RULES – Stress and Bennies – DCC/ZINE

RULES – STRESS AND BENNIES (ZINE)

STRESS is a resource that characters may spend in several ways to avoid a bad outcome, usually a bad die roll. When a player “spends” stress, they fill in one of the ten stress bubbles on their character sheet. (Stress rules adapted from “Blades in the Dark” TTRPG)

BENNIES (HERO POINTS) are a resource that are handed out by the GM, usually in the form of poker chips. BENNIES may be spent similar to STRESS but may have alternative benefits according to the story or scene. Bennies are awarded during a game session and do not carry over to the next session

STRESS may be spent to:

1. Push yourself – Add +1 to any die check result after rolling OR reroll the die (damage dice may be rerolled too.
2. Avoid KO – If reduced to 0 hp, gain 1 stress per damage taken to remain at 1hp
3. Reroll/redraw initiative.
4. Turn a critical failure into a failure

BENNIES may be spent to:

1. Push yourself – Add +1 to any die check result after rolling OR reroll the die (damage dice may be rerolled too.
2. Avoid KO – If reduced to 0 hp, gain 1 stress per damage taken to remain at 1hp
3. Reroll/redraw initiative.
4. Change the story – Alter a fact about the current scene (“I just happen to know the bartender”)
5. Flashback – Describe in flashback form, how you prepared for the current scenario and how that preparation allows you to a) have a useful item for the situation, b) have previously altered the environment in this scene in some helpful way.

TRAUMA

When a PC marks their last stress box, they suffer a level of trauma. When you take trauma, note one of your trauma conditions like Cold, Reckless, Unstable, etc. They’re all described below.

When you suffer trauma, you’re taken out of action. You’re “left for dead” or otherwise dropped out of the current conflict, only to come back later, shaken and drained. When you return, you have zero stress and your vice has been satisfied for the next downtime.

Trauma conditions are permanent. Your character acquires the new personality quirk indicated by the condition, and can earn xp by using it to cause trouble. When you mark your fourth trauma condition, your character cannot continue as a daring scoundrel. You must retire them to a different life or send them to prison to take the fall for the crew’s wanted level.

TRAUMA CONDITIONS

• Cold: You’re not moved by emotional appeals or social bonds. (-1 to all social rolls)
• Haunted: You’re often lost in reverie, reliving past horrors, seeing things. (-1 to all notice rolls)
• Obsessed: You’re enthralled by one thing: an activity, a person, an ideology. (-1 to all rolls unless x in the past 24 hours)
• Paranoid: You imagine danger everywhere; you can’t trust others. (+1 to all notice rolls, -1 to all mental rolls)
• Reckless: You have little regard for your own safety or best interests. (May no longer use stress to soak damage)
• Soft: You lose your edge; you become sentimental, passive, gentle. (-1 to all aggressive actions)
• Unstable: Your emotional state is volatile. You can instantly rage, or fall into despair, act impulsively, or freeze up. (A natural 2 also counts as a critical failure)
• Vicious: You seek out opportunities to hurt people, even for no good reason. (-1 on all social rolls, on crit failure to resist social encounter, will attack)

STRESS RELIEF

0-Level
0-level characters may lose 1 stress per night they sleep in a safe and comfortable place.

Leveled characters
Your characters are a special lot. They defy the powers-that-be and dare to prey on those who are considered to be their betters. They push themselves further than ordinary people are willing to go. But this comes at a cost. Their life is one of constant stress. Inevitably, each turns to the seduction of a vice in order to cope.

A character’s vice is their obsession. But with this indulgence comes relief from stress and the ability to once again face the overwhelming challenge of their daring life.

Vice Roll

• Roll a die equal to your Lowest Attribute rating.

Clear stress equal to your highest die result. If you clear more stress levels than you had marked, you overindulge. If you do not or cannot indulge your vice during downtime, you take stress equal to your trauma.

INDULGING YOUR VICE

When you indulge your vice, you clear some stress from your character’s stress track. Say how your character indulges their vice, including which purveyor of vice they use to satisfy their needs. This indulgence takes time, so it can only be done when the crew has downtime. Alternately, you may choose to release your character to be “lost in their vice” during a game session, allowing them to indulge off-camera while you play a different PC. A gang member, friend, or contact of the crew might be created as an alternate character to play, thus fleshing out the landscape of PCs.

Make an attribute roll using your character’s lowest attribute rating (if there’s a tie, that’s fine—simply use that rating). Clear stress equal to the highest die result.

OVERINDULGENCE

If your vice roll clears more stress levels than you had marked, you overindulge. A vice is not a reliable, controllable habit. It’s a risk—and one that can drive your character to act against their own best interests.

When you overindulge, you make a bad call because of your vice—in acquiring it or while under its influence. To bring the effect of this bad decision into the game, select an overindulgence from the list:

• Attract Trouble. 
• Brag about your exploits.
• Lost. Your character vanishes for a few weeks. Play a different character until this one returns from their bender. When your character returns, they’ve also healed any harm they had.
• Tapped. Your current purveyor cuts you off. Find a new source for your vice.

IGNORING YOUR VICE

If you do not or cannot indulge your vice during a downtime phase, you take stress equal to your trauma. If you don’t have any trauma, you’re free to ignore your vice. It doesn’t have a hold over you (yet).

Roleplaying & XP

Along with your character’s heritage and background, their vice tells us what kind of person they are. This obsession impacts their motivations, goals, and behavior. When you ponder what your character might do or say next, you can always consider their vice to help you think of something. As an added benefit, by playing to the nature of your character’s vice, you earn xp at the end of the session.