Drawbacks and Flaws

This page details reworked drawbacks, as well as flaws, which are greater drawbacks which allow you to take an extra feat rather than an extra trait. While many of the standard drawbacks are barely a hindrance and at least two are more upside than downside, these versions are instead genuine drawbacks that should hinder any character.

## Drawbacks

The following drawbacks can be used unchanged: Attached, Burned, Cruelty, Doubt, Envy, Fey-Taken, Forgetful, Helpless, Insatiable, Loner, Lovesick, Shadow-Scarred, Superstitious, Tainted Spirit.

The following drawbacks are banned: Avarice, Dependant, Entomophobe, Family Ties, Guilty Fraud, Haunted, Haunting Regret, Hedonistic, Infamous, Lonely, Occult Bargain, Power-Hungry, Pride, Provincial, Righteous Indignation (use Impatient instead), Scarred, Secret Shame (use Cowardly instead), Stigmatized, Too Many Secrets, Umbral Unmasking, Unlearned, Vain, Vainglory, Xenophobic.

The following drawbacks are altered:

### Anxious

You take a -2 penalty on charisma-based skill checks and must speak slowly due to the concentration required. You must take a will save, DC 15, to speak louder than a whisper and DC 20 to shout or speak loudly.

### Betrayed

You roll twice and take the worse result on all diplomacy checks to gather information and all sense motive checks. Your allies are treated as enemies to determine who flanks you in combat.

### Bitter

Whenever you would be healed by another creature, they heal you half as much. Whenever a creature would use the Aid Another action to aid you, reduce the bonus granted by 1.

### Condescending

You take a -5 penalty on bluff, diplomacy and intimidate checks.

### Cowardly

Your base speed when frightened and fleeing increases by 10 feet, you take a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects, and the penalties you take from having the cowering, frightened, panicked, or shaken conditions increase by 2. If you would normally be immune to fear, you do not take these penalties but instead lose your immunity to fear (regardless of its source).

### Empty Mask

You take a -1 penalty on Will saving throws. This penalty increases to -2 against foes who know your true identity.

### Foul Brand

You have the symbol of an evil deity burned into your flesh. If the symbol is on your hand, you take a –1 penalty on skill checks and attack rolls using that hand, as well as disguise checks. If the symbol is on your face, you take a -2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise and Perception checks.

This does not count as a holy symbol for the purposes of a divine focus for spellcasting.

### Headstrong

Whenever you witness an action or hear an argument that contradicts your Cause, you must attempt to stop or correct that action or argument. If you either don’t try to stop it or fail in your attempt to stop it (as adjudicated by the GM), you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks for 1 hour.

### Impatient

You cannot delay or ready actions, and if an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity from you, you must make that attack.

### Information Overload

You take a -4 penalty on all knowledge checks and other checks to recall information, such as profession checks made to answer questions about your trade or appraise checks to recognise a famous item.

### Magical Klutz

You roll twice and take the worse result on use magic device checks and on reflex saves against magical effects.

### Mark of Slavery

Whenever you fail an attack roll or skill check, you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls and saving throws, except to retry the same skill check or attack the same enemy, until the skill check is complete or enemy defeated, or for 10 minutes, whichever is sooner.

### Meticulous

You take a -2 penalty on all skill checks unless you spend twice as long (at least an extra round) taking the skill check.

### Misbegotten

You take a -2 penalty on all strength- and dexterity-based skill checks.

### Naive

You take a -2 penalty to AC against attacks with improvised weapons and attacks by enemies who are flanking you, a -2 penalty to CMD against dirty trick, feint and trip combat manoeuvres, and a -2 penalty to saving throws against poison.

### Nervous

You cannot take 10 on skill checks if there is a penalty for failure other than wasted time.

### Oblivious

You take a -2 penalty on sense motive and perception checks.

### Overprotective

If one or more of your allies is unconscious in combat, you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks unless you remain adjacent to, or in, the space of as many allies as possible.

### Paranoid

You cannot Aid Another and no-one else can use the Aid Another action to help you.

### Self-Doubt

Each time you fail a will saving throw or skill check, you take a -2 penalty on the next saving throw or skill check of the same type you make that day.

### Sentimental

You take a -2 penalty on all perception checks, and on reflex saves against traps or hazards.

### Sheltered

Whenever you have fewer than half your maximum hit points, you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks.

### Sleepy

You must sleep or rest for at least 12 hours each night to get the benefits of a full night’s rest. You take a -2 penalty on saving throws against sleep effects.

(NOTE: This is the original text of the ability, you're not missing anything. It's just that PFSRD misplaces part of the rules text as though it were fluff.)

### Spooked

Whenever you perceive a hostile or apparently-hostile aberration, dragon, fey, outsider, or undead, or a hostile or apparently-hostile large or larger creature, from within 60 feet, you become shaken for 1d4 rounds unless you succeed at a Will save with a DC equal to 15 + the creature’s Charisma modifier. Immunity to fear effects does not allow you to forgo this saving throw; even if you are immune to fear, you must roll the Will saving throw for this drawback when applicable. When you see the same creature again for the rest of the day, you do not need to roll again for that creature.

### Warded Against Nature

Animals will not willingly assist you under any circumstances. You cannot select this drawback if you have an animal companion or other similar companion creature. If you ever gain one, replace this drawback with the Attached drawback.

### Zealous

When you attack an Enemy of the Cause, you take a -5 penalty on the attack roll on the first attack during that combat.

## Flaws

Some characters have a major flaw which hurts their ability to do battle or to adventure. Ordinarily, these heroes would retire from the battlefield, but those who stay in the adventuring lifestyle do so because their exceptional talents are enough to outweigh the drawbacks of their flaw.

A character can take up to one flaw. In exchange, that character gains one additional feat.

### Feeble

*You are unathletic and uncoordinated.*

**Effect:** You take a -2 penalty on strength-, dexterity- and constitution-based skill checks and ability checks (including initiative checks), and a -2 penalty on concentration checks.

### Frail

 *You are thin and weak of frame.*

**Effect:** Subtract 1 from the number of hit points you gain at each level. This flaw can reduce the number of hit points you gain to 0 (but not below).

**Special:** You must have a Constitution of 4 or higher to take this flaw.

### Inattentive

 *You are particularly unaware of your surroundings.*

**Effect:** You take a -4 penalty on Perception checks and if you are surprised, you take a -2 penalty to AC in the surprise round.

### Misfortune

 *You are sickly and weak of stomach, highly suggestible and unresponsive to danger.*

**Effect:** Choose a type of saving throw. You take a -2 penalty on that saving throw and a -1 penalty on the other two saving throws.

### Murky-Eyed

 *Your vision is obscured.*

**Effect:** All attacks you make suffer from at least a 20% miss chance from concealment, and any concealment your target actually has increases by 10% (to a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 90%)

### Noncombatant

 *You are relatively inept at combat.*

**Effect:** You take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls.

### Pathetic

 *You are weaker than you should be.*

**Effect:** Use 20 point buy instead of 25 point buy.

### Slow

 *You move exceptionally slowly.*

 **Effect:** Your land speed is halved (round down to the nearest 5-foot interval). You take a -2 penalty on any saving throw or skill check which involves moving from your location.

 **Special:** You must have a base land speed of at least 20 feet to take this flaw.

### Unreactive

 *You are slow to react to danger.*

**Effect:** You take a -6 penalty on initiative checks.

### Vulnerable

 *You are bad at defending yourself.*

**Effect:** You take a -2 penalty to AC.