Sanity is one of the three primary statistics of The Character and it measures your physical condition - can you think rationally or are you near losing your mind.
The default starting value is 70. The lower it gets, the more negative Sanity-related Conditions you will receive.
Sanity state is indicated in the second tab of the Character screen, as well as with a mask, representing one of the 5 possible states.
Bonuses and penalties
Direct effect
High Sanity directly results in bonus on most actions and vice versa - low Sanity leads to penalties. This happens through the "Invigorated" and "Stressed" Conditions.
| Sanity | Indication | Condition | Statistic effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80-100 | Stable | Invigorated 2 | +6% |
| 60-79 | Alarmed | Invigorated 1 | +3% |
| 40-59 | Shaken | - | - |
| 20-39 | Scared | Stressed 1 | -3% |
| 0-19 | Petrified | Stressed 2 | -6% |
Indirect negative effect
Lower Sanity has additional negative impact on The Character, which happens through 5 Conditions - Depressed, Hectic, Terrified, Disoriented and Insomniac. The order of gaining and losing them is mostly random, though some reasons of Sanity loss may be more likely to result in specific Conditions. Note that the defined number of those is different when increasing and decreasing Sanity, so when you are on downfall, it will take some more recovery to start losing negative Conditions and vice versa (hysteresis effect).
| Sanity | Losing Sanity | Gaining Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 5+ | - |
| 10-19 | 4+ | - |
| 20-29 | 3+ | - |
| 30-39 | 2+ | 4- |
| 40-49 | 1+ | 3- |
| 50-59 | - | 2- |
| 60-69 | - | 1- |
| 70-79 | - | 0 |
Example: Stephan's Sanity drops down to 25. He receives 3 negative Conditions (excluding "Stressed"). Then he gains 30 Sanity from romancing and falling in love and his Sanity is now 55, which reduces the number of negative conditions to 2. Afterwards he loses 10 Sanity for witnessing how gray dwarves kill Kenny. His Sanity is now 45, but since upon losing Stamina in the diapason 40-49 just 1 negative condition should be guaranteed and he already has 2, he is not affected further by this loss. He will gain another negative condition if his Sanity drops below 30 and recover one if his Sanity reaches 60.
This can also be explained with the following table:
| Number of Conditions | Next penalty | Next recovery |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 49 | - |
| 1 | 39 | 70 |
| 2 | 29 | 60 |
| 3 | 19 | 50 |
| 4 | 9 | 40 |
| 5 | - | 30 |
Losing Sanity
Unlike Health, losing all your Sanity will not lead to Death, but the resulting Conditions may put the characters in extreme danger or render them useless for some tasks. Both Health and Sanity are difficult to recover, thus their loss should be avoided as much as possible.
At any moment
- Getting wounded and gaining "Injured" Condition (-7 Sanity per level).
- Someone die in battle or hunting (-10 Sanity if you are in the area and -2 Sanity if you are not).
- Your loved one dies (-40 Sanity).
During Night phase
- Being Hungry or Thirsty (-3 Sanity each).
- Being Starving or Dehydrated (-10 Sanity each).
- Having "Injured" Condition (-3 Sanity per level).
- Having "Stomach problems" Condition (-1 Sanity).
- Finding out your loved one cheats on you (-20 Sanity).
- The Night Attack strength is stronger than the Village defense (-1 to -10).
- Unsuccessful Romance (-5 Sanity) or Socialize (-3 Sanity).
Restoring Sanity
Sanity is restored mainly during the Night Phase and the best way to increase it fast are the Romance and Socialize evening actions. Since "Injured" Condition is often a significant reason for Sanity loss, Healing is a good way to reduce that loss.
At any moment
- Healing and removing "Injured" Condition (+5 Sanity per level).
- A player is resurrected by Guardian angel (+2 Sanity) or by Water of Life (+5 Sanity).
During Night phase
- Being Well fed or Overfed (+5 Sanity).
- Romancing (+10 Sanity or +20 if you are romancing your loved one), multiplied by 1.5 if the partner is Beautiful or by 0.5 if he/she is Ugly.
- Socializing (Sanity bonus = 5 + number of socializing players +/- Funny/Bard/Grumpy effects)
- Falling in love (+20 Sanity).
- Being together with your loved one (+5 Sanity)
- The Village defense is stronger than the Night Attack strength(+1 to +10).
Maximal Sanity
The Maximal Sanity value is permanent for each character and is affected only by two Traits:
| Trait | Max Sanity |
|---|---|
| Unstable | 80 |
| default | 100 |
| Rational | 120 |
Tips
- Don't be Hungry or Thirsty during the Night Phase, not to mention Dehydrated or Starving.
- If there is any food left available, don't miss the chance to get the Sanity bonus of "Well fed" Condition.
- Heal yourself if you have "Injured" Condition to instantly restore some Sanity and avoid the loss during the evening.
- Romance or Socialize during the evening. If a big party cannot be organized, the first one is better, since you need just one other villager.
- If you are Depressed, be extra careful not to restore and not lose more Health and Sanity, since you are deprived by the most efficient ways of regaining Sanity and thus losing the Depressed Condition. Avoid defending the village, battles and camping.