Then of course the wonderfully inane mechanic "I'm just gonna do whatever the heck I want, because I went insane".
Aye, this is a huge part of why I lost interest in it to be honest. Particularly since characters get stressed from walking down a hallway, even. EVERYTHING stresses them out. Arent these guys supposed to be professionals or something? I've seen other games do this very mechanic, and I hated it in those as well. There's other ways you could have this work other than "goes crazy, does whatever". The whole mechanic seemed more like it was placed as a thematic thing rather than because it actually worked well as a gameplay element.
No, they aren't professionals. Not even close. Basically you hire the scum that no one wants. And even if some of the characters might seem as "mercenaries", they never had to deal with something like undead, pig mutants, living mushrooms and other hideous stuff. I would shit my pants as well if I had to walk down a dark corridor, not knowing what grotesque monster might jump out from the darkness.
However, it makes no sense it all for some characters. The Occultist basically EMBRACED the dark powers that have risen from the portal and still covers from fear. Shouldn't he be aware of everything he encounters? He uses the stuff himself for gods sake! The abnomination is another good example. It's a monster itself, even if that's not what it wanted, it is now one of them, so how can you be still a coward?If anything at all, THEY shoudl fear you because you turn their strentgh against them.
But besides these examples? Yep, everyone is basically just a coward that was lured in by you with the promise of fortune. You lied of course but now it's too late.
About bosses having two actions per turn: That a thing in some RPGs. Best RPG I know is Final fantasy X but the thing is, EVERYONE can have two turns in a row (or even more) because it has a free turn rotating system. Instead of rounds, the whole fight order is decided by your speed stat, so people with mor speed will appear more often in the turn order than those without. I wish Darkest Dungeon had this as well, but whatever.
Even that though doesnt make sense.
I mean, in a situation like that, someone's response is going to be panicky, yes, but it isnt going to be "scream about donkeys and stab myself in the face", which kinda sums up what happens in this game when someone loses it.
As an example that'd make a hell of alot more sense, take a gun using character, right? They're perfectly normal most of the time, but when you get them stressed out, instead of trying to glue their gun onto their head as a hat, their accuracy takes a massive blow (they're panicking too hard to aim properly) and they cant hit enemies past a certain distance whatsoever. You have a character who is still very messed up, in a state that is to be avoided, but A: it makes more sense, and B: it's less frustrating than simply turning him into a walking ball of RNG in a game that's already stuffed with it. You still have SOME functions you can fall back on with him but it's still a big blow that you need to avoid.
That, and getting rid of the whole "absolutely EVERYTHING causes stress" bit would also help. These guys get stressed out if they look at a flower too hard. It doesnt even result from bad player choices: It results from pure RNG. Most of the "choices" you make are binary yes/no sorts with no strategy to them, and when they go bad, OMG BAD EFFECT which usually amounts to a big pile of stress. If it happened as a result of a bad strategic decision, that'd be a whole different matter.
Still doesnt make much sense from a thematic point of view, either. What business do these idiots have in a foul dungeon if the mere thought of a small poodle sends them running for the hills? How did they ever develop those skills they have when they're THAT bloody paranoid?
