Re: [HOE] Autonomically Challenged [WAS Re: was Doomsayers - now Harrowed]

[toadpooka@juno.com]

On Thu, 11 Jan 2001 11:30:34 -0000 "Sam de Smith"
<sam.desmith@ntlworld.com> writes:
> Autonomically Challenged 1-5
> Being dead has hit your brainer a bit harder than most. Some of the 
> most basic, fundamental aspects of normal behaviour escape them, which 
> causes them to be even more unsettling than usual to others. At the
lower 
> levels, it's minor things: never fidgetting, rarely blinking, no rise
and 
> fall of the chest, and so on. For 4 and 5 points, it's obvious even to
the 
> most dim-witted cowpoke that something's VERY wrong: you occassionally 
> forget how to speak, and the lack of movement of bodily fluids causes
you to 
> seriously stink.

Bits of this hindrance make it look too much like Degeneration for me. 
Its supposed to mean that the character just forgets how to act like a
living person (I personally think that most of htem wouldn't breathe by
reflex, but that's my opinion).  Increasing the harrowed "stink" doesn't
really fit in with that, it's more like degeneration.  Also, While it can
be unsettling to have someone stand perfectly still, not really
breathing, etc, I doubt it would be enough to qualify for a Terror level
on his own.  I like the hindrance having a negative effect on guts roll
made around him, though; that's more like being "creepy."

When I quickly skimmed the name of this hindrance the first time, I
thought it said "Anatomically Incorrect."  Now that could also be a
harrowed hindrance.  It means that certain parts of the harrowed's body
aren't there any more.  Low levels could mean big holes in his lungs,
giving a raspy quality to his voice.  Higher, and the lungs may not be
there at all, so he talks with this gurgling sound and breathes heavily
while talking (sounding like someone with severe pneumonia).  At the
highest level, he might be totally mute, his diaphragm being totally
gone.  The lungs and diaphragm are the only internal organs I can think
of that would still be of any use to the Harrowed...maybe it oculd be a
throat injury, requiring a roll to swallow meat and other food (I know
they don't need a digestive tract, but this is just a logistics problem.
--
From Whom It May Concern,
Rich Ranallo
"Long live the legend, it'll outlive us"
-Violent Femmes, "Death Drugs"

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