Malaise

Malaise

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© Daniel S. Wall, July 20, 2026.

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A Trace of Death Lingers by Joyce Maureira

Malaise is an inverse measure of a character’s will to live. The higher their Malaise, the less resilient a character will be. Those with truly high malaise will be quick to grow ill and slow to heal. They will also be remarkably susceptible to attacks from Undead. They will retain all their normal skills and abilities, but a character with a high malaise has one foot in the grave. Until she learns to love life again, a character with high Malaise may be very difficult to keep alive.

The idea here is to create a long-term problem with its own significance in role-play, one that is solvable, but not with a quick healing spell. It plagues characters who have come close to death, or experienced significant loss, been subjected to life-draining attacks, or engaged behavior contrary to their deepest convictions. Any one of these could leave a character with a weakened will to live. It does not undermine their skills and abilities, but it does leave them more fragile. Malaise provides an alternative to the loss of levels or attribute scores and the forcible alignment change of earlier editions of D&D while keeping a sense that these issues create problems not easily resolved within a single game session.

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Malaise at its Core

Squonk painted by Andy Sneed

Acquiring Malaise: Aside from rare instances of special attacks or magical effects imposing it, Malaise is usually acquired through close calls with death, the loss of loved ones, or by actions inconsistent with the established nature of a character. A character fresh off a near-death experience may find that death itself still has a little bit of a hold on them, just as they may long to join a dead spouse or some other loved one. Characters who have acted in a manner significantly inconsistent with their values and goals may find themselves questioning the value of their own life.

Malaise can also be the result of extraordinary attacks one might characterize as life-stealing, such as the bite of a vampire or the nightmares caused by a succubus. These too will weaken a character’s will to live.

Effects of Malaise: The Malaise score of a character is a penalty to any healing done to that character. It is also a vulnerability penalty, adding to the damage done by Undead to that character. A character with 1 point of malaise thus reduces the damage healed from a spell by 1 point and raises her damage from an Undead by 1 as well. A character with 6 points of malaise reduces healing spells by 6 and adds 6 points to any damage caused by Undead. Malaise can have other featurs as well, and at their own discretion, a GM may certain flesh add implications of their own.

Overcoming Malaise: A character must play a full game session with any Malaise earned before attempting to buy it off. After that, a character may buy off malaise at a cost built on a triangular sum at the end of any given game session. If 1 point of Malaise can be bought off at the cost of 1 point of x.p., then 2 may be bought off at a cost of 3 total (1+2=3), and 3 can be bought off at a cost of 6 (1+2+3=6). Thus, Malaise can be bought off slowly at a low cost or rapidly at a high cost. It is up to the player to decide which he prefers.

Certain special abilities or problems may enhance malaise, trigger tactical benefits on the basis of malaise, facilitate rapid overcoming of malaise, or drag out that process. These are rare abilities, and they are prone to high cost. In no case, will an ability ever enable a character to overcome Malaise without going through a full game session with any given Malaise penalty.

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Game-Specific Applications

D&D (1st through 3rd editions): How does one apply the concept to D&D? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Life-Draining Attacks: Any attack which might otherwise cause the permanent draining of a level or a point off a character’s attributes would instead result in 3 points of Malaise. (Alternatively, 1 point of Malaise could be added to the existing effect without taking that effect away.)

Moral Transgressions: Any time a character acts in such a manner as to contradict their alignment, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This can replace the old first edition mechanic of simply changing the character’s alignment. How this decision is made varies. It could be the GM’s call or it could be a decision at the consensus of the players.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Death Magic: It is damage taken in the event of a successful save versus death magic. A failed save would of course make this irrelevant.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural medicine, and it is a chance (multiplied by 5) that the wound will not naturally heal according to the normal rules on any given day.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10% of the difference between the experience needed for their current level and that needed for the next. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given session, a player must spend 30% of that difference. To buy off 3 at the end of a given session, they must spend 60%, and so on.

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Tunnels and Trolls (Deluxe Edition): How does one apply the concept to Tunnels and Trolls? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Moral Transgressions: If the player running a character and the GM agree that the character has acted in a manner wildly inconsistent with their character and/or the best interest of their stated goals, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This may not happen often, as a player is unlikely to agree to it, but it remains an option.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed). Note that the in event that a character should have been healed to full Constitution, they end up with their Malaise in damage after all.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10 adventure points. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given game session, a player must spend 30 adventure points. To buy off 3 at the end of a given game session, they must spend 60 adventure points, and so on.

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Worlds of Hurt (My Homebrew): How does one apply the concept to Worlds of Hurt? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: Characters may take on Malaise for the loss of loved ones or for major set backs, as detailed in the rules for social relationships and other relevant portions of the game system.

Deep Wounds: A variety of special attacks cause Malaise as spelled out in the game rules.

Moral Transgressions: Characters may take Malaise for actions contrary to their moral values or memes as spelled out in the relevant sections of the game rules.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once they go down to 0 physical durability or below. They acquire 3 points of Malaise if they spend 1 full round in that status, and 5 points if they spend 2 rounds in that status.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural means.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 1 experience point. To buy off 2 at the end of a given session, they must spend 3. To buy off 3, they must spend 6, and so on.

Traveling Amulets

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© Daniel S. Wall, April 27, 2026.

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Some magic items are not meant to be held onto. They are meant to be passed along. A “Traveling Amulet” is one such item. It will appear as an exceptionally beautiful amulet featuring a gem of some kind. It is a magic item of great power, but a Traveling Amulet may be used only once, after which it must be exchanged in ritual to an appropriate party. Doing so in a timely manner may bring additional magic into the life of an Amulet Bearer; failure to do so will have negative consequences in that it tends to weaken the will of an Amulet Bearer. For this reason, a Traveling Amulet can be a burden as much as it is a boon.

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Exchange

To receive full benefit for a Traveling Amulet, an Amulet Bearer must receive it in direct exchange for another. To confer the normal benefits upon each party, this exchange must trigger a change in color (see below) for each Amulet. The exchange must be conducted in the context of a simple ritual in which both parties eat and/or drink together. Each must also toast the other in some manner. When this is done properly, each party may thereafter carry the item they have received for up to a year in game-time, but each can only use the magical powers of their new amulet once. Once its power has been triggered, the party in possession of it will begin to accrue a small  degree of malaise for each game session completed without giving it up.

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Restrictions on Use and Possession: A party of characters may only carry one Traveling Amulet with them at a time without incurring a penalty (one Malaise point per game session to each Amulet Bearer traveling in the same party). If anyone in a given party has already received benefits from triggering the powers of a Traveling Amulet during a given game session, then no other amulet may be triggered in their presence, nor may a second amulet help them for the balance of the game session in any way. Attempts to do so simply will not work. No character may trigger the same amulet more than once in their lifetime. A given amulet simply will not work for her a second time. Note also that no amulet may be triggered in any game session wherein it has been kept hidden for any significant encounter or any significant length of time. Amulets hidden during a game session simply cannot be triggered in that game session.

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Magical Features

Each Traveling Amulet has three features relevant to the magical effect it will produce; its name, its color, and its trait.

Its name: This simply identifies an amulet and helps characters to distinguish one Amulet from another. Each amulet carries its own lore, lore that may well be known to experienced bards and scholars.

Its color. This is a function of the type of creature from whom it was acquired. The color of the central decoration within a Traveling Amulet literally changes when it is transferred from one Amulet Bearer to another. This color determines the benefit to be gained from triggering the Amulet. The known colors and powers are as follows:

  • Black: A Traveling Amulet turns black when it is received from Undead. It holds death at bay for the one triggering it and a certain number of allies for a limited time, but this effect may prove costly to those whose death has been so averted.
  • Blue: A Traveling Amulet turns blue when it is received from an Angel or Celestial. It prevents a designated character, her allies, or her subordinates from attacking the one triggering it or her known allies in any way for a full game session.
  • Clear: The source of Amulet turning clear may be anything that does not fit into any of the other categories mentioned here. It enables the one triggering it to gain a substantial quantity of wealth over the course of the game session.
  • Gold: A Traveling Amulet turns gold when it is received from a Dragon. It enables the one triggering it and a certain number of allies to go directly (and quite inexplicably) to a single location of their choice anywhere in the world through 1 minute of apparently conventional travel (such as walking, riding horses, rowing a boat, etc.).
  • Green: A Traveling Amulet turns green when it is received from a Sylvan, a Sprite, or a Fey. It enables the one triggering it and a number of her known allies to learn a great deal from a single game session.
  • Purple: A Traveling Amulet turns purple when it is received from an elemental. It enables the one triggering it and a number of her known allies to avoid being surprised for a single game session. In addition, they can automatically achieve the maximum possible surprise in one encounter (at the choice of the person triggering it) during that game session. (Note that scholars have debated what would happen if two parties employed Purple Amulets in the same encounter, but the truth is that nobody knows. If such an event has ever happened, there is no record of the results.)
  • Red: A Traveling Amulet turns red when it is received from a Netherspawn or a Fiend of some kind. It enables the one triggering it and a number of allies to gain spectacular benefits from critical combat rolls for one game session.
  • Silver: A Traveling Amulet turns silver when it is received from a creature with inherent powers of psionics or Spiritual Warfare. It immediately heals the one triggering it and a number of allies. (Note that in RPGs without psionics or spiritual warfare, Traveling Amulets dimply do not turn silver.)
  • White: A Traveling Amulet turns white when it is received from a Giant. It enables the one triggering it to determine the outcome of a two die rolls during a single game session, one for herself, and one for another character (which can be friend, ally, or even foe). Her player literally places the dice on the table with whatever result she sees fit to assign it.

Its trait: Each Amulet bears a single trait, preserving something of the character who creates it. When an Amulet Bearer triggers an Amulet possessing a trait she herself possesses, she personally gets an extra boost out of it.

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Alternative Means of Amulet Travel

If a traveling amulet is acquired by any means other than the exchange mentioned above its magical powers remain inert until it is exchanged properly, at which point, both of the parties in the exchange gain the appropriate powers. Yes, this means that a character acquiring a Traveling Amulet from a fallen foe, for example, would have to exchange it with another creature to gain any actual powers from an amulet. Once a character has done this at least once, they are considered to be a genuine Amulet Bearer.

If an Amulet Bearer gives away or loses her Amulet by any means other than the appropriate exchange, she acquires a significant penalty likely to last beyond a single game session. (The suggested penalty is 3 points of Malaise.)

Should an Amulet Bearer (or one of her allies) rob or otherwise harm a character (or a known ally of such a character) with whom she has exchanged amulets in the same game session, she will acquire significant penalties for doing so. (The suggested penalty is 1-3 points of Malaise; 3 if both relevant parties were Amulet Bearers, 1 if both were allies of an Amulet Bearer involved in the exchange, and 2 if one was an ally and the other was an Amulet Bearer.)

Beginning with the game session immediately after the one in which an Amulet is triggered, the character acquires a small penalty at the end of every full game session it is retained until it is exchanged or otherwise given up. (The suggested penalty is 1 point of Malaise per game session conducted after the one in which the Amulet has been used.)

If the item is kept for more than a year without use, the same penalty is applied. (The suggested penalty is 1 point of Malaise per game session conducted after the year in question.)

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The Social Life of an Amulet and its Bearer

An Amulet Bearer has a vested interest in knowing the identity and location of other amulet bearing individuals. She even has an interest in letting her own identity and name be known to others bearing amulets, although doing so also carries its own risks. Known Amulet Bearers may attract potential trade partners, but they may also attract would-be thieves. So, Amulets and their Bearers tend to become public knowledge; stories will be told about them.

In many respects the full significance of a Traveling Amulet is as much a stimulant to role-play as it is a practical asset. A Traveling Amulet will lead a character into social interactions they would not otherwise have, and it will get them talking to creatures they might not otherwise speak with.

I would suggest that a GM aim for campaign in which a few amulets and their Bearers are known to the player characters, and one wherein with a little extra effort they may find one or two additional amulets. What one probably does not want is a campaign in which characters can shop freely for an amulet carried by the creature of their choice, nor does one want a campaign in which exchange is simply not possible and the burden of an Amulet is likely to weigh more heavily than the benefits.

Maintenance and care of a Traveling Amulet should not be taken for granted, but neither should it be overly burdensome, and the steps taken to manage one’s relationship to an amulet should generate interesting plots lines in their own right.

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The above description is presented in fairly general terms. For mor detailed rules, you may look here for D&D, 3.5 edition.