FALLOUT

Note: A thorough examination of Fallout can be found in the Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition (p. x), and each official published scenario includes custom Fallout.

While Fallout is a means of mechanical character progression, it primarily serves as a reminder that the Investigators could very well become like the monsters they face if they are not careful. As such, it’s often best to customize Fallout to be specific to your scenario.

An Investigator can only take a maximum of 10 Fallout before their Inventory Slots are filled and they are lost to the horrors, so a campaign likely won’t need more than that unless you want to have some unique combinations across the party. A one-shot or short arc may only need 3 or 4 on hand.

Custom Fallout should make the Investigators a little stronger and also a little weirder. The character becomes more powerful, but it comes with a cost. Loose guidelines for different mechanical bonuses and their downsides are discussed below.

Attributes: Add d4 to STR, DEX, or CTRL up to a maximum of 18. This typically comes with a narrative change, either in a physical sense or to the character’s demeanor. Increased STR means you become physically more robust. Increased DEX means you become quicker or have a sharper eye. Increased CTRL means you’re better in touch with the strange and weird.
Armor & Stability: Add +1 up to a maximum of 3. Additional Armor generally comes with a physical change as the Investigator becomes more durable or harder to hit. Stability generally means an acclimation to the horrors has occurred, either through a growing sense of resolve or being directly connected to the horrors in some manner.
Abilities: These should be thematically similar to the abilities of the horrors. The effects are typically either profound and dangerous or incredibly specific. When in doubt, borrow from a Resonant Artifact or Ritual. Simple abilities can be performed without issue, but the more powerful the ability the higher the cost, either causing Stress for the user or for those that witness it. Using the ability then creates a feedback loop where it may end up causing further Fallout.

It’s also important to note that there is no hard requirement for Fallout to be beneficial in some manner. They can be purely detrimental if that better fits with the theme and tone of the scenario.

MUNDANE FALLOUT

There are occasions when an Investigator will receive Stress from a comparatively mundane source, such as seeing the body of a fallen ally or an item breaking at an inopportune time. In the event that this triggers Critical Stress, it may not seem appropriate for the situation for the Investigator to take a traditional Fallout. In this case, the Investigator takes the Stressed condition, which fills an Inventory Slot. When Stressed, each instance of Stress deals an additional +1. The Stressed condition can be cleared when the Investigator takes a few moments of rest in a safe place to center themself.

For additional alternatives, see Conditions.

GENERAL FALLOUT

Here are some examples of Fallout that are CC-BY 4.0 and therefore can be used directly or remixed for your own scenarios

Caustic Blood. Your blood turns to an acid-like substance. While it does not hurt you, it will harm others. If it makes contact with another being it causes d6 damage.
Hunted: You have become entwined with an entity that creeps ever towards you. It never stops, stalking you endlessly until you are dead. It can look like anyone. Only those connected to it (through Fallout, Rituals, cult influence, contract, pact, etc) can see it coming. Ever prepared, increase your HP by d4.
Re-Animated: Death will not be able to find you. Whenever you “die” (STR reaches 0) your body will become a Reanimated Dead (see Reanimated Dead in the Deluxe Edition Catalog of the Strange).
Exsanguinate: Consuming the blood or flesh from a living host will instantly replenish your HP, even in a risky situation.
Behold the Night: Your eyes shift to a dark shade of purple. You are able to perceive unimpeded, even in darkness.
Calcification: The bones upon your knuckles and hands harden in sharp spurs. While using them causes your skin to tear, your bare fists deal d6+d6 damage.
Chaos Rituals: A connection to the weird has been formed, but it is wild and outside of your control. Once per day you can perform a random Ritual without paying the cost.
Resonance: Your attunement to the strange makes you more able to locate and understand the nature of Resonant Artifacts. This boon is especially attractive to those who seek to harness Resonant Artifact for their own means.
Plagued by Visions: It comes for you every night, without fail. You do not know if they are from the beginning, or the end. All you know is that they won’t stop, and that they must mean something. After a week of nightmares, tell your Facilitator two distinct images that linger at the edge of your remembering. You gain +1 Stability.
Shadow Step: You can step through shadows. Every time you do you leave a bit of yourself behind. On use, your CTRL decreases by d4 (this does not trigger a Save or Fallout).
Heavy is the Head: An ethereal crown hangs above your head. It is not visible to all, only a special few. Tales have been told of your coming. Increase your CTRL by d6 (max 18).
The Hunt: It becomes harder to ignore the primal impulses that burn deep inside you. Your attacks are Enhanced. You become the primary target of otherworldly Horrors, and their attacks against you are also Enhanced.

Additional Fallout that has an open license that can be used are those included in SRD v2.0 and SRD v1.0.

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