History Main / SanityMeter

* In ''VideoGame/WeHappyFew'', the player has a meter measuring how much of the Joy drug is in their system. As the meter fills things look nicer, brighter and cheerier. If it fills completely then [[NonStandardGameOver everything is fine]], and there's no need to run around and [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential break into people's houses for food]].

* In the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' book ''Literature/HouseOfHell'' you collect FEAR points when something eerie happens. If your total ever equals or exceeds your FEAR score, you instantly die. Notably, it's literally impossible to get through the book if you roll poorly on your FEAR score -- you must score at least 7 points, which is the minimum FEAR score.

* ''[[TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost Changeling: the Lost]]'' has a Clarity rating for its characters. Unlike the standard [[KarmaMeter Karma Meters]] for the other World of Darkness games, Clarity is more a rating of how well a person's able to hold it together after being put through hell at the hands of TheFairFolk. Murder and theft count as sins, but so do taking psychotropic drugs and experiencing unexpected life changes.
** There is also the fact that in all of the gamelines, when the KarmaMeter decreases, a character has to roll to determine if they gain a Derangement. The Storyteller is advised to select a Derangement appropriate to whatever caused the KarmaMeter to decrease.
** The [[KarmaMeter Morality]] system has now been readjusted with the upcoming God-Machine Chronicle so that vanilla mortals now have Integrity instead. It doesn't so much measure general levels of moral degradation as it does one's ability to deal with the horrors of the world.
** The Trigger Points system in ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', pre-Integrity version, tracked sanity not so much in how moral you were but in how much you had skewed your Code to avoid Morality degeneration in pursuit of your Vigil. If you traded out enough killing-related ones you were likely to end up a slasher.

* In the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' book ''House of Hell'' you collect FEAR points when something eerie happens. If your total ever equals or exceeds your FEAR score, you instantly die. Notably, it's literally impossible to get through the book if you roll poorly on your FEAR score -- you must score at least 7 points, which is the minimum FEAR score.

* ''VideoGame/{{Phasmophobia}}'' has a sanity system that dictates whether the ghost can start a Hunt, whereupon it'll try to track down and kill players. Different ghosts have different thresholds for being allowed to hunt[[note]]ranging from 35% up to 80%[[/note]], and if there's more than one player then the team's average sanity is the deciding factor. Ghost events (moments when the ghost makes a non-hostile appearance), using Cursed Possessions, certain unique ghost abilities and staying in darkness reduce sanity[[note]]holding a lit candle negates sanity drain in dark areas[[/note]], while staying in brightly lit areas slowly restores it and taking Sanity Pills instantly recovers a chunk of it, with the amount recovered depending on the difficulty. Tarot Cards can either drain or recover sanity depending on which card is drawn[[labelnote:list]]"The Moon" zeroes the player's sanity, "The Sun" bumps sanity to 100%, and "Wheel of Fortune" can restore or drain 25% sanity depending on what color it burns away in, being purple for drain and green for recovery[[/labelnote]].

* Alice from ''[[VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice American McGee's Alice]]'' has two meters. Her Strength of Will is how much ass-kicking she can deliver while her Level of Sanity is how much more ass-kicking she can receive. She gets more sanity by drinking the life essence of creatures she's killed. Riiiight. Of course, when you're basically wandering around in your own head, and the creatures you're killing are literally your own inner demons made manifest, it makes a certain amount of sense that taking them down would improve your sanity. It's technically a Health Meter in all but name: WordOfGod said that plot-wise, this was just [[RuleOfCool a more interesting way]] for Alice to restore lost health than finding bandages or medicine lying around Wonderland like it's often done in games like this.

* Alice from ''[[VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice American McGee's Alice]]'' has two meters. Her Strength of Will is how much ass-kicking she can deliver while her Level of Sanity is how much more ass-kicking she can receive. She gets more sanity by drinking the life essence of creatures she's killed. Riiiight. Of course, when you're basically wandering around in your own head, and the creatures you're killing are literally your own inner demons made manifest, it makes a certain amount of sense that taking them down would improve your sanity. It's technically a Health Meter in all but name: WordOfGod said that plot-wise, this was just [[RuleOfCool a more interesting way]] for Alice to restore lost health than finding bandanges or medicine lying around Wonderland like it's often done in games like this.

* This returns with a vengeance in ''[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 the third game]]'' where hallucinations of the past 2 game's antagonists appear both in your cameras and your office. Staring at them for more than a glance will prompt them to jumpscare you, disabling your ventilation and other systems, causing you to briefly blackout until it's fixed. In a game where having a visual of your enemy is critical for your survival, this is a huge issue.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''

* The battle with [[EldritchAbomination Yogg-Saron]] from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' uses a sanity meter. Players start with 100, and Yogg has numerous abilities that reduce it. The only way to recover sanity is to stand in one of the green beams of light (sanity wells) situated around the room. If a player reaches 0 sanity, they go insane and begin to attack all the other players in the room until they are killed (the player will actually start seeing all his fellow players as Faceless Ones, servants of Yogg-Saron). This not only hurts the group by losing a friendly player, but said player can also kill other players while insane.

Compare MoraleMechanic, where the combatants' morale and fighting spirit are the ones being measured. See also Intoxication Mechanic, wherein a player character consuming mind-altering substances causes an InterfaceScrew.

Compare MoraleMechanic, where the combatants' morale and fighting spirit are the ones being measured. %%See also Intoxication Mechanic, wherein a player character consuming mind-altering substances causes an InterfaceScrew.

Compare MoraleMechanic, where the combatants' morale and fighting spirit are the ones being measured. %%See also IntoxicationMechanic, wherein a player character consuming mind-altering substances causes an InterfaceScrew.

Compare MoraleMechanic, where the combatants' morale and fighting spirit are the ones being measured. See also IntoxicationMechanic, wherein a player character consuming mind-altering substances causes an InterfaceScrew.

Compare MoraleMechanic, where the combatants' morale and fighting spirit are the ones being measured.

* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', being one big love-letter to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, references SAN points pretty often, such as when Mahiro sees Nyarko [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank brutally slaughter a nightgaunt]]. In fact, the opening theme for the 2013 series is underscored by a repeated chant of "SAN-chi, pinchi!" (often [[{{Mondegreen}} misheard as "sons of bitches"]]) which means "Your SAN points are in danger!"

* ''Literature/{{Threadbare}}'': Generica Online has an interesting variant where Sanity is both a measure of your ability to act rationally, and one of the primary [[{{Mana}} pools]] that skills draw power from. Most Sanity-based skills are spells, so magical classes tend to be very calm and rational until they've spent a few battles healing all their allies and they are literally down to the dregs of their Sanity. There are also a few spells and effects that attack Sanity, most of the associated with the Cultist Job.

* ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'' has an inverted Sanity Meter in the form of Depression. As with the other MultipleLifeBars, hitting 100% kills the character -- in this case, they're DrivenToSuicide. (The icon for the Depression meter is actually a ''noose''.) Things that can increase Depression include everything from getting in arguments with other party members, to doing difficult tasks like chopping wood or mining, to [[BreadEggsMilkSquick participating in a human sacrifice or finding supernatural horrors like what appears to be a gate to a zombie-filled underworld]], to [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking eating unappetizing food]].

** This carries over into the Bedroom level of fan game ''VideoGame/TheJoyOfCreationReborn'', where prolonged exposure to darkness and the animatronics makes the protagonist go insane, forcing you to keep the light on as long as possible and avoid looking at them.

* Despite giving the page quote, [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee himself]] uses sanity as a mechanic in his game ''VideoGame/TheConsumingShadow.'' You lose sanity when you are struck by enemies, flee from them (ostensibly as a result of fear or doubt), or through plain old poor luck in events. It is restored by receiving uplifting messages from those supporting you or doing good things for people. A shorter, non-permanent boost can be had by taking illegal drugs to numb yourself to the horrors happening around you. Notably, sanity is also your ManaMeter; using the various incantations in the game, even the beneficial ones, drains your sanity as [[GoMadFromTheRevelation your dabbling with occult forces you to accept the dreadful possibilities that it entails]].