The Bad Man: A Don’t Rest Your Head Scenario — By Ryan Macklin and Fred Hicks

The Bad Man

A Don’t Rest Your Head convention scenario about
his Eyes
children overcoming their very real, very deadly
Nightmares and their first time in the Mad Cit y.
Ever since you went back to school after winter break,
things have been very, very disturbing. A monster has
taken up residence in your room, one that won’t leave
no matter what you do.
his Mouth
Of course, no one believes that this monster, this
Bad Man, lives outside your window, in your closet,
under your bed. Everyone says he’s not real, that it’s
just your imagination.
The way he looks at you with a deep, deep hunger—
that’s more than just your imagination. his Voice
You know that when you go to sleep, he will complet ely
devour you. So, you don’t sleep, not anymore.

One day, he says something different, something…

new. He beckons you to open your closet and come
inside.
With great hesitation, you do—though, you take a his Hands
moment to grab something in your room, something
you hope will help protect you.
That’s when you find yourself is a strange, nightmarish
cit y full of things that would love to eat little children
alive.
But it’s not just you there. Some of your classmates are
his Clothes
as well! The Bad Man’s been busy, making quite a few
children unable to sleep in their beds for fear of being
his next meal.
There’s only one way back home—make the Bad Man
go where all Bad Men deserve to go: Away.
his Feet

FFF
 The Bad Man: A Don’t Rest Your Head Scenario — By Ryan Macklin and Fred Hicks

zzWhy do you deserve to be punished?

The Questionnaire The sad truth is that you know why the Bad Man has come
for you. You did something you shouldn’t have, and now
zzWHY CAN’T YOU SLEEP? the Bad Man has found you, taunts you, and waits for you
The Bad Man is in your closet, under your bed, scraping to sleep.
outside at the window. He’s always whispering your name,
telling you how you’re naughty, how no one cares about Why are you a bad little boy or girl? What was so awful
you, how you’re going where all bad kids go—in his belly. that you did? Was it something genuinely monstrous—or
something tiny that just feels big?
Hiding under the cover makes him be quiet, but he’s always
there, and you know he’s going to eat you the moment you zzWHAT DO YOU WISH UPON A STAR FOR?
fall asleep. This is the thing you wish could happen—not wishing for
There’s something particular about the Bad Man that a pony or to be Superman, but to change your life. Maybe
frightens you more than anything. you wish for your prince or princess to come into your
life. Maybe you want mommy and daddy to stop fighting.
Note: each player (including the GM) will be randomly assigned Maybe you want someone you love to finally come home,
a piece of the Bad Man: eyes, mouth, hands, feet, voice, clothes. from a war, from a never-ending business trip, from alcohol
What is it? Why does that frighten you so? and drugs.

zzWHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU?

Maybe your mom or dad tucked you into bed peacefully. YOUR SPECIAL POWERS
Maybe you were sent to your room early for misbehaving. zzWHAT ARE YOU BESTEST AT?
For whatever reason, you were put to bed. [Your EXHAUSTION TALENT]
The moment no one else is around, The Bad Man starts What are you the best at in your class? Maybe it’s a talent
up again—except tonight is different. He’s whispering that everyone in your class knows you for—for good or ill.
something else in your ear, something new, something that Maybe it’s something the other kids don’t even know about,
convinces you to open up your closet and go inside. something you keep hidden.

What does he say? Is it an offer—or maybe a taunt? Are you good at sports, or math? Maybe sneaking around
and not getting caught? Or could it be you’re good at telling
And what did you bring with you? grown-ups lies? Is it something nice, like making people
Note: What you bring with you will tie into your special powers. feel happy and special, or mean, like beaning people with
Choose wisely, and make sure it gives you an idea! your slingshot?
Figure out one possible thing that you can do particularly well.
zzWHAT DO THE OTHER KIDS THINK OF YOU? Write it down.
Everyone in your class makes assumptions about you based
on how you’re dressed, what you eat for lunch, how much of zzWhat magical power do you have?
your homework gets done, whether you’re quiet or talkative [Your MADNESS TALENT]
in class. What do they think of you? What do they assume This place is dark and scary, but there’s hope! When you
about your home life? crossed from your bedroom into this nightmare-land, you
Are you the class nerd? Class clown? Bully? Miss Priss? got to take something with you. Maybe your teddy bear
Rich kid? Quiet kid? New kid? Talk with the other people helps protect you. Or your Spiderman underwear makes
around the table—they’re some of the Other Kids. you a superhero. Could be your Harry Potter book, letting
you be a wizard just like him. Whatever it is, that’s the only
zzWHAT IS HOME REALLY LIKE? thing that’ll help keep you from being eaten alive.
Life is never as simple as what everyone in class thinks, and Figure out one impossible thing that your special toy, book,
children are never happy with what they have. What’s life clothing, or other item lets you do. Write it down. If you don’t
really like at home? What makes you wish something was want to figure out what your impossible thing is yet, you don’t
different? That you were someone else? Who in your class have to! Just write down what your special item is, and we’ll
do you envy for their perfect life? discover what it can do, together, as we play.
 The Bad Man: A Don’t Rest Your Head Scenario — By Ryan Macklin and Fred Hicks

TheSE ARE THE Rules.

zzRolling the dice zzHelping Each Other
When you roll, gather all your discipline & exhaustion NOTE: This veers off from how Don’t Rest Your Head’s
dice. You may add one to six dice of temporary madness. helping rules work. That’s intentional—we’re doing something
different here!
Once per roll, you may increase your exhaustion by one.
To det ermine the degree of success, count up all the dice
You can help a friend...

that show 1, 2, or 3. ... by using your exhaustion talent (without the usual
To det ermine the st rength of a pool, find the die of that benefit). Describe how you’re using that talent to help,
color showing the highest number. and roll your current exhaustion dice. Those exhaustion
dice count as a part of your friend’s pool. Both you and
If you meet or beat the GM’s degree, you succeed. your friend will face the consequences of domination.
Otherwise, you fail.
... by using your madness talent. Describe how you’re
zzConsequences using that talent to help, and roll however many madness
dice you want to (GM sets the minimum). Those madness
To det ermine what dominat es, pick the pool with the highest
strength. If there’s a tie, go next highest strength, and so dice count as a part of your friend’s pool. Both you and
on. Still tied? Pick the first one on this list that’s tied. your friend will face the consequences.

If discipline dominat es, things stay under control.

Describe ... by taking the hit. Specify one friend you’re helping.
that. You have the option to remove a response check- If something other than Discipline dominates on that
mark or decrease your exhaustion by one. friend’s roll, you face the consequences instead.

If exhaustion dominat es,

your resources are taxed. Increase ... by spending hope for them (see below).
exhaustion by one. Describe how this drains you.
zzHurting each other
If madness dominat es,things get more chaotic. Check off If you must fight each other (PC vs. PC), here’s how.
a response and behave accordingly. Describe the crazy.
First, increase your exhaustion by 1 if it ’s below 2.
If pain dominat es,
you pay a greater price. A new coin goes Fighting other kids is tiring.
into the GM’s despair coffer. Describe the suffering.
Next, choose how many madness dice to roll. You have to
If exhaustion is increased above 6, you crash. roll at least one. Fighting is scary and infuriating!
If you must check off a response, but can’t, you snap. Then, the GM rolls at least 1 Pain per Player fighting.

If you crash, you fall asleep and face some other serious Finally, each player rolls their dice normally. You can
defeat (like death). bring in your exhaustion or madness talents if you wish.
If you snap, you go mad for a time, clear out your responses, The winner of the fight is the one with the most successes.
lose one discipline, and gain one permanent madness. If you tie, no one wins; something worse interrupts.
If you lose all discipline, you become a Nightmare. You’re Domination is det ermined normally for each participant.
an NPC now.
zzHope and Despair
zzUsing your special powers The GM may spend one coin of despair to add or remove a
To make minor use of an exhaustion talent, your exhaus- 6 from any pool in play; the coin then goes into the hope
tion must be at least one. When you use it, your minimum coffer. If this causes pain to dominate, no coin is paid
number of successes is equal to your current number of into the despair coffer. Describe how things get worse.
exhaustion dice.
Any player may spend one coin of hope to have a flash-
To make major use of an exhaustion talent, you must back. Describe it. Then remove one exhaustion or check
increase your exhaustion by one. You get extra successes mark from any protagonist’s responses, or to add a 1 to
equal to your current number of exhaustion dice. any protagonist’s discipline pool. The coin goes away.
To make use of a madness talent, you must add one to six Any player may spend five minus discipline in coins of hope
temporary madness dice to the roll. Based on the effect during a calm moment to recover one point of discipline
you’re angling for, the GM will set a minimum. and remove one point of permanent madness.
My Name Is... Discipline
start with 3 discipline dice
And I Am...
Permanent MadnesS
WHY CAN’T YOU SLEEP? start with none

the bad man will get you!

Current Exhaustion
start with 2 exhaustion dice

what does the bad man look or sound like?

Responses
WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU? Fight Or Flight
what did the bad man say to you?
mark through the circles you don’t have available!

What are you bestest At?

[Exhaustion Talent]
and so he beckoned you inside...

WHAT DO THE OTHER KIDS THINK OF YOU?

how do others see you?
minor use: roll your dice. if your successes are less
than the number of exhaustion dice you have, set
the successes of the roll equal to that number.
recess is over, kids major use: increase your exhaustion by one, and
roll your dice. add the number of exhaustion dice
WHAT IS HOME REALLY LIKE? you have to the successes on the roll (so if you
mommy’s all right, daddy’s all right have 3 exhaustion dice, +3 successes).

What magical Power Do You have?

[Madness Talent]
they just seem a little weird what did you bring with you into the mad city?

Why do you deserve to be punished?

everybody’s been a little bad ... ... and what does it let you do?

... what’s your story?

WHAT DO YOU WISH UPON A STAR FOR? 1-2 Dice means I can...
how would you change your life ...

3-4 Dice means I can...

5-6 Dice means I can...

... if you could?

 Evil Hat Productions believes that passion makes the best games.
It is this passion for gaming that raised Evil Hat to its acclaimed
position in the RPG community. Our games can be used to build
the best kinds of role-playing experiences—full of laughter, story-
telling, and memorable moments.
We started by running games at small conventions under the Evil
Hat banner, making face to face connections with some of the same
people who’ve worked on these products. Player to player, gamer to
gamer, we’ve passed our passion along into the gaming community
that has already given us so many years of lasting entertainment.
Today we don’t just run games, we don’t just make them, we
work with you to make your play the best it can be—the kind that
upholds and gives birth to passions of your own. That’s the Evil
Hat mission, and we’re happy to have you along on it.
You can find out more at www.evilhat.com

Don’t Rest Your Head

Don’t Rest Your Head is a sleek, dangerous little game, where
Don’t Rest Your

your players are all insomniac heroes with superpowers,

Head

fighting — and using — exhaustion and madness to stay alive,

and awake for just one more night, in a reality gone way wrong
A Game of Inso

called the Mad City. It features its own system, and is contained
mnia in the Mad
City

entirely within one book.

ISBN 978-0-9771534-2-8 • EHP1000 • $15.00

Evil Hat Prod

Don’t Lose Your Mind (Supplement):

uctions

ISBN 978-0-9771534-3-5 • EHP1001 • $20.00