Anything that threatens the mental well-being of your character can inflict Stress. Stress is gained through danger, hardship, and adversity-suffering a critical hit from an enemy, hearing an unearthly moan from a dark room, sleeping rough in the cold rain, watching an ally die.

To prevent this, they'll need to find ways to relax and recover during downtime. Too much Stress is bad for your mental health and, if not treated carefully, can lead to detrimental Afflictions-or even death.Ĭharacters can suffer up to 40 points of Stress before they reach breaking point. Stress is a measure of pressure on a character's mental state, representing a build-up of negative emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, and irritation. This chapter introduces mechanics to track a character's stress level and the lasting consequences these lingering, mental afflictions can have on their adventuring career. Moving from town to town, delving into dark dungeons and hunting dangerous monsters for perhaps a few gold coins, is not a safe-or sane-way to make a living.

Darkest dungeon affliction fearful