Frightened
Effect: Flee from the source at full Speed for 1 Beat, then become Suppressed for the rest of the scene.
Inflicted By
- Fearmonger (Mindweaver R2)
- Mass Hysteria (Mindweaver R4)
- Critical Failure on certain Fear effects
- Other GM-discretion Fear effects from supernatural sources
Cleared By
- Automatic after 1 Beat of fleeing, when the condition converts to Suppressed
- Iron Calm (Bastion Soul R1) removes Frightened before the flee triggers
- Adrenaline Purge (Flesh Shaper R2) removes Frightened and grants Fear immunity for 5 Ticks
- Burden Transfer (Bastion Soul R2, absorbed by another)
- Immune: Targets with Fear immunity (Zealous Acolytes, certain Veil-Born, Iron Will)
Frightened is a two-phase condition: a forced movement away from the source for one Beat, then a transition into Suppressed for the rest of the scene. The flee phase is the worst of it: the character actively moves away from the threat at full Speed regardless of tactical positioning. The Suppressed remainder is the lingering damage to composure.
Critical Frightened effects (Margin 9+ on Mass Hysteria) also cause the target to drop held items as they flee, useful for disarming without lethality.
Frightened is one of the few mechanics where Fear immunity matters distinctly: a target with Fear immunity is entirely immune to Frightened, not just resistant. Iron Calm specifically removes the Frightened condition (it’s named in the source as the canonical counter).