A.Guides

Conditioning economy

A thought can change your skills and the pressure you carry. Its timing matters as much as its effect.

Thoughts resurface after 12 hours of play. Dissonance lasts 2 hours. A thought's individual XP value does not establish its full conditioning cost.

Conditioning: 38
resurfaces after: 720 min
dissonant for: 120 min
Skill penalties: 60
Pressure: +1
Skill modifiers: -2 / -1

Anxiety12 conditioning thoughts Delirium13 conditioning thoughts Fatigue13 conditioning thoughts

Conditioning a thought

A gained thought can be reinforced, suppressed or forgotten. Its choices and the things you consume can affect it. The base skill-point cost is unknown; an individual XP value of zero does not establish that conditioning is free.

During dissonance

Dissonance raises the thought's associated pressure and can penalize skills. These effects have a duration. Plan around the skills a particular thought affects rather than treating every thought as the same cost.

Jar of Faces is one example. Its own description and dissonance condition explain when it applies; its linked skills show the penalties.

Choosing what to carry

Thoughts can pull different skills in different directions. Compare their effects with the conversations you hope to hear, and leave room for the pressure they may add.