[D&D 3.5, but other systems welcome] Curing Insanity

[Dornath]

Just as the title says.

Say you're playing, for whatever reason, without Limited Wish, Wish, Miracle, Heal or other spells that restore sanity to a creature.

Or you're playing E6, or 4th Edition (I don't know enough to suggest effects that remove insanity. Just assume that there are none).

How might one go about curing insanity mundanely?

I've personally thought about Heal checks over a very long period of time. Maybe something to boost Wisdom or just the will save in general?

Help me out playground!

[LibraryOgre]

Despite its many flaws, you may want to take a look at Palladium's system... Rifts, Ninjas and Superspies, Heroes Unlimited, Palladium Fantasy, or one of its other main books. While the system in there is hardly ideal, it does represent a long time engaged for a slow lessening of symptoms... counseling and medication allowing one to deal with "insanity" (a really BROAD category), rather than "curing" it. There's really no way of curing insanity... just letting someone deal with it.

[Infernalbargain]

[minor threadjack]
In a campaign I played a little while back (3.5), the issue of brainwashing came up. However, after quite a bit of searching, there were no real rules on the matter. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with such scenarios?[/threadjack]

[LibraryOgre]

[minor threadjack]
In a campaign I played a little while back (3.5), the issue of brainwashing came up. However, after quite a bit of searching, there were no real rules on the matter. Anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with such scenarios?[/threadjack]

I would tend towards brainwashing (and torture) as being a series of skill checks against some sort of willpower. In 3e, I'd say skill checks against Will saves. They need X amount of time to make each check and Y successful checks to break you. Limiting factors might be time (You have to be broken before the Federation negotiates your release) or damage done in the process (i.e. if they're torturing you, they have to stop every so often to let you heal a little bit).

Brainwashing would take longer... they have to break you down, then build you up in their ideal.

[AmberVael]

I advise taking a look over the Sanity Variant Rules.

Most of it is actually about people going insane, but there are some rules on regaining sanity as well. Uses heal checks. There are also some options on spells being used for it, and some alchemical stuff.

[Kol Korran]

"insanity" is, as has been mentioned, a really broad category. different mental illnesses require different treatment.

but for the sake of game play i'd advise these guidelines:
Extended skill tests as been suggested by Mark Hall. profession psychiatrist or the equivalent in your world. a single test may take a week/ month/ more, but quite a few tests are required. too many failures increase the number of needed tests.

certain experiences may reduce the DCs, reduce the number of tests or so on, IF they are dealt with correctly (usually this may require a fairly high will save). failure in these experiences may set the treatment back. a previous meeting with the therapist (or post-experience with him/ her) may increase the chances of success, or reduce the consequences of failure.

in any case= the person does not "go back" to the person s/he was before the initial fracture of self, but rather become a new. different person- with somewhat different strengths and weaknesses.

i think that D&D is a poor system (mechanically) to deal with this. if you and the player/DM are willing to roleplay "key sessions/ experiences" (perhaps limiting the throws to them) then that is a whole new matter.

anyway- good luck!

[Darth Stabber]

If insanity is going to be a big part of your game I would say make psychology a separate skill (Wis based and give it a synergy bonus from heal). Psychology is enough different from medicine that it could justify it. Alternately Profession(psychologist) could also cover it. You could also give them a full round action ability to give people affected by confusion a new save, and at higher ranks maybe have it give new saves against charms and compulsions (and the ability to recognize them at low levels).

If you just need a fix for a normal level of insanity effects in a game, then heal should cover it.

[LibraryOgre]

Something you might borrow from other games is insanity being represented in damage. CoC has "San Points", for example; you might represent these with regular D&D-style HP, or "sanity meters", or anything else. I'd recommend using whatever your system already uses for HP... sort of a "stress damage".

As sanity degrades, points get taken away. Things that reduce your stress levels heal "stress damage". A chronic mental illness may be represented like a flaw that reduces your "stress HP". There would be spells (in a D&D-like) that would heal stress damage, and Profession: Psychiatrist would function as the Heal skill.

I'd probably not do such a thing in D&D; that's always been a "heroic" system to me, where such things as the horrors of war and the stress of months of combat are glossed over. But I could see putting it into Shadowrun or Deadlands.

[Elvenoutrider]

Up until fairly modern times mental illness was treated with repeated beatings

[Darth Stabber]

Up until fairly modern times mental illness was treated with repeated beatings

Which had the opposite of intended effect, but considering the gender equality experienced in D&D we can assume a friendlier attitude for the mentally ill as well.

Alternately if you want the old ways to work, every cleric/medic delivered beating converts lost HP into gained sanity. Have them kick the crazy out of you.

[Infernalbargain]

Which had the opposite of intended effect, but considering the gender equality experienced in D&D we can assume a friendlier attitude for the mentally ill as well.

Alternately if you want the old ways to work, every cleric/medic delivered beating converts lost HP into gained sanity. Have them kick the crazy out of you.

That's especially nice since they can then cast CLW so make it not hurt so much.