack a bystander or yourself.

04

Murderous Rage. Violence becomes your solution to every problem.

  • Until you complete a period of Downtime, whenever you encounter a stranger or known enemy, you immediately attack them.

03

Enemy Within. You hate these people. They are the cause of all your problems.

  • Until you complete a period of Downtime, you become hostile to the other Operators in your squad. You will discreetly try to subvert them and the Mission.

02

Haywire. Zap, crackle, pop.

  • Permanently lower your maximum Conviction by 1.

  • Roll once on the Distortion Table.

01

Half-Life. Your body and spirit are violently separated.

  • You immediately go unconscious and manifest your Death Presence. Your current health does not change, but if you take any additional damage while in Half-Life, you die instantly.

  • You remain in Half-Life until you complete a period of Downtime.

  • Roll once on the Distortion Table.

Distortion Effects

Failing a , in which the result is a 1 or 2, or failing a Stat Check or Save while Conviction will cause a Distortion effect, forever changing your Operator. The player rolls a d10 on the Distortion table below to determine the type of Distortion inflicted on their Operator. When an Operator receives a Distortion it becomes a permanent part of them.

  • Distortion effects supersede any benefits the character may have from another source.
  • You cannot gain the same Distortion effect twice. If you roll a Distortion effect that you already have, roll again.
00
- - - -
10

ANNIHILATION

Your light goes out.

  • Your Operator is dead. No healing or unique ability can revive this Operator.
  • Your Operator does NOT manifest their Death Presence.

09

PROPHECY

You are beset by glimpses of a shattered future and a doomed fate. Yet among these troubling visions you seem to gain the will to shape and bend the outcome of events.

  • Your Sanity Saves score is reduced by 15.
  • When you succeed on a Sanity Save, you gain a d10 Prophecy die. You receive 1 Prophecy die for a regular success or 3 for a Critical Success. You may roll any number of Prophecy dice during a Stat Check or Save (for you or an ally) and subtract that total from the result. Once a Prophecy die is used in this way, it is spent.

08

ALTERATION

Your mental pathways of memory are scrambled and rewired, closing off some avenues and opening others.

  • Your Intellect Stat is reduced by 5.
  • You lose training in one Skill of your choice but may choose a new Skill. You may not select the Skill you just lost.

07

SUBVERSION

Something in your subconscious delights in the failure of others and is disgusted by their success.

  • Whenever one of your allies rolls a Critical Failure, you gain 2 Conviction. Whenever one of your allies rolls a Critical Success, you lose 2 Conviction. If this lowers your Conviction to zero (0) you must immediately make a Panic check.

06

NEMESIS

You have a singular or specific type of enemy whom you irrationally fear and loathe, but also seek to confront and destroy.

  • (Choose your Nemesis) When you encounter your Nemesis, make a Fear Save.
  • If you fail, you must flee from your Nemesis. If you succeed, gain Advantage on any Combat Checks against your Nemesis for that scene. If you succeed in killing your Nemesis, you must choose another.

05

DISSONANCE

Your mind and body feel disjointed and out of sync. This internal static slows your physical reaction yet also shields your mind.

  • Your Speed Stat and Body Save are each reduced by 10.
  • Your Fear and Sanity Saves are each increased by 5.

04

FLASHBACKS

You are tormented and haunted by your past failures, which consistently flash into your mind at the worst moments.

  • Whenever you fail a Fear Save, you must immediately make a Panic Check.
  • Whenever you succeed on a Fear Save, you gain 1 Conviction.

03

GREMLINS

Your CyberTech augmentations are unreliable, tending to failure and malfunction, or at other times operate with improved efficiency.

  • At the beginning of every day, roll a d10.
    • If the result is 5 or less, all rolls involving CyberTech (including Stat Bonuses) are made with Disadvantage for the day.
    • If the result is greater than 5, all rolls involving CyberTech (including Stat Bonuses) are made with Advantage for the day.

02

CORRUPTION

Your mind and body are infiltrated by an alien entity from the depths of Voidspace. It seems to both bolster your physical resilience and feed on your life’s essence.

  • Your Body Save is increased by 10.
  • Whenever you fail a Body Save, you take Standard (2) damage. If this lowers your Health to zero (0), your character immediately erupts and transforms into a twisted bio-cybernetic horror, attacking all nearby.

01

INSIGHT

In the depths of madness, you find enlightenment.

  • Choose One:
    • +5 Sanity Save
    • +5 Fear Save