#Grimdark-Tone Variants

Contents

module-toggle: additive strengthen the core neutral tone into grimdark (dark and despairing)

#Identity

Strengthen the core's neutral tone (neither heroic nor grimdark) into grimdark. Trauma · madness · moral gray are everyday.

Core consistency. The core (co) has no numeric mechanism for trauma or madness. The only psychological resource the core defines is the squad's Cohesion (結束力) (base 3 · Veteran 4, 0 = collapse) (co-06-06). Trauma and madness are a newly added mechanism that ex2-00-05 §12 specifies be defined only in this 30-10 grimdark option (or 30-03 Variant B). In campaigns that do not use it, they are handled as GM-discretion narration (no mechanical effect). The Trauma and Madness points below are separate narrative-tracking points that do not touch the core's ability scores (-3 to +3 modifiers) · Energy (the round-reset action resource) · Wounds (injury); only the final madness outcome merges into the core's majin-class system (12 majin classes).

#§ Variant — Grimdark Reinforcement

#1. Trauma Accumulation

• When a PC witnesses a violent · cruel event, Trauma points +1.
• At 5 accumulated Trauma, a madness effect (the GM partially controls the PC for 1 session).
• Trauma recovers at the interlude (-1 per season).

#2. Madness Accumulation

• When a PC has deep contact with the demon (魔), Madness points +1.
• At 3 accumulated Madness, the PC is gripped by a temporary majin impulse for 1 session (GM partial control).
• At 5 accumulated Madness, the PC permanently transfers to 1 of the 12 majin classes (PC replacement or character conclusion). In the core, majin classes are GM-permission-only, so this transfer effectively means the PC becomes an NPC and leaves the campaign.

#3. Moral Gray

• Every NPC is two-sided — even a righteous NPC has a cruel side.
• Absence of a clear "good and evil" division. Politics · religion are both gray.
• A PC's "right decision" often harms another NPC.

#4. The Everyday of Death

• The death frequency of accompanying NPCs increases (1~2 per season).
• 30-02 Variant A (critical-injury table) recommended — permanent damage is everyday.

#5. Absence of Hope

• The campaign's conclusion may be "delay" or "the best possible defeat" rather than "salvation."
• The possibility that a PC loses everything is ever-present.

#§ Core vs Grimdark Comparison

#§ Recommended Situations

• horror · survival campaigns
• the 1st-expansion Spirit Realm drift chronicle (despair-tone reinforced)
• a "Berserk", "Drifters"-style manga tone

#§ Not Recommended

• casual PCs (the burden of Trauma)
• PCs with strong character attachment (high death frequency)
• long campaigns (despair accumulation makes PC replacement frequent)

#§ Transition Guide

• Core → Grimdark: agree at Session 0 + introduce Trauma · Madness sheets.
• Grimdark → Core: immediate return. Discard Trauma · Madness points.

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"The sword kills one person. The age kills everyone."