Flaws

Flaws are the parts of a character’s physical, mental,
and spiritual make up that are just a little bit, sometimes a lot bit, off.
They are the addictions, illnesses, and disabilities that take away from a
character. Each flaw grants a certain amount of points and those points can be
used to buy merits.

## **Physical**

**Ability Deficit (5):** You are not in tune with his innate skills. The character
has five less skill points to spend at creation.

**Addiction (1-3)**: You are addicted to some substance, such as caffeine,
nicotine, etc. You will start to crave the substance if you don't get it often
enough, and have to pass a resistance check to avoid giving in to the urge. The
larger the flaw, the more dependent you are on the substance, and the worse
things will happen if you don't get what you need.

**Aetheric Poisoning (4 to 6):** You have been inflicted with some form of aether
poisoning. Take -2 resistance in situations involving aether and (or?) once per
event you must make a difficulty draw to resist the aether's side-effects which
may include paranoia, heightened emotions, hallucinations, etc. The higher the
value the higher the difficulty to resist the mental issues.

**Allergic (1-3)**: You suffer from an allergy to some substance; a 1 pt.
version inconveniences you and may increase difficulties in certain situations,
the 3 pt. version means you have an incapacitating or even a potentially fatal
reaction to the substance.

**Arc Blind (2)**: A character has suffered some form of damage to their
eyes, and requires some form of protection to see normally in light. He/she
suffers a -4 to all sight based actions unless they are protected by sunglasses
or goggles.

**Bad Sight (2)**: Difficulties for sight-related actions are at +2, and
you suffer from night blindness.

**Blind (6)**: You can't see. This obviously hinders certain perception attempts.

**Color Blind (1)**: You can see only in varying shades of grey, which may
make some perception rolls more difficult (note in real life color blindness
makes you unable to perceive only a certain portion of the color spectrum, but
this rule makes it a little easier to handle and roleplay).

**Deaf (4)**: You can't hear. Ditto for what was said about "Blind."

**Deformity (3)**: You have a withered limb, hunchback, or other physical
defect which causes you difficulty in movement, as well as in some social
interactions. Depending on the type and circumstance, difficulties can be
raised on charisma and/or physical rolls.

**Diminished Attributes (varies)**: On of a character’s attributes are weaker than the
others. For every point of attribute given up, a character gains four points to
spend on merits.

**Disfigured (2)**: You have an injury or physical defect which makes you
perfectly hideous; social difficulties are increased by 2.

**Lame (3)** (most): Your legs are somehow permanently injured, and you suffer a -2
penalty to movement-related draws.

**Loud (2)**: You are loud when moving or, well, doing anything else. The difficulty
for any stealth action is increased by 3.

**Mute (4)**: You are physically unable to speak, and must communicate through writing
or sign language (or perhaps telepathy, if you are capable of the skill and are
in appropriate company).

**One Arm (3)**: Due to an unfortunate injury or birth-defect, you suffer a +3 penalty
to rolls where an action would usually require two hands.

**One Eye (2)**: You lack peripheral vision on one side, and you are at a +2 difficulty
for rolls related to sight based perception. On the upside, you can wear a
nifty eyepatch and say "Arrrrr" a lot.

**Paraplegic (6)**: You cannot move your legs and are confined to movement
by wheelchair or similar apparatus.

**Permanent Wound (3)**: For some reason, you have a wound that never heals,
which is effectively a permanent – 5 lethal health levels. If you repair the
damage with magic/superscience, the wound re-opens by the next day.

**Short (1)**: You are well below average height, and have difficulty reaching high
objects, seeing over things, etc. -2 penalty to certain perception draws, or
physical actions.

**Speech Impediment (1)** (M3): 2 Point penalty to all verbal communication rolls.

**Slow Healing (3)**: For some reason, your healing processes are slow, and
you heal twice as slowly as others. Supernatural healing only repairs half the
damage it normally would (round down).

**Twitchy Eye (2)**: A character has an issue with focusing when trying to
take a shot. All accuracy related actions are at a plus 2 difficulty.

## **Mental**

**Absent-Minded (3)** (most): You have a lousy short-term memory, and need to
make a mental resist check to remember more than standard knowledge (like a
name, address, etc.).

**Amnesia (5)**: You have no memory of a past, or at least are missing a significant
portion of it. You have the option of taking up to 5 points of extra flaws to
be determined by the Storyteller (you don't get to find out about them till
you're playing...).

**Black and White (1)**: You see all situations in black and white, good and
evil, etc. In situations where this limited, judGMental way of thinking may
hinder a reaction to something or cause you to act socially inappropriate, add
a +1 difficulty to social or whatever rolls.

**Compulsion (4)**: You have a specific compulsion which may cause you problems. If a
character tries to resist this compulsion they suffer a – 4 on all actions
until the compulsion is given into or it is removed from the scene.

**Compulsive Speech (1-2)**: For whatever reason, you have difficulty sticking to
the rule, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all." 1
point makes you talkative and a bit blunt; 2 points makes you a complete prick.

**Confused (2)**: You have a lot of trouble focusing and/or making sense of the world
around you. You must randomly make an intellect plus awareness at a GM set
difficulty to remain focused on the events.

**Curiosity (2)**: Your incredible curiosity often overrides your common sense. Resisting
temptation requires a successful Wisdom draw, difficulty depending on the
situation.

**Dark Secret (1)**: There's something about you which you don't want people to know, and it would
be very bad if they did (or at least you think it would be).

**Deranged (3)**: You have a permanent, severe mental disorder. You will have to make a
mental resist to fight it at points, but you will never get rid of it.
Definitely check with a GM, and possibly your fellow players, before taking
this one.

**Flashbacks (3)**: When under pressure and/or in the presence of something which reminds you
of something unpleasant in a past, you flashback to that past event. Whilst in
a flashback, everything to you is as it was then.

**Hatred** **(3)**:
There is something out there which you absolutely loathe, and will do anything
to destroy it. You have to succeed a mental defense draw not to go after the
object of a hatred.

**Hero Worship (3):** You absolutely idolize someone, and disobeying them
requires an effort. You must make a mental resist check at a difficulty of 17
to disobey them. You also are at +2 difficulty to any draw that may force you
to admit/realize that a hero may be in the wrong.

**Hot Headed (2 to 4):** You have a temper and it’s not hard to set off. Pick
something that agitates you. You must make a mental defense check at a
difficulty of GMs making if this action occurs around you. The higher the flaw,
the higher the difficulty will be. If you fail you lose a temper, and are so
mad you cannot think straight. You receive a minus equal to the value of this
flaw to your intellect for a scene. If this drops your intellect to 0 or below,
your character is in a fit of rage, attack whoever is closest to you.

**Illiterate (1)**: You can't read or write. This may make passing yourself off as that
learned professor from Oxford a bit difficult.

**Inferiority Complex (1)**: No matter what you do, by your standards, it's just not
good enough. In situations requiring you to take charge and strut your stuff,
add +1 to all difficulties.

**Intolerance (1)**: You have difficulty tolerating a specific thing or type of person. +2
difficulty on rolls involving that thing.

**Lifesaver (3)**: You revere all life and will not risking killing someone at all costs.

**Low Self-Image (2)**: Suffering from a low self-esteem, you have -2 in
situations where you don't expect to succeed.

**Masochist/Sadist (1)**: You either enjoy pain or enjoy inflicting it on others.
In addition to the inconveniences this fascination may cause you, you may also
be seen as sick (and, well you are), or even more sick people may use you for
your obsession. -2 penalty to select social actions.

**Nightmares (3)**: You're constantly plagued by nightmares, which at the worst may indicate
there's something nasty in your fate, and at the least will make you cranky and
irritable most of the time. You are unable to heal fully due to a lack of
proper sleep. Heal only three fourths as much health as normal.

**Object Attachment (2)**: You are attached to an object. If the object is lost,
your character must make a mental defense draw to keep from immediately going
in search of it to the exclusion of all else. If the item is destroyed, a
character suffers a -2 to mental defense until the item can be replicated or
replaced with another object of significate meaning or likeness.

**Overconfident** **(1)** (most): You think you can do everything even though you
probably can't, and you try to prove your belief as often as possible.

**Pacifist (5)**: A more extreme version of Lifesaver, you refuse to do any physical harm
to anyone for any reason. Particularly this'd be tough on werewolves... or
worse, vampires.

**Phobia (1 or 3)**: You have a specific, incredibly powerful fear. With the 1 point version,
you have to succeed a mental resist draw. You will not approach the object of
your fear. The difficulty of this is affected by the level of this flaw.

**Sensation Junkie (2)**: You're addicted to sensation, and will do anything to
find new means of stimulation. You must make a mental resist draw to resist
taking the opportunity to try a new kick, difficulty depending on the
situation.

**Shy (1)**: You're not a
social butterfly to say the least. Many social rolls are at +1 difficulty, and
if you're the center of attention, all draws are at +2 difficulty.

**Soft-hearted (1)**: You can't stand to witness suffering, and if you do,
difficulties are at +2 for the next hour.

**Stubborn (2)**: You have a problem admitting you are wrong. You must succeed in a mental
defense check of 15 to admit you are wrong or to concede the point to another
character. This could get really interesting when determining where the party
is headed and could cause you to part ways with the group if they do not want
to go with you. It could cause you to break stealth while you argue about a
decision another character makes, as another example.

**Suspicious (4):** You do not trust people easily, and have a problem with trusting any new
person you meet. When meeting a new character in game, you must make a random
draw at difficulty 8. If they fail the draw, you do not trust them at all.

**True Believer (2):** A character is a true believer in something and must
actively promote or act in a manner of said belief.

**Ulterior Motive (2)**: You have more reason to be with your comrades than your
like for them or for their common goals. Whether this motive is sinister or
not, it's a secret for whatever reason, and if you are suspected of this
motive, things won't look too good for you.

**Vengeance (1)**: You are consumed with avenging something very important to you’re your
obsession can only be temporarily swayed by passing a mental resist draw at
difficulty 16.

## **Spiritual**

**Bard's Tongue (1)**: What you say tends to come true; **you can't control**
this prophetic ability**, and the compulsion to speak an uncomfortable truth**
is often very hard to resist, though you may attempt to do so by passing a
mental resist check. Difficulty to bluff is increased by two.

**Broken Artifact (3) -** Your artifact is indeed powerful, so much so someone
deemed it needed to be broken. It still has the ability to access its true
power, but has become unwieldy or less precise in its operations. You must take
a total of -3 to a skills connected its use when it is activated.

**Cursed (1-5)**: You have been cursed by someone or something. The curse is specific in
nature and cannot be easily dispelled. Level of the flaw reflects how bad the
curse is; a 1 point curse is annoying, a 5 point curse is likely
life-threatening to you and/or to the people around you, and will at least make
you and them *incredibly* miserable.

**Dark Fate (5)**: You did something at some point that left you tainted. You are unable to
handle blessed or holy items, and are at disadvantage for as long as you are in
the presence of such an object.

**Geas (2 - 4)**: Due to an ancient or not-so-ancient pact, or oath made during initiation
into something, you have a supernatural taboo placed upon you. If you break it,
you may be cursed for life, something else bad will happen. Violation of this
taboo results in a penalty equal to the value of the geas to your highest
attribute for an event. This must be cleared with the GM.

**Offensive to Animals (1)**: For some reason, animals fear you or just don't like
you. Add 2 to your difficulty involving interacting with animals.

**Otherworldly Taint (2)**: You have a physical peculiarity (odd hair/eye color,
glowing eyes, etc.) and/or just an odd aura about you which may make you stick
out. Someone who suspects you're not "normal" may make an awareness
check, difficulty 10, to determine what you are. Note this isn't a Taint of
Corruption, just an indication that you are not quite normal. It may also cause
some social difficulties to go up by two.

**Unlucky (6)**: A character is extremely unlucky and once an event the GM can determine
some ill actions that affect you no matter what; aside from death. Mainly
because death could be a lucky stroke in some situations.

## **Social**

**Airhead (1)**: Maybe you have trouble paying attention, maybe you're just clueless,
maybe you just look like a flake; no matter what, people don't take you
seriously. Modify social draws as is appropriate.

**Craven Image (1)**: There's something about you that makes you appear
sniveling and "low." In appropriate situations, social difficulties
are at +2.

**Disturbing Mannerism (2)**: You have a habit or character trait which is peculiar,
gross, or annoying. You may not even be aware of it-but boy, everyone else is.
Difficulties of social rolls are increased at the GM's discretion.

**Enemy (1-5)**: Somebody's out to hurt you or your reputation, or even kill you (or
people close to you). A 1-point enemy is less than or comparable to your own
ability, a 5-point enemy could easily kick your ass into next Tuesday.

**Graceless (2)**: You always look awkward, no matter what you're doing. +2 difficulty to
all social rolls that involve making an impression.

**Gruff (2):** A character lacks social graces in all sense of the words. All social
difficulties are increased by 3 except for intimidation.

**Honest to a fault (2)**: You simply have problems lying due to some moral code
or your just really bad at it. -4 to bluff.

**Lacking Social Graces (2):** A character has issues with high class individuals and
finds it hard to stay in the same room as them. You must make a draw at 7
difficulty to remain in the room with them without some form of visible
distain.

**Mistaken Identity (1)**: People think you're someone you're not; even if that
person isn't bad, it can still cause you trouble if they realize you're not who
they think you are.

**Mistreated Minority (1 or more)**: You belong to a group or have a trait to which the
average person will react badly. This depends a lot on where the game takes
place and what kind of people you run into, so check with the GM before you
assume you can take this. Yes, if you're playing an openly gay man in a
backwoods redneck area that may cause you problems. If you're playing an openly
gay man in a game focused on the New York art scene that probably won't be a
problem.

**Obvious Attachment (1):** You are obviously attached to another player.

**Rival (1-5)**: Someone within your own society viciously competes against you and tries
to undermine your plans; really obsessive rivals may even want you dead.

**Snob (2):** A character has issues with low class individuals and finds it hard to stay
in the same room as them. You must make a draw at 7 difficulty to remain in the
room with them without some form of visible distain.

**Twisted Upbringing** (mentoring, etc.) (1): Whoever taught you the ways of
your people gave you an incredibly skewed version of those ways, and your
faulty beliefs can get you in big trouble. This flaw may increase some social
draws.

**Wanted (1 – 5**): You are wanted for some crime, and have a sizable bounty out on you. At
one point you have committed a crime such as grand theft and have maybe one
bounty hunter out after you. Two and three point means the bounty is at least
ten thousand credits and you are wanted for murder or other such heinous act.
Four points you have committed a crime against a large corporation, nation, or
reality and have several bounty hunters after you and most players will know
about your bounty as well. At five points you have one of the three factions
actively hunting you down, your bounty exceeds one hundred thousand credits and
all players will know about a bounty.

·
One: less than 10,000

·
Two: 10,000 to 15,000

·
Three: 16,000 to 20,000

·
Four: 20,000 to 50,000

·
Five: Greater than 100,000

**Ward (3)**: You are
devoted to protecting a person. They are a student or family member you
obviously care for and are trying to keep safe. Your character must always
protect them. This flaw needs to be pared with another player who has the merit
*Devoted Mentor.*