Page 144 - Chronicles of Darkness

Willpower Health

A Horror’s Willpower equals its Resolve + Composure + A Horror’s Health is its Size + Stamina.
Potency. Remember that a Horror may spend a number of
Willpower points equal to its Potency each turn. Initiative Modifier
Integrity Initiative Modifier is equal to the Horror’s Dexterity +
Composure.
Unless your Horror is a human being with some mon-
strous power, or has a part of its mind that is still human, it Defense
doesn’t have an Integrity score. If it is, its Integrity is whatever Defense is equal to the lower of a Horror’s Wits or
seems appropriate. See p. 73 for more on Integrity and what Dexterity, plus its Athletics Skill.
different dot ratings indicate.
If you’re so inclined and have access to other Chronicles Weakness (Optional)
of Darkness rulebooks, you can even give your Horror an
Integrity-analogue Trait like a vampire’s Humanity or a were- Not all Horrors have an explicit weakness, but many do. If
wolf’s Harmony. You may have to adjust the various example it seems appropriate, give your Horror a Ban and/or a Bane,
breaking points to fit your vision, but this can make your as described on p. 128. Use the Horror’s Potency as its Rank
Horror seem even stranger and more alien. for determining the severity of the effect.

Size Finishing Touches

Your Horror can be as big or as small as you want. A Do one last check to make sure your Horror is doing what you
typical adult human is Size 5; see p.26 for a chart of sample need it to in the story. If you anticipate the Horror confronting
Sizes you can use as benchmarks. Remember that Size factors players head on, spot check its dice pools against the characters’;
into your Horror’s Health as well. For really large, unusual if it looks like the Horror will completely outclass the players (e.g.
Horrors like a sentient, hateful house, consider breaking its reducing even their best efforts to a chance die or rolling more
Size (and therefore Health) into discrete chunks rather than than twice as many dice as the best dice pool the players can mus-
giving the Horror a single 75-box Health track. ter), either make sure the players have another way to survive the
Horror or tone it down a bit. Conversely, if the players’ dice pools
Speed seem overmatching, don’t be afraid to beef up the Horror a bit.

Factor (a bonus based on creature type). A Horror can move Brief Nightmares
A Horror’s Speed is equal to Strength + Dexterity + Species
this many meters in one turn. Like Size, Speed can be whatever Not every lurking horror needs the full attention of the
you feel appropriate: an average human is around Speed 8. process described above. Sometimes the Horror has minions
Horrors can have negative Speed, but unless they’re completely that harry the characters, other times the threat is in the form
immobile by nature (e.g. The Tree That Hates), they always have of a horde of hungry ghouls rather than a single beast, and
a Speed of at least 1. other times the Horror is just a mindless brute that knows
Some Horrors have multiple Speeds, depending on nothing but the chase and the kill. In these cases, you can
their method of locomotion. For example, a giant bat-like quickly create a suitable Horror by just establishing a few
monstrosity might be a swift and graceful flier, but clumsy dice pools.
and awkward on land. If your Horror can fly, swim, burrow, Just as with a full Horror, distill the monster’s concept
etc., note those movement modes and Speed here as well. down to a few words — “flesh-hungry ghoul” or “albino sewer
For more overtly supernatural forms of movement like turn- gator,” maybe. Give it a single Aspiration, probably some
ing into fog or stepping through mirrors, see Dread Powers.

Nightmare Dice Pool

Horror Best Worst Willpower
Type Dice Pool Dice Pool All Other Pools Dread Powers /Scene
Minion 5 Chance 2 3 2
Horde 7 1 3 5 3
Lone Terror 10 2 5 7 6

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Horrors