Chapter 2 - Part 3 - About Qualities And Drawbacks

## Qualities And Drawbacks

Qualities are innate
characteristics that give the character an advantage or positive trait.
Being a Slayer is a Quality—Slayers are stronger, faster, and tougher
than normal human beings. They have bad things going for them, too (lots
 of enemies, for one), but the ability to kick butt tends to outweigh
the bad stuff. Qualities cost Quality points to acquire.

Some
Qualities are package deals—your character buys one Quality but gets a
number of benefits, or some benefits and some downsides. Jock, Nerd,
Slayer, and Vampire are all examples of these package Qualities. In
general, your character is limited to purchasing one of these types of
Qualities. Now, if you want to play a Nerd-Watcher or Nerd-Werewolf,
talk it over with your Director. You might be able to pull that off.
Directors, watch this carefully. Jock-Nerds, Werewolf-Slayers, or
Vampire-Werewolves are highly suspect. Even so, we don’t recommend
laughing in anyone’s face (that would be rude).

Drawbacks are
characteristics that somehow limit or detract from the character—bad
eyesight, emotional problems, or being oh-my-god-it’s-hideous ugly, for
example. Drawbacks have values. When Drawbacks are acquired, the
character gains extra points that can be used to buy Qualities or
skills. Think of the extra points
as a little reward for making the
character a bit more three-dimensional and entertaining than some
plainvanilla, “nothing wrong with me” bloke.

Beginning characters
are limited to 10 points in Drawbacks. That does not mean players have
to get 10 points’ worth of Drawbacks; most will probably end up with
less than that.

## Changes During Play

After
 creating the character, some (use common sense) Qualities and Drawbacks
 may be acquired or lost in the course of a game. For example, a
scarring wound could reduce the character's Attractiveness, or a change
in fortune might increase or decrease the character's Resources or
Social Level. When such a change is brought about during play, no
experience points are needed to purchase them. If players want to
purposefully change a Quality or Drawback, they must spend experience
points and come up with a good reason for the change. This intentional
change is somewhat restricted though.

## New Qualities And Drawbacks

The
 Quality and Drawback list presented in this chapter is far from
exhaustive, although it covers most of the basics. In many cases, a
“new” Quality or Drawback can be an extension or variation of an
existing one. The value of the characteristic should be balanced out by
the benefits or penalties it gives the character. Most Qualities or
Drawbacks should be worth between one and three points; only the most
powerful or crippling of them should have a value of four or higher,
unless they are “combo” Qualities like Slayer or Initiative Commando.
These “combos” often include Attribute bonuses; each Attribute bonus
costs one character point, with the maximum bonus being +5 to any one
Attribute.

## Training Package Qualities

Certain
 Qualities (like Cop, Demon Hunter, and Ex-Watcher) represent special
training and conditioning. Unlike supernatural Qualities like Demon or
Vampire, they don't include special powers, just a few Attribute bonuses
 (which cannot raise Attributes beyond the human maximum) and skill
adds. Some organizations may include special training for their members,
 justifying a newly devised Quality along these lines. Your Director
should design the Quality to make sure it is fair and it works in his
storyline. Typically, no training-based Quality should have more than
three Attribute bonuses and no bonus should be higher than +1. Skill
bennies should also be restricted to +1 or at most +2. Over all, a
training package shouldn't cost more than ten points (and most should be
 five points or less).

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