TROLL: THE CULLING - PART 3: STABILITY

Stability is the other half of Troll: The Culling's two core mechanics. As explained in Mutation, all other systems added or altered link back to these two. The Stability Mechanic is somewhat similar in form to Vampire: The Masquerade's humanity mechanic, but, again, has significant differences in function and effect on the chronicle.

Stability is a measure of how much a Troll’s biological stress has affected them. Contrary to Mutation’s easily-altered nature, Stability is much harder to both raise and lower. However, changes in Stability have more drastic effects on a Troll, trending towards the positive in Homeostasis and the negative in Rejection. Stability is one of the most important things to manage as a Troll, as slipping too far into Rejection can have disastrous consequences for both them and the rest of their Brood.

Stability Level

A Troll's Stability Level measures how close they are to Homeostasis or Rejection. Stability is on a ten-dot scale, with zero dots representing Total Rejection, one to five dots representing lessening stages of Rejection, six dots representing neutrality, and seven to ten dots representing increasing stages of Homeostasis. All characters start at Stability 6 unless directed otherwise by certain circumstances.

Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the state in which a living thing’s bodily systems all exist in a state of perfect balance and stability. The closer a Troll is to Homeostasis, the less their risk of Mutation is, with True Homeostasis greatly reducing the chance of Mutation increases or Stability losses. At Homeostasis 3 (Stability 9), a player may reroll one Stain Roll per session, and at True Homeostasis (Stability 10) they may also reroll one Mutation Check per session.

Rejection

The other side of stability is known as Rejection. It showcases a Troll's body starting to reject itself due to the intense biological stress of using their abilities. The closer a Troll gets to Total Rejection, the higher the risk of further Mutation is, culminating in complete cellular death if the Troll reaches Total Rejection.

Rejection Flaws

If a Troll reaches Rejection 4 (or Rejection 3 or 2 in certain cases), their Rejection Flaw activates. Once activated, the Rejection Flaw remains in play for the rest of the chronicle and cannot be bought back like regular Flaws. A Troll's Rejection Flaw is determined by their Caste, although it can be overridden under certain circumstances.

Stability Stains

Stability Stains represent a potential loss in Stability, and can be accrued in a number of ways: failing a Mutation Check at Mutation 5, breaking a Conviction or a Chronicle Tenet, displeasing a Lusus through Scorn Actions, or harming or killing a touchstone or Lusus. A player can accrue multiple stains from a single action, depending on the severity of the inciting action. Failing a Mutation Check at Mutation 5 might only warrant a single stain, while killing a touchstone could warrant significantly more. In the end, the exact amount is up to the Storyteller, but a player cannot accrue more than ten stains in a session.

At the end of a session, players who’ve accrued any Stability Stains must make a Mutation Check for each one. If the player’s Troll is at a Mutation Level of four or lower, each failure on these rolls increases their Mutation Level by one. Once their Mutation Level has reached five, failure on one or more of the remaining rolls reduces Stability by one.

Managing Stability

A Troll's Stability Level can be increased in the same way as their Mutation Level can be lowered: through Duty Norms and Doting Actions. If a Troll performs any of these, their Mutation Level is at 0, and they have no Stability Stains, they roll a Mutation Check. If the roll succeeds, their Stability is increased by one. If not, their Stability stays the same. If a Troll has any Stability Stains prior to the Mutation Check, then success clears one of these stains instead of increasing their Stability.

This roll can only be done once per session, unlike the Mutation-clearing roll. As such, each player may only remove one stain or increase their stability by only one point during a session.

Outro

And that's both core systems down! These aren't the only new things in T:TC, but they are the most prevalent and influential additions so I figured I'd cover them first. Like I said, everything else new or altered links to at least one part of these two systems. Next week's post is going to be covering the Caste System, so stay tuned!

I know I just did this a few days ago, and I'm gonna do it again this Saturday, but I wanted to put out another reminder that the Playtesting Interest Survey (link here: https://forms.gle/ShNDqjVLUqNBds736 ) will be open through the end of this month. Slots for the first two sessions are almost full, so if you're interested in participating in the first round of playtesting (and having your Troll immortalized within the digital pages of Troll: The Culling's Sourcebook), go fill it out! Like I've said, it is 18+, since, again, mature themes and all that, but any level of experience with WOD or TTRPGs in general are welcome! Everyone who fills it out, whether they're part of playtesting round one or not, gets access to the Sourcebook and the Discord Server earlier than the general public, and everyone who participates in the first round of playtesting can have their Troll added to the Sourcebook as an official T:TC character if they so wish.

As a side-note, if it gets to the point where people who apply might not get picked for this round of playtesting, I want to assure you all of two things:

A.) If you weren't picked for this round, you'll be first on the "call list" for the next round.

B.) You'll still be getting access to the Discord Server and receiving the Sourcebook earlier than everyone else.

I've said this before, but I want to share this system with as many people as I can, so I'll definitely be doing more than one round of Playtesting. It would be awesome to get to the point where I actually have to turn people down for round one, because, to me, that just means that there's a significant interest in the system!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next week with Part 4: Castes!