Roleplayer's Community

The Loneliness Check:

 

This check is made by rolling a number of 10 sided dice equal to your Stamina + Integrity (the latter being more a function mental resilience than any aspect of morality) (for most people that’s about 6 or 7, for athletes and particularly resolute people that’s about 8 dice, for priests, Olympic athletes, astronauts and introverts that’s 9 or 10 dice) and looking for 7’s or higher on each one, these are called successes. Count the number of sevens you find and compare their total to the difficulty set by the modifiers and conditions below. 10’s indicated on the dice each count as TWO successes. 1’s have no meaning on their own unless there are no successes on the dice otherwise…then you botch. That’s bad and explained below. The roll should be made every week or so - more frequently during the springtime or the Christmas holidays.

 

 

 

Modifiers to difficulty (these are cumulative):

 

completely alone in the house                                                                            +1

 

been alone in the house for more than 16 hours                                            +1                   

 

knowing there is a party or get-together going on, but you can’t get there  +1

(this includes movie premieres, outings to dinner or conventions)

 

being so broke you can’t pay attention                                                               +1

 

not having seen friends in over a week                                                              +2

 

not having heard from friends in over a week                                                    +2

 

not having seen another human being in more than 24 hours                      +1

 

long time since last being shown physical affection                                        +2

 

inability to get around much on your own                                                            +1

 

not having left the house recently                                                                          +1

 

You have a pet                                                                                                            -2

 

After determining your total modifiers, make the roll and compare it to the chart below:

 

Successes rolled above the difficulty number:                 Result:

 

                        1                                                                      Sometimes you’re a little blue, but

                                                                                                 it’s nothing your favorite webcomic

                                                                                                and some chocolate won’t fix.

                        2                                                                      You're not feeling especially badly at

                                                                                                all - comfortable in your solitude -

                                                                                                for now. Wouldn't want it to last

                                                                                                forever, but hey, that's what

                                                                                                weekends are for right?

                        3                                                                      People would be nice, but who needs

                                                                                                them? I mean really, all they do is

                                                                                                come over and eat your food and

                                                                                                distract you from whatever

                                                                                                diversions you enjoy in life.

                        4                                                                      Look, you see people during

                                                                                                holidays, what more do you need?

                        5                                                                      You would be perfectly comfortable

                                                                                                never seeing a human being - or

                                                                                                anything else - again for at least the

                                                                                                near future.

 

Successes rolled below the difficulty number:                 Result:

 

            1                                                                                  You feel a pang of lonesomeness, but it

                                                                                                won't last really. Just get

                                                                                                some pizza and a

                                                                                                good movie, it'll be over

                                                                                                before you know it.

            2                                                                                  It gnaws at you sometimes -

                                                                                                especially in the early

                                                                                                evening when the sun goes

                                                                                                down and it gets all quiet, but

                                                                                                hey, the weekend's coming

                                                                                                right?

            3                                                                                  You're likely to start calling

                                                                                                people you haven't spoken to

                                                                                                in a while or have put off

                                                                                                talking to - just to hear

                                                                                                another voice.

            4                                                                                  You start calling up talk radio

                                                                                                to get some human

                                                                                                interaction. Periodically you

                                                                                                catch yourself having a

                                                                                                conversation with no one else

                                                                                                in the room. You will watch

                                                                                                anything on TV to distract

                                                                                                you - just for a little while.

            5                                                                                  Your loneliness is like

                                                                                                another being sharing the

                                                                                                same space with you - so you

                                                                                                talk to it often, and it answers

                                                                                                back. You also find yourself

                                                                                                talking to the TV. When you

                                                                                                finally do hear another

                                                                                                human voice it leaves you

                                                                                                startled and strangely

                                                                                                maladroit, trying to

                                                                                                remember what to do next.

 

On a botch, you become truly desperate for human company, with an eagerness and excitement that leaves you looking and sounding like a cross between someone on Speed and Peter Lorre. You will clutch desperately at any chance to be in the company of anyone - mailmen, door to door salesmen and even Jehovah's Witnesses will come to avoid you like the plague. Not even Grandma will return your calls anymore….