Panic and grief
Panic and grief in Messalith: the roll a mate makes when a friend goes down, what a panicked exile loses, how a Mend brings them back, and grief's cost.
The panic roll
When an exile goes down, every standing mate who can see them rolls for panic. The roll is a d100. If it comes in above the mate's effective Will plus 30, they panic.
| Effective Will | Chance to panic |
|---|---|
| -20 | 90% |
| -10 | 80% |
| 0 | 70% |
| 10 | 60% |
| 20 | 50% |
| 30 | 40% |
| 40 | 30% |
| 50 | 20% |
| 60 | 10% |
| 70 | 0% |
| 80 | 0% |
| 90 | 0% |
| 100 | 0% |
Spending Will on powers lowers the Will a panic roll is made against. A psychic who has just cast is the one most likely to break.
Panicked
A panicked exile loses their next turn and drops any overwatch. After the lost turn they come back to themselves. A Mend from a Mender clears panic at once, and if the exile is sitting out their lost turn when the Mend lands, they get that turn back. If panic leaves nobody in the squad able to act, the whole squad turn is lost.
Enemies never panic. A Voice's Dread is the nearest thing: one foe, sure it is beaten, falls back for a turn.
Grief
A fall triggers the panic roll. A death is worse. When an exile bleeds out, every mate bonded to them (a close friend, a lover, a partner) takes -20 Will for the rest of the mission, and it stacks if more die. An exile with the Grief trait also takes -5 Aim for the rest of the mission once any ally dies.
Back at camp the dead go to the memorial, and grief follows the bonded home. See relationships.