How strange does something need to be to cause SAN damage?

>>54859955
it needs to be a combination of 'strange', frightening or compelling in some other way. remember that episode of the twilight zone 'nightmare at 20,000 feet'? like that. it wasn't merely a strange presence or seeing something weird, it also had a mortal threat associated with it (in this case, a gremlin that was destroying the airplane from the outside).

>>54859955
It's not about strange, it's about damaging a persons subjective reality.

>>54859955
Outlandish enough that it drastically damages the target's worldview and understanding of reality, but not so outlandish that the human brain lolnopes it out of the target's senses for making no sense.

Doesn't need to be that out-there, seeing someone die would do the trick.

I mean, even hearing a spooky noise would do like a half point of damage. Hearing an terrifying noise you can't explain, would of course do more damage though.

What is SAN damage?

>>54860606
sanity

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>>54859955
DM's discretion.

>>54859955
Gnoll and lizardfolk making love if seen by human or elf.

No joke this is how I discouraged players from magical relaming

>>54859955
Something that causes SAN damage generally should be something that causes a reaction similar to "Hmm, what is that? Oh! Oh. OH! OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD"
what exactly that needs to be depends on the situation.
As >>54860535 said, if your world view is that everybody that dies dies peacefully and things in general are quite safe then having the ground spring up and tear someone into tiny bits (whether magically or through a mine) would cause SAN damage.
Your entire worldview is shaken and while you may acknowledge it and try to live with it you are now a bit less sure about the rest of your worldview. This is basically the reason we have the Thousand Yard Stare.

If you feel to be at the top of the world then seeing your own insignificance can cause it.
If you feel invincible then a sudden display of your mortality may cause it.
If you feel powerful then sudden powerlessness may cause it.

Generally: If it causes doubt about your worldview, it may cause SAN damage. The bigger the disturbance, the higher the damage

>>54860606
Sanity damage, a mechanic usually used in games based on the cthulhu mythos. Take too much (get your sanity to 0) and you become insane.

>>54859955
Start with these fish but mix them with shaggy goatmen standing over you at night and whispering weird physics theories about how the universe might work.

http://geekologie.com/2016/12/wtf-are-those-russian-deep-sea-fisherman.php

>>54859955
Something like the glasses in They Live.

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>>54859955

>>54860742
So, insanity is PTSD?

>>54862775
More "PTSD is insanity"
SAN loss may manifest in PTSD where the panicked reflexes you used in that situation now manifest themselves at the smallest trigger
It may manifest itself as phobia, compulsively trying to avoid similar situations without caring for the consequences.
It may manifest itself as paranoia, where you try to prepare for every possible repeat of that situation, whether it is likely or not.
Or it may manifest itself in other ways (saw a stocky person suddenly start rapidly gaining weight until they suffocate, all within a few seconds? Guess you are anorexic now)

But generally an insanity should manifest itself as, well, mental illnesses.

>>54862940
Oh and of course:
Saw that your entire civilization, all the works and deeds, are doomed to be destroyed by a being that considers you to be like bacteria, with no chance of survival, closure or necessity? Depression