Fears

Adding a Fear attribute to a character is a great way give them depth. It's a fun opportunity for role play. Whenever a specific game mechanic is attached to Fears, it's also an opportunity for unexpected stuff to happen, for game and story creation.

Here is a game agnostic D66 fears table borrowed from The lost bay toolkit. It can be easily used with any OSR RPG. The Fears could be generated upon character creation, or as an unwanted consequence of a shock or trauma. The table comes with simple optional rules:

A saving throw while experiencing fear is done at disadvantage.

A critical failure while experiencing fear induces a state of shock. The PC can’t do anything until a successful HEART/WIS/WILL throw.

A critical success while experiencing fear cancels the effects of fear for that scene.

The fears in the table are specific and evocative enough at the same time to fit various situations, and to be opened to interpretation by the players/GM.

Examples from the table

2-1	Failing in public	4-1	Becoming blind	6-1	Physical pain
2-2	Quiet crowds	4-2	Small spaces	6-2	Loud noises
2-3	Losing control	4-3	Heights	6-3	The moon

You can grab this table for free, as well as other GM Tools, here.