Creeping Dread...

I was thinking of showing off my gnomes today, because somebody liked my gnomes, but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to show my gnomes over the internet. You know, it's kind of a private thing, to show off your gnomes.

So instead I'm going to do more for Dread.

Here's some additional ways of earning Marks I thought up in the past 24 hours.

• Whenever a character (or perhaps even player) completely dismisses the threat verbally, regardless of whether or not the statement is true. Examples include "What's a vampire gonna do to us during the day?" or "Cannibal clowns? You obviously need a psych eval."
• Provoking the horror in some fashion, or deliberately trying to get its attention.

Some confusion was apparent as to how Marks worked exactly. You can use Marks against any attribute, with the attribute used showing what sort of thing you can inflict. A Terror on the meat attribute might mean a physical disaster, but a Compassion Terror might mean abandoning one's friends or perhaps even becoming violent towards another person. Speaking of which, it's time to get on to the attributes.

• Compassion: How 'connected' you are to other people, and how likely you are to feel for others.
• Hope: How willing you are to believe in a positive outcome.
• Meat: How strong your physical capabilities are, overall.
• Resolve: How likely you are to be able to keep to a course of action, no matter what.
• Stability: How tight your grip on sanity is, and how capable your are in coping with the bizarre.

And a listing of sample Terrors for each:

• Compassion (Minor Terror): You decide not to help the person get inside when the zombies are pulling him out.
• Compassion (Major Terror): You decide to shut and lock the door to prevent anybody from getting in, zombies or otherwise.
• Compassion (Catastrophic Terror): You hit your friend over the head and throw him outside for the zombies to eat. There's only so much food and water available in here, after all.

• Hope (Minor Terror): You decide not to call the police. Who's going to believe a story about vampires?
• Hope (Major Terror): You decide not go with your friends on the vampire hunt. They're all gonna die.
• Hope (Catastrophic Terror): You go to the vampires' lair and ask to become one. Humanity doesn't have a chance anyway.

• Meat (Minor Terror): While the serial killer is chasing you, you drop something.
• Meat (Major Terror): While the serial Killer is chasing you, you fall down and have to struggle to flee.
• Meat (Catastrophic Terror): While the serial killer is chasing you, you fall and break your ankle. There's no fleeing now.

• Resolve (Minor Terror): When you see the cultist has no face, you freeze up.
• Resolve (Major Terror): When you see the cultist has no face, you break and flee.
• Resolve (Catastrophic Terror): When you see the cultist has no face, your heart suddenly seizes up.

• Stability (Minor Terror): When you find out society is run by aliens as a meat farm, you immediately start to obsess on it.
• Stability (Major Terror): When you find out society is run by aliens as a meat farm, you break down in hysterics and write up flyers warning everybody about it.
• Stability (Catastrophic Terror): When you find out society is run by aliens as a meat farm, you pick up a knife and begin killing everybody you suspect of being an alien plant.

More to come: an actual vague system, equipment, sample Horrors, etc. Maybe tomorrow, maybe later this week.