Temporary Conditions

Just as water has no constant shape, so there are no constant conditions.

The following is a sample set of conditions that might transiently affect a character in After Sundown games. These conditions are generic cases, it is entirely possible for a character to be "more Delusional" or whatever, in which case the raw numerics of the effect should be increased.

Agony

The victim is in incredible wracking pain. Their Wound penalties are calculated as if they had two more boxes filled in than they do with Normal marks, up to a maximum of all boxes filled.

Amnesia

Drinking to the point of blacking out will cause a man to lose an evening, and in game terms when a character is not going to remember things they are operating under Amnesia. In the real world there are many ways to get to this state, most of which involve chemicals. When a character is operating under Amnesia they suffer a -2 dicepool penalty to actions and the threshold to resist acting impulsively (including succumbing to Frenzy) is increased by 1. Also remember that the character won't remember anything, so it can sometimes be a good narrative tool to skip ahead in the story and then go back and roleplay those events later as a flashback.

Anesthetic

The character is neither bothered by, nor aware of, noxious stimuli. That means that pain doesn't bother them, but they also miss things that an unaffected person would notice. The character calculates Wound penalties as if two less boxes were filled in, but the character is at -2 dice on Perception or Empathy tests.

Delusion

When a character is afflicted by Delusion they respond to things in an irrational fashion. Sometimes this can be well articulated as in the case where a character hallucinates tiny shapes moving in their peripheral vision they'll jump at shadows and, as they acclimatize themselves to their situation, ignore actual moving objects. And that just looks disconcerting to other people. Sometimes a character's delusions will be harder to articulate, but they will be no less disconcerting to those around them. A character suffering from Delusions is opposed on all Social tests by 3 dice. And yes, they can end up with negative hits.

Fatigue

A character who is fatigued has a great deal of difficulty exerting themselves. They cannot perform an Exhausting Run or Draining Sprint. Also their Strength is reduced by 1. And yes, that means that their Soak is reduced. When the body's reserves are exhausted, they are more vulnerable.

Overstimulation

When a character's sensory input is greater than their ability to handle that sensory input, it can be disorienting and paralyzing. Usually this comes from being exposed to really bright lights or loud noises, such as those produced by a flashbang grenade. But it can also come from within by having a character's senses sensitized (such as from atropine, ecstasy, or the bite of a Strigoi). In any case, when a character is Overstimulated their Initiative is reduced by 2 and their physical actions suffer a -2 dicepool penalty. The character also needs to make an Intuition + Perception test with a threshold of 2 to even target specific things in the overstimulated sense. A character who is primed to be overstimulated (by a poison or by enhancing their own senses) is not penalized until they are actually confronted with brightish lights or equivalent stimuli.

Paralysis

A fully paralyzed character cannot move. They may or may not be able to move their eyes or blink, depending upon which is more horrible, but they cannot move their arms or even turn their head. The victim's Agility is zero. Paralysis often goes away gradually, with a victim regaining their Agility one point at a time.

Stimulation

The character is filled with vigor and energy. Any fatigue or tiredness they feel is postponed until the end of the effect (at which point they will also become fatigued even if they weren't before). The character is incapable of resting during this period.