Flaws

Merits and Flaws are optional traits that a storyteller may choose to include, or prohibit, in her chronical. Properly used, the Merits and Flaws help players create and indivdualize their character. These Traits can provide player characters with added depth and personality, but Storytellers should be careful to ensure that any Traits chosen will not adversely influence the course of the chronicle or give one character an unfair advantage over the rest.

Merits and Flaws are divided into four categories: physical, mental, social and supernatural.

# General Flaws

These flaws can be taken, regardless of the Splat involved. These are taken from across the different Splat books and you can find the reference in each flaw. Some merits and flaws have been handled via House Rules in an attempt to keep ot consistent across the Splats. These can be found in House Ruled Merits and Flaws.

## General Physical Flaws

### Addiction (1 or 3 pt. Flaw)

You’re addicted to some activity or substance that interferes to some degree with your daily life. Perhaps you crave sex, drink constantly, or can’t stop playing video games. Whatever the nature of the addiction, it drives you to irrational and possibly dangerous extremes. A harmless habit, after all, isn’t really a Flaw.

The value of this Flaw depends upon the hazards of the addiction. A craving for some trivial enjoyment (games, tobacco, social media) is worth one point, but a drive to secure something illegal, dangerous, or both (cocaine, fight clubs, child porn, etc.) is worth three points. Severe addictions usually have a sense of moral wrongness about them as well, and they can cause social difficulties beyond the financial, legal, and physical and/ or psychological costs of the habit. The Flaw might come from any source – Ecstatic practices, psychological neurosis, physical compulsion, and so forth – that inspires deep-seated attachment to something troublesome.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Allergic (1-4pt. Flaw)

**Note: This flaw may be taken by any kind of character other than Garou**

You’re allergic to a substance. For one point, you get hives, sneeze or become dizzy upon prolonged contact with your bane, for two points, you swell up uncomfortably in the affected area, increasing all difficulties by one, and for three points, your reaction actually incapacitates you, increasing all difficulties by three. If the substance is really common in your chronicle, add an additional point to this Flaw.

A redcap who accidentally eats something he’s allergic to is in trouble. A Stamina roll is required, otherwise he’ll immediately vomit everything in his stomach. Furthermore, any time he wants to do anything more strenuous than walk for the next half hour, a Willpower roll is necessary to see if another attack of nausea hits.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Impediment (1 to 6 pt. Flaw)

Due to some physical condition, you’re less able to deal with certain situations than most other people seem to be able to do. And if all of that sounds very conditional, that’s because the specifics of this Flaw depend a lot on the following circumstances:

* What sort of condition you have.
* How much it gets in your way.
* Whether or not other people can tell that it gets in your way.

Literally speaking, an impediment interferes with your path by “blocking your feet.” System-wise, this Flaw reflects any sort of impairment that’s based in your character’s physical situation. That includes neurological and internal chemical conditions like autism, dyslexia, chronic fatigue, significant allergies, and other maladies that may be “invisible” to others but which are rooted in the physical body, as opposed to in the psyche or the spirit. Such conditions might be linked to psychological and /or spiritual health too; those elements are interrelated, of course. For the purposes of this Flaw, however, an Impediment is something that hampers the character’s ability to function in the physical realm.

Story-wise, an Impediment can be any body-based condition – obvious or not – that interferes with your character’s ability to do stuff. Examples of obvious Impediments include a missing limb, a limp, a bent spine, missing teeth, heavy scarring, deformed features, and the like, while “invisible” Impediments would include chronic pain and /or fatigue, poor eyesight, asthma, internal tumors, sensory processing disorders, and so forth. The more that condition impedes your character, the more this Flaw is worth:

* (1 point) Like chronic headaches, impaired vision, minor arthritis or a few missing teeth, the Impediment presents occasional inconveniences but is not a major hassle in your life unless something worsens the condition or removes the things (glasses, dentures, pain reliever) that you use to compensate for it.
* (2 points) As with dyslexia, high-functioning Asperger’s syndrome, chronic fatigue or pain, poor or deteriorating eyesight, or other internal obstacles, your Impediment presents constant but not insurmountable problems. In certain situations, you may suffer a +1 to difficulties that deal with that element of your life.
* (3 points) Your Impediment – severe migraines, significant autism, allergies or asthma, missing fingers or an eye, near-deafness, palsy, Tourette’s syndrome, deteriorating limb(s), and so forth – significantly impairs several elements of your everyday life. System-wise, you add +1 to difficulties related to your Impediment.
* (4 points) An inescapable Impediment – missing limb, profound deafness or autism, near-blindness, malformed bones or connective tissues (as with EDS, mentioned above), severe arthritis, gnarled hands or feet, and similar obstacles – forces you to try working around that condition on a daily basis. Under most circumstances, you add +2 to difficulties related to that Impediment, and certain situations (like a nasty allergic reaction) might damage your health and endanger your life.
* (5 points) Thanks to a profound physical condition – partial paralysis, constant and severe pain, advanced cancer, the inability to hear or speak, muscular-skeletal deterioration, major sight-loss, and other maladies – you’re unable to function in most ways that people take for granted. Add +2 to physical difficulties unless you’ve got a reliable way to compensate for that handicap, and assume that you simply cannot do certain things at all.
* (6 points) For whatever reasons, your condition is so advanced and severe that you need major work-arounds in order to function in the everyday world. Many physical feats are beyond you, and you add +2 or even +3 to difficulties of things you can do but only with a major effort.

The Flaw reflects practical impairment in the character’s life; if your mage has a cybernetic arm that acts like his original arm only better, then that character is not impaired until or unless that arm breaks down. If someone cures this condition with magick or some other treatment, then the character loses this Flaw.

All forms of Impediment are not created equal, and so one “blind” person can function in the seeing world better (that is, with fewer points in the Flaw) than another visually-impaired person (with more points in the Flaw) can do. The Impediment’s value may also reflect several different conditions that, taken together, impede that character’s ability to function “normally” more than any single condition does. As an example, this author has dyslexia, dyscalculia, poor vision, and two chronically injured knees; does this stop him? No. Does it slow him down in certain respects? It sure does, and so the total of his “Flaw” would reflect the amount of difficulty that these conditions, all told, present in daily life.

This Flaw serves as a catch-all for previously published Physical Flaws like Blind, Deaf, and especially the pejorative Lame. Unlike many of the labels applied to such “handicaps,” the Impediment Flaw does not carry any form of judgment on the part of the game itself; although characters (and players) might think less of a “lazy” person with five points in Impediment due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the Flaw itself is not intended in any way to be an insult against people with such conditions.

On that note, an unobvious Impediment may present significant social challenges; a person with Tourette’s Syndrome may seem perfectly healthy even as her brain misfires, with the only visible symptoms being “inappropriate” sounds or actions. (See the Mental Flaw: Inappropriate, p. 46) That mage with CFS could be considered “too lazy to get out of bed” by people who don’t see her body sabotaging her from the inside out. And so, the value of the Flaw – with the Storyteller’s approval – might reflect a penalty to social-based rolls instead of physical ones in certain situations. (“Why weren’t you at work again?” “I couldn’t take ten steps without falling over.” “Yeah, right…”)

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Tic/Twitch (1pt. Flaw)

You have some sort of repetitive motion that you make in times of stress, and it’s a dead giveaway as to your identity. Examples include a nervous cough, constantly wringing your hands, cracking your knuckles, and so on. It costs one Willpower to refrain from engaging in your tic.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Easily Intoxicated (2 pt. Flaw)

Shit really fucks you up fast. The flipside of Alcohol /Drug Tolerance, above, this Flaw renders you especially susceptible to intoxication. Your Stamina rolls to resist the effects of drugs or poisons (though not disease), as described in the Drugs, Poisons, and Disease section of Mage 20, suffer a +3 modifier to the usual difficulty involved. Contrary to popular conception, this does not make you a good candidate for the Cult of Ecstasy because you don’t control the drugs – the drugs control you.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Repulsive Feature (2 pt. Flaw)

Some physical feature of yours turns people away. Maybe you smell bad regardless of your state of hygiene, possess the proverbial “evil eye,” have an especially grating voice, suffer from a pervasive skin condition, or have a similarly repugnant physical characteristic. Perhaps the mere presence of you makes people’s skins crawl even though there’s nothing discernibly ugly about you. In any case, this feature discourages folks from sticking around much.

Essentially the inverse of the Merit: Enchanting Feature, this Flaw represents a concealable yet disconcerting element of your physical presence. Unlike Impediment, this Feature affects the way people regard you, not the way your body functions. That said, you could take both Flaws together, in order to reflect a physically debilitating condition that has socially awkward effects as well. The feature in question doesn’t represent overall ugliness, as per Monstrous, below; instead, it manifests as a single unpleasant physical distinction.

System-wise, this Flaw adds a +2 difficulty modifier to Social-Trait rolls whenever this feature comes into play. Story-wise, this Flaw renders you physically distinctive unless you make an effort to hide the Repulsive Feature. If you change shape, that feature carries over into your other forms, which interferes with disguise attempts. If the feature transcends visual senses (like, for example, an unpleasant odor or grating voice), it might betray your presence even if you can’t be seen. In both cases, this Flaw penalizes your rolls for physical concealment the same way it penalizes your social interactions.

As some consolation, the feature could be used to deliberately frighten or irritate people; in that case, the usual penalty becomes a -2 to your difficulty instead.

((Cavet for Mages: A Repulsive Feature that has been integrated into your magickal focus (again, for instance, the “evil eye”) offers the same instrumental benefits described under Enchanting Feature, with the same potential for mutilation and a greater incentive for someone to mess you up!))

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Profiled Appearance (2 pt. Flaw)

You look like one of those people… y’know, the people that “respectable citizens” expect bad things from. Depending on the setting of your chronicle, this could involve physical mannerisms, body art, gender distinctions, individual features, ethnic heritage, cybernetic modifications, or other elements of your physical body that you cannot remove and probably don’t want to “fix” anyhow. Problem is, the people around you are constantly watching your every move, making trouble for you when they can get away with it, and otherwise causing you grief. The authorities shake you down on principle, and most folks won’t object to whatever they choose to do to you.

Although it’s related to the Social Flaw: Cultural Other (below), Profiled Appearance is based on your character’s physical features, not on their social behavior. Although it can be concealed to some degree, your Profiled Appearance is not something that can be removed without magick, and it reflects an essential part of your identity. Like Impediment, it does not carry a value judgment in the game even though it represents the way other characters will view you. If this feels unfair in the game, imagine how it must feel in real life.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Lazy (3pt. Flaw)

You are simply lazy, avoiding anything that requires effort on your part. Preferring to let others do the hard work, you lounge around. For any action that requires preparation, there’s a good chance you didn’t properly prepare. Difficulty rolls for spontaneous Physical actions (including combat, unless it’s part of a planned offensive) increase by one.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Monstrous (3 pt. Flaw)

A frightening appearance marks you as an outsider. Regardless of your true personality and temperament, some profound deformities, scars, body mods or other characteristics fill people with terror and revulsion. System-wise, your character has an Appearance of 0, and probably suffers penalties to social-based rolls to win people over, while getting difficulty reductions when trying to scare people, depending upon what he looks like and who he’s dealing with.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Barren/Sterile (4 pt. Flaw)

For Kinfolk who serve werewolves as perpetuators of the species, inability to reproduce is a serious Flaw indeed. Not only does it carry a social stigma, it may also incur abuse, neglect, or even exile. Kinfolk who can’t reproduce lose a great deal of their value in Garou eyes. For obvious reasons, vampire and wraith who were Kin can’t take this Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Corebook

## General Mental Flaws

### Airhead (1 pt. Flaw)

Your personal concerns are so important that you tend to be clueless about the real world or what is going on around you. This may be your means of avoiding problems or retreating from your fears; nevertheless, you don’t often use your brain to its best advantage — or any advantage, it seems. Those who know you describe you as “spacey,” and their patience often wears thin around you. You fade in and out of conversations, insert non sequiturs, or just plain fail to get it. The Garou and even your own Kin make fun of you behind your back.

**Source:** W20 Kinfolk

### Compulsion (1 pt. Flaw)

An almost reflexive mental tic drives you toward compulsive, often subconscious, behaviors. In some cases, especially among mages, these behaviors manifest as ritualized activities: hand-washing, obsessive grooming, doing a task exactly the same way every time, and so forth. Other compulsions inspire annoying habits (humming, making farty noises with your mouth, speaking out loud even when you don’t mean to, etc.), or potentially harmful activities like shoplifting, gambling, or hitting on everything that moves, which manifest when you’re under stress. (A seriously harmful compulsion could be considered a Derangement Flaw instead, as referenced below.)

Minor compulsions tend to get chalked up to the rationalization, “That’s just what she’s like.” If you want your character to avoid a serious compulsion, however, you must spend a Willpower point in order to put off that behavior for a little while. However, once that little while is up (Storyteller’s discretion), your character is again compelled to perform that activity… unless you spend another Willpower point… to put it off again for a little while longer…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Hero Worship (1 pt. Flaw)

You adore another character, to the point where that person can do no wrong as far as you’re concerned. Attempts to sway your opinion will just piss you off, shut you down, or drive you to heights (or depths) of absurd justification for whatever someone says about him. A common trait among folks in an Echo Chamber (see the Social Flaw of that name), this psychological blind spot can become annoying, even hazardous, if centered on the wrong person… like, say, a Syndicate Manager, a Nephandus, or certain presidential candidates!

If your hero tells you to do something, you’re inclined to obey, and must make a Willpower roll in order to refuse their desires. The difficulty for this roll depends upon the extremity of those desires; “Gimme a kiss,” would probably be difficulty 5, while “Go stab your best friend in the back for me” would be 9 or 10. If and when you’re confronted with proof of your hero’s weaknesses, you are capable of seeing reason eventually – it’s just not easy to get you to think so clearly. Any social roll that’s aimed at getting you to discard your hero worship adds +2 to its difficulty unless the hero has recently done something very wrong… like, say, telling you to stab your best friend in the back for him!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Impatient (1 pt. Flaw)

You’re driven to act now, not wait till later. In situations where other folks seem to just take for-freakin’-ever to get something done, make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) to restrain yourself from just running off to do it your own damn self! Yes, that difficulty may go up if… maybe when… you have to wait even longer than before. God, would the rest of the world would just get moving already?

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Inappropriate (1 to 4 pt. Flaw)

Wow – did you just go there? Yep, you did… and will go there again soon enough. Thanks to some quirk of personality, you tend to say and do things that other folks frown upon, typically at the least appropriate times. You make cooked-cat jokes in Asian restaurants, say what’s on your mind when it’s best to keep your mouth shut, and stumble over courtesy like it was a kiddie-gate you weren’t tall enough to avoid. This could involve activities too, like picking your nose in front of an elder or showing Martyrs to your 8-year-old niece. God damn it all, what were you thinking?

Minds do weird shit, and so this Flaw reflects a mental condition or psychological kink that drives the character toward embarrassing behaviors. Contrary to popular belief, this does not necessarily mean the character is Asperger’s /autistic, although it could compliment the physical Flaw: Impediment if that Flaw represents an autistic spectrum condition that manifests in especially inappropriate behavior. (An autistic character does not have to take this Flaw, as many folks on the spectrum do not behave this way.) The quirk in question might come from a strange upbringing, psychic trauma, past lives acting out (“What? In MY day, this sort of thing was perfectly acceptable!”), alien cultural mores, social isolation, Avatar dickery, or any other mental stutter that screws with social-pattern recognition. A physical condition, like autism or Tourette’s syndrome, is more suited to the Impediment Flaw.

As with Impediment, the value of this Flaw depends upon the degree to which it causes problems for your character:

* (1 point) You occasionally say and do silly shit that causes small degrees of embarrassment to you and your friends. +1 difficulty to social rolls if and when you act out.
* (2 points) Your quirk inspires some pretty mortifying behavior on a fairly regular basis. +1 difficulty to many social rolls, even when you’re not acting out at the moment.
* (3 points) Dude, you need to STFD and STFU or you’re going to be in big trouble… again. +2 difficulty to all social rolls that aren’t related to making an ass of yourself.
* (4 points) You are a source of constant headaches to anyone who dares to identify as your friend. +2 difficulty to social rolls, plus a bad reputation among folks who’ve met or heard of you.

For obvious reasons, this Flaw could be a major-league trigger for certain players, especially if the inappropriate behavior includes bigotry and /or sexual misbehavior. A player who decides to take this Flaw should discuss it with her Storyteller and fellow players… and if it becomes a source of real-life friction around the table, the Flaw should be discarded, or else played “offstage” rather than acted out in real time. **IT SHOULD NEVER BE USED AS AN EXCUSE FOR REAL-LIFE DICKERY, EVER.** (Was that clear enough?) This Flaw is intended as a “mature audiences” option that reflects the unfortunate effects of mental malfunctions and social maladjustments. If a player cannot employ this Flaw in a mature manner, then it should not be employed at all.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Mental Lock (1 pt. Flaw)

Somewhere in between impulse and action, things get stuck inside your head. Thoughts or images wind up caught in mental loops, and you occasionally find yourself tripping over words, getting stuck in patterns of speech, or repeating apparently uncontrollable activities (flapping your hands, shaking your head, rubbing your wrists, and so forth) which, under most circumstances, would be easy to stop or manage. Sometimes known as perseveration or stimming (see the Merit: Hyperfocus), these mental tics often manifest from brain damage, emotional trauma, intense stress, and /or autism and other sensory-processing conditions. Conventionally and incorrectly called “nervous habits,” these mental quirks may be attempts to control your apparently chaotic surroundings by giving your brain something that feels like you can control it. Problem is, you essentially have to shake yourself out of the locked pattern, concentrate on a new sensation in order to break the loop, invoke a sort of “ritualized” word or action that triggers a break in that loop, or employ some other method to break free of the mental lock. Until that point, you could find yourself stuttering even though you don’t have a speech impediment, feel “frozen” on words or thoughts you can’t easily articulate, lock into near-obsessive ruminations on nonsense phrases or perilous thoughts, get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, or otherwise wind up focused on an internal feedback cycle.

System-wise, the Storyteller will occasionally drop small but annoying quirks into your character’s ability to speak, suggest small, repetitious actions for your character to perform, and otherwise screw with your character’s capacity to move beyond a single nagging thought. To break those mental locks, you’ll need to roll your character’s Willpower against difficulty 7, spend a temporary point of Willpower, or else stand around “locked up” in mid-thought or action until you can break that irritating mental block through force of will or (after five turns) the simple passage of time.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Nightmares (1 pt. Flaw)

You experience horrendous nightmares every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours. Upon awakening, you must succeed on a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) or lose a die on all actions for that day.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Overconfident (1 pt. Flaw)

You’re the best there is at what you do. If other folks disagree, then that’s their problem, not yours! Nothing is beyond your reach, and so you almost never back down from a challenge, no matter how absurdly outmatched you appear to be at the time. If things go poorly, of course, you can always blame someone else. After all, it’s clearly not your fault!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Shy (1 pt. Flaw)

Interpersonal relations are not your forte. Commonly known these days as social anxiety, this Flaw adds +2 to the difficulty of your social rolls, thanks to your discomfort when dealing with other folks. If, all the gods forbid, you wind up as the center of attention (a situation you avoid whenever possible), your social rolls gain a +3 addition to their difficulty. Story-wise, this shyness comes across as avoidance, introversion, and awkwardness in many social situations even when you actually want to hang out and make a good impression.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Soft-Hearted (1 pt. Flaw)

You hate to witness suffering. Sadly, the World of Darkness is filled with pain, and so you often find yourself either avoiding potentially traumatic situations or trying to ease suffering even when that puts you in the line of fire too.

When confronted with someone else’s physical or emotional pain, make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8). If you fail, your character either withdraws from the situation or possibly (if his beliefs /faith /paradigm /Nature demands action) does something reckless in order to prevent further suffering. A successful roll means that you can act normally… which could still involve withdrawal or recklessness, but displaying a bit more self-control.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Speech Impediment (1 pt. Flaw)

For psychological reasons (as opposed to a physical reason, as per the Flaw: Impediment), you speak with some sort of frustrating imperfection: a lisp, a stutter, a too-broad accent, a whisper, and so forth. Clearly, this interferes with your attempts to wax eloquent; System-wise, add +2 to the difficulty of rolls that involve speaking clearly. This Flaw should be roleplayed out whenever possible, and it carries over if your character changes into some other form… after all, it’s your mind, not your body, that’s causing the problem; if it is your body, then take the Flaw: Impediment instead.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Vanilla (1 pt. Flaw)

Oh my gods, you’re such an innocent! In a world filled with sex magick and power plays, you’re the little lamb who’s strayed far away from home. Jokes get past you, clues escape you, and references to anything rawer than a Disney flick go straight over your head. Maybe you grew up in a secluded place with overprotective parents; or you could be in denial about the things you see all around you because life can’t possibly be that twisted… can it? Regardless, hold firm to your innocence. Once it’s gone, it ain’t never coming back again!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Whimsy (1 pt. Flaw)

You get silly under stress. It’s an avoidance tactic, and while such behavior can be endearing in small doses, your whimsical streak can get kinda annoying after a while, especially for folks who have to deal with you pulling out hand puppets in the middle of an argument or tossing grapes down your covenmate’s cleavage when she’s trying to have a serious conversation with you. In especially stressful situations, you might need to make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) to not clown around. Hey, you can’t help it, right, if you’re trying to lighten the mood? Jeeze, why does magick have to be so damned serious…?

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Curiosity (2 pt. Flaw)

You simply can’t resist a good mystery! A nagging sense of curiosity drags you into all kinds of sticky situations. Given your abilities, you’ve got a decent chance at finding things out, too… which is not, especially in the World of Darkness, an especially healthy thing to do. Isn’t that just like a damn mage, anyway?

When confronted with an enticing clue or enigmatic circumstance, make a Wits roll to avoid giving in to temptation. The difficulty for that roll depends upon the situation: a casual mystery (like, say, the identity of that intriguing girl behind the counter at Starbucks) would be difficulty 5, while resisting a more compelling sort of mystery (like the identity of the person who dropped off a dozen roses at your Chantry house) would be difficulty 9. Once you’re on the trail, few things short of a deadly threat will make you stop… and said deadly threat might simply encourage you to dig even deeper.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Icy (2 pt. Flaw)

You are one ice-cold bastard – an assassin, gangbanger, sociopath, or sadist who can commit atrocities without the slightest twitch. Although you’re not necessarily insane, your callousness marks you as a creepy motherfucker. People avoid you unless they’ve got killing that needs doing… and then they step back and let you do your thing. Room 101 has positions for people like you (and so, despite their good-guy façade, do the Traditions and Disparate groups), but no one truly trusts you, and your soul is definitely in peril, with the Fallen only a step or two away from owning your cold ass.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Intemperate (2 pt. Flaw)

Everything you do, you do to excess. Oh, sure, you can (usually) resist the urge to be terminally stupid, but moderation isn’t part of your vocabulary. Having a drink? Why not have six? A hand of cards? Why not bet your next paycheck on the outcome? From expressing opinions to risking body and soul, you play chicken with life and expect the other guy to swerve. Folks expect this sort of thing from Ecstasy Cultists, but most Ecstatics actually have a better sense of their limits than you do.

Whenever you happen to be doing something that probably won’t result in criminal charges or immediate death, make a Willpower roll to resist the urge to go whole-hog. The difficulty for the roll depends on the likely consequences of excess; taking little risks means difficulty 8 or 9, while risks with life-threatening potential are easier to resist (difficulty 5 or 6)… though you’ve been known to go too far in that department, too!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Obsession (2 pt. Flaw)

An all-consuming interest of yours tends to overshadow whatever passes, in your mind, for common sense. If you love Star Wars, then you’ve seen all the movies many times over, own tons of merchandise, and spend inordinate amounts of time arguing about SW trivia. Is Tarot your obsession? Then you’ve got dozens (if not hundreds) of decks, research every potential element of Tarot significance, and drive your friends crazy with constant offers of readings and advice. You can’t have just one or two cats – you’re the local Crazy Cat Person who drops half a paycheck on food, litter, and veterinary bills. This obsession probably won’t get you killed or anything (unless you’re crazy enough to get obsessive about werecritters or similarly fatal topics), but it consumes vast amounts of time, attention, and cash. When faced with an opportunity to pursue your obsession down unexplored avenues, or if that obsession interferes with important things like relationships, work or both, you may need to make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) to suppress the urge. And if the obsession involves something that’s compulsive by nature – gambling, for example – the Willpower roll could involve a difficulty of 8 or maybe higher before you can shake off your compulsion and focus on something else.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Phobia (2 or 3 pt. Flaw)

Irrational terror grips you whenever you face the subject of your Phobia: crowds, heights, Black Suits, and so forth. Such terror probably stems from psychic trauma, Social Processing, or some other incident that carved its niche within your mind. Although mages pride themselves upon their strength of will, everybody’s got their weaknesses; this primal fear is one of yours.

The subject of your Phobia must be defined at the time this Flaw is selected. Anytime you’re confronted with that situation, make a Willpower roll or else flee that fearsome situation. Even if you do succeed, you’ll need to roll at least three successes in order to approach the object of your fears and deal with it head-on. The Storyteller bases the difficulty of that roll upon the circumstances of the encounter. An unexpected brush with a normal wolf spider would rate a difficulty of 6 or 7 for an arachnophobe, while being dropped into a pit full of titanic wolf spiders would be, shall we say, somewhat higher. (Difficulty 9 or 10, you poor bastard.)

This Flaw has a three-point variation when applied to vampires and werekin; mages, however, are not subject to uncanny frenzies the way such creatures are, and so the Flaw is worth only two points to a mage or other non-frenzying character. As an optional rule, the Storyteller may allow a character with the Berserker Merit or the Stress Atavism or Beast Within Flaws to take this Flaw for three points, with the character freaking out and destroying everything in her way as she tries to escape if and when the Willpower roll is failed.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### PTSD (2 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Awful experiences have given you a hair-trigger response to certain situations. Anxiety, aversions, phobias, sudden rage… whatever the symptoms might be, this post-traumatic stress disorder acts as a protective shield against further harm. Unlike a derangement, this Flaw doesn’t induce delusions – your character remains lucid enough. Still, her fears kick in at difficult, sometimes unpredictable, times, undermining every attempt at whatever passes for a normal life in the Awakened world.

As usual, the different levels of this Flaw manifest in various levels of severity:

* (2 points) Your PTSD conjures occasional nightmares and anxieties under certain rare circumstances (confronting ghosts, dealing with demons, entering the wilderness, and so forth).
* (3 points) The trauma triggers phobias or other strong reactions to more common situations (dealing with elders, facing financial difficulty, etc.).
* (4 points) Reactions become more extreme – near-panic, powerful aversion, rapid mood swings – and provocations become more common (gunshots, confrontations, raised voices, etc.).
* (5 points )Your PTSD kicks off major reactions – fightor-flight panic, vivid flashbacks, moments of stark terror, incapacitating catatonia – in fairly common situations (sex, arguments, financial transactions, etc.). Even without the specific stimulus, you suffer from nightmares, social anxieties, fear of common things, and other circumstances that could evoke the traumatic event(s).

Sadly common in the World of Darkness, PTSD reflects deep-seated pain caused by things that a person might not even recall. Combat, torture, accidents, poverty, sexual violation, domestic violence, parental abuse… anything that can destroy a person’s sense of safety might cause PTSD. Despite its sometimes extreme nature, PTSD is a perfectly rational response to harm. Because of that, it can be difficult to treat successfully, even with advanced psychiatry or Mindbased magicks. In most cases, a person suffering from PTSD simply learns to live with the symptoms and avoid the triggers that can set off a reaction.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Rat in a Cage (2pt. Flaw)

Anytime you are penned in or physically restrained (such as by a cage, or with handcuffs), you suffer acute anxiety. The difficulties of any rolls made under such circumstances are increased by two.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Rose-Colored Glasses (2 pt. Flaw)

Known sardonically as Rose-Colored Mirrorshades among Technocracy operatives, this Flaw reflects a rather delusional loyalty to your faction of choice. Essentially, your team can do no wrong as far as you’re concerned. Their cause is just, their paradigm unshakable, their deeds necessary under the circumstances, no matter how extreme those deeds might be. Your character views almost anything the group does in its most favorable light… which, considering how awful Awakened groups can be, means that you’re choosing to overlook a great deal. Confronted with inconvenient truths, you can get downright irrational, abusive, or even fanatical. If you’re ever confronted with truths you cannot deny, avoid, or slander away, the shock could devastate you for years to come – very possibly driving you into the arms of a diametrically opposed faction for which you’ll hold a similar sort of loyalty.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Short Fuse (2 pt. Flaw)

Anger management is not your strong suit. When something or someone pisses you off (which happens with distressing regularity), you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) or else deal with that shit gloves-off style. You probably won’t use deadly (or vulgar) force too recklessly, as you’re not long for this world if you do. Your infamous temper, however, can have severe long-term effects on your popularity, health, and status among your peers and superiors… which is itself a lethal proposition among members of the Technocratic Union and other groups that pride themselves on self-control.

For a more extreme version of this Trait, see the Supernatural Flaw: Beast Within.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Vengeful (2 pt. Flaw)

They’ve hurt you, and now they’ll pay! Someone has committed a crime you cannot and will not forgive, and whenever you get the chance, you’ll shower them with red-hot vengeance. This grudge has become your highest priority in life – everything else is merely a distraction. You may put this quest for revenge aside temporarily if you spend a Willpower point in order to do so. Until the guilty parties have been punished, though, vengeance drives you to become that most dangerous of creatures: a mage on a mission that ends only with blood.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Wyld Mind (2pt. Flaw)

Your mind is extremely chaotic and unpredictable. As a result, you have difficulty concentrating on any one task. You must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 4) for every extended action roll after the second.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Absent-Minded (3 pt. Flaw)

Um… what was that thing you were trying to remember, again? Damn… This Flaw reflects a scatterbrained sense of memory and connection – nothing quite as dangerous as full Derangement, but a distressing and occasionally hazardous disconnection nonetheless.

System-wise, your Storyteller will often have you make Intelligence rolls to recall things like names, faces, mission details, and so forth. Story-wise, you’re forever drawing blanks, mistaking people for other folks, scrambling data, leaving projects half-finished (or totally abandoned), forgetting to feed your familiar, and making potentially hazardous errors in judgment. Although you won’t forget vital things like your name, the elements of your magickal focus, or vital character Traits (Talents, Abilities, and Knowledges), other stuff slips your mind with frustrating regularity. And when that mind commands the powers of True Magick, such slips can have fatal consequences.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Bigot (3 pt. Flaw)

You really fucking hate those people, whoever “those people” happen to be. Those people probably don’t like you either. Okay, maybe you don’t make your feelings obvious, but your conviction that those people are inferior troublemakers who are Everything Wrong with the World Goddammit comes through in your actions and decisions even if you say nothing of the kind out loud. Such prejudices determine your choice of friends and enemies, guide your beliefs, influence your politics, and tend to spill out at inconvenient times if you lose your temper. (See Short Fuse, above.) You might end up changing your mind someday, but for the moment, bigotry is the lens through which you view your world… and especially for mages, that sort of thing means quite a bit to the world at large

Despite the conventional (and not inaccurate) view of bigots as raging racists, sexists, and homophobes, supposedly liberal people can be bigots too; the worst kinds of bigots, in fact, are often self-righteous folks whose claims of open-mindedness get undercut by a quiet yet implacable prejudice against those people. Older versions of this Flaw rated it at only two points; in the twenty-first century, however, bigotry is more likely to get you in trouble if and when it’s revealed, especially on the Internet or in mass media… unless, of course, you’re running for president, or otherwise speaking up for folks who share your views, in which case you become a saint to some people and a demon to others.

It’s worth noting that bigots tend to have understandable reasons for their prejudices. Those reasons could stem from personal grievances, cultural bias, racial anxieties, scriptural proclamations, psychic trauma, gender clashes, philosophical paradigms, and – especially within Mage’s world – physical and metaphysical distinctions between “us” and “them.” Those reasons probably seem like bullshit to most people, but remain perfectly justified to the bigot in question.

It’s also worth noting that this Flaw should not in any way be taken as a license to abuse your fellow players. As with other mature-audience subjects, a character’s prejudices might become a trigger for real-life tensions within the group, and should thus be handled carefully.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Chronic Depression (3 pt Flaw)

Regardless of your external circumstances, you often feel drawn toward despair. Everything seems overwhelming, pointless, and at best a fucking joke at the world’s expense. That feeling pervades each aspect of your existence: your attitude, your physical health, your relationships, and even – especially! – your approach to magick and all its manifestations. TL/DR: It really sucks to be you.

Often viewed as a purely psychological issue (“It’s all in your pretty little head…”), chronic depression tends to be linked to physiological Impediments, as in the Physical Flaw of that name. This Flaw can also reflect the psychic aftermath of Paradox backlashes, Quiet episodes, Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, Mind-Sphere attacks, and other forms of trauma (breakups, violation, disaster, and the like), although trauma-induced depression is most often a manifestation of the Flaw: PTSD, referenced above. Regardless of its origins, the psychological element of depression is inescapable. The emotional weight of constant despair tends to sap physical vitality, which comes back around and inspires more depression. No wonder chronically depressed people have a hard time “living life to the fullest.” On some days, just getting out of bed without falling into a crying heap is a challenge.

Story-wise, this Flaw influences roleplaying and character descriptions as suggested above. System-wise, it often requires you to make a Willpower roll when your depressed character needs to push himself beyond the depression. A successful roll means that he acts without hindrance. A failed one adds +2 to the difficulty of the primary task at hand, which could involve Attributes from the Physical (depression drains vitality), Social (undercuts relationships with other folks), or Mental (mental fuzz) categories, depending upon the situation. A botched roll means that the depression takes over and drops him into a deep black pit of despair in which he’ll be stuck for hours or even days at a time.

You can spend a Willpower point to shove depression aside, avoiding this roll entirely. However, as anyone who understands the analogy of spoons can attest, sooner or later you run out of Willpower points. (For those who are not familiar with the analogy, it’s the idea that you have a limited number of spoons to use each day; every task demands that you give up one spoon, and so you soon run out of spoons). The fact that people tend to get frustrated with your Black Cloud of Doom™ doesn’t exactly help matters much; hell, you’re more frustrated with that shit than anybody else is! So seriously – in all aspects of one’s life, Chronic Depressiontown is not a fun place to be… not even for fans of the World of Darkness.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Deranged (3 or 5 pt. Flaw)

You suffer from a lasting form of mental illness. Although a successful Willpower roll (Storyteller’s option) might allow you to cope with the effects for a short time, this insanity lingers until and unless it can be cured… which also involves buying off the Flaw. An essential Flaw for Marauder characters (though it’s not exclusive to the Mad), this Trait gives you one of the Derangements described on the Derangements page. This madness might also affect someone with a Genetic Flaw , or who’s been subjected to Room 101 or Things Man Was Not Meant to Know.

A minor 3-point derangement reflects a troubling but manageable level of insanity; the 5-point level, meanwhile, represents an intensity of madness that makes your character a danger to herself and everyone nearby, if only because she’s a crazy person with the power of a mage/Garou/Changeling.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Driving Goal (3 pt. Flaw)

You are driven by a personal goal that compels you in sometimes startling ways. The goal is always unachievable: reform the Black Spiral Dancers, balance the Triat, make amends for your ancestors’ crimes in the War of Rage. But while many Garou may empathize with your objectives, few are as consumed by the singular nature of your focus. You must work toward your goal throughout the chronicle (though you can avoid it for short periods by spending Willpower), and your one-track mind continually gets you into trouble with those who do not share the intensity of your vision. Choose your goal carefully, as it will be the focus of everything your character does.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Extreme Kink (3 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Everyone’s a little kinky; your needs are more, shall we say, exotic than a run-of-the-mill fetish. You might still adhere to the third part of the BDSM mantra safe, sane, and consensual, but your kink is neither safe nor sane by most people’s definition of those words. We’re not talking about tame bondage-and-spanking stuff – more like Fifty Shades of What the Fuck is Wrong with You? Unlike the old Flaw: Sadism /Masochism (which it replaces), this Flaw isn’t about the nature and specifics of your kink – it’s about how much trouble you can get into trying to satisfy your needs. A three-point kink can damage your health, reputation, and play partners; a four-point kink can seriously harm you (and whoever’s unfortunate enough to hook up with you), and a five-point kink can get you prison time or worse. (Gods help the people you choose to help you satisfy that kink…)

Certain mages are more prone to this Flaw than others, especially if they favor Left-Hand Path-type practices. For what ought to be obvious reasons, this is not an appropriate Flaw for all chronicles or players, and may well invoke safewords and blackouts from your Storyteller or companions. Although this Flaw, like others of its kind, does not bear a judgment on our part, this sort of thing can offend and trigger other players, so don’t be a dick about it.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### OCPD (3 pt. Flaw)

Mages tend to be kinda obsessive by nature. You, however, feel compelled to follow stringent personal rituals, maintain an obsessive sense of order, work yourself to the point of exhaustion (and beyond), organize every possible element of your life and space, employ compulsive behaviors without realizing that you’re doing so, and otherwise lose track of time, things, and people unless they fall into the sphere of your obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

An especially common Flaw among technomancers, scientists, ritual magi, religious devotees, autistic people, military personnel, artists, executives, and other folks whose philosophies and pursuits demand continual attention, OCPD could also result from various forms of psychic trauma, brain damage, spiritual epiphanies, cultural or professional perfectionism, and metaphysical dedication. As a rule, a person’s behaviors grow more compulsive when he’s under stress. After all, when it seems like your world’s spinning out of control, it becomes all the more important to establish control over whatever elements you can control.

When this Flaw is chosen, you’ll need to define which compulsions your character has, and figure out the triggers that make those compulsions more obvious. System-wise, you’ll often have to make Willpower rolls in order to shake off the need to organize and obsess over the object of your attentions. The difficulty, of course, depends upon the situation and the character’s level of stress at the time; the more challenging the circumstances, the more obsessive the compulsions.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Weak-Willed (3 pt. Flaw)

You have little resistance to attempts to dominate or intimidate you. Domination-focused Gifts such as Staredown, Roll Over, etc. automatically succeed against you. Your difficulties to resist Social Talents such as Intimidation or Leadership, as well as mind-altering spells or magic, are increased by two. Your Willpower may never rise above 4.

**Source:** W20 Core Rolebook

### Guilt-Wracked (4pt. Flaw)

You did something appalling enough to burden you with guilt in every waking hour. Whether it was murder, neglect, or destruction of something dear, you committed a crime and cannot put it right. Whenever you’re presented with a situation similar to your crime, you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) to remain composed. Failure results in a breakdown for the remainder of the scene, rendering most tasks impossible and increasing the difficulty of all rolls by three. Even with a success, your body reacts nervously and the difficulty of all rolls increases by one as you attempt to conceal your guilt. Few will be sympathetic should your guilt become known.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Stress Atavism (4 pt. Flaw)

Folks don’t like you when you’re angry. In combat, you become a veritable monster, destroying everything and everyone in sight. In certain ways, this is a blessing, in others, a curse – for although your dedication to slaughter has undeniable benefits, it’s also a distinct liability… especially if you belong to a group that prizes discipline rather than brutality.

As both a Merit and a Flaw, this Trait has the same effects: under intense stress (combat, injury, disgrace, the death or crippling of a comrade, and so forth), the red haze kicks in. A failed Willpower roll (difficulty 8) leads to a berserk rampage. Your character gains three temporary Bruised health levels, ignores wound penalties, and adds two dice to her Strength and one die to her Stamina until every enemy within easy reach or sight is dead or incapacitated.

That’s the good part; the bad part is that everyone becomes your enemy. Allies, enemies, and bystanders alike all look like targets until the blood-trance fades. Magick and strategic thinking become impossible, and your character uses every weapon in her hands for maximum carnage. Unless someone knocks her unconscious, incapacitates or kills her, or simply leaves her alone for several minutes (during which time she destroys everything within reach), she remains stuck in kill mode.

Is this a Merit or a Flaw? That depends. If your character belongs to a group that prizes bloodlust and has the luxury of mass murder in the modern world (that is, she’s a shock-troop “cleaner” or an elite warrior for a wetwork organization), then it’s a Merit; if she belongs to a group that demands subtlety, control, and restraint, then it’s a definite Flaw. Either way, your character is the loosest of cannons – aimed in a convenient direction and then left alone to burn out or explode.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Ability Deficit (5 pt. Flaw)

Whether due to poor education, lack of opportunity, or simple laziness, you’ve fallen short of your potential. You have five fewer points to distribute in one of your Ability categories: Talents, Skills, or Knowledges. Of course, you can still spend freebie points to take Abilities in the affected category. However, you cannot have any Ability in that category at three dots or higher at the start of the game. This Flaw is particularly appropriate to lupus characters that have yet to learn much about life as Garou.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

## General Social Flaws

### Blacklisted (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Having crossed some Powers That Be, you’ve now been pariah-fied among some segment of the Masses. The results impact your employment potential, social standing, legal status, credit rating, background checks, rental possibilities, and other significant elements of existing in the everyday world.

This Flaw affects your regional, national, and perhaps international official status. The degree to which you’ve been professionally shunned depends upon the value of this Flaw:

* (1 point) Trivial – poor driving record, suspected shoplifter, banned from a local union.
* (2 points) Minor – misdemeanor criminal record, suspended license.
* (3 points) Significant – disbarred lawyer, defrocked clergy, unpopular political affiliation, dishonorable military discharge.
* (4 points) Major – convicted felon, registered sex offender, government watch-list, revoked medical license.
* (5 points) Pariah – FBI’s most-wanted, suspected terrorist, convicted pedophile, declared legally incompetent or insane.

((Caveat for Mages: A four- or five-point Blacklisting will also wind up in the Technocracy’s supervision database – a very dangerous place for a mage to be! And although the Awakened don’t typically check in with mundane authorities before recruiting or making alliances with their own kind, a mage who’s had major problems with such authorities is likely to have problems with mages too… especially if such problems include offenses like terrorism or pedophilia, which certain mages take very, very poorly.))

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Compulsive Speech (1 to 2 pt. Flaw)

Dude, please just shut up! But no, you just keep talking… and talking… and talking some more. This compulsion could come from a nervous social habit, a know-it-all personality, a sense of awkwardness in silence, or some other (potentially metaphysical) urge to fill up space with words. Worse still, those words often feature rude observations, sensitive information, and other stuff that’s best left unsaid. Day-um – did you just say what I think you just said? Yep. You did. Arg…

As far as this Flaw is concerned, the one-point version means you run at the mouth too much, while the two-point one (also known as Big Mouth) means you say the wrong things to the wrong people on a fairly regular basis, often to people who sit higher than you do on the proverbial totem pole, or who do not exactly have your best interests at heart. You can spend a Willpower point to keep your mouth shut for a scene or two; sooner or later, though, the words start flowing again…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Conflicting Loyalties (1 to 3 pt. Flaw)

Though deeply loyal (probably to the point of having the Merit: Loyalty), you’re facing a crisis of commitments: two or more of the parties you feel loyal to are at odds with one another, and you’re caught in the middle trying to support them all. Your best friend could be in trouble with the police force your father worked for; your lover may have betrayed the trust of your Convention; your Allies may have decided that your Mentor has to go. And so there you are – poised in an impossible situation, attempting to do the right thing for everyone involved.

The value of this Flaw, as always, depends upon the intensity of the conflict:

* (1 point) A minor crisis forces you to shuttle between loyalties while remaining true to all parties.
* (2 points) A significant clash leads you to mediate untenable situations with frustrating frequency.
* (3 points) Irreconcilable differences will eventually compel you to choose between loyalties, and that’s not a choice you’re sure you can make. Until that time, you’re fighting an apparently doomed campaign to support all sides without betraying anyone.

The nature of your loyalties, relationships, and disputes should, of course, be worked out when you take this Flaw. Your Storyteller will make sure to bring them into play often enough to keep you scrambling for the best solution to an apparently impossible dilemma.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Conniver (1 pt. Flaw)

As far as most folks who know you are concerned, you’re a perpetual knife in someone else’s back. That rep might not be accurate (see the Flaws: Cultural Other, Infamy, Troublemaker, and Profiled Appearance), but people expect treachery from you even if they’re wrong to think so. Subtract one die from any non-magickal dice pool you employ when you’re trying to get other characters to trust you. This penalty does not extend to Arete dice pools when you’re casting Mind-Sphere magick (or any other Sphere’s magick, for that matter), but if you’re having to cast spells in order to be believed, then you’ve kinda just lived up to that reputation.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Cultural Other (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

In the eyes of your society, you’re clearly divergent. Disreputable. Other. People suspect you of criminal, or at least unsavory, behavior; the authorities harass or detain you for little or no reason, and your loved ones probably “wish you could just be like normal people.” Granted, every mage/changeling/garou is “other” to some degree. In your case, though, the othering threatens your life, liberty, and happiness.

Also known as Mistreated Minority, this Flaw reflects prejudice within your society. The amount of trouble it causes, and the frequency of said trouble, determines the value of your Flaw:

* (1 point) Folks around you tend to harass you in small but noticeable ways (acting uncommonly brusque, using slurs in your presence, taking uncomfortable liberties with your privacy, property or person, etc.) and seem to feel there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Other people might stand up for you, but more often than not they won’t.
* (2 points) As above, but now your family and other intimate companions feel that you deserve to be avoided, shamed, insulted, and so forth because you are who or what you are.
* (3 points) Strangers feel free to shame, insult, avoid, and perhaps physically attack you on general principle. Authorities might intervene, but probably won’t do so unless major laws are broken… and maybe not even then.
* (4 points) Authorities discriminate against you too. Your house may be searched, your job may be terminated, you might be evicted, robbed or assaulted and very few people will care.
* (5 points) Merely living in this society is physically, socially, emotionally, and legally hazardous to your safety, your sanity, and possibly your life. You could be imprisoned, enslaved, tortured or killed with little-or-no response from the authorities.

Unlike the physical Flaw: Profiled Appearance, this discrimination isn’t based on physicality. A character with this Flaw cannot also take the Profiled Appearance Flaw; if your character stands out physically while also being discriminated against socially, simply take more points in this Flaw.

Nor is this Flaw tied to any particular creed, gender or ethnicity; while a Wiccan could be a Cultural Other in a town filled with fundamentalist Baptists, a fundamentalist Baptist could be a Cultural Other in a Wicca-based Horizon Realm. You could follow a “heretical” creed, belong to a “disreputable” subculture, identify as a sexual /gender /ethnic /religious “minority,” hold an unpopular political opinion… anything that inspires others around you to treat you poorly and get away with it could be considered grounds for this Flaw.

That said, a character with this Flaw must indeed be treated poorly; having folks call you out on an unpopular opinion, or criticize your behavior, is part of the human experience, whereas having cops shake you down merely for existing is an actual problem. In order to take this Flaw, your character must face actual discrimination and attack on a fairly regular and hazardous basis. No, being called names on the Internet does not count, although an intense bout of cyberbullying – that is, doxing, swatting, career destruction, and serious threats to life and sanity – might count as this Flaw, at the Storyteller’s discretion.

Because Cultural Other is tied to the character’s social surroundings, a radical change to those surroundings may mitigate or eliminate this Flaw. A polyamorous person may be discriminated against in one city, and welcomed with open arms (and open legs) in another; if that poly character remains in poly-friendly surroundings, then the player needs to buy off or replace this Flaw. Similarly, your “otherness” must be either something that people know about, or something that they could find out about easily enough for that element of your life to become a big problem for you. A deeply hidden “otherness” is a Dark Secret (see below) until or unless it gets revealed.

To be clear: This Flaw in no way reflects judgment on the part of this game, its creators, or – one hopes! – your gaming group. It’s intended to reflect the ways in which mortal (and, often, Awakened) society tends to treat people who stand out from their cultural norms. Being who they are and what they do, mages often do stand out in ways that can be hazardous to their social and sometimes physical health – hello, Burning Times! However, if this Flaw seems redundant in your group, creates unwanted real-life tensions between your players, or gets abused by characters (or players) who are catching hell for acting like dicks, then feel free to ignore or discard this Flaw.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Dark Secret (1 pt. Flaw)

A skeleton or two is hanging rather precariously in your closet. If (let’s be honest – when) it slips out and clatters to the floor, your life will get even more difficult than it already is. Did you steal something precious that was in your trust? Or live on the streets for a while? Maybe you came from a family you would rather not discuss (see the Flaw: Family Issues, below), were involved with a criminal organization, Awakened into a rival faction, or had a child or lover you’re trying to forget about. In any case, you’ll be in trouble unless you manage to keep that dark secret hidden… a feat that, in a world where reading minds is damned near entry-level magick, can be difficult indeed.

(Note: Although this Flaw is traditionally worth only one point, Dark Secrets with potentially deadly consequences might be worth more points, at the Storyteller’s discretion.)

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Debts (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Supernaturals still need money in order to function in the human realm. And in your case, you’re kinda fucked financially. Student loans, credit-card debts, child-support payments, gambling losses, legal judgments, medical bills, car and /or mortgage payments… the ways in which a modern mage can get in over her head financially are as numerous as the parties who prosper from such debts. And then there’s the possibility of financial manipulation from Awakened sources – mages or Night-Folk who, intentionally or otherwise, are keeping you broke in order to assert their hold over you (see Technocracy: Syndicate, p. 28). Maybe you just suck at the whole paying-your-bills thing. For whatever reason, your income keeps going back out. You might indeed have the Background: Resources, but the money just doesn’t stay in your bank account for long.

As a Flaw, these Debts represent a minimum amount of money you owe your creditors. The more you owe, the more this Flaw is worth:

* (1 point) Minimal debt (less than $10,000).
* (2 points) Moderate debt (less than $50,000)
* (3 points) Significant debt (over $50,000).
* (4 points) Crushing debt (over $100,000)
* (5 points) Overwhelming debt (over $500,000).

From the three-point level onward, your creditors will expend a fair amount (perhaps a great deal) of effort to collect those funds from you. Certain creditors, like loan sharks, will start far lower than that. Tactics could range from roundthe-clock phone calls and red-envelope letters to lawsuits, repossessions, threats, eviction, and physical violence. For folks with small and /or irregular incomes, the pressure from debt and debt-collection harassment can cause intense emotional and psychological distress… which, in turn, affects one’s ability to make money… which deepens the debt… which deepens the stress… in a desperate cycle that can lead to desperate acts.

**Sources:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Discredited (1 pt. Flaw)

In your chosen field, your name is mud. Perhaps you’re a scientist whose bizarre theories have cost him the respect of his peers… or an academic who wound up on the wrong side of departmental politics… or a journalist who stepped too far over the line of credibility. Whatever it is you did (or are reputed to have done), your professional associates look down on you. Add +2 to the difficulty of your social and Background-based rolls when you’re trying to get those associates to take you seriously.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Enemy (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

You have acquired an enemy (one or more individuals) that not only knows what you are, but also has power of their own. The 1-point version of this Flaw may signify that your enemy is another Garou of your own rank who has taken a strong dislike towards you or who blames you for some past wrong. The 3-point version may represent a pack of Black Spiral Dancers who bear a particular grudge against you or a small group of supernaturally potent werewolf hunters who have tagged you as a specific target. A 5-point Enemy may mean that you have angered one of the legends of Garou society or a powerful elder vampire.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Family Issues (1 to 3 pt. Flaw)

Many mages leave their families behind. You didn’t do that, although you may often wish you could. A flipside of the Merit: Family Support, this Flaw saddles you with a basket of goodies from Dysfunction Junction, family-style. You might have a meddling uncle, an abusive sibling, an alcoholic parent, or “simply” the leftovers from dealing with such people. You might have tried to escape them, but if so, someone in your family is still looking for you. The family doesn’t have to still be part of your physical reality, but the mess they left behind if you managed to get away from them remains a part of your existence today.

As with Supportive Family, the clan in question could be blood relatives, an adopted family, or a family-of-choice you kinda wish you hadn’t chosen. The more points you have in this Flaw, the more your family issues interfere with your Awakened life. They could be mages themselves, though that’s not often the case. More likely, they’re folks who still look for you even in your Newlife, hangers-on who won’t leave you alone, sickly relations who need tending (see also the Flaw: Ward), kids or siblings (or even parents) who have constant troubles with the law… the possibilities are as endless as the real-life complications that a troubled family can bring. And no, you can’t just ditch out on ‘em even if you’ve already tried to do so. If you could, they wouldn’t still be your problem, now would they?

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Infamy (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

You’ve made a bad name for yourself among the Masses. Like the Background: Fame, this Flaw represents a degree of recognition; in your case, though, that’s not a good thing… especially not when you want to keep your life as a supernatural a secret from the mortals.

Once again, the weight of the Flaw determines its value:

* (1 point) Certain people within a region or subculture recognize and dislike you. (Examples: the local drunk, Vox Day.)
* (2 points) Your notoriety was wide once, but has faded to occasional recognition and disdain (H.R. Clinton, M.C. Hammer).
* (3 points) You’re famous, but many people do not like you (Kanye West, Nickelback).
* (4 points) The authorities don’t like you either (Roosh V, Jared Fogle).
* (5 points) You’re a household name, and that name is shit (O.J. Simpson, Charles Manson).

Especially in the age of social media and intelligence networks, this sort of infamy can be a very bad thing. Obviously, some folks adore you, if only because the rest of the world hates you. On the whole, however, your reputation among the Masses is more bad than good, and folks go out of their way to give you a hard time. As with other bad reputations, you may not have actually done anything wrong; then again, there might be reasons that folks hate your guts.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Insubordinate (1pt. Flaw)

Following the orders of leaders you do not respect rankles you like nothing else. Whenever such a leader makes a command or request of you, roll Willpower (difficulty 5) and on a failure, you will work against their decree.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Mistaken Identity (1 pt. Flaw)

You’re not who folks think you are, but that doesn’t stop them from thinking that you are that person. For some reason – similar features, related habits, a bureaucratic fuck-up that linked their data to you, or maybe some far more insidious connection – confusion follows you around. This situation is awkward at best, and can get downright dangerous if that not-you person is wanted for serious crimes…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Naive (1 pt. Flaw)

You are hopelessly naïve about the nature of reality and see everything through “rose-colored glasses.” You may have been brought up in wealth and privilege or be a survivor of abuse and trauma that you have repressed. You are hesitant to suspect evil or foul play in others, which can be a serious problem. The difficulty for any rolls for you to detect another person’s ill intent, from the Sense Wyrm Gift to Empathy rolls, is raised by 2.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Vulgar (1pt. Flaw)

Tact is a foreign concept to you, and you’re famous for being abrasive and generally unpleasant. Rolls involving social graces or delicate situations suffer +1 difficulty.

**Source:** V20 The Black Hand: Guide to the TalMaRahe

### Catspaw (2 pt. Flaw)

You trusted the wrong person, did the wrong thing on their say-so, and have now become a liability to others and to yourself. A dupe for someone vastly superior in power, you need to watch your back now while hoping for an opportunity to extract yourself from this position. For the moment, you have to follow orders, and your “cat” needs to keep you safe. Not long from now, however, one or both of you will change your priorities, and then things will truly become interesting for everyone concerned.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Construct (2 pt. Social Flaw)

You came from a lab, not from a womb. Perhaps you were grown in a Progenitor facility, woven from plants, shaped from the elements, or crafted from parts of dead bodies in some flesh-tinkerer’s workshop. Whatever your origins, you don’t truly fit in with natural-born humans. A combination of selfdoubt and social alienation – or perhaps a sense that you’re far better than your so-called peers – keeps you at arm’s length from the human social realm.

In game terms, this Flaw inflicts penalties on social rolls in many situations; the specifics depend upon your origins, attitude, and company, but they’ll impede your character in significant ways. You don’t need to take this Flaw, incidentally, if your character is a construct. Those penalties reflect an artificial person who stands out in a crowd, not one who fits in comfortably with her world.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Dogmatic (2 pt. Flaw)

Look, it’s great that you’ve got such strong spiritual convictions… but do you have to be such a dick about them? This Flaw represents a religious, spiritual, and /or philosophical approach that defines your moral and magickal beliefs. Trouble is, your beliefs don’t play well with others; rules-wise, you add +2 to the difficulty of all social rolls which involve dealing with people of differing beliefs. Even when you’re trying, dammit, to get along with those misguided heretics, folks can tell that you don’t approve. You sneer, you argue, you try to convert everyone around you to your way of thinking… you can’t help it, really – your convictions are just that formidable! After all, you do use them to change the world, so how could they possibly be wrong?

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Foul Mouth (2pt. Flaw)

Most people swear, but your use of profanity puts nockers to shame. Your mouth spews forth a never-ending torrent of obscenities. Others know when enough is enough, but you just keep going. This Flaw precludes you from ever holding a respectable job of any kind in human society and increases the difficulty of Social rolls by two, when politeness is necessary

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Gullible (2 pt. Flaw)

You believe everything folks tell you. You repost memes without checking their accuracy or source. You fall for cons and pranksters every single time. Seriously? How can a mage be so goddamned gullible? Beats me, but yeah – subtract three dice from every dice pool you roll (down to a minimum of one die) when you’re trying to penetrate falsehoods (lies, not stealth), or to fool people with your own bumbling attempts at deception.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Obvious Predator (2pt. Flaw)

Your innate Brujah/Garou/Redcap rage always percolates below the surface no matter how hard you try to project an image of calm. Mortals find you intrinsically menacing, and instinctively fear you for the violence you promise to unleash. The difficulty of all Social rolls made against mortals other than Intimidation rolls increases by 2.

**Source:** V20 Lore of the Clans

### Old Flame (2 pt. Flaw)

A former love of your life now works for the enemy. Worse, she knows your weak spots, and can still call on you “for old times’ sake.” Unless you manage to succeed in a resisted Manipulation-based social roll contest when your old flame tries (again) to win you over (again), you’ll find yourself doing things (again) against your better judgment again… and again… and again…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Possessive (2pt. Flaw)

You obsess over and jealously hoard your possessions. When others attempt to use your equipment — whether it be your car, sword, clothes, or bed — you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). On a failure you vehemently refuse to allow anyone to touch your things, and will lash out if they push the subject. On a botch you immediately act violently when someone attempts to handle anything you own.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Troublemaker (2 pt. Flaw)

Pretty much the inverse of the Merit: Sanctity; you project an impression of guilt even when you haven’t done anything wrong. Folks blame you for pretty much everything, and the authorities go harder on you than they might if you didn’t seem like such a noxious little turd! You come across like a natural-born sinner regardless of how you behave. Gee, if you’re gonna get punished no matter what you do, maybe you ought to at least have some fun before the whip comes down.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Indecisive (3pt. Flaw)

When you’re given an opportunity, you know you’ve got to act quickly, or it just might pass you by. Yet, you can’t seem to make up your mind fast enough; it takes you a while to sort through all your options, examine the pros and cons, and then decide which is the best decision. You must make a Willpower roll whenever your character must make a decision, otherwise you remain undecided about what to do.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Notoriety (3 pt. Flaw)

Thanks to this inverse of the Merit: Prestige, you’re saddled with a bad reputation among your fellow mages. System-wise, this Flaw adds +2 to the difficulties of all social rolls within your faction (Traditions, Tribe, Kith, Court, etc.), and predisposes pretty much everyone outside your closest friends to think the worst of you. Rumors dog your steps, and whispers precede your appearance. Whether or not the stories are true, you’ve been linked to some disgrace, and will be shunned and probably punished accordingly if you haven’t been punished already. You might be able to shuck this bad rep eventually, but it’s gonna be a pretty rough road until you do.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Rivalry (3 to 5 pt. Flaw)

An associate of yours has it out for you, and while this rival cannot openly move against you (probably because of an external authority she doesn’t want to risk annoying, or social pressures that she can’t avoid), she’ll make your life as difficult as she can under the circumstances. Rumors, sabotage, exposed scandals, and perennial traps are just a few of your rival’s weapons against you. And while you can dance around most of them, a few still manage to hit their mark.

The value of this Flaw depends, as usual, on the amount of trouble this rivalry causes for you:

* (3 points) Someone of a lower or equal degree of power and influence wants to complicate your life.
* (4 points) A rival of greater power and influence throws obstacles in your path whenever possible.
* (5 points) A far more powerful rival is seriously dedicated to keeping you miserable… possibly even to making you dead.

Why does this person hate you? It could be a “simply business” sort of situation, like the rivalry between Syndicate executives or Hermetic Adepts. There may be a romantic tangle or family history involved, or perhaps an academic dispute, as is often found among members of the Etherite Tradition or Progenitor lab-groups. Chances are, this person doesn’t actually want you dead – just disgraced or removed from further consideration. Fatal rivalries do arise, however… and as Doissetep’s implosion proved long ago, such things can get really ugly when mages are involved.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Rotten Liar (3 pt. Flaw)

Man, you suck at lying! You could not tell a credible untruth if your life depended on it… which it might, so this can be sort of a problem for you. It may be that you’re just too honest for your own good, or cursed to speak the truth as you know it, regardless of the cost or your intentions; then again, you might just stammer your way through attempted deceptions, telegraphing your lies through body language and vocal tone. Whatever the reason, add +2 to the difficulty of any die roll you make when you’re trying to deceive another character. Yes, this penalty extends to magickal deceptions too, like illusions or mind control. Honesty might not always be the best policy among the Awakened, but for you it’s generally the best option.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Sleeping With the Enemy (3pt. Flaw)

You have some sort of intimate connection with a member of an opposing faction your own has reason to despise. You may have a lover, a friend, or a contact working the other side of the fence, but regardless of politics, you retain a friendly (or more than friendly) relationship with your putative foe. Your superiors would regard your close ties to someone on the other side as treason, and if you are discovered, the penalty will be severe.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Ward (3 pt. Flaw)

You are devoted to protecting someone, perhaps a close friend or relative from the days before your First Change/Awakening/Chrysalis. This may be a child (or wolf cub) that relies upon you for care as well as protection. Or it can be an adult who, because of their connection to you, finds themselves exposed to dangers beyond what they can handle themselves. It could even represent a small pack of wolves who rely on you to protect them from human and supernatural predation. Regardless, your Ward’s path is firmly tied to yours in some way, and they have a knack for finding themselves in the middle of trouble, looking to you to save the day.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Echo Chamber (4 pt. Flaw)

You surround yourself with groupthink. All opinions on important topics (politics, religion, magick, and so forth) must remain unified. No disagreements on such matters are permitted within this echo chamber, and anyone who bucks that decree is shown the door – often with great force – and shunned, probably vilified, afterward. Loyalty to the group is measured by the devotion each member shares with regards to the “truth” as your group understands it. As a result, that “truth” soon gets distorted. Like an echo reverberating within a closed space, it verges into a distortion of the original source, growing wilder and more extreme until something has to give. Will that breaking point be you? Gods forbid…

Essentially a story-based Trait, this Flaw cuts your character off from information that runs contrary to the group’s determined “truth.” Characters and data that disagree with that “truth” must be pushed aside, ignored, silenced, possibly attacked, maybe even destroyed “for the good of the group.” Because isolation breeds distortion, the Storyteller should gradually make “the truth” seem more extreme than it once had been. Anyone – especially a player character – who disagrees with “the truth” should be punished by the group; the more extreme the distortions become, the harsher the punishment becomes as well. Eventually, the distorted “truth” will require distorted acts as well: assault, torture, murder, terrorism. At that point, any character who tries to step away will become the enemy too (possibly receiving the Flaw of that name) – shunned by former friends at the very least, probably disgraced socially, and potentially even attacked physically for being a traitor to the cause.

This Flaw reflects a social phenomenon that’s increasingly common in the twenty-first century, though it’s certainly not exclusive to our era: a social group committed to enforced orthodoxy and the removal of dissent. The group in question could be a religious or military order, a socio-political activist tribe, a corporate office, a think-tank, an art collective, a fannish subculture, a media outlet, mystic sect, or Political Action Committee – any social clique that holds “certain truths to be self-evident” and vital to that group’s existence could become an echo chamber. “Us” and “them” is a ruling principle, and if you’re not one of Us, then you’re one of Them.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Hit List (4 pt. Flaw)

A rival group wants you dead. You might be a Templar who’s made enemies among the Etherites, a Gaian garou who crossed the line with Pentex, and so forth. Whatever happened, it’s personal and extends to the entire group. As with the Vampire 20 Flaw: Clan Enmity, this is a deadly business, far worse than the one-point Sect Enmity, Camp Enmity, etc. Social rolls when dealing with members of this group add +2 to their difficulty – if you get a chance to make such rolls at all. Whether or not the enemy group actively attacks you on sight, its members will go out of their way to make your life solitary, unpleasant, nasty, brutish, and short.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Mr. Red Tape (4 pt. Flaw)

Bureaucracy hates you. Any official complication that could go wrong will go wrong if you’re the one who’s dealing with the authorities. Essentially the opposite of the Merit: Master of Red Tape, this Flaw adds + 2 to the difficulty of any roll you make when trying to get something done through an established system, and throws stupid mistakes and delays into the works whenever you’ve got to work with any sort of bureaucracy.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Overextended (4 pt. Flaw)

You’ve tried to do too much, and the strain has begun to show. Even when you add Time Sphere magick to the equation as a mage, there really are only so many hours in a day, and you spend most of them just trying to keep up with various commitments. You’re on too many committees, stuck with too many reports, nurturing too many connections, maintaining too many resources for one person – even a mage – to handle. Other characters, on top of it all, have begun to undermine your ability to juggle all those plates, and folks are gunning for your position if and when you finally fuck up badly.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

## General Supernatural Flaws

### Anachronism (1 to 3 pt. Flaw)

Time has passed you by… or maybe it simply hasn’t caught up with you yet. Your beliefs, personality, mannerisms, fashion, and expectations are radically out of step with your surroundings. This could be a deliberate affection on your part (“The Old Days were better than today” /“Why wait for the future to arrive when you can become the future?”), a Time Sphere-related temporal hiccup or Paradox Flaw, the result of paranormal longevity or back-tracking time travel, the manifestation of an especially assertive past (or future) life… hell, even you might not know quite why you’re like this, but you are, and the rest of the world can’t help but notice.

The value of this Flaw depends upon the amount of trouble you get into as a result of your anachronisms:

* (1 point) You seem a little weird, and potentially offensive (“Why are they not sitting in the back of the bus? Aren’t there laws about that sort of thing?”), displaying quirks from a recognizably different past or future that isn’t radically behind or ahead of the current age. Add +1 to the difficulty of understanding current technology and modes of behavior.
* (2 points) You’re a relic of a distinctly earlier age, or the harbinger of a seriously advanced one. The things you say, wear, expect, and believe are disturbingly out of touch with your surroundings, and can present significant problems… especially if and when you hold forth on silly little things like politics, social mores, sexuality, and the law. Current technology puzzles you, either because it’s inexplicably advanced or staggeringly primitive. Add +2 to the difficulty of all efforts to understand your current era, including social rolls based upon getting along with people in this age.
* (3 points) You hail from a time so distant that the current era seems as alien to you as you seem to people of this era. Hell, you might not even speak English (a common trait of folks who existed before the expansion of British and American influence in the 1800s), or speak your language with an accent and idioms that essentially turn it into another language entirely (think Shakespeare, or Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange). Your expectations regarding technology and social mores are wildly divergent, and you could easily get yourself into serious trouble. Add +3 to the appropriate rolls, and you may be unable to process certain things (driving, politics, current computer tech, etc.) at all.

Assuming you have a chance to acclimate to your surroundings, this Flaw can be bought down with experience points. Until that time, your companions will have a lot of explaining to do on your behalf!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### The Bard’s Tongue (1 pt. Flaw)

A curse has rendered you unable to lie. It may even compel you to speak the truth when you struggle to remain silent. Worse still, you tend to say things that later turn out to be true even if you hadn’t known anything about them at the time. (“Don’t try and score food from that guy over there – he’s got a gun and is having a really bad day.”) You often get a certain “look” when the urge to speak truth comes up, and folks who know you have begun to recognize the signs of a forthcoming “honesty blast” before you even open your mouth.

Life is filled with times when it’s best to keep a lid on the truth. And so, in order to avoid saying speaking the proverbial inconvenient truth (or worse), you need to spend a Willpower point to keep your mouth shut about it. Repressing that truth may also cost you one health level in bashing damage if the truth you’re clamping down on is one of those “things that really must be said” which isn’t a smart thing to say under the circumstances. (“Yeah, Agent Courage, everybody knows you work every angle with every group – that’s not exactly a ‘secret,’ now is it?”)

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Cast No Shadow or Reflection (1 to 2 pt. Flaw)

According to certain legends, witches cast no shadow. And while that isn’t true of most mages, it’s somehow true for you. Maybe you suffer from a lingering Paradox Flaw, manifest your own cultural fears, or made a bargain that cost you your shadow or reflection. In any case, your shadow and /or reflection are absent from your presence. For one point, you’re missing one of those things, for two points you lack them both, and although most folks won’t notice this consciously, they do tend to feel uneasy in your presence even if they’re not sure why. (Technological machines record this phenomenon, too.) Add +1 to the difficulty of all your Social-Trait rolls under most circumstances, and +2 to the difficulty if a witness makes a perception-based roll (difficulty 7) and figures out why you seem so weird.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Cold Breeze (1pt. Flaw)

A chill wind follows you everywhere you go. While it may make for dramatic entrances, this effect also discomfits mortals (+1 difficulty on all appropriate Social rolls) and marks you as obviously supernatural. Cold winds sweeping through executive offices or crowded nightclubs can raise all sorts of questions.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Cursed (1 to 5 pt. Supernatural Flaw)

Misfortune of apparently supernatural origins makes your character’s life difficult; the more points the Flaw gives you, the greater the character’s misfortune.

* (1 point) Minor quirks of fate. **Examples:** You have a hard time keeping secrets; tech suffers tiny malfunctions in your presence; people tend to think ill of you
* (2 points) Small but annoying problems. **Examples:** You stutter at inopportune moments; tires go flat and warning lights go on when you depend upon your car; expensive clothes wind up ruined by stupid accidents.
* (3 points) Chronic misfortune. **Examples:** Tools break when you use them; children fear you; red lights slow you down whenever you absolutely, positively need to be somewhere on time.
* (4 points) Major problems arise. **Examples:** People dislike you on principle; your greatest plans collapse for no predictable reason; your bank account keeps suffering unexpected withdrawals from sources that aren’t you.
* (5 points) Pervasive bad luck. **Examples:** Your endeavors inevitably fail; tech never works the way it’s supposed to function; chronic pain or poor health sap whatever vitality you possess

The Storyteller determines the eventual effects of your curse, as well as the methods you might use to lift it. In any case, the curse becomes a major part of your character’s story and cannot be dispelled without some major effort on his part.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Touch of Frost (1pt. Flaw)

Plants wither as you approach and die at your touch. Your touch leeches heat from living beings, as though you were made of ice.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Beacon of the Unholy (2pt. Flaw)

You radiate palpable evil. Clergy and devout mortals know instinctively that there is something horribly wrong with you, and react accordingly.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Bizarre Quality (2pt. Flaw)

Mortals find something about you disturbingly fascinating. At inappropriate times, mortals stare at you and strike up conversations in the hopes of getting to know you better. Worse still, mortals of less savory natures will choose you over other potential targets for their illicit acts.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Vulnerability to Silver (2pt. Flaw)

To you, silver is as painful and as deadly as the rays of the sun. You suffer aggravated wounds from any silver weapons (bullets, knives, etc.), and the mere touch of silver objects discomfits you.

**Source:** V20 Core Rulebook

### Haunted (3 pt. Flaw)

An angry ghost – perhaps even more than one of them – has an entire skeleton to pick with you. Did you kill her yourself, or does she blame you for her death? Did you commit some awful crime against her during her living days, or were you foolish enough to attempt (and perhaps succeed at) a bitter act of necromancy against her after she had died? Whatever your sin might be (and whether or not you actually did anything wrong in the first place), this wraith is determined to make you suffer for whatever remains of your own life… and possibly your afterlife too, if she can manage that!

Check out Wraith: The Oblivion to learn more about ghosts and the various powers they can employ to harass the living. If your group doesn’t include Wraith rules or characters in your chronicle, your Storyteller can simply unload on you with the many phantasmal abilities mentioned in haunting lore: rattling chains, chilling voices, sudden drops in temperature, and so forth

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Lord of the Night (3pt. Flaw)

In your presence lights dim, tiny flames extinguish, and shadows cling to you or languidly move about with a surreal unlife, making it impossible to pass as anything other than inhuman. The particular shadow you cast is a malicious entity with a will of its own. It lashes out at friends and enemies alike, tearing at the scenery, and snarling at passers-by. These effects can be suppressed for a scene by spending a point of Willpower.

**Source:** V20 The Black Hand: Guide to the TalMaRahe

### Primal Marks (3 pt. Flaw)

You’ve been marked by some god, spirit, myth, or other metaphysical entity… and the mark is not a pleasant one. Maybe you share Papa Ghede’s nasal voice and crude sense of humor, or Coyote’s grotesquely huge cock, or Christ’s bleeding stigmata. Essentially, this Flaw is the flipside of the Merit: Mark of Favor; in your case, though, the mark complicates your life, twists your body, and alerts people who understand the significance of that mark. In certain circles – say, being marked by Satan while living in a deeply religious region – a Primal Mark can be a life-threatening affair. Such marks can also indicate the profound displeasure of the entity in question, like the Mark of Cain (in a non-vampiric sense, anyway) which set the First Murderer apart while sparing his life for a long-enduring punishment. But even if the entity in question likes you, this particular mark is more of a burden than a blessing. If, for instance, you stink like a goat and have the heavy, hairy features of Pan, that’s not going to make you terribly popular with the ladies… especially not if you’re female to begin with!

This disconcerting legacy might come through as animalistic features that reveal your connection to a totem spirit, as described in the Totem Background entry (mages and Garou only) and the appropriate section of Mage 20’s Appendix I. Or your Spirit Heritage (for Garou only). Or the “mark” might involve some physical manifestation of your inner Avatar (for mages). You could share the archetypal “look” of a notorious family, like the Borgias or Romanovs, even if you’re not actually related to that bloodline; or bear an uncanny resemblance to some sinister beast even if you’re not a shapechanger or totem-friend. Maybe you just look like what people think of when they say wizard, shaman, or witch – which, in many cultures, can be rather unhealthy for people so identified. In short, you look weird in the literal, uncanny meaning of that phrase, and people notice.

Obviously, you should define the appearance of this feature, and decide the sort of reaction people have when they notice it. Because this is a Flaw, of course, that reaction should be negative in some way – the “primal mark of the Jolie-Pitt Clan” is not exactly a Flaw unless you’re dealing with paparazzi. The “mark” could also be a tone of voice, a distinct way of moving (birdlike, catlike, Papa Legba-like), or a certain vibe that nearly anyone can sense. Whatever their source and manifestation, these Primal Marks are obvious, and they tend to carry over even when a mage changes shape. People recognize you even when you’d rather not be recognized, and that sort of distinction can be rather unhealthy too.

For extra fun, you might not even know why you’ve been so marked, who marked you, or what may come as a result of the mark. As with so many elements of a mage/garou.changeling's life, these Primal Marks could be mysteries whose answers lay at the end of a long and winding Path… if, indeed, those answers ever reveal themselves at all.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

# Changeling Flaws

## Changeling Physical Flaws

### Too Human (2 or 5pt. Flaw)

Your fae side struggles to penetrate that of your mortal seeming. As a two-point Flaw, this makes all changelings view you warily. Social rolls increase in difficulty by two until you make an action inarguably proving your fae nature. As a five-point Flaw, the wariness other changelings feel towards you becomes antipathy, as you also lose one of your kith’s Birthrights. You choose which one to sacrifice.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Parfum de Goat (4pt. Flaw)

The goat musk is a unique, horrific scent that makes the eyes water. You are a walking, breathing sachet of smelly goat. This Flaw isn’t restricted to satyrs, but is most common among them. Satyrs and redcaps are not bothered by your musk. Other kiths must be convinced against maintaining a distance from you, no matter the situation. This hinders your chances for romance, titles, and even simple chats. The difficulty of all social rolls involving any beings with sense of smell other than satyrs and redcaps is increased by three.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

## Changeling Social Flaws

### Dangerous Mentor (1pt. Flaw)

Your mentor is lost to Bedlam, or engages in acts that could cause a tremendous uproar. Any wrong committed by your mentor may affect your reputation, and some of your mentor’s dangerous schemes may somehow involve you.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Intolerance (2pt. Flaw)

You have an unreasoning dislike of a certain thing. This may be a class of person, a situation, or just about anything else. The difficulties of all dice rolls involving the subject — such as conflict, dealing with the lower classes, or having to break bread with a certain kith — are increased by two. Note that some dislikes may be too trivial for this Flaw. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what you can pick to dislike.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Shrinking Violet (2pt. Flaw)

As a shrinking violet you’re only comfortable with your own. Around others, you’re constantly aware of the differences between you, and are consequently ill at ease. This manifests as clumsiness (fear of breaking things and people), difficulty speaking in social situations (only able to speak of things as they are), etc. In game terms, this Flaw adds two to all difficulties of Social rolls when not primarily among your kith or motley.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Fallen Noble (3pt. Flaw)

Once, you held near-absolute power in a freehold, but those days are gone. Perhaps you stepped down, or your city fell to a rival Court; it matters little now. What matters is your replacement is aware of your prior position, and has concerns you might be trying to make a comeback. If the new ruler sees an opportunity to get rid of you, she just might take it.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Recruitment Target (3pt. Flaw)

An enemy organization wants you, and they want you bad. Every effort is being made to recruit you, willing or no, and the press gangs usually show up at the worst possible time. For every friend you have who will defend you, another will wonder what is so special about you that draws this malevolent group to your doorstep.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### On Probation (4pt. Flaw)

You defected from an enemy faction, and still have much to prove before the group you turned to accepts you. Other changelings treat you with distrust and even hostility, and your reputation will even sully those with whom you regularly associate.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

## Changeling Supernatural Flaws

### Changeling’s Eyes (1pt. Flaw)

Your eyes are a startling color, maybe emerald green, violet, or yellow. This is a sign you are a changeling, recognizable to those who know the ancient lore.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Geas (1-5pt. Flaw)

You are under a geas at the beginning of play, most likely a Ban, but possibly a long-term quest. This geas may be a family curse or duty you inherited, or a changeling Art imposed it on you. The difficulty of the geas determines how great a Flaw it is. Something minor, such as a Ban against harming animals, would only be worth one point. More difficult geas are worth more points. A five-point geas is something that rules your entire life, like a quest that requires you to render aid to anyone in need you encounter. The Storyteller decides the exact value of whatever geas you choose.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Oathbound (1-5pt. Flaw)

Your life depends on something you must or must not do. It may be something that has always been upon you, or a sacred oath you swore. Someone who witnessed it will always hold you to it. If you disobey, the consequences will be dire. You may have several oaths, and these may come into conflict. Most changelings keep their prohibitions and imperatives secret, lest enemies use them as weapons.

Storytellers should examine each oath and assign a point value to it, as well as to the punishment for violating it. Easily avoided circumstances, such as “Never break bread with a redhaired man,” are worth one point, while more common, or difficult, things, such as “Stop and pet every cat you see,” are worth two points, and particularly drastic or dangerous circumstances, such as “Never back down from a fight,” are worth three (or more) points. Consequences are worth points as well. Automatically botching the next major cantrip you do is worth one point, having bad luck for the rest of your life is worth two, losing all your friends and worldly possessions is worth three, dying is worth four, and being deserted by your faerie soul five.

If you accidentally violate your oath, you may attempt to atone for the crime, fixing whatever you did wrong. However, if you violate an oath willingly and with full knowledge — and survive — you become an oathbreaker, one of the foulest epithets among changelings.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Slipped Seeming (1-5pt. Flaw)

Your fae seeming bleeds into your mortal seeming and makes you obvious to mundanes who know what to look for. A one-point Flaw would be a slight bluish cast to the skin of a troll, and a five-point would be a pair of satyr’s horns. This may make it difficult to explain yourself to mortals.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Echoes (2-5pt. Flaw)

Your connection to the Dreaming is strong. Because of this powerful connection, you’re more susceptible to the tales of things which traditionally affect faeries. Although Echoes is purchased as a Flaw, it often has a beneficial side effect. The points received with this Flaw reflect the level of your connection to the Dreaming and even to Arcadia. The effects of this Flaw are cumulative. A character with a five-point Flaw also suffers the setbacks of the two through four-point Flaws.

* **Minor:** Salt thrown over the shoulder for good luck protects a mortal from faerie powers. The same is true of bread. Your cantrips cannot affect any mortal who does so for the duration of the scene. Cantrips simply do not work, and may backfire. Any mortal knowing your full name can command three tasks from you, which you must accomplish before achieving freedom from that mortal’s influence. However, you need only follow the exact wording of the mortal’s request, not the desire behind the request. (2 pts)
* **Moderate:** You may not enter a home without invitation, unless you perform some small favor for the owners of the dwelling. The invitation to enter a home may come from anyone at all, it need not be the owner. Cold iron in a residence will bar you from entering the building; religious symbols have the same effect and will prevent you from physically or magically affecting mortals. The sound of ringing church bells causes you pain, just as cold iron does (at this level only pain, but as a four-point Flaw, you gain one point of Banality for every turn you endure the sound). (3 pts)
* **Serious:** Four-leaf clovers in the possession of a mortal prevent you from using your Arts against that mortal. However, four-leaf clovers picked by you are sure to bring good luck (you cannot botch) for as long as the petals of the clover remain intact. This luck only remains for as long as the clover is worn. Any mortal wearing their coat inside out is invisible to you. You may not cross running water, save by means of a bridge. Religious symbols are now repellent to you, forcing you away from those who wear them. The shadow of such a symbol falling upon your person causes one Health Level of chimerical damage for each turn the shadow touches you. You may no longer enter holy ground without suffering chimerical injuries (one Health Level per turn,) though this damage may be soaked. (4 pts)
* **Extreme:** Wherever you dwell, mushrooms bloom in a faerie ring — even on your plush carpet. The Mists no longer hide your powers. Many people will remember you if you use your Glamour while around them. Chimerical creatures tend to become more real for you than for others, and their attacks cause real and permanent injury. Contrarily, your chimerical weapons can cause damage to anyone, even mortals. People will likely follow you if you request it, often gaining a dazed look and following you even into dangerous situations. Your difficulties in casting cantrips might be reduced by a substantial amount (Storyteller’s discretion), but those wearing cold iron or religious symbols are immune to any Arts you might use. You must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) in order to enter holy ground. Even if you succeed in your Willpower roll, actual physical damage (one Health Level per turn) occurs whenever you enter holy ground. (5 pts)

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Winged (2pt. Flaw / 4pt. Merit)

You have beautiful wings, be they feathered bird’s wings, bat wings or colored butterfly wings. They are chimerical, but they need to be free, or they increase the difficulty of Dexterity rolls by one. You may have to explain why you have cut slits in all of your coats. If you have taken this as a Flaw, you are not able to fly. If you have taken this as a Merit, you may indeed fly for short periods of time.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Cleared Mists (3pt. Flaw)

Your magic and abilities are not in any way hidden by the Mists. Should a mortal witness your actions, she will not forget the effects of your fae abilities. You may therefore inadvertently reveal your nature to the mortal world, triggering potentially dire consequences.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Iron Allergy (3-5pt. Flaw)

Most of the Kithain only suffer pain when in contact with cold iron. You suffer from actual wounds. Cold iron reacts like a hot brand when touching your skin. For each turn in contact with iron, you suffer one Health Level of chimerical damage. As a four-point Flaw, you take one Health Level of real damage for every three turns in contact with cold iron. As a five-point Flaw, you suffer this damage if you stand within a foot (30cm) of the iron and you take one Health Level of aggravated damage for every turn spent in contact with cold iron.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Chimerical Magnet (5pt. Flaw)

Chimera notice you more often than usual. In some cases, this is beneficial, but more often than not it causes problems. Chimerical beasts on a rampage will tend to turn on you before attacking others. Nervosa find you irresistible, and sprites of all types prank you constantly

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

### Sidhe’s Curse (5pt. Flaw)

**Note: Only Arcadian PCs may take this Flaw.**

The sidhe live in mortal terror of Banality, due to it taking root in their souls more easily than any other of the kith. Although you are not sidhe, you are subject to this frailty as well. Whenever you would gain a point of Banality, you gain two instead. Sidhe characters may not take this Flaw.

**Source:** C20 Core Rulebook

# Kinfolk Flaws

## All Kinfolk Specific Flaws

### Inferiority Complex (1 pt. Flaw)

Nope, you’re not worthy. Never have been, never will be. In situations requiring you to take charge or be personally responsible, all your difficulties are raised by one.

**Source:** W20 Corebook

### Unscented (1 pt. Flaw)

For some reason, you have no noticeable body odor. Your scent is so faint as to be practically undetectable by animals and Garou. This may work to your advantage while hiding from scent-driven predators (and many humans may prefer a neutral-smelling person), this fact is a decided disadvantage among Garou. They are likely to instinctually distrust anyone without a scent, suspecting that he or she is using supernatural means to hide Wyrm taint. No Gifts, such as Scent of the True Form, can reveal you as Kinfolk. Among a group of people who rely heavily on their sense of smell, you have a distinct disability.

**Source:** W20 Kinfolk

# Mage Flaws

## Mage Physical Flaws

As any Life-skilled mage understands, “average” is a meaningless concept with regards to biological organisms. Even so, certain features of a physical body make it harder for a person to function in a world that’s often built for “average” people. Physical Flaws reflect limitations of a character’s body that are not – without magick, technology or both – things she can repair. That said, a person with such “flaws” is often more resourceful than someone who hasn’t had to work around those obstacles

### Aging (2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 pt. Flaw)

You ain’t as young as you used to be… The years have taken their toll on your physical capacities, and while the spirit may be willing, the body most certainly is not.

System-wise, this Flaw reflects the diminished capabilities of a body that is too old to fulfill full adult potential For every two points in this Flaw, the character loses one dot from a Physical Attribute (Strength, Dexterity or Stamina), either because his body is aging past its prime.

Previous editions of this Flaw – that is, ones that were written by authors in their 20s or early 30s – maintained that a character must lose one dot of Physical Attributes for each decade over 40. As this author (currently in his 50s, and in better shape than he was at half this age) can attest, that’s nonsense. A person can maintain, or even exceed, a young adult’s physical capabilities well into middle age, and mages – who employ Life magicks, yoga, and other forms of physical conditioning – often age even better than most people do. Considering that a skilled mage can live for centuries with little (or no) loss of her physical abilities, this Flaw is not bound to a character’s chronological age, only to her physical health in relation to that age. Even so, ancient mages can get pretty frail. For health problems related to greater stages of decrepitude, see Impediment, above.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Degeneration (3, 6 or 9 pt. Flaw)

Your body is falling apart. A curse, disease, flawed biotech, corrupting magicks, or some other affliction is rotting your physical form, and although Life magick can repair the damage to some degree, this degeneration remains permanent unless the Flaw is somehow removed.

In its three-point variation, this Flaw reflects an inability to heal injuries without the aid of magick or medical technology. Until treated by Life Sphere Effects or medical intervention, the character cannot recover heath levels lost to injury, disease or other factors.

At the six-point level, the character suffers a constant stream of injuries even without outside trauma. Whenever he’s at full Health, that character loses one health level every two weeks until he is either healed or he dies. As described above, he cannot heal on his own.

At the nine-point level, that Health loss is essentially aggravated damage, and cannot be healed except through vulgar Life-Sphere Effects.

Obviously, this Flaw is meaningless in one-shots or short-duration games. It should be taken only by characters (and players) involved in long-term chronicles.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Permanent Wound (3 pt. Flaw)

Due to lasting injury, Pattern leakage, a Paradox Flaw, or some other physiological deficit, you suffer from a chronic injury that never heals. This might be an incurable tumor, endless bleeding, debilitating pain, brittle bones… the specifics are not important. Regardless of the cause, your character is always at the Wounded health level; even with magickal healing, the injury returns to its normal state at either sunrise or sunset (your choice) every day. Although this wound does not deteriorate further unless your character gets injured by some other source – at which point, another four health levels in damage can kill your character – this Permanent Wound does not recover to a healthy state until and unless the Flaw is bought off through a dramatic story-based cure.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

## Mage Mental Flaws

Mages tend – with good reason! – to be seen as crazy, obsessive, or otherwise touched in the head. And so, mental Flaws are common among those nutty Awakened types, most especially the ones who, have mental Merits as well.

### Feral Mind (3 pt. Flaw)

More animal than human being, you lack the social graces and mental conditioning that most folks consider essential. Perhaps you’re a throwback, or wild-raised since childhood; or maybe you lost a part of yourself to animalistic shapechanging, suffer from a mental or psychological quirk, or simply renounce your humanity in favor of a more honest primal truth.

Regardless of its origins, this feral-mindedness limits your ability to function in human society. You prefer non-linguistic vocalizations and body language over cultured speech, and may lack the ability to “speak” in human terms at all. Your actions and reactions are animalistic too; you mark territory, snarl when annoyed, cower or lash out when threatened, feel no sense of so-called “modesty,” detest clothing, and smell musky even when you’ve just had a bath (which you rarely do under your own power). Such behaviors usually raise the difficulty of your social-interaction rolls by +3, although certain situations – like intimidation or seduction – may lower the difficulty by the same amount (-3).

This Flaw, however, isn’t simply a social drawback; you may not have more than three separate Language Merits, and you speak very little (and very simply) when you choose to speak at all. Your human developmental skills (speech, reading, math, socialization, etc.) hover at a child-like level despite your sharp instincts and innate primal cunning. Although your Mental Attributes (especially Perception and Wits) may be high, you probably won’t ever reach an adult level of human development; even if you do, the animal in you remains very close to the skin.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

## Mage Social Flaws

Despite all their enlightenment – and sometimes because of it – mages can be rather clueless when it comes to social niceties. Oh, sure, they can be cool as a vampire, smooth as an oil slick, and more connected than a World Bank conference; even then, however, a mage can make plenty of gaffes, enemies, and other social pitfalls. And when that happens, you get stuff like the following Social Flaws.

### Esoteric Discourse / Technobabbler (1 pt. Flaw)

Your obsessive love of a specialized field inspires you to fill every waking hour with obscure jargon and obtuse metaphraseology. Most folks can’t understand half of what you say, and their incomprehension of such elementary terminology impels you to facilitate obligatory (if remedial) pedagogy. Oh, for fuck’s sake – just talk normal for a change.

In game terms, this Flaw imposes difficulty modifiers (+1 or +2) on social rolls, thanks to the character’s compulsive jargonization, hyperinitiated nomenclature, and condescending pedanticism. The Flaw’s first variation reflects arcane specialization, the second reflects tech-based terminology, and other variations (Specious Legalese, Obtuse Academia, and so forth) could reflect similar fascinations with other fields. For people who actually understand you, however, the usual penalty might become a social bonus instead… at which point everyone else probably leaves the room and lets the experts talk amongst themselves.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Insane /Infamous Mentor (1 pt. Flaw)

The mage who taught you the ropes is dangerously tangled up in them. Maybe she’s out of her head (though probably not a Marauder… yet); or he’s got an awful rep that has splattered all over you. That person could be angry at you for some reason (good or otherwise), or live downstream on Shit Creek, with a nasty habit of dragging you along for the ride. This Flaw makes an excellent addition to the Background: Mentor, and has a way of fouling up your relationships with other mages as well as your bond with the mentor herself.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### New Kid (1 pt. Flaw)

You’ve just recently Awakened, and you still have something to prove. Your peers don’t think much of you just yet, and although you’ve got allies who consider you worth their time, their investment in your goodwill is minimal. Add +2 to the difficulty of your social rolls with more experienced mages until you’ve earned the right (and the experience) to buy off this Flaw. On the good side, however, you’re likely to be popular with certain companions, although – as “new meat” in a social scene often discovers – that’s not always the kind of attention you’ll want.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Rival House (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

You belong to a Chantry (or Construct, or whatever) that has a longstanding animosity with another such organization. This could be a rival Hermetic Chantry, a temple whose members consider you to be heretics, a hostile street gang, an opposing martial arts order, a coven that has declared a witchwar against your group, a Construct that has marked you all for death, and so on. This antagonism is mutual, too, and you’re expected to act accordingly. Mediation remains unlikely, and things could get worse before they get better… if improved relations are even possible.

Obviously, such hostility is personal, with deep roots in the backstory of your chronicle and its characters. Groups of mages don’t generally pursue mass grudges without serious reasons to do so! The Flaw’s value depends upon the power of that other stronghold and the level to which they hate members of your own.

* (1 point) A minor rivalry with an associated Chantry of equal or lesser power in relation to your own. For the most part, the antagonism involves pranks, competition, minor sabotage, and occasional “friendly” brawls.
* (2 points) A significant rivalry (serious fights and slanders, major sabotage) with a Chantry of similar power, or a minor rivalry with a Chantry so powerful they don’t consider yours to be a true threat.
* (3 points) Deadly antagonism between roughly equal Chantries.
* (4 points) A significant rivalry between your Chantry and one that’s powerful enough to inflict serious damage upon your own.
* (5 points) Deadly hatred from a Chantry that could level yours if they really wanted to… and they probably do.

From the three-point version onward, it’s pretty unlikely that the rivalry can be resolved without a shared enemy or some significant interference from an even more powerful third party. It might not be resolvable even then. This Flaw requires the Background: Chantry /Construct, but any character with such associations can take it – the Flaw is not restricted to mages from the Traditions and Technocracy. Your rivalry might cross factions, too; a Hermetic House might hold a longstanding enmity with a Progenitor lab. It can also exist within a single group (two rival Etherite collectives), or between two related groups that do not belong to the same faction; alchemist sects, for example, have been arguing over the name Solificati for centuries, with no end in sight!

**Source:** M20 Book of Screts

### Sect Enmity (1 pt. Flaw)

Mage groups tend to have issues with each other by their very nature. You, however, have managed to piss off an entire sect of mages within your larger group. You could be a Verbena witch who hacked off the Hermetic House Flambeau (yipe), a Black Suit on the wrong side of the Friends of Courage, or a Red Spear who trash-talked the Ghost Wheel Society and lived to regret it. Although your enemies won’t try to kill you – you are theoretically on the same side, after all – they really don’t like your face, or much else about you.

Generally, the members of the sect in question will have as little to do with you as they can, and won’t be terribly cooperative if they must deal with you at all. Social dice rolls you make while dealing with members from this group add +2 to the difficulty. You cannot, obviously belong to this sect when you first take this Flaw, although you could conceivably smooth things over, buy off the Flaw, and join that group later. A player may buy this Flaw multiple times to reflect poor relationships with several different sects. Storytellers are advised to create several reoccurring characters from the rival sect, in order to give this Flaw some teeth.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Special Responsibility (1 pt. Flaw)

You and your big mouth! Shortly after you joined your current group, you stepped up and assumed a duty to that group. Doing so earned you some points with the leadership, but that duty comes at great cost to you. This responsibility weighs on you to a significant degree, consuming time, energy, and social, emotional and perhaps monetary resources you’d rather devote to other things.

Obviously, you need to define what you’re doing for whom, and what you need to do in the course of doing it. Although it’s (probably) not dangerous in life-threatening ways, this Flaw demands constant attention. Until you buy off the Flaw, you really can’t skip out on your responsibilities.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Twisted Apprenticeship (1 pt. Flaw)

Someone taught you all the wrong things. For whatever reason, the mentor who introduced you to the Awakened realm did a terrible job, and now you reap the benefits. They may have told you lies about other groups, filled your head with nonsense about the nature of magick (though in all honesty, pretty much everyone does that), or simply behaved like a raging shmuck and left you with the payoff. Now folks blame you for things you did not do (or you did out of ignorance), and the mentor’s bad rep and worse teachings hang about you like a god-slaying stink. You’ll probably recover eventually, but your Awakened career got off to a wretched start.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Diabolical Mentor (2 pt. Flaw)

Your mentor wasn’t merely bad at his job – he turned out to be actively malevolent. That person could be an actual Nephandus, a demented Marauder, a ruthless wizard, a diehard “black hats and mirrorshades” type of Technocrat, an Infernalist sellsoul… maybe you don’t even know what your mentor really is, but it’s just plain bad. Obviously, this personage has fucked you up. Additionally, if you’ve uncovered things he would rather keep secret, that could lead to other Flaws as well: Enemy, Cursed, and worse…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Expendable (3 pt. Flaw)

An upper-level member of your group wants you dead, and sticks you with missions that will probably get the job done sooner rather than later. You could be the lab assistant who keeps being told to send those big metal kites up into the thunderstorm, the apprentice who keeps getting sent off to obtain forbidden artifacts, or the Black Suit who keeps facing off against yet another goddamned werewolf pack while his dispatcher makes excuses for the lack of timely backup. Either way, you’re pretty screwed. Worst of all, no one will openly admit that’s the case, and you may not even know who’s got it out for you, much less why they’re trying to get you perished.

Although this Flaw works best for Technocratic operatives (who remain subject to orders no matter who they might be), it suits any Awakened group that operates with a top-down hierarchy wherein high-ranking mages assign missions to lower-ranking ones and expect those orders to be obeyed – say, the Templar Knights, the Order of Hermes, the Celestial Chorus, and so forth. It does not suit shamans, Ecstatics, or other mages who don’t give a flying fuck what their so-called superiors say.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Probationary Member (4 pt. Flaw)

Having recently defected from a rival group or faction, you’re on probation with the current group. Peers expect you to turn on them, and certain folks have probably decided to throw you under the bus on general principle. Your continued membership (possibly even your survival) depends upon doing everything right and nothing wrong… and just how often do things really go that well in the real world, anyway?

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

## Mage Supernatural Flaws

The strangeness of Awakened life brings perils as well as power. And while mortals occasionally suffer such bizarre fates too, the following Flaws embody the uglier side of magick’s gifts.

### Apprentice (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Most metaphysical societies, the Technocracy included, employ a mentor /apprentice system. During a members’ early years, an elder member is assigned to, or chooses to, teach a new and inexperienced member. During the later days of membership, an elder is expected to pass on their experience to the younger generation. In addition to the usual training programs a given group may purse, a new recruit often winds up in the care of a seasoned member of that group. And in the case of this Flaw, you’ve got a real winner on your hands.

When you mentor an apprentice a mentor, you’re responsible for someone (whatever his formal title might be) who makes your life difficult. You can’t just kick this person to the curb, but must instead provide discipline, guidance, training, and quite often a support system (room, board, research space, and so forth) so that the newbie can become a successful member of your sect. An apprentice, however, is not a houseplant; even the most cooperative apprentices demand time and attention, and their deeds – good and otherwise – reflect upon your own social status. The more troublesome ones, by extension, can drive a mentor toward curmudgeonly solitude.

As a Flaw, this Trait reflects the range of potential apprentices and the effect they have upon your life:

* (1 point) A cooperative and dedicated ideal student who takes up very little of your space and time, reflects well upon you, and seems eager to learn from you while being reluctant to argue very much.
* (2 points) A typical student who needs a fair amount of hand-holding; makes occasional mistakes of protocol and discipline; and takes up a fair amount of time, space and patience. Even so, this person remains attentive and more or less respectful, providing plenty of reasons for you to be proud of him.
* (3 points) A rather clueless student whose presence consumes a significant amount of time and attention. This apprentice can be clumsy, obnoxious, thick-witted, and occasionally problematic in social situations and training exercises. He’s got promise, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get him to realize his potential.
* (4 points) A seriously challenging student whose behavior and dedication leave a great deal to be desired. This apprentice may have talent, but the burdens begin to outweigh the potential benefits of his instruction.
* (5 points) An obstinate, haughty, disrespectful ass whose presence is more trouble than it’s worth. Dangerous to himself and everyone around him (yourself included), he’s a disgrace to the society you share. Why are you training this person, again? There might be a light at the end of the tunnel someday, but it’s gonna take a lot of work and sacrifice before this apprentice amounts to anything more than a waste of your time.

Again, this is a person for whom you are responsible. Unless you dedicate lots of time, attention, and often monetary resources toward bettering his condition, your apprentice could get worse as time goes on. Conversely, you might be able to mold a troublesome apprentice into an exemplar of your society. From a game-system standpoint, you can lower the value of this Flaw through dedicated work – the obstinate five-point troublemaker could eventually become a one-point ideal student if you put in the time, work, and roleplaying to make him so. Storytellers: Allow your player to buy this Flaw down through experience if and when she makes an effort to straighten up a problematic apprentice, but also feel free to raise the Flaw’s drawbacks if the player lets things slide too often and too far.

Despite the usual preconceptions of age and experience, an apprentice could be older than his mentor. He may have originally belonged to a different sect (say, a Verbena defecting to the New World Order or Bata’a), and has a head full of ideas about how things “should” be done – ideas that run counter to your own teachings. Or he might be a new mage who Awakened in middle age, and who therefore has problems taking orders from an experienced mage he considers to be a kid. Even the best students make mistakes, and so no level of this Flaw is without headaches – that, after all, is why it’s considered a Flaw!

Once again, this character-based Trait represents a full-fledged Storyteller character whose personality, needs, problems, and agendas make him far more than just a list of dots on a character sheet. In an experienced roleplaying trope, you might let another player run this apprentice, as either a supporting character or as their main mage. In such cases, of course, the student will be less powerful and experienced than the teacher, unless he began his Awakened life as a mage from a different group. In any case, the apprentice ought to be a major part of the chronicle, and may eventually even become the center of the tale (as in the Harry Potter saga) if and when the apprenticeship goes well. A rotten apprenticeship, on the other hand, could still earn that character a starring role in the chronicle: as an antagonist whose close history with the mage just makes the fight nastier for everyone involved.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Devil’s Mark (1 pt. Flaw)

A pact or some other metaphysical occurrence has left you with what old-school witch-hunters consider a “devil’s mark”: a minor but noticeable deformation that remains insensate to pain and yet allows a creature to draw your Quintessence out through your body in physical form. Despite preconceptions, the origins of this mark might not have come from a pact with some infernal entity. That fact doesn’t keep people – Sleepers and otherwise – from looking askance at you if and when this mark can be seen, especially since there’s often something disconcerting about the way it appears – a third nipple, a red or black growth, a vaguely demonic face or sigil embedded in your flesh, and so forth.

Thankfully, you don’t have to worry too much about witch-hunters in the technologically industrialized world. (Other regions are a different story; even rural areas of socalled advanced nations still hold people who will harm or kill someone who’s “different.”) The mark’s disconcerting appearance, though, may lead you to cover it up anyway. Folks who do believe old-fashioned ideas about “witches” will not take kindly to that devilish brand, so it could become a real problem under the wrong circumstances. On the plus side, however, you actually can nurture a Familiar (as in the Background Trait of that name) on the mark, and do so without physical discomfort. Of course, the idea of a talking, midnight-blue winged tarantula taking hits of Quintessence off your body may be uncomfortable in its own right.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Echoes (1 to 5 pt. Supernatural Flaw)

You display some of the weird phenomena associated with sorcery. Maybe the air quivers with strange vibrations, or music plays without a visible source, or shadows gather in your presence. It could be that Resonance has marked you in noticeable ways… or perhaps your own beliefs send out vibrations too strong to ignore. Some curse or blessing might have marked you for favor or damnation.

This Flaw fits in well with certain Backgrounds (Blessing, Destiny, Influence, Totem), and can be used as a simple rule system for Resonance if your group doesn’t want to employ the optional rules associated with that phenomenon. In this case, one point in the Flaw could reflect a single dot in Resonance, with more points reflecting more points in that Trait. The flaw, under these circumstances, could go up and down; the player, however, gets freebie points only for the level of the Flaw at the beginning of the chronicle, and so the number of freebie points involved does not go up or down unless the character loses the Echoes Flaw completely.

As with other variable-cost Merits and Flaws, the different levels reflect increasing degrees of effect, their specific phenomena depending upon the mage and her overall temperament. The following five-level spectrum could complement the five dots of the Resonance/ Synergy Trait described in Chapters Six and Ten, showing the severity of the effects associated with really high levels of Resonance or Synergy.

* (1 point) Slight manifestations of no real consequence: perhaps your shadow flickers, milk sours in your presence, or a vague scent that’s appropriate to your nature follows in your wake.
* (2 points) Mild echoes cause noticeable effects: animals shy away from you or follow you around; you send out vibes that a sensitive person can notice; you feel profoundly uncomfortable around energies, symbols, locations, or people who’re opposed to your kind.
* (3 points) People who know what to look for recognize you on sight… not simply as a mage, but as the sort of mage you are: plants bloom or wither in your presence; sounds or music echo through the air; holy or unholy symbols repulse you (possibly forcing you to make a Willpower roll to remain nearby).
* (4 points) You stand out in ways that even Sleepers notice: your shadow moves of its own accord; you don’t cast reflections in mirrors or liquid; cold winds blow even in a still room. People who know traditional folklore might be able to disrupt your magicks if they know the proper legendary precautions to take, essentially performing countermagick with a successful Intelligence + Occult roll (difficulty is the targeted mage’s Arete Trait +3)
* (5 points) Reality shifts when you’re around, rippling with paranormal energies: animals adore you or run away when you approach; people feel sick or energized when you stand near; environmental shifts – rain, cold, shadows, warmth, etc. – radiate outward from you. A person who knows the proper folklore can try to attack or repel you using traditional charms or counterspells, inflicting one lethal health level of damage for each success they win in a contested Willpower roll against you.

**Source:** M20 Core Rulebook

### Gremlin (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

There’s a perverse imp running around your home. Okay, maybe it’s not an actual imp – it could be a malfunctioning robot companion, a vain and selfish bioconstruct, a troublesome spirit, an obnoxious beast, that talking winged tarantula we mentioned a few entries ago… the form of the creature is unimportant. Like the above Flaw: Apprentice, this Trait reflects a companion character who, despite being supposedly on your side, remains a constant pain in your ass.

Originally presented as the adversarial Background for Familiar, this Flaw becomes more significant as the power of the creature, and its attendant nuisance, grows:

* (1 point) A creature of unusual, but minor, ability, which busies itself with trivial annoyances.
* (2 points) An entity whose power and intellect (or at least its cunning) make your life frustrating but not actively hazardous.
* (3 points) A being of notable power whose mischief has begun to shade into actual damage to your property, health, status, and relationships.
* (4 points) A metaphysical pain in the tuchus whose powers cause lasting harm to you and to the things you consider precious.
* (5 points) A walking plague of significant power and malignancy. Said critter might not actually mean to be bad, but its effects on your life are inescapably destructive.

As with an Apprentice Flaw, above, you bear a certain amount of responsibility to this creature – it’s not simply your enemy, or even a nemesis, but a being with whom you share a vital bond. Also as per the Apprentice Flaw, your treatment of this “gremlin” (a legendary being that sabotaged airplanes for fun) may reduce or intensify the value of this Flaw. A formerly malignant entity could be tamed and eventually become a Familiar (as in that Background), while a poorly-treated familiar might become a gremlin, and a previously annoying gremlin could be annoyed into becoming a serious threat to the mage and his surroundings. As an optional rule, you might even – with Storyteller approval – be able to purchase the Gremlin Flaw in addition to the Familiar Background, to reflect a helpful yet perpetually troublesome companion.

A gremlin, as with all other Trait-based characters, is an entity in its own right. Chances are good that the trouble it causes for your mage has an understandable foundation – a reason that seems inexplicable to the mage yet remains perfectly reasonable to the gremlin. A mage who explores the reasons behind this misbehavior may calm her temperamental companion; then again, an attempt to understand the gremlin’s grudge might only piss it off further…

**Source:** M20 Book of Serets

### Locked Vidare (1 pt. Flaw)

Mages view the Otherworldly Penumbra through a metaphysical perspective called the Vidare. Most of them can alter that perspective by changing their point of view. Not you. For you, the Periphery remains “locked” into a single perspective: the glittering clarity of the Vidare Astral, the primal luminosity of the Vidare Spiritus, or the rotting deathscape of the Vidare Mortem. Essentially, your metaphysical perspective is frozen in place. This is literally the way you view the world around you, and that view never really changes.

In addition to shaping the way your Storyteller describes the Vidare to you, and guiding your reaction to what you perceive, this Flaw also influences your personality, your sense of fashion, your philosophical and metaphysical paradigms, your magickal focus, and so on. When you perceive things in a certain way, after all, that perspective tends to color most aspects of your life.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Strangeness (1 pt. Flaw)

Your metaphysical prowess occasionally warps reality in your presence, even when you don’t want it to do so. Weird stuff happens when you’re not expecting such phenomena, and those quirks of strangeness seem to be rooted in the sort of magick you pursue. A specialist in Entropy could suffer twists of probability and decay; a Life-attuned healer discovers odd growths and mutations in the life-forms around him, while a Forces-gifted mage bends the physics in his general vicinity. These phenomena ebb and flow without your guidance or control. Perversely, the more skilled you become in magick, the stronger these tides of weirdness become.

System-wise, the Storyteller determines, once or twice per game session, to roll your Arete against difficulty 6. If the roll succeeds, the Storyteller throws in some random occurrence that’s based on a Sphere you possess – most often, on your Affinity Sphere. Grass could grow suddenly, mirrors could crack, psychic impressions could inform you of the sexual habits of the person standing next to you in the elevator – that sort of thing.

If the roll fails, then nothing unusual occurs. If the roll botches, however, then a Paradox backlash expels one point of Paradox in your current pool for each dot you have in your Affinity Sphere; or all of your current Paradox, if you have fewer points than that in your Paradox pool. (If, as an example, Jinx has three dots in Entropy but only one point of Paradox, the backlash dispels that one point in a backlash.) These small backlashes won’t be terribly damaging, but given the unpredictable nature of this Flaw, they could come at very inconvenient times.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Throwback (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Haunted by a past life (often as per the Background Trait of that name), you suffer from awful memories and act out in ways that are, shall we say, not productive to your current incarnation. Perhaps you still loathe the clergymen who tortured a former “you” for witchcraft 400 years ago; the smell of cooking meat still sends you into panic attacks. Or you’ll get vertigo and acrophobic surges from that time a previous incarnation fell off a castle wall. You may slip into archaic accents, foreign languages, or terminology that is not exactly au courant (or socially acceptable) in today’s world. Flashbacks, time segues, inappropriate behavior – it’s all part of the package in this life you lead today.

For each point in this Flaw, up to a maximum of five points (and dice), the Storyteller will roll one die against difficulty 8 when the potential arises for a past life to affect your present life. The more successes he rolls, the more that past life affects you. The symptoms of this “throwback syndrome” generally depend upon the Storyteller’s whim, but you could collaborate with him to hash out a backstory (or several backstories) for the previous incarnations your character recalls, and then roleplay symptoms that seem appropriate to those histories. For especially strong flashbacks (three successes or more), you may need to roll your Willpower (again, difficulty 8) to suppress the reaction to what your character recalls.

Described in Guide to the Traditions as an adversarial Background of Past Life, this Flaw makes a fitting companion to that Background, the Dream Background, and to other Merits and Flaws related to reincarnation (Twin Souls, Shattered Avatar, and similar Traits described within this section). With a few appropriate changes to the symptoms, you could also describe the Throwback Flaw as manifestations of a Legend Background, or as memories from a life that goes back several centuries. You’d rather forget the things you did, and endured, back during the Conquest of the Americas, but you never really can.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Uncanny (1 to 5 pt. Flaw)

No matter how unobtrusive you try to be, you remain remarkably memorable to anyone who encounters you. You’re the very opposite of “arcane,” which is why this Flaw was originally described as an adversarial Background for the Trait of that name; rather than moving through life with near-invisibility, you stand out like a HIT Mark at a Verbena barbeque.

Why are you memorable, exactly? Is it an inhuman glow behind your eyes? An unsettling tone in your voice? A metaphysical miasma that hangs about you despite your apparently mundane appearance? Does grass grow or die in your shadow? Maybe dogs cower when they sense your approach. There could be a low buzzing in your presence, like a chorus of flies, or a disconcerting crackle of electricity that radiates from your skin, disrupting electrical systems in small but noticeable ways. Whatever it is that causes people to remember you, that facet of your presence is a constant reminder that you are not like other folk.

Once again, the point-value of this Flaw depends upon the extent to which it interferes with your life:

* (1 point) You stand out in a crowd.
* (2 points) It’s pretty hard to conceal your oddities.
* (3 points) People remember you long after you’re gone.
* (4 points) You creep people out simply by existing.
* (5 points) You scare people simply by existing

By its nature, this Flaw represents an unmistakable impression. Each point in this Flaw adds one die to the dice pool of anyone who’s trying to notice you, recognize you, or penetrate your attempts at stealth or concealment. (You didn’t really think those wailing damned souls were gonna shut up just because you were trying to get past the guards, now did you?) You may, however, attempt to cover up your uncanny presence with a roll of Intelligence + Subterfuge, assuming you have a method of doing so – it’s easier to conceal your glowing red eyes with sunglasses than to get those wailing damned souls to piss off for a few minutes! The difficulty of such attempts is generally 5 + the value of your Uncanny Flaw; if, for instance, the clever bioconstruct Victoria Carliotti gets two points in Uncanny for her too-perfect skin, rippling muscles, and impossibly green eyes, her concealment difficulty would be 7. That said, this Flaw does not increase the difficulty of social rolls and may, depending on what you’re trying to do, decrease such difficulties instead (Storyteller’s option).

Despite the potentially grotesque nature of this Flaw, your uncanniness doesn’t necessarily have to mean that your physical features are fearsome in themselves. An inhumanly gorgeous or disturbingly ordinary person can be Uncanny in their own ways. This Flaw makes an excellent companion to a variety of Physical Merits and Flaws – Enchanting Feature, Hyperflexible, Hideous, and so forth – and fits in with Backgrounds like Legend, Past Life or Totem quite well too. (See the appropriate entries for details.)

Although the Flaw: Echoes can manifest similar odd phenomena, this Flaw reflects a constant and recognizable distinction. While it probably embodies certain elements of your metaphysical practices, it’s not tied to your Resonance or activities – it’s an innate part of who you are. Your uncanniness could represent physical features (hulking physique, metallic skin, eyes that reflect eternity, and so forth); metaphysical quirks (an unearthly aura, echoing disembodied voices, a chilling radius around you, etc.); weird companions (a parade of pink-winged kittens, smoldering butterflies, howling coyote spirits, or similar inexplicable critters). Essentially, any sort of localized kink in normalcy’s tail could be considered a sign of your Uncanny nature. By “uncanny,” incidentally, we don’t necessarily mean “supernatural.” The unnatural stillness of a Black Suit, the flawless skin of a Victor, the predatory charisma of a Syndicate “magic man” – they’re all examples of uncannily Enlightened technology.

**Source:** M20 Book Secrets

### Vulnerability (1 to 7 pt. Flaw)

Some perilous substance may spell your doom. Thanks to a paranormal weakness – a curse, a Paradox Flaw, a quirk of belief or cultural legends – you suffer extraordinary harm from that malignant material. Perhaps you shrivel up in sunlight, flee from the scent of roses, or melt when obnoxious farm girls throw water in your face. This substance isn’t generally fatal to most folks (Awakened or otherwise), but it’s potential death for you.

Your vulnerability to this substance in question has two potential levels:

* Weakening, which inflicts one aggravated health level on your character every turn she’s in contact with the substance; and…
* Mortal peril, which inflicts three aggravated health levels for each turn she’s in contact with the substance.

The value of this Flaw is based upon two factors: How common the fatal substance is, and how badly it affects you:

* (2 points) You can be mortally wounded by contact with something that’s almost impossible to acquire (the sound of Pan’s pipes, a splinter from the True Cross), or weakened by a very rare substance (a chunk of moon rock, the tooth from an aged lion).
* (3 points) Mortal injury from a very rare substance, or weakness caused by something that’s relatively scarce and not obviously harmful (saffron, grave dirt, a raven’s feathers).
* (4 points) Mortal injury from something that’s relatively scarce, or weakness from a common substance (rainwater, silver, a baby’s cry).
* (5 points) A common substance inflicts mortal injury on you.
* (+1 point) You die instantly upon contact with the substance in question.
* (+1 point) The mere presence of the substance means instant death to you.
* (-1 point) The substance must first inflict damage on you through a typical injury (a stab wound, ingested poison, a silver bullet) before it can harm you.

Damage from this Flaw cannot be soaked unless you’re wearing an appropriate type of armor to prevent exposure to that substance. (Being aggravated damage, it shouldn’t normally be soaked anyhow, but mages have ways of getting around such trivialities.) Your backstory should feature the reason for your potentially fatal vulnerability to this substance. That vulnerability ought to be tied into your magickal focus, too – an Alpha Male tycoon isn’t likely to burn upon contact with holy water, although it might be fun to fling a few dashes of the stuff around Wall Street and find out for sure! (That would certainly explain a few things.)

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Bizarre Hunger (2 to 5 pt. Flaw)

You prefer – maybe even need – to eat weird shit… quite possibly in a literal sense of that expression. Perhaps you’ve sworn a vow, suffered a curse, been treated (or created) with unhallowed rituals or arcane hyperscience, or initiated into an occult fellowship with… interesting admission demands. In any case, you must consume substances that may be degrading, unpleasant, expensive, or downright illegal.

The more inconvenient the substance, the more this Flaw is worth:

* (2 points) Easy to procure, though not as easy to devour (paper, fresh eggs, poop, etc.).
* (3 points) Unpleasant, hazardous, and perhaps illegal to consume (rotten meat, swamp water, raw cannabis, and so forth).
* (4 points) Specialized, foul, criminal, and /or expensive chow (human blood, custom-brewed potions or meals, and the like).
* (5 points) You really shouldn’t eat such things… but you must (live humans, toxic sludge, gold dust, highly specialized food-like concoctions, and other similar forms of sustenance).

For each dot in your Stamina Trait, you can go one day without satisfying your special dietary requirements. After that, you lose one health level per day until you either consume your particular substance, or else die of hunger or thirst, suffer the punishment of a vow unfulfilled, or otherwise endure whichever other consequences might result from denying your bizarre hunger.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Blood-Hungry Soul (2, 3 or 5 pt. Flaw)

In a previous incarnation, you had been a ghoul in thrall to an unholy addiction to vampiric blood. Now, you must resist the call of that ravenous past life and its fixation on intoxicating Kindred vitae.

The deeper your thirst for this damning fulfillment, the more this Flaw is worth:

* (2 points) You recall the glorious temptations of the blood, but remember it like a poor choice from long ago. If the opportunity presents itself to you, however, you’ll need to make a Willpower roll (difficulty 5) in order to resist the urge to pursue that addiction again. If you succumb to that temptation again in this life, your difficulty to resist further temptations rises to 6 every time the chance to consume such blood arises again.
* (3 points) That temptation is stronger. Now the roll to resist that first taste is 6, and the roll to resist further crimson snacks becomes 8.
* (5 points) You’ve got it bad. Really bad! Obsessed with the memories of glorious mystic blood, you must beat difficulty 8 in order to resist your old habits, and difficulty 10 each time you try to deny that thirst after you’ve fallen back to that damned addiction again.

This is so not going to end well…

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Crucial Component (2 to 5 pt. Flaw)

Your metaphysical practice demands specialized instruments. It’s not simply that you need fuel for your hypermodded Porsche 911 Turbo S – you need your own specially prepared blend of fuels, or the car won’t go. A simple rowan wand will not suffice – your spells demand a hand-carved branch cut from an unscarred rowan tree at high midnight on Samhain Eve. In game terms, at least one of the instruments in your magickal focus must be specifically created, harvested or modified to work with your magicks. No lesser tool will suffice.

How hard is it to procure or employ this specialized component? That depends on the value of the Flaw:

* (2 points) Easy to procure and /or employ (sunlight, yoga postures, motor oil, strong emotions, a book commonly found in the New Age section at your local bookstore, etc.).
* (3 points) Challenging to procure, employ, or replace (open flames, the Kurmasana posture, professional racing oil, genuine sorrow, an out-of-print occult text, and so on).
* (4 points) Pretty damned hard to obtain, employ, and replace (liquid fire, the Vrschikasana pose, alchemically formulated oil, deep-core grief, a genuine Roman text of De Daemonum Socrates by Apuleius, and other rare and precious instruments).
* (5 points) Unique, obscure, forbidden, cumbersome, or some combination of those four (a bottle of alchemically distilled sunfire, an impossibly complex yoga posture invented by the practitioner, personally formulated and distilled hypertech lubricating oil, the heartfelt scream of a grieving mother, a woodcut-illustrated Renaissance Grimoire of Honorius inscribed on flayed human skin, and similarly rarified instruments).

When used, the chosen instrument functions as a Personalized Instrument – possibly a Unique Personalized one in the case of a five-point component. In your case, however, you cannot employ the magick that’s connected to that instrument at all unless you’re also able to employ that particular instrument. If Lee Ann Milner depends upon a unique vengeful centipede yoga posture in order to employ certain Forces Effects through her yoga practice, then Lee Ann is SOL unless she can assume that posture in time to deploy the necessary Effects.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Jinx /Infernal Contraption (2 to 10 pt. Flaw)

Stormbringer. The One Ring. The Monkey’s Paw. Sure, that paranormal doohickey may possess amazing powers, but it’s also a sack of miseries the likes of which few humans can imagine. And you’ve got one. Lucky you…

As with the Background: Wonder (a Trait for which this Flaw was once an adversarial Background), this Trait reflects an uncanny item or device. In this case, however, the “treasure” is more trouble than it’s worth. Perhaps it’s cursed with misfortunes, poorly made, haunted by malignant spirits, seething with Paradox emanations, or too experimental for its own good. It could be the earthly form of an unpleasant entity (“I was a thousand times eviler than thou…”), an alien artifact, or the remnant of a culture that passed into dust millennia ago – and good riddance to them! Or maybe it’s simply a truly wondrous treasure that dislikes you personally, like the Sword of Fighting in JourneyQuest. For whatever the reason might be, you own this mystic /hypertech millstone, and can’t easily get rid of it.

Like all variable-point Flaws, the value of this Trait depends upon its ability to screw up your life. In this case, however, the value of the Flaw is deducted from the Background cost of a Wonder. In order to avoid nightmarish catastrophes of math, every two points in the Flaw are worth one dot in the Wonder Background’s cost. That cost, however, cannot drop below one dot (two points), and so any points that get “left over” between the value of the Flaw and the two points in that Wonder are added to the owner’s character sheet, reflecting the proverbial dead albatross around the character’s neck: a mighty burden he can’t just toss away.

* (2 points) Your Jinxed item features an annoying drawback that, while not deadly, makes life difficult for the person who owns it. Examples: it attracts ghosts, smells bad, makes irritating sounds at inconvenient times, or radiates a pervasive aura of discomfort. A 1 Dot Wonder
* (4 points) The Jinxed item has several annoying drawbacks (as above), or perhaps one or two problematic ones. Examples: It must shed blood each time it’s employed, has a contentious and unpleasant personality, attracts malignant spirits, or tempts the owner to violate her moral code. A 2 Dot Wonder
* (6 points) Your item features a host of annoying drawbacks (at least six of them), three or four problematic ones, and /or a major flaw. Examples: The item belongs a powerful paranormal entity that wants it back, it inflicts constant pain on whomever uses it (three bashing health levels per turn of operation), the object radiates an aura of corruption and decay, or it steadily drives its owner toward atrocities. A 3 Dot Wonder
* (8 points) In addition to at least six annoying drawbacks and /or five problematic ones, plus two or more major flaws, the item also backfires if you fail a roll of Wits + Esoterica (or Wits + Hypertech, if the item employs advanced technology), against difficulty 7. The Storyteller is encouraged to get creative when deciding how that backfire manifests. A 4 Dot Wonder
* (10 points) In addition to the previous level of difficulty, the Storyteller essentially has an open license to make your life difficult in unexpected, creative, and often mysterious ways. Examples: A bloodthirsty cult that’s after the treasure, a demonic entity imprisoned within the item, a cross-dimensional vortex of probability fluxes and quirks of physics that manifest in the object’s vicinity, and so forth. A 5 Dot Wonder

These flaws, of course, should be based in the nature of the Jinxed item and its relationship to the owner. That said, there’s no reason that a robot can’t be possessed by evil spirits or a primeval artifact can’t be a technological hazard using unknown technology. Stranger things, in Mage, happen all the time.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Paranormal Prohibition or Imperative (2 to 8 pt. Flaw)

Also known as Geasa and Magical Prohibition or Imperative, this Flaw represents a thing you either must do, or are forbidden from doing, on pain of awful consequences. Generally, this imperative comes from an oath you swore, a curse that was inflicted upon you, or a legacy that follows your family lineage. Faerie grudges, infernal pacts, godly inheritances, ancient prophecies, Fortean quirks of physics… any one of them can inflict such a burden upon you. So long as you never cross that line, you should be okay – and may, in fact, possess some blessing (a Merit or Background Trait) that’s linked to this Flaw. Ah, but life has a way of pushing us to do things we don’t want to do, and that’s especially true in the case of people who have a curse or geas upon their heads!

The value of this Flaw is based on your chances of violating the prohibition, and the consequences that occur if / when you do.

* (1 point) You break the prohibition only with an easily avoided circumstance (never kill a cat, go to London, or have sex with a married person), or find it easy to fulfill your imperative (you must shave all your hair off, walk outside every day, or wear blue clothing).
* (2 points) Your prohibition is easy to break (never tell a lie, leave your home town, or have sex with anyone), or your imperative is challenging to fulfill (you must always cover your head, walk at least three miles every day, or go barefoot at all times).
* (3 points) It’s very hard to not break your prohibition (never speak, have a home of your own, or fall in love or lust with anyone), or to honor your imperative (you must blindfold yourself every day even though you can see, walk everywhere you go, or remain naked at all times).
* (+1 point) Inconvenient consequences – you botch your next three rolls, suffer a migraine, develop a rash for several days, etc.
* (+2 points) Annoying consequences – you lose your voice for a day, lose a die from all your pools for a week due to constant pain, add +2 to all your social rolls with members of your faction until you can atone from breaking your oath, and so forth.
* (+3 points) Painful consequences – until you can atone, you go blind or mute, lose one dot from an Attribute, lose an Ally, Mentor, or Familiar, take the Flaw: Oathbreaker (below), or suffer a similarly awful fate.
* (+4 points) Crippling consequences – until you atone, your Avatar abandons you, you lose a total of three dots from various Attributes, you take the Flaws: Oathbreaker, Deranged or both, or else endure a related punishment.
* (+5 points) Fatal consequences – either you’re gonna die soon, you’ll be whisked off to an Otherworldly punishment Realm, or both. Atonement, if it’s even possible, will be very harsh, so do NOT break this oath or forsake this imperative!

This Flaw makes an excellent companion to numerous Backgrounds (Familiar, Legend, Past Life, Totem, Wonder, and potentially others at the Storyteller’s discretion) and Merits (pretty much anything, really, depending on how you define the source of that Merit). Although this does not reduce the cost of that Trait (despite the description of this Flaw in Mage Revised, which employed a complex and potentially abusive rule system that’s not found in other World of Darkness games), a Prohibition /Imperative can represent vows, obligations, and /or legacies associated with the beneficial Trait. If, for example, Riordan Manseragh were to have sworn a mystic oath in order to win his hawk-spirit familiar, that oath would represent a Paranormal Imperative, with painful consequences (the loss of his Familiar Background) if he breaks his promise.

Your Prohibition /Imperative must be tied in with your character’s backstory, and probably has a connection to all three elements of her magickal focus (paradigm, practice, and instruments). The conditions must be something that could conceivably present an obstacle for your character (no prohibitions, for example, against having sex with Voormas, or imperatives to get out of bed in the morning), and your Storyteller will, of course, make a point of throwing said obstacles in your path at various points during the chronicle. That said, we also urge Storytellers not to abuse this Flaw, or to apply it out of proportion with the points the Flaw is worth.

Although it’s rather unusual, a technomancer could have a metaphysical pact or prohibition too. She may, for instance, need to work on a Mac, employ only steamtech, or invent all of her own technology to avoid suffering some paranormal malaise. Thus, this Flaw is not always “mystical” in nature, even if the line separating mysticism from paranormal phenomena is more a matter of semantics than of metaphysical principles.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Permanent Paradox Flaw (2, 4 or 6 pt. Flaw)

Following a nasty brush with Paradox, you’re got a Flaw that just won’t go away. System-wise, select a trivial (two points), minor (four points), or significant (six points) Paradox Flaw as described on the page title Paradox. That Flaw is now part of your character’s life until you buy off this Flaw, preferably with experience earned through some extraordinary adventure that’s related to the Paradox Flaw in question and the mishap that created that Flaw in the first place.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Branded (3 to 5 pt. Flaw)

You’ve been found guilty by a Traditions Tribunal, who Branded your Avatar with a sigil that indicates your crime. Folks who can see that sigil recognize that you’re a criminal of some sort, and the worse the Brand, the more severe your crime and the more appropriate their reaction will be. Those reactions won’t always be negative; considering the sort of people who’d be favorably inclined toward a known criminal, though, do you really want the goodwill of such people?

* (3 points) A temporary Brand for a Low Crime, which fades after one to three months. At the end of that period, this Flaw goes away. This Brand raises the difficulty of your social rolls by +1 for “average” Tradition mages and +2 for especially law-biding ones.
* (4 points) A lasting Brand for a Low Crime. This Brand lasts for a year or more, and marks you as a rather notorious offender. The difficulty of your social rolls rises by +2 among most mages who can recognize the Brand’s significance, and +3 among mages who take such offenses and punishments seriously.
* (5 points) A lasting Brand for a High Crime, which will not fade for at least nine years and may be essentially permanent. The Brand raises the difficulty of your social rolls by +3 for any character who cares at all about Tradition justice and the people who incur its punishment. Certain parties will target you for additional punishment, and others will consider you to be prime meat for their recruiting efforts.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Oathbreaker (4 pt. Flaw)

Sworn oaths are powerful things, especially when magick is involved. And yet, you have broken your vow – not a simple promise, but an oath of serious significance. “I’m sorry” won’t cut it here; you need serious atonement in order to make things right, and until that point, anyone who can read auras or listen to gossip within the proper circles will know you for the faithless swine you are.

A story-based Flaw, Oathbreaker marks your character out as someone who is not to be trusted. People who place great value in honor will shun her, and others will exploit what they consider her generally dishonorable nature. Beyond that, other characters may be hunting her, with the intention of exacting penance or revenge… maybe both! Resonance, Paradox, Seekings, and Quiet will reflect the metaphysical dimensions of this broken vow. Your Seekings may involve literal guilt-trips in which you’re confronted with the potential (or real) consequences of your violated promise; your Resonance remains tainted by the presence of dishonor; Paradox will assume appropriately ironic forms, like visitations from the entity called Judgment; and should you fall into Quiet, there’ll be no place to hide from the transgression you’ve committed. In short, then, you’re screwed for reasons that are very likely your own fault.

(Tragic stories, of course, revolve around people who broke vows without meaning to do so, or who were put into no-win situations regarding promises that could not possibly have been kept. The universe, however, can be implacable and uncaring in such matters. “Fair,” among Awakened folk, is not a common word!)

Some sort of penance should be available to an oath-breaking character. She might not know what that atonement is, though, and the quest for such rectification could be the seed for powerful stories (cf. the tragedy of Oedipus Rex). Atonement is rarely a pleasant matter (again, see Oedipus), but the successful performance of such rituals should erase this Flaw… at least until you make and break another promise, that is.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Prone to Quiet (4 to 5 pt. Flaw)

In an effort to avert the inevitable stresses of Awakened life, you tend to drop into metaphysical Quiets more easily than most other mages do. The easier you fall into them, the more this Flaw is worth:

* (4 points) Quiet is your default Paradox backlash, and so a backlash of five points or more automatically sends you into Quiet.
* (5 points) Quiet is your default backlash, and you can fall into it even without a Paradox discharge. Roll your Intelligence + Enigmas dice pool when you’re faced with an unusually stressful situation; if you succeed, then you’re able to puzzle your way out of the fall – and if not, well, then, welcome back to Quietville… (The roll’s difficulty ranges from 6 to 10, depending upon the severity of the stress and whether or not you’ve dealt with this particular kind of stress before.)

Although it’s most often noticed in Virtual Adepts and other Netizens, who tend to set off into the Digital Web in order to escape physical unpleasantness, any mage can suffer from this Flaw.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Beast Within (5 pt. Flaw)

You’ve got a truly infernal temper: one so violent it feels like a volcano in your soul. As with a werewolf or vampire, you’re subject to the dreaded frenzy that turns you into an engine of hot rage. Under intense stress, you risk losing every shred of enlightenment you possess. Driven to such extremity, you let loose with the most immediately destructive powers at your command, and “vulgarity” be damned! Everyone in your vicinity becomes a target, and the consequences matter to you only when this inner storm has passed.

System-wise, this Flaw sends you into deadly rages as per the Berserker /Stress Atavism Trait featured above. Instead of rolling your Willpower to avoid the frenzy, however, you roll your Avatar rating plus one die, with your Willpower as the difficulty of that roll. If, as an example, young Vyper Trabia suffers from the Beast Within Flaw, with an Avatar of 4 and a Willpower of 5, Vyper’s player rolls five dice against a difficulty of 5 when that Akashic hothead is under ferocious stress. A failure on that roll sends Vyper into a berserk rage. Yeah, this probably happens pretty often. Vyper’s friends don’t stick around for long when things go poorly.

Considering that the Avatar could be seen as your inner Beast, a character with the Pattern Essence cannot take this Flaw. It’s best suited for Dynamic Essences, although a Questing or Primordial Avatar could attain frightening rages too. A berserk mage cannot employ rituals or employ complicated tools; only the most direct methods of attack – magickal or otherwise – will do. Although mages rarely suffer from such grotesque lapses of self-control, an Awakened Ghoul (as in that Merit), a cyborg, a Victor, a Shapechanger Kin (again, as per the Merit), or an animalistic shape-changer could possess such inhuman monstrousness.

**Source:** M20 Book of Serets

### Blood Magick (5 pt. Flaw)

Your Arts demand blood… specifically, your own blood. And while many practices employ small amounts of ritual cutting or bloodletting, this degree of sacrifice demands an injurious amount of vital fluid each time you cast a spell.

With this Flaw (mislabeled as a Merit in the sourcebook Sorcerer, Revised Edition), you must suffer one unsoakable health level in bashing damage whenever you employ an Effect. Story-wise, you cut yourself, slash designs in your skin, or otherwise hurt yourself enough to shed the required amount of blood. This sort of thing can, of course, add up quickly if you’re throwing lots of magick around without giving yourself a chance to heal, as bashing damage soon leads to lethal damage. Meanwhile, your bloodletting looks pretty gross and obvious (often vulgarly so), and tends to make a mess as well. Your companions might appreciate the results of your magick, but may well object to the methods you employ… especially since blood magick has a rather unsavory rep among all but the most primal of practices.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Bound (5 pt. Flaw)

Mentor always told you not to make bargains with strange entities. But did you listen? Nope. Now you’re in deep to someone whose power dwarfs your own, and your prospects for getting out of bondage are laughable at best. Haunted by thoughts of the payment to come, you live on borrowed time and realize that the worst is yet to come…

Sometimes known, with minor variations, as Faust’s Bargain, Bound puts your character in the Faust-like position of getting something interesting in return for something significant – her life, her soul, a thousand years of servitude, or a similarly awful fate that no one in their right mind would want to risk. Still, occultists are infamous for short-term thinking, and literal devil’s deals are common currency in the magickal world. The specifics of that deal are for you and your Storyteller to arrange; you might have received some Merit(s) and / or Abilities in return for the debt (purchased with the points from this Flaw), escaped an awful situation (“You want out of this death-trap, dear wizard? Very well – what do you have to offer me?”), saved someone who was important to you (“Sure, I’ll bring your mother back from the brink of death – let us discuss the terms of this favor…”), or otherwise blew a standoff with an Otherworldly entity.

This debt throws a foreboding air over your character’s part of the chronicle. In this case, though, your doom may be averted if you can wrangle a way out of this pact. In the meantime, your creditor will call in occasional favors – nothing large enough to pay off the debt (unless that entity needs a significant service and agrees to write off the larger obligation), but deeds that can spark new stories or complicate existing ones. Despite tradition, this debt doesn’t have to be a soul-pact owed to a devil – a promise to your god(s) or their immediate emissaries can be just as terrible as one owed to Old Scratch!

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Faithless (5 pt. Flaw)

Magick, according to your beliefs, does not come from you – it comes from your god, and you’ve broken faith with him. Until you can shake this crisis of faith, perhaps atoning for your perceived misdeeds, your Spheres remain stuck at Rank 1 – potent enough to perceive the presence of Divinity around you, limited enough to remind you that you have failed.

This Flaw (which is more likely to be “awarded” to you through the course of the game than it is to be something you purchased during character creation, though of course you can start off a new character in such a crisis) represents the power of faith in your character’s life – a power so strong that it can interfere with your abilities as a mage. Ironically, the strength of that faith denies you the ability to use magick when you feel that your faith is lacking. From a game-system standpoint, you are denying yourself the ability to access your magick because you believe that your magick comes from a source you have betrayed. Your mage believes that his god is cutting him off from magick, though… and, considering that the player is pretty much the “god” of a gaming character, in a meta sort of way, that’s true.

Although a character with this Flaw can pursue any sort of spiritual focus, his paradigm and practice must be oriented toward religious devotion. You could be a shaman or a priest, a Goddess-bound witch, a spiritual scientist, even an Infernalist whose hell-spawned powers flow from a damnation pact. Obviously, this Flaw means nothing to an atheist, or to someone with nebulously casual beliefs. Only a mage who believes deeply in some greater power can believe that she has so much to lose from a sudden lack of faith.

In order to discard this Flaw, the player must pay a fivepoint “fine” in order to buy off the Trait itself, and roleplay out a “dark night of the soul” sort of Seeking in which he faces his sins and rededicates himself to his divine Path. The character, meanwhile, must first undergo an atonement that suits his belief system and the “sin” that invoked this punishment. Maybe he needs to take strict vows within a religious order… or take on even stricter ones if he had already broken his previous set of vows. Did he violate a taboo? Then he must undergo ritual purification, often by way of fasting, marathons of prayer, and some traditionally torturous ordeals. A mage who has sworn never to kill, and yet who has killed someone, may be forced to make significant restitutions to the murdered person’s family. Traditional atonements include pilgrimages, vision quests, oaths of poverty, appalling mortifications (self-torture, radical fasting, mutilation, and so forth), and other difficult paths back to the favor of one’s god. Regardless of the creed and specific atonements, however, the mage must spend endless hours in intensive prayer. A faithless soul, after all, must find his way back to the presence of his god… typically on his knees.

**Source:** M20 Book of Secrets

### Sphere Inept (6 pt. Flaw)

A particular element of Reality eludes you. No matter how devoted you might be to mastering its complexities, this field of magick remains a challenge. Essentially, this is the reverse of the Merit: Sphere Natural, described above; one Sphere costs 130% more (rounded up) to learn than the other Spheres cost.

Sphere Inept
 Second Dot
 Third Dot
 Fourth Dot
 Fifth Dot

Again, this Flaw can apply to only one Sphere (fortunately!), and comes through in your practice and backstory. Someone who’s inept at understanding, say, Time will have a very wonky relationship with schedules and timing.

# Werewolf Flaws

## Werewolf Physical Flaws

### Animal Musk (1 pt. Flaw)

You have the odor of an animal, even in Homid form. Whenever you are indoors or in a crowd of people, you make all Social rolls at a +2 difficulty. Outdoors or in situations where you can distance yourself from humans, your odor is not noticeable. Wolves (and lupus-born Garou) take little notice of this Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Anosmia (1 pt. Flaw)

Whether from birth or due to some illness or accident, you’ve lost all sense of taste and smell. You automatically fail any roll involving these two senses, including Primal Urge rolls for tracking or hunting. In Lupus form, it’s even more crippling, since smell is a wolf’s most acute sense; this Flaw cancels out the –2 difficulty to Perception rolls a Garou gets in that form. There’s a slight benefit, however: At the Storyteller’s discretion, you may be immune to the debilitating effects of environmental conditions, Gifts and supernatural abilities that rely on odors.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Monochrome Vision (1 pt. Flaw)

You cannot distinguish between colors, but see the world in varying shades of black and white and gray. This is not true color-blindness, which usually refers to the inability to distinguish between certain colors (such as red and green). Color has no meaning for you, though you can differentiate intensities of shade — dark gray, light gray, dull gray, etc. This Flaw occurs more frequently among lupus Garou.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### No Partial Transformation (1 pt. Flaw)

You have no ability to mix forms; you cannot shift your larynx in Lupus to be capable of human speech, or grow a wolf’s muzzle in Glabro. You can only change into the complete form.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Strict Carnivore (1 pt. Flaw)

“Vegetarian” is just another way of saying “lazy hunter.” Vegetables and grains give you no nutritional benefit; you can only subsist on meat — the closer to raw, the better. You have real problems in areas where meat is scarce.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Double Jeopardy (3 pt. Flaw)

Gaia has marked you strongly. You were born not with one, but two significant metis deformities. These may be related, but must be two clearly separate disfigurements. A pair of antlers, or two rows of shark teeth would only be one deformity, but antlers and hooves, or a row of shark’s teeth and a set of gills would be acceptably different. The Storyteller has the final judgment on whether the two deformities are significant enough to qualify for this Flaw. This flaw can be taken only by metis Garou.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Monstrous (3 pt. Flaw)

Your physical appearance is truly hideous to your fellow Garou. All your forms bear some grotesque qualities; your Homid form barely looks human, while your other forms have something significant that disfigures them. You should decide what you look like. Your Appearance rating is zero, and cannot be raised higher with experience points barring some remarkable circumstances. Metis characters may take this Flaw (for no freebie points) as their inborn deformity.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

## Werewolf Mental Flaws

### Pack Mentality (2 pt. Flaw)

You are lost without your pack. Their presence not only supports you, it helps define you. When you are with at least one member of your pack, you have –1 difficulty on all rolls involving group activities or strategies; when you are not, your difficulty increases by 2 on any task. You sometimes have trouble making decision without your pack to help you, even if you are the pack leader. In stressful situations, you may need to make a Willpower roll to act on your own.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Short Fuse (2 pt. Flaw)

You are closer to the Wyrm than most Garou; your Rage burns hotter within you than most. Your difficulty for Rage rolls is decreased by two, and you fall more readily into the “thrall of the Wyrm.” Be careful when choosing this Flaw; it can bring worlds of trouble down upon you and your pack.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Territorial (2 pt. Flaw)

You have the wolf’s territorial nature. You dislike leaving your home turf or having people you don’t know infringe upon your claimed space. Before play starts, work with your Storyteller to define your territory. You must roll to avoid frenzying whenever strangers enter your territory without your permission, and are reluctant to leave there except under desperate circumstances.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Hatred (3 pt. Flaw)

Certain types of people or situations arouse an uncontrollable and irrational hatred in you, causing you to make a frenzy roll whenever you confront the object or objects of your hatred. Furthermore, you actively look for opportunities to wreak destruction on your chosen targets. You should choose your nemesis carefully, since the Flaw can affect your relationship with your pack or sept, and can get in the way of your duties as a Garou. Hatred of the Wyrm is assumed and doesn’t count as a suitable object for this Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

## Werewolf Social Flaws

### Twisted Upbringing (1 pt. Flaw)

The Garou who found you after your First Change, and who oversaw your Rite of Passage and early entry into Garou society, taught you everything they knew — and it was all wrong. Whether they did this out of ignorance or perversity is up to you and your Storyteller to decide. Your wrong assumptions and skewed beliefs cause you a great deal of grief until someone straightens you out. Eventually you may overcome the problems caused by this Flaw (and be able to pay the experience point cost to buy it off), but in the meantime, it should present you with a number of good roleplaying opportunities.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Camp Enmity (1 pt. Flaw)

You have earned the attention and disfavor of a particular Garou tribal camp. Perhaps you’re a former member of the camp, or have refused to join them and they feel slighted. Perhaps they feel you’ve done them wrong, or the camp you are a part of is ideologically opposed to what they stand for. Regardless, all Social rolls when interacting with that camp are made at +1 difficulty. You may not already be a member of this camp when you first take this Merit, although you can become recruited (or re-recruited) into the camp during play at the Storyteller’s discretion. You may take this Merit multiple times for different camps. Storytellers are encouraged to incorporate Storyteller characters of the appropriate camp into their storylines, so as to make this a meaningful Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Persistent Parents (2 pt. Flaw)

Most werewolves, unless they have Kinfolk parents, sacrifice their family ties after their First Change, in order to protect the Veil. Your parents, however, have not given up on you. They may hire detectives to find you, plaster posters with your picture on it around town, pester radio and television stations to run public service ads, or dedicate websites and utilize social media to recruit the aid of the internet in order to try to find you. They may be ignorant of your new life, suspecting instead that you have run away, joined a cult, or been kidnapped. They may instead have ties to Pentex or other organizations with ulterior motives in locating you. Only homids may take this Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Metis Child (4 pt. Flaw)

You begin play as the parent of a metis cub from an illicit relationship with another Garou. You need to decide the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child —who the other parent is, when this happened, if you are currently attempting to raise the child in your own sept, or if the cub was fostered out to another sept to avoid further embarrassment. The effects of this Flaw include a two dice penalty to any Social rolls made regarding Garou who know of your child, as well as the additional burden of being required to take responsibility for your cub’s welfare (you miserable charach). As a Litany-breaker, you will probably be unable to hold any important sept offices or be trusted with important tasks, no matter how much you strive to prove yourself. Metis characters cannot take this Flaw.

If a character sires or bears a metis cub during the events of the chronicle, the penalties of this Flaw may apply, but no bonus points are granted for it.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

## Werewolf Supernatural Flaws

### Banned Transformation (1 to 6 pt. Flaw)

Some circumstance, event, or situation inhibits your ability to change forms, except to return to your breed form. To overcome the restricting factor requires the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful Willpower roll (difficulty 8). Some examples of triggers and their relative point costs include:

* Relaxing music (1 point)
* In the vicinity of wolfsbane (2 points)
* Unless you spend a Rage point (3 points)
* When around silver (4 points)
* During the day or during the night (5 points)
* When the moon is not visible (6 points)

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Forced Transformation (1 to 2 pt. Flaw)

Certain circumstances force you to undergo an uncontrollable shift in form. You may resist the change by spending a Willpower point, but once you have made the forced change, you may not change back until the triggering situation has passed. You may use the following examples or design your own circumstances and point costs (with Storyteller approval).

* The full moon forces you to assume your Crinos form. (2 points)
* You automatically change to Crinos when your auspice wanes (2 points)
* Sexual arousal stimulates a forced change (1 point to Glabro; 2 points to Crinos; 2 points to Homid if you are a lupus)

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Insane Ancestor (1 pt. Flaw)

An insane ancestor of yours occasionally takes over when you seek help from the spirits of your forebears. Usually, this ancestor appears only under certain common circumstances, such as when Black Spiral Dancers threaten you or whenever a certain common rite is performed in your presence. When the Storyteller deems this circumstance has come about, roll your Ancestors Background, difficulty 6. Any successes indicate that your ancestor takes control of you for the scene, or until someone recognizes what is happening and manages to convince him to relinquish control once more. You should create your ancestor, name him, and describe his madness. You may spend a Willpower point to stifle the ancestor-spirit for the scene. You must purchase the Background: Ancestors to take this Flaw.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Slip Sideways (1 pt. Flaw)

You find it difficult to control travel between the physical world and the Umbra, sometimes entering the spirit world when you don’t intend to. When stressed and near a reflective surface, you must roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 7) to avoid shifting into the Umbra unintentionally. In order to overcome the Gauntlet, you must still roll your Gnosis, but the difficulty is 1 less than usual. If you deliberately try to step sideways, you do so at the normal difficulty.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Docile (1 to 3 pt. Flaw)

Your distance from “the wolf” dampens the fires of Rage within you, hampering your ability to access them in Gaia’s service. For every point of Docile you take, your maximum Rage is lowered by 2, and can never be bought above that level. Others may see you as “domesticated” or “more dog than wolf” and react with derision.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Mark of the Predator (2 pt. Flaw)

You give off emanations of a predatory nature. Herbivores shy away from you, while carnivores see you as a potential threat and may offer challenge. You may not possess the Skill: Animal Ken.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Sign of the Wolf (2 pt. Flaw)

The folklore of werewolves holds true as far as you’re concerned. Like the shapechangers of myth and legend, you possess eyebrows that meet in the middle of your forehead, hair grows on the palms of your hands, and the second and third fingers of your hands are the same length. You may even manifest a pentagram on your palm before and during your auspice’s phase of the moon. While most people may simply wonder at these bizarre physical manifestations, werewolf hunters who notice these signs suspect your true nature.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Pierced Veil (3 pt. Flaw)

Unlike most Garou, your Crinos form does not trigger the Delirium in mortals. This makes you particularly vulnerable to werewolf hunters, who may find it less difficult to pursue you back to your caern, putting the members of your sept in considerable danger.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook

### Harano Prone (4 pt. Flaw)

Characters suffering from this Flaw are prone to bouts of deep depression, indolence, and mood swings. You must make a Willpower roll every scene in which you suffer some form of setback. If the roll fails, you fall into a bout of temporary Harano. You may become morose and inactive, or suddenly spring into self-destructive activity. Your perceptions go awry, causing you to lose a die from every dice pool. If you botch the Willpower roll, you also acquire a temporary derangement (see below). You may delay the Harano attack for a single scene by spending a Willpower point.

**Source:** W20 Core Rulebook