Table of Contents Foreword

Introduction 2 This is the revised version of the Book of Distinctions

& Drawbacks Modern, originally released in July, 2003.
Selecting, Using, and Compensating This version contains numerous additions, clarifica-
For Flaws 3 tions, and point-cost adjustments, some of which you
may recognize as having originated in the fantasy
Book of Distinctions & Drawbacks Revised if you own a
Master List of Flaws 4
copy. Any comments or questions about this book are,
as always, cheerfully welcomed at either e-mail
Primary Flaws 7 address below.

GM Option: Flaw Synergy 11 Cheers and best,

GM Option: Buying Off Flaws 14 SL

St. Paul, Minnesota
Medical Conditions 17 November 10, 2003

cryptosnark@yahoo.com
Psychological Conditions 21
cryptosnark_games@yahoo.com

Secondary Flaws 25

Weird Flaws 40

Seasoning With Age 43

Advantages: Selection and Use 46

Master List of Advantages 46

Advantage Descriptions 46

Advanced Occupation Packages 56

Open Game License Text 61

Written and Designed by: Scott Lynch Print Version

'd20 System' and the 'd20 System' logo are Trademarks
owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to
the terms of the d20 System License version 1.0. A copy of
this License can be found at www.wizards.com. Dungeons
& Dragons(R) and Wizards of the Coast(R) are Registered
Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, and are used with
Permission.
This black and white PDF document contains all the game
material in the full-color landscape layout verion of the
Book of Distinctions & Drawbacks Modern. It is designed to be
printed in traditional letter format, using as little ink as pos-
sible. The wide margin at left is to allow for staples or
punch-holes.

This product is not published or endorsed by Wizards of

the Coast, Inc.

The section on medical conditions could not have been pre-

pared without the assistance of Jennifer Hermey, so I once
again dedicate this cross-referenced collection of pixels to
her, with love.

1
Introduction: Your Characters Need More Problems
The Book of Distinctions & Drawbacks Modern is a “char-
acter embellishment” sourcebook– that is, a set of character
flaws and advantages for the d20 Modern system that is
designed to allow the customization of characters beyond the
degree allowed by the combinations of race, class, and occu-
pation alone.
GMs thinking of using this book in planning their next cam-
paign should be advised of two things:
1. If you use this book, things might get even more
complex than usual.
The Book of Distinctions & Drawbacks Modern is chock
full of items just begging to be weighed, contrasted, com-
pared, and cross-referenced with other items. Letting experi-
enced gamers loose in an advantage/disadvantage system
can lead to many long hours of planning and “window shop-
ping.” Therefore, be advised– while this system can greatly
increase player satisfaction with the d20 Modern system, it
will never speed up character creation or play.
1. If you use this book, you’re going to have to stay
on your toes.
One of the rules of thumb of the d20 system is that a char-
acter can eventually have just about anything (trait, item,
weapon, exotic class level, spell, etc.) the player wishes,
though there will be a trade-off or a price for it. Many powers
and abilities aren’t available until higher levels of experience;
every feat or special ability selected carries a “lost opportuni-
ty” cost (as other feats or special abilities must be skipped);
every racial bonus is countered by some sort of racial limita-
tion or cost. In short, “there ain’t no such thing as a free
lunch.”
The use of any flaw/compensation system, even the one
presented in this book, will be viewed by some players (for
reasons innocent or otherwise) as an excuse to strive for that
nonexistent free lunch, by wringing maximum benefit from
the least damaging or hindering set of flaw choices possible. I
have tried to make this as difficult as I could without turning
the system utterly dreary and draconian. GMs, please remem-
ber that the only defense against that sort of system abuse is
your own vigilance.
Types of Embellishments
This book is all about embellishments, good or bad– ele-
ments that help or hinder a character in a way not already
addressed by existing character creation rules. There are sev-
eral major types of embellishments:
Primary Flaws
This set of character flaws is meant to be as clearly and
explicitly defined as possible. Their drawbacks are predomi-
nantly mechanical in nature. As a result, most of them require
very little roleplaying “maintenance” or obtrusive attention
from the GM. Thus, they may generally be used the most
freely and with the least amount of GM oversight.
Medical/Psychological Conditions
Somewhere between Primary and Secondary flaws are the
real-world medical and psychological conditions presented
on pages 17-25. Generally speaking, medical conditions may
be treated as Primary and psychological conditions should be
treated as Secondary Flaws.
A great deal of abstraction has gone into the design of these
conditions in order to render them playable. Individuals actu-
ally dealing with these conditions in real life (as I myself deal
with asthma, page 17) should not take it amiss if some of the
subtleties and variations of their conditions have been left out
of each flaw’s description. Many medical conditions that
would make excellent character flaws have also probably
been left out of this edition of the BODD Modern–I make as lit-
tle pretense of inclusiveness as I do of absolute accuracy, and
for that I offer my apologies.
Secondary and Weird Flaws
These are flaws of personal inclination or flaws representing
background difficulties. Although they can be just as debili-
tating as primary flaws, they tend to require continual role-
playing attention and/or a great deal of thought on the part
of the GM. Without such attention, many secondary flaws
will become nothing more than words on paper and will
cease to penalize a character. GMs are cautioned to study
them thoroughly before allowing their use. Weird Flaws are
occult in nature.
Advantages
Advantages are background benefits, material goods, and
other awards or inheritances that can be of great use to a char-
acter. Unlike feats, which represent intrinsic qualities or
trained abilities, advantages have nothing at all to do with the
character himself and can be lost, stolen, or removed by a
variety of means. Advantages are loosely divided into social,
material, and special categories.
2
Selecting, Using, and Compensating For Flaws
Each flaw presented in this book is worth a certain
number of Flaw Points, with which players can do the fol-
lowing:
• 1 Flaw Point may be traded for two (2) skill ranks
• 1 Flaw Point may be traded for one-eighth (1/8) of the XP
required for the character to advance to his next level
• 2 Flaw Points may be traded for one (1) feat
• 3 Flaw Points may be traded for two (2) ability points, to
be distributed at the player’s will
• 8 Flaw Points may be traded for one (1) character level
• Flaw Points may also be traded for any of the Advantages
listed from pages 46-55
Flaws should generally be chosen and applied before actu-
al play begins. Just as characters do not need to spend any-
thing in exchange for equipment, money, friends, allies, and
other benefits acquired during actual adventuring, neither
should they expect bonus points for enemies and other com-
plications acquired once a campaign has actually begun. The
flaws presented in this volume are worth compensation
because they’re trouble above and beyond that which the char-
acters are naturally expected to face.
Any Flaw Points left over after play begins are lost, so
there’s no reason not to spend them. If nothing else, stray
Flaw Points can be used to gain a small boost to skill points or
to the character ’s earned XP.
Flaws and ECL/Challenge Rating
Flaws (and any compensations received because of them)
cause no adjustment in effective character levels or challenge
ratings provided that the Flaw Points received for them are
actually spent. A 1st level character with 8 Flaw Points (spent
on, say, four new feats) does have some capabilities not pos-
sessed by unmodified 1st level character, but he has an equiv-
alent set of handicaps. The two balance each other out.
A GM wishing to create exceptionally powerful and well-off
characters above and beyond the bounds allowed by com-
mensurate flaws may simply assign free Flaw Points at a rate
of 1 ECL per 8 free Flaw Points.
Permissible Numbers of Flaw Points
The default recommended limit is 20 Flaw Points per char-
acter– the fewer flaws a character possesses, the more con-
tained will be any potential disruption to the balance of a d20
campaign.
As flaws are heaped upon a character, not only does he gain
compensatory feats, skill points, or advantages– the amount
of attention that must be paid to those flaws by the GM and
the player alike increases. A character with one or two flaws
is interesting; a character with ten or eleven is a disaster wait-
ing to happen.
However, if the GM sees fit, a campaign may allow a high-
er maximum number of flaws per character:
Campaign Style Flaw Points Permitted
Conservative 10
Controlled (Default) 20
Generous 25
Very Generous 30
Goofy 35
It is strongly recommended that characters be allowed to
take a “goofy” number of Flaw Points only in games of an
experimental or “one-shot” nature. Too many flaws, no mat-
ter how finely-balanced and delicately played, can turn an
ongoing d20 campaign silly in a variety of ways.
When creating characters higher than 1st level, this system
may still be used in a rewarding fashion, but the GM should
watch out for attempts to render flaws totally meaningless by
the calculated selection of magic items, FX equipment, and
special powers. Characters are quite free to seek out magical
or FX compensations for their handicaps as a campaign goes
on, of course, but starting play with such compensations
already in their hands is contrary to the spirit of this system.
Sharing Flaws and Advantages
A group of character may, with explicit GM approval, split
the cost of certain large secondary flaws. For example, four
characters could split an 8 point Nemesis (a villain, for exam-
ple– page 36), accepting the burden of that Nemesis as a
group in exchange for 2 Flaw Points apiece. This will ensure
that the Nemesis will devote his attention to the group as a
whole, rather than spending most of his time harassing one
individual.
A group of character may also, quite logically, split the cost
of any advantage that could be deemed to be communally
divisible. There’s no way for three characters to split the cost
of, say, the rank of Admiral in the United States Navy– but it
would be relatively easy for three characters to share an
apartment and a car.
3
Master List of Flaws
Primary Flaws
Flaw Brief Description of Impairment

Age Character enters the game at middle age or older

Albinism Character suffers from a rare lack of skin and hair pigmentation
Animal Antipathy Animals dislike the character rather intensely
Bad Driver Even when sober, character makes drunk drivers look skillful
Bad Shot Character is more or less incapable of using ranged weapons effectively
Bodily Marked Character has a permanent identifying marker, such as a brand or tattoo
Butterfingers Character is seriously lacking in manual dexterity
Climate Aversion Character is extremely uncomfortable in either cold or hot climates
Clumsy Dex modifier is not added to character’s base Defense
Disfigurement Something is obviously wrong with the character’s shape or appearance
Dull Reflexes Character’s Reflex Saving Throws are unusually poor
Dwarfism Character’s adult growth is significantly shorter and smaller than the norm
Easily Winded Character lacks the endurance for long-duration physical activities
Easily Slain Character doesn’t cling tenaciously to life when badly injured
Flinching Character suffers a limit upon his attacks of opportunity
Foresworn From Firearms Character refuses to carry or use firearms
Fragile Character’s Fortitude Saving Throws are unusually poor
Glass Jaw Character may be knocked silly by unarmed or bludgeoning attacks
Guileless Character lacks a substantial amount of wit and social perception
Gullible Character is far too credulous for his own good.
Illiterate Character cannot read
Impaired Hand(s) Character’s fingers or hands suffer from injury
Impaired Hearing Character has hearing trouble, and may even be deaf
Impaired Movement Character moves more slowly and clumsily than normal
Impaired Sense of Smell Character has no olfactory capabilities whatsoever
Impaired Sense of Taste Character’s sense of taste is utterly missing or destroyed
Impaired Vision Character is not blind, but his vision troubles him
Impaired Voice Character has suffered permanent damage to his palate or vocal chords
Impatient Character may never take 10 or 20 on a skill check
Inattentive Character suffers a penalty to to Listen, Search, and Spot checks
Inflexible Character isn’t very good at Escape Artist, Jump, and Tumble checks
Light-Headed Character suffers increased effects from stun and sleep attacks
Lummox Str modifier is not added to character’s Melee Attack Bonus
Magic Vulnerability Character suffers a penalty to all saving throws vs. spells and spell-like effects
Motion Sickness Character gets nauseous when aboard moving vehicles
Nervous Character suffers a penalty to Will Saves vs. fear, horror, and demoralization
Oafish Character suffers a penalty to all Hide, Jump, and Move Silently checks
Obese Character could stand to shed a few dozen pounds.
Old Injury Character suffers ability damage from critical hits
Old Injury (II) Character suffers increased damage from critical hits
Pacifism Character has chosen to foreswear the path of violence
Poor Fighter Character’s fighting ability is obviously sub-par.
Poorly Educated Character receives fewer skill points at 1st level
Predictable Fighter Character cannot charge, fight defensively, or aid another
Psionic Vulnerability* Character suffers a penalty to all saving throws vs. psionic abilities and effects
Slow Healing Character’s rate of hit point recovery is diminished
Slow-Witted Character’s Initiative checks aren’t what they should be
Unathletic Character’s Climb, Jump, and Swim checks suffer a variable penalty
Uncoordinated Character is seriously lacking in agility
Underweight Character is slender and scrawny
Unexceptional Character’s maximum number of skill ranks is decreased
Unhealthy Doubled fatigue penalties and diminished carrying capacity
Unlucky Bad things happen when character rolls a natural 1
Weak Constitution Character is unusually vulnerable to poisons and diseases
Weak-Willed Character’s Will Saves suffer a variable penalty

4
Medical Conditions
Medical Condition Brief Description of Impairment

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Character has AIDS or its precursor, HIV

Asthma Character has chronic breathing trouble
Clubfoot One of the character’s feet is malformed
Diabetes (Type I) Character’s body does not produce insulin
Diabetes (Type II) Character’s body does not properly use what insulin it has
Epilepsy Character suffers from seizures
Hemophilia Character lacks essential blood clotting factors
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Character is allergic to many common modern-day chemicals

Psychological Conditions
Psychological Condition Brief Description of Impairment

Anxiety Disorder Character suffers from a general state of intense worry

Bipolar Disorder Character veers from states of manic enthusiasm to morbid lethargy
Chronic Confusion Character is befuddled about life, the universe, and everything
Delusional Character experiences hallucinations at regular intervals
Dissociative Identity Character has a “secondary personality” born of past trauma
Dyslexia Character has difficulty interpreting visual symbology, such as writing
Narcissism Character is poisonously fixated on his own aggrandizement
Narcolepsy Character suffers random bouts of irresistible sleepiness
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Character is obsessed with order, details, and procedures
Paranoia Character is always watching his back, as someone is ”out to get him”
Phobia Some common situation or encounter gives the character quite a fright
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Character suffers nervous episodes when reminded of a past trauma
Quirk/Mannerism Character has a minor behavioral or social quirk
Tourette’s Syndrome Character continually erupts in involuntary movements and vocalizations

Secondary Flaws
Secondary Flaw Brief Description of Impairment

Aggressive Character trusts his weapons too much and his wits too little
Airy/Flaky Character acts, dresses, and/or talks like an irreconcilable loon
Amnesia The character’s entire life before now is a blank slate
Billy the Kid Syndrome Character is regarded as the “one to beat” by a horde of eager wannabes
Boastful Character is a compulsive exaggerator and often an outright liar
Cold Fish Character is markedly stiff, emotionless, and aloof
Compulsive Liar Character simply cannot stop spinning webs of lies and exaggerations
Cowardly Character values his skin much more than he values his dignity
Criminal Honor Code Character is sworn to live by a rather “Sicilian” code of conduct
Criminal Record Character was convicted of one or more crimes and served time for them
Cruelty Character takes pleasure in dealing out pain and punishment to his foes
Dark Desire Character secretly years for vast cosmic power at any price
Debt of Honor Character owes favors to a powerful NPC and must repay them
Dependency Character is addicted to a chemical substance
Dependent Character has one or more relatively helpless NPCs to guard and care for
Divisive Destiny Character is fated to cause a major schism in his family, culture, or nation
Double Life Character adventures under a secret identity that must remain secret
Driving Obsession Character’s life is consumed by his hunger for a single goal
Duty/Responsibility Character is sworn and legally bound into the service of a nation or group
Estranged Character is emotionally alienated from his family and society
Explosive Temper Character blows his top with a frightening lack of control
Greed Character covets material possessions with an unhealthy lack of caution
Heroic Code: Fair Play Character refuses to fight in an unsporting fashion
Heroic Code: Honesty According to the character, two wrongs never make a right
Heroic Code: Law and Order Character deeply respects and defers to the law and its uniformed defenders
Heroic Code: Loyalty Character refuses to abandon his friends and allies even in suicidal situations
Heroic Code: Mercy Character has vowed never to take the life of another thinking being
Humorless Character is utterly without the slightest comprehension of humor

5
Impulsive Character is rash and headstrong, disdaining calculation, caution, and planning
Inferiority Complex Character is a show-off, overly sensitive about any perceived mistreatment
Insatiable Curiosity Character is probably going to go the way of the proverbial cat
Intolerant Character has an extremely regrettable streak of racial prejudice
Kleptomania Character lives for the thrill of stealing things from other people
Lazy Character is a slacker and a shirker; he is apparently allergic to hard work
Lecherous Character chases his compatible sex with single-minded zeal
Lone Wolf Character dislikes working in a group and is a grating, divisive presence
Macho/Spartan Character laughs at displays of weakness and shuns all creature comforts
Melancholy Character is brooding, introspective, and morbid
Miser Character is obsessed with hoarding the money he has accumulated
Mistaken Identity Someone with power frequently mistakes your character for someone else
Monetary Debt Character owes a small fortune to a powerful NPC
Nemesis: Government Your character has an enemy within a local, regional, or national government
Nemesis: Legal Your character is pursued by lawyers
Nemesis: Media Your character is constantly harassed by one or more media figures
Nemesis: Organization Your character has made an enemy of a non-governmental organization
Nemesis: Villain Your character has made an enemy of a powerful and determined NPC
Nightmares Character suffers from recurring bouts of sleep-destroying visions
Obnoxious Character is an obstreperous, opinionated loudmouth
Ostracism Character suffers formal or informal prejudice from the society he lives in
Overcautious Character drags his heels and proceeds too slowly when taking decisive action
Overconfident Character doesn’t seem to realize that he’s not invincible
Pompous Character is overly formal, domineering, and melodramatic
Poor Reputation Character is reviled and disparaged by quite a few people
Primitive Character is a product of a less technologically advanced civilization
Risk-Addicted Character loves to consign his fate to the hands of Lady Luck
Stubborn Character is obstreperous, headstrong, and used to having his way.
Tongue-Tied Character is shy and socially unpolished
Unsophisticated Character is presumed to be a hick or a rube.
Vain/Dandy Character is image-obsessed, and possibly foppish or a clotheshorse
Vindictive Character has a revenge complex and cannot forgive any slight or injury

Weird Flaws
Weird Flaw Brief Description of Impairment

Bane Character has an unusual vulnerability

Cursed Character suffers from the varying effects of a supernatural curse
Dark Taint Character has been touched by some form of evil
Haunted Character suffers the attentions of a poltergeist
Photophobia Character hates bright light, and takes damage from sunlight
Strange Attractor Character attracts bizarre occurrences and weird disruptions

6
PRIMARY FLAWS
AGE
[ Primary Flaw ]
As your character can readily attest, it’s not necessarily the
years, it’s the mileage.
[2 Pts.] Middle Age: Your character begins the game just
past the cusp of “middle age.” His starting age will be 1d4
years past the minimum “middle age” prescribed for his race.
Your character suffers a -1 penalty to Strength, Dexterity, and
Constitution and gains a +1 bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom,
and Charisma.
[4 Pts.] Old Age: Your character begins the game just past
the cusp of “old age.” His starting age will be 1d4 years past
the minimum “old age” prescribed for his race. He suffers an
additional -2 penalty to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution
and gains an additional +1 bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom,
and Charisma.
[8 Pts.] Venerable Age: Your character begins the game just
past the cusp of “venerable age.” His starting age will be 1
year past the minimum “venerable age” prescribed for his
race. He suffers an additional -3 penalty to Strength,
Dexterity, and Constitution and gains an additional +1 bonus
to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. He also suffers an
inherent -5 foot penalty to his base Speed and an inherent -1
penalty to his Defense score.
Special Handicap [Frailty, +2 Pts.]: Your character suffers
an additional inherent -1 penalty to his Fortitude Save and his
Reflex Save.
Limitation: The GM may determine that this flaw is incom-
patible with certain unusual races or FX powers in use in spe-
cific campaigns.
ALBINISM
[ Primary Flaw ]
Oculocutaneous albinism is a congenital condition that caus-
es your character to have little or no pigmentation in his eyes,
skin, and hair. In addition to affecting his physical appear-
ance, this condition may impair vision or, rarely, cause more
serious problems.
[2 Pts.] Mild Albinism: Your character is unusually pale,
and suffers a -4 circumstance penalty to Disguise checks due
to the difficulty of concealing his condition. He also suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to Search and Spot checks.
If your character suffers lengthy exposure (4 hours or more)
to powerful sunlight with little or no protection, he must
make a Fort Save (DC 18) or suffer painful burns across the
exposed areas of his body. These burns will cause the tempo-
rary loss of 1d4 points of Dexterity, which will return at the
usual rate with rest and care.
[4 Pts.] Serious Albinism: Your character’s hair and skin are
not merely pale, but somewhere between snowy white and
transparent. He suffers a -8 circumstance penalty to Disguise
checks and a -2 penalty to Search and Spot checks.
Even modest exposure (2 or more hours) to powerful sun-
light will force your character to make a Fort Save (DC 20) or
suffer painful burns across the exposed areas of his body.
These burns will cause the temporary loss of 1d6 points of
Dexterity, which will return at the usual rate with rest and
care.
Special Handicap [Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, +2 Pts.]:
This is an extremely rare form of albinism found almost
exclusively (but not universally) in people of Puerto Rican
descent. Its symptoms are mild lung fibrosis (an inability of
the lungs to expand or contract fully) and occasional bouts of
bleeding, which are abstracted for game purposes to an
inherent -2 penalty to Fortitude saving throws.
ANIMAL ANTIPATHY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Although your character can make limited use of pack and
riding animals, neither they nor their wild counterparts have
any affection for him.
[2 Pts.] Moderate Antipathy: Your character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to all Animal Empathy, Handle Animal,
and Ride checks, and must always treat those skills as cross-
class skills if he wishes to improve them Dogs will bark at
him, cats will hiss, and horses will buck and shy away. Any
wild animals encountered will have their reactions toward
your character shifted one column into the negative.
[4 Pts.] Severe Antipathy: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -4 penalty to all Animal Empathy, Handle Animal, and
Ride checks, and must always treat those skills as cross-class
skills if he wishes to improve them. Dogs will howl at him,
cats will hiss and scratch, and horses may attempt to kick
him. Any wild animals encountered will have their reactions
toward your character shifted one column into the negative,
and animals that are already hostile will attack your character
in preference to anyone else nearby.
[6 Pts.] Violent Antipathy: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -6 penalty to all Animal Empathy, Handle Animal, and
Ride checks, and must always treat those skills as cross-class
skills if he wishes to improve them. Any wild animals
encountered will have their reactions toward your character
shifted one column into the negative, and animals that are
already hostile will gleefully ignore anyone else nearby in
their haste to hurl themselves upon your character. Lastly,
any animal attacking your character gains a +1 morale bonus
to its attack and damage rolls.
Limitation: A character with this flaw may not possess the
feat Animal Affinity, nor any other feat that offers a benefit or
a bonus when dealing with animals.
BAD DRIVER
[ Primary Flaw ]
Putting your character at the controls of any ground vehicle
with more get-up-and-go than the average bicycle is an invi-
tation to disaster.
7
 [2 Pts.] Simple Ineptitude: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -4 penalty to all Drive checks.
[4 Pts.] Total Ineptitude: Your character suffers an inherent
-8 penalty to all Drive checks.
[6 Pts.] Gruesome Incompetence: Your character automati-
cally fails any Drive check he is called upon to make.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Drive-By
Attack, Force Stop, Vehicle Dodge, and Vehicle Expert feats. A
character suffering from total ineptitude or gruesome incom-
petence may not take the Surface Vehicle Operation feat.
BAD SHOT
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is either woefully unpracticed or naturally
handicapped when it comes to the use of ranged weapons.
[1 Pt.] Slight Impairment: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -1 penalty to all ranged attacks.
[2 Pts.] Routine Ineptitude: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -2 penalty to all ranged attacks.
[3 Pts.] Woeful Ineptitude: Your character is lucky he
understands which end of the barrel the bullet comes out of.
He suffers an inherent -4 penalty to all ranged attacks.
[4 Pts.] Perpetual Embarrassment: Opponents would rather
be shot at by your character than by anyone else they know.
He suffers an inherent -6 penalty to all ranged attacks.
Special Handicap [Uncoordinated, +1 or 2 Pts.]: Your char-
acter’s positive Dexterity modifier does not improve his
ranged attack rolls. This special handicap may only be select-
ed if your character has a Dexterity score of 12 or higher. If at
any time your character’s Dexterity score permanently drops
below 12, simply add another -2 penalty to his ranged attacks.
This handicap is worth 1 point for a Dexterity score of 12-15
and 2 points for a Dexterity score of 16 or higher.
Special Handicap [Luckless Shooter, +1 Pt.]: Your charac-
ter may never spend Action Points to improve ranged attack
rolls.
Special Handicap [Ineffectual Shooter, +1 Pt.]: Your char-
acter may never score a critical hit with a firearm. All critical
hits rolled with a firearm will be treated as ordinary hits.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the following
feats: Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Burst Fire, Dead Aim,
Double Tap, Far Shot, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on
the Run, Skip Shot, or Strafe. It is also incompatible with the
Foresworn From Firearms flaw (page 10).
BODILY MARKED
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character ‘s body has been permanently marked with
a brand, a tattoo, a birthmark, or some similar marking, of a
nature that is very difficult to remove even with procedures
such as laser surgery. This flaw is especially appropriate for
members of secret orders and societies. Be warned– not only
does it make disguise more difficult, it may be a dead give-
away of your character’s identity or nature if his enemies
learn the meaning of the mark.
[1 Pt.] Easily Concealed: Your character ’s permanent mark
is quite indelible, but it is positioned so as to be very easily
concealed– beneath a watchband, behind a necklace, under a
breast or an armpit, on the inside of a thigh, etc. Your charac-
ter suffers a -1 circumstance penalty to disguise checks.
[2 Pts.] Difficult to Conceal: Your character’s permanent
mark is positioned so that it may be hidden beneath relative-
ly long clothing (full-length shirts and trousers), but will be
revealed by anything less. Your character suffers a -2 circum-
stance penalty to disguise checks.
[3 Pts.] Glaringly Obvious: Your character’s permanent
mark is either so large or so located as to be impossible to
hide– the middle of his forehead, for example. Your character
suffers a -4 penalty to disguise checks.
Special Handicap [Invites Trouble, +1 Pt.]: Your character’s
mark sends a signal to certain people that your character may
be openly harmed or even killed. For example, some police
states brand their criminals and enemies, and those markings
would invite police and other authorities to arrest or attack
your character if the markings were uncovered.
BUTTERFINGERS
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is seriously lacking in manual dexterity, and
tends to fumble and slip when he grasps at objects in
moments of stress.
[2 Pts.]: Withdrawing or stowing a carried item or weapon
(in a holster or pack) are both treated as full-round actions for
your character. Reloading a firearm with a box magazine or a
speed-loader also requires a full round, and reloading a
firearm with an internal magazine or belt requires two full-
round actions. Your character suffers a -1 circumstance penal-
ty to all Sleight-of-Hand checks.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Quick Draw
and Quick Reload feats.
CLIMATE AVERSION
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character ’s body has a hard time adjusting to the rig-
ors of either very hot or very cold climates.
[2 Pts.] Cold Aversion: If your character is averse to cold
climates, he suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all saving
throws and skill checks in temperatures at or below 40
degrees Fahrenheit. He also suffers an inherent -2 penalty to
saving throws made against cold-based FX powers or area
effects. Cold-weather clothing will not remove this penalty.
[2 Pts.] Heat Aversion: If your character is averse to hot cli-
mates, he suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all saving
throws and skill checks in tropical or desert conditions (or in
8
artificial conditions of extreme heat, such as steam baths). He
also suffers an inherent -2 penalty to saving throws made
against heat-based FX powers or area effects.
Special Handicap [Intense Aversion, +1 Pt.]: Your charac-
ter’s aversion to the climate is so intense that he also suffers a
-2 circumstance penalty to Defense and attack rolls while in it.
Special: A character may possess both types of climate aver-
sion, meaning that he will be comfortable only in relatively
temperate climates.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by a character with
any sort of intrinsic resistance to the range of temperatures he
is supposed to be averse to.
CLUMSY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character’s defensive footwork needs a great deal of
polish. His opponents find him somehow quite hittable.
[2 Pts.] Slightly Clumsy: Your character suffers an inherent
-1 penalty to his Defense rating.
[4 Pts.] Fairly Clumsy: Your character suffers an inherent -2
penalty to his Defense rating.
[6 Pts.] Very Clumsy: Your character suffers an inherent -3
penalty to his Defense rating. Cover is your character’s
friend.
[8 Pts.] Professional Victim: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -4 penalty to his Defense rating. May we suggest a com-
prehensive life insurance policy?
Special Handicap [Uncomfortable With Armor, +1 Pt.]: If
your character wears armor of any sort, his Armor Check
Penalty is worsened by -1.
Special: This flaw is incompatible with the Dodge feat.
DISFIGUREMENT
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character suffers from a permanent , painless, but very
obvious physical deformity. This could be anything from bes-
tial features (a mane, a tail, etc.) to a misshapen body (hunch-
back, extensive scars) to unusual skin color (moon-white,
dark blue, etc.).
[1 Pt.] Slight Disfigurement: Your character suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to his Charisma score. Only his very close
friends, family, and associates will disregard this penalty
(GM’s discretion). Furthermore, your character will suffer an
additional -1 penalty to all Disguise checks, due to the diffi-
culty of concealing his unusual feature(s).
[2 Pts.] Moderate Disfigurement: Your character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to his Charisma score. Only his very close
friends, family, and associates will disregard this penalty
(GM’s discretion). Furthermore, your character will suffer an
additional -2 penalty to all Disguise checks, due to the diffi-
culty of concealing his unusual feature(s).
[4 Pts.] Obvious Disfigurement: Your character suffers an
inherent -4 penalty to his Charisma score. Only his very close
friends, family, and associates will disregard this penalty
(GM’s discretion). Furthermore, your character will suffer an
additional -4 penalty to all Disguise checks, due to the diffi-
culty of concealing his unusual feature(s).
Special Handicap [Unusual Body Shape, +1 Pt.]: Your char-
acter must have all of his personal clothing and armor tai-
lored to fit his disfigured form. Increase the base price of any
armor or clothing so customized by 50%, or add 2 to the DC
of the Wealth check.
Special Handicap [Uniqueness, +1 Pt.]: Your character suf-
fers an additional -4 circumstance penalty to Disguise checks.
DULL REFLEXES
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character isn’t as fast as he could or should be when
attempting to dodge incoming disaster.
[1 Pt.]: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penalty to his
Reflex saving throw.
This flaw may be taken multiple times, up to a maximum
Reflex Save penalty of -8.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Lightning Reflexes feat.
DWARFISM
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character, due to a genetic condition, has reached an
adult level of physical development that is significantly short-
er in stature than his species norm.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is one size class smaller than the
adult norm for his race. In the case of humans, this will make
him a small creature. Apply all the appropriate modifiers.
Your character suffers an intrinsic -4 penalty to all Intimidate
and Disguise checks. He may occasionally suffer taunts and
pranks from insensitive NPCs.
EASILY SLAIN
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character’s will to live is weaker than usual, and when
seriously injured his natural inclination is to give up the ghost
rather than fight to stay alive.
[2 Pts.]: Your character dies at -5 hit points rather than at -
10 hit points. Furthermore, he suffers a -2 penalty to any Fort
Save made to avoid instant death (as from massive damage,
for example).
Limitation: This flaw may not be applied to characters with
regeneration or unusually fast healing as natural powers.
9
EASILY WINDED
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character’s ability to engage in lengthy bouts of phys-
ical activity is somewhat limited.
[2 Pts.] Slightly Out of Shape: Your character suffers a -4
penalty to all skill checks or saves made to reflect exertion
over an extended length of time. Furthermore, when holding
his breath, he is treated as though his Constitution score were
4 points lower than it really is.
[4 Pts.] Obviously Out of Shape: Your character suffers a -
8 penalty to all skill checks or saves made to reflect exertion
over an extended length of time. Furthermore, when holding
his breath, he is treated as though his Constitution score were
8 points lower than it really is.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Endurance feat.
FLINCHING
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character tends to flinch and hesitate when opponents
press close in combat, meaning that his attacks of opportuni-
ty are poorly directed.
[2 Pts.]: When an opponent triggers an attack of opportuni-
ty within your character’s threatened area, your character
suffers a -4 circumstance penalty to his attack roll.
FORESWORN FROM FIREARMS
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character shuns the use of guns of any sort, regarding
them as crude, clumsy, noisy, dishonorable, or all of the
above.
[2 Pts.] Moderate Revulsion: Your character steadfastly
refuses to carry or use firearms, and usually regards those
who do as being beneath contempt. In extreme circumstances,
your character may attempt to pick up a firearm and use it for
a purpose other than shooting someone else (cutting a rope,
detonating an explosive barrel, etc.). The GM may call for a
Will Save (DC 15+) before allowing him to do so.
[4 Pts.] Irrational Abhorrence: Your character refuses to
even touch a firearm, even when his life or the lives of others
might be on the line. In utterly extreme circumstances (fate of
the world hangs in the balance, for example) the character
may attempt a very difficult Will Save (DC 25+) in order to
pick up a firearm and use it on an inanimate object.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with any feat that
improves the character’s ability to use or maintain firearms.
Feats that improve general ranged attacks may be taken (with
the GM’s permission), but never applied to the use of
firearms.
FRAGILE
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character suffers from a certain exceptional lack of
vitality.
[1 Pt.]: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penalty to his
Fortitude saving throw.
This flaw may be taken multiple times, up to a maximum
Fortitude Save penalty of -8.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Great Fortitude feat.
GLASS JAW
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character tends to wobble and swoon when an oppo-
nent lands a solid blow to his head or chin.
[2 Pts.] Wobbly: When an opponent scores a successful crit-
ical hit against your character with an unarmed attack or a
bludgeoning weapon, your character must make a Fort Save,
[DC 10 + points of damage taken], or become stunned for
1d2+1 rounds.
[4 Pts.] Downright Delicate: When an opponent scores a
successful critical hit against your character with an unarmed
attack or a bludgeoning weapon, your character must make a
Fort Save, [DC 15 + points of damage taken], or become
stunned for 1d4+1 rounds.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by a character natu-
rally immune to critical hits.
GUILELESS
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is somewhat deficient in shrewdness and
social awareness.
[2 Pts.] Socially Unpolished: Your character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive
checks.
[4 Pts.] Fantastically Clueless: Your character suffers an
inherent -4 penalty to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive
checks.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with any feat that
would enhance or improve any of the skills it penalizes.
GULLIBLE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is far too credulous– not only does he tend
to swallow lies, exaggerations, and tall tales put forth by oth-
ers, he does so with enthusiasm.
[2 Pts.]: Your character suffers an inherent -4 penalty to all
Bluff checks and Sense Motive checks. It’s against his nature
to challenge the word of others except when he has direct
proof that they’re wrong, and his friends and allies will have
many occasions to swat their foreheads in embarrassment at
his gullibility.
10
ILLITERATE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character cannot read.
[2 Pts.]: Your character cannot read, and therefore cannot
place skill ranks in Knowledges, Professions, or Craft/Repair
skills that could reasonably be determined to require any ele-
ment of book-learning (GM’s discretion). Your character also
begins the game knowing only the spoken form of his native
language.
IMPAIRED HAND(S)
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character has suffered some form of damage to one or
both of his hands.
[2 Pts.] Injured/Missing Fingers: Due to stiff or missing fin-
gers, your character suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all
Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Repair, and Sleight-of-Hand
checks;
[5 Pts.] One-Handed: Your character’s off hand was com-
pletely severed from his wrist, leaving him with nothing but
a rounded and useless stump. This flaw has a variety of
effects:
•Your character cannot wield a weapon in his off-hand, nor
use any shield with that hand, save a buckler which can be
strapped to his forearm;
•Your character may not wear rings or bracelets on his off
hand. Magical items in the form of gloves or gauntlets may
not be used if both must be worn to achieve the magical
effect;
•Reloading a firearm with a box magazine or a speed-loader
also requires a full round;
•Your character suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to all
Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Repair, and Sleight-of-Hand
checks; and
•Your character may not use ordinary bows, although he
may load and fire crossbows as per normal.
•Your character suffers a -1 penalty to all grapple checks.
Limitation: Your character may not possess the following
feats: Ambidexterity, Quick Reload, Two-Weapon Fighting, or
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting.
Special: Injured/Missing Fingers is worth 1 bonus Flaw Point
to arcane spellcasters, as it causes a 10% chance of failure to
any spell with a somatic (gesture) component. One-Handed is
worth 2 bonus Flaw Points to an arcane spellcaster, as it caus-
es a 20% chance of failure to any spell with a somatic compo-
nent. These percentile chances of failure are rolled by the GM.
Special: The GM may see fit to assign penalties to actions
not described here if the lack of an off-hand could be reason-
ably determined to hinder those actions.
GM Option: Flaw Synergy
By now it’s probably occurred to you that certain flaws, in
combination, have a debilitating effect greater than the sum
of their parts– just as alcohol and some drugs multiply their
effects when mingled. This leads into the concept of flaw
synergy.
Flaw synergy grants a player some extra bit of compensa-
tion for having the guts needed to take a set of flaws that
compound one another in a potentially gruesome fashion.
Note that flaw synergy does not occur merely because a
character has a set of flaws that are thematically related– for
example, while it makes sense that an Inflexible character
might also be Unathletic, those two flaws don’t complicate
one another in a direct and particular fashion.
On the other hand, Glass Jaw and Light-Headed are poten-
tially deadly in combination. The latter flaw all but ensures
that your character will fall unconscious whenever the for-
mer flaw takes effect. Old Injury and Old Injury (II) are an
equally dangerous match, greatly enhancing the effect of
every critical hit the character suffers.
Primary and secondary flaws may be combined to create
synergy. For example, an Overconfident character with a
Glass Jaw and an Old Injury is simply asking for trouble.
If the GM determines that a player’s selection of flaws is
appropriately synergistic, he may award him one of the fol-
lowing benefits:
• 1 Flaw Point for mild synergy
• 2 Flaw Points for dangerous synergy
• 3 Flaw Points for suicidal synergy
IMPAIRED HEARING
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character has suffered some sort of damage (congeni-
tal, perhaps, or caused by an accident or a combat injury) to
his auditory nerves.
[2 Pts.] Hearing Damage: Your character retains some audi-
tory ability, but not much. He suffers an inherent -6 penalty to
Listen checks, and may not spend Action Points to enhance
them. The Listen skill will be forever considered cross-class
for your character.
[5 Pts.] Deafness: Your character automatically fails any
Listen check, suffers a -4 penalty to Initiative, and has a 20%
chance to miscast any spell with a verbal (V) component.
Nothing less than a full Wish spell or the equivalent ultra-
powerful FX effect can restore your character ’s hearing.
Limitation: This flaw may not be applied to characters with
a natural power or ability that effectively replaces the sense of
hearing.
11
IMPAIRED MOVEMENT
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character suffers from a physical condition that
restricts his ability to move. The nature of this condition is
such that no magical, technological, or other power can
reverse or remove it, unless you wish to buy this flaw off
(page 14) at 2nd level or higher.
[2 Pts.] Limp: Your character ’s base Speed is reduced by 10
feet.
[4 Pts.] Serious Limp: Your character’s base Speed is
reduced by 10 feet. He suffers an inherent -2 penalty to Climb,
Jump, and Tumble checks.
[8 Pts.] Hobbled: Your character cannot run or charge. His
base Speed is reduced by 10 feet. He suffers an inherent -1
penalty to Defense and a -4 penalty to Climb, Jump, and
Tumble checks.
[12 Pts.] Paraplegic: Your character is paraplegic. He has
lost all use of his legs and must rely upon a wheelchair or
other conveyance. If removed from such a device, he may
move only by crawling while prone, at a rate of 10 feet per
round. At all times, he loses his Dex bonus to Defense, suffers
an intrinsic -2 penalty to Defense, grants attackers a +2 bonus
to attack rolls, and automatically fails Climb, Jump, and
Tumble checks.
Limitation: This flaw, in its Paraplegic form, is incompatible
with any feat or FX power that the GM determines to require
bipedal movement. Paraplegism is also incompatible with the
Inflexible flaw.
IMPAIRED SENSE OF SMELL
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character ‘s olfactory nerves have been damaged, leav-
ing him unable to smell anything. While this may be a bless-
ing in certain disgusting situations, it also leaves him without
early warning of many possible hazards, including fires, poi-
son gas, or large nearby animals.
[1 Pt.]: In addition to the obvious effects of this flaw, your
character suffers a -2 circumstance penalty to any roll made to
ascertain information by the sense of taste.
IMPAIRED SENSE OF TASTE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character ‘s taste buds are permanently damaged or
missing, leaving him sadly unable to taste anything, no mat-
ter how delicious or vile it may be.
[1 Pt.]: Everything your character eats or drinks is as flat and
flavorless as distilled water would be to an ordinary person.
This leaves your character unable to detect the subtle hint of
drugs, poison, or putrefaction in anything he eats.
IMPAIRED VISION
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character isn’t completely blind, but his vision is a con-
stant source of trouble to him. Magical healing will not suffice
to alleviate this condition.
[2 Pts.] Poor Vision: Your character suffers an inherent -3
penalty to Search and Spot checks, and may not spend Action
Points to enhance them. The Search and Spot skills will be for-
ever considered cross-class for your character.
[4 Pts.] Terrible Vision: Your character isn’t yet absolutely
blind, but in practical terms he’s pretty close. Your character
suffers an inherent -4 penalty to Search and Spot checks, and
may not spend Action Points to enhance them. The Search
and Spot skills will be forever considered cross-class for your
character. Furthermore, he suffers a -1 inherent penalty to all
attack rolls due to his inability to judge the true position of
opponents in combat.
[6 Pts.] Truly Awful Vision: It isn’t quite safe to let your
character out on his own– he’s always mistaking hostile nin-
jas for harmless pieces of lawn furniture, and vice versa. Your
character suffers an inherent -5 penalty to Search and Spot
checks, and may not spend Action Points to enhance them.
The Search and Spot skills will be forever considered cross-
class for your character. Furthermore, he suffers a -1 inherent
penalty to all attack rolls, as well as an inherent -1 penalty to
Defense.
[8 Pts.] Blindness: In addition to the obvious effects of
blindness (automatically failing Search and Spot checks, for
example), your character suffers a 50% miss chance in com-
bat, loses any Dexterity bonus to Defense, grants a +2 bonus
to opponents’ attack rolls, moves at half speed, and suffers a
-4 penalty on most Dexterity and Strength-based skill checks,
at the GM’s discretion.
IMPAIRED VOICE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character has suffered extensive damage to his vocal
cords, via injury or disease. Magical healing and FX powers
cannot correct this condition.
[1 Pt.] Slight Impediment: Your character suffers from a
slight speech impediment, such as an occasional stutter. This
impediment should be role-played continually, but need only
become severe when your character is under intense stress.
The GM may call for a Will Save in times of crisis if your char-
acter wishes to try and maintain control over his voice.
[2 Pts.] Damaged Voice: Your character is unable to talk
above a harsh whisper and cannot shout or sing. This should
be role-played at all times. Your character suffers a 25%
chance of spell failure when casting any arcane spell with a
verbal (V) component. Any Perform check involving a verbal
element (save for singing, which is already totally precluded)
suffers a -4 circumstance penalty. This level of Impaired Voice
is worth 2 bonus Flaw Points to arcane spellcasters, as virtu-
ally all spells have verbal components.
12
 [4 Pts.] Mute: Your character’s vocal cords are missing or
irreparably damaged. He may speak only in weak abstract
noises, such as hisses and grunts. Otherwise, his communica-
tion must be limited to gestures and writing (if he is capable
of such). It is expected that this flaw will be roleplayed at all
appropriate times. An arcane spellcaster may not be mute.
IMPATIENT
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is notoriously incapable of focusing his atten-
tion long and hard enough to accomplish tasks requiring
great dedication.
[2 Pts.]: Your character may never ‘take 10’ or ‘take 20’ on
any skill check.
INATTENTIVE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is frequently oblivious to the fine details of
what’s happening all around him.
[2 Pts.] Distracted: Your character suffers an inherent -2
penalty to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
[4 Pts.] Clueless: Your character suffers an inherent -4 penal-
ty to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
[6 Pts.] Thick as Concrete: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -6 penalty to Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the “Blindness” version of Impaired Vision or with the
“Deafness” version of “Impaired Hearing.
INFLEXIBLE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Whether it’s due to age, an old injury, or simple lack of exer-
cise, your character isn’t as lithe and nimble as he really
should be.
[2 Pts.] Creaky: Your character suffers an inherent -2 penal-
ty to Balance, Escape Artist, Jump, and Tumble checks.
[4 Pts.] Stiff: Your character suffers an inherent -4 penalty to
Balance, Escape Artist, Jump, and Tumble checks.
[6 Pts.] Very Stiff: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to Balance, Escape Artist, Jump, and Tumble checks,
as well as an inherent -1 penalty to Defense.
Special Handicap [Arthritis, +2 Pts.]: Your character ’s fin-
gers are stiff and sore. As a result, he suffers an inherent -2
penalty to Craft, Disable Device, and Sleight-of-Hand checks.
LIGHT-HEADED
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character has serious trouble remaining steady on his
feet when subjected to a stunning attack or a knockout effect.
[2 Pts.]: When your character would normally become stag-
gered due to the accrual of nonlethal damage, he instead falls
unconscious. When he suffers a successful stun attack, he
must make a Fort Save (DC 15) or instead fall unconscious for
the appropriate number of rounds. Your character suffers a -2
penalty to all saving throws vs. sleep-inducing spells, FX
powers, and drugs.
Special: This flaw may not be taken by a character with an
unusual or racial resistance to sleep-inducing spells and FX
powers, or to nonlethal damage.
LUMMOX
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character ’s firm muscles are a testament to his physi-
cal strength, but he’s never really learned how to control that
strength when swinging a weapon.
[2 Pts.]: Your character’s positive Strength modifier is not
applied to his Base Attack Bonus whenever he uses a melee
weapon or makes an unarmed attack.
Limitation: This flaw may only be applied to characters
with a Strength score of 12 or higher. If at any time the char-
acter’s Strength falls permanently beneath 12, apply an inher-
ent -2 penalty to all melee attack rolls instead.
MAGIC VULNERABILITY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is unusually vulnerable to the deleterious
effects of hostile magic.
[2 Pts.] Slight Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to all saving throws against spells and
spell-like effects.
[4 Pts.] Moderate Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -4 penalty to all saving throws against spells and
spell-like effects.
[6 Pts.] Extreme Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -6 penalty to all saving throws against spells and
spell-like effects.
[8 Pts.] Dying of Mojo: Your character suffers an inherent -
8 penalty to all saving throws against spells and spell-like
effects.
Special: This flaw may only be taken in campaigns where
magic is present.
MOTION SICKNESS
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character suffers intense discomfort and disorientation
if he attempts to concentrate on anything but the scenery
while in a moving vehicle. This flaw does not usually apply if
the character is controlling the vehicle in question.
[2 Pts.] Woozy: Your character suffers a -2 circumstance
penalty any time he attempts to take any sort of action while
13
riding within or upon a moving vehicle.
[4 Pts.] Nauseous: What’s more, before your character may
take any action while in or upon a moving vehicle, he must
make a Fortitude Save (DC 15). Failure means that he will
become nauseated until the beginning of his action in the next
round.
Special Handicap [Total Vulnerability, +1 Pt.]: Your char-
acter even suffers from motion sickness when he is the one
controlling the vehicle.
NERVOUS
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character has some difficulty dealing with the horrors
of battle, dark magic, and supernatural manifestations.
[2 Pts.] Trepidatious: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to Will Saves made to resist fear, horror, shock, or
demoralization.
[4 Pts.] Traumatized: Your character suffers an inherent -8
penalty to Will Saves made to resist fear, horror, shock, or
demoralization.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by characters that
are inherently immune to fear effects.
OAFISH
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is about as light on his feet as a sleepy griz-
zly bear.
[2 Pts.] Fumblefeet: Your character suffers an inherent -2
penalty to all Hide, Jump, and Move Silently checks.
[4 Pts.] Omni-Bumbling: Your character is the anti-ninja.
He suffers an inherent -4 penalty to all Hide, Jump, and Move
Silently checks.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the “Paraplegic”
version of Impaired Movement.
OBESE
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is substantially overweight. Although his
mother might insist that he’s just stocky, she’s wrong.
[3 Pts.] Overweight: Your character suffers an inherent -1
penalty to his Defense rating, as he has difficulty moving
nimbly when he needs to. Your character must also have all of
his personal clothing and armor tailored to fit his oversized
form. Increase the base price of any armor or clothing so cus-
tomized by 25% (if using a precise cash measure), or add 1 to
the DC of the Wealth check. Lastly, he suffers a -4 penalty to
Disguise checks because his corpulence is a rather memorable
trait. On the positive side, he does gain a +1 circumstance
bonus to all Swim checks.
[5 Pts.] Very Overweight: Your character suffers an inherent
GM Option: Buying Off Flaws
Sooner or later, one of your players is probably going to
express a desire to have his character overcome one or more
of his flaws. Provided that a proper in-game rationale can be
provided for this, it isn’t a problem. Medical science can cor-
rect neurological damage, repair broken limbs, and offer new
drug treatments for previously unbeatable problems.
Psychological counseling can help overcome many nervous
disorders. Time, discipline, and increasing self-confidence
can help bury many old handicaps, such as clumsiness or
obesity.
When a player wishes to “buy off” a character flaw, he must
spend something in exchange, at the time his character gains
a level:
•1 Flaw Point may be bought off for 2 skill points;
•2 Flaw Points may be bought off for 1 feat (whether
received for character level or as a class bonus);
•2 Flaw Points may be bought off in place of one
ability score increase (at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, or 20th
level);
Note that the character doesn’t spend any feats or skill
points he already has– he loses only new ones he would ordi-
narily get for a level increase.
Alternately (and with your explicit permission), a character
may buy off 1 Flaw Point by setting aside an “XP Tithe.” For
each Flaw Point bought off, calculate 1/8 of the number of
XP the character will require to reach his next level. This
“Tithe” must be paid off by earned XP before any earned XP
can be used for any other purpose– in effect, the character is
being forced to earn a certain percentage of his next charac-
ter level twice to pay off his former flaw. Once the Tithe is
paid off, the character resumes using earned XP in the usual
fashion (to advance his level, to craft FX items, etc.)
Some background flaws cannot be bought off– for example,
an enemy cannot simply be wished away, and a criminal
record cannot be made to vanish into thin air (at least not
without the expenditure of large amounts of time and
money, an expenditure that should make the character pay
about as much as if he’d bought off the flaw in the fashion
described above). However, an enemy can be defeated,
preferably after many, many encounters as the campaign
nears its culmination. Characters that wipe out an enemy
after many long months or years of effort do not need to pay
anything extra to be rid of their foe– they have earned their
peace with blood, sweat, and tears.
-1 penalty to his Defense rating, as well as a -2 penalty to all
Climb and Jump checks, as he has difficulty moving nimbly
when he needs to. Your character must also have all of his
personal clothing and armor tailored to fit his oversized form.
Increase the base price of any armor or clothing so cus-
tomized by 50% (if using a precise cash measure), or add 2 to
the DC of the Wealth check. Lastly, he suffers a -6 penalty to
Disguise checks because his corpulence is a rather memorable
trait. On the positive side, he does gain a +1 circumstance
bonus to all Swim checks.
14
 Limitation: An Obese character may not also be
Underweight.
OLD INJURY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character suffers from an old wound, long healed on
the surface but ready to flare up again when aggravated by
new injuries.
[2 Pts.] Aggravating: Whenever your character sustains a
successful critical hit, he suffers a -2 penalty to both Strength
and Dexterity. These lost ability points must be recovered at
the ordinary rate, with rest and care.
[4 Pts.] Debilitating: Whenever your character sustains a
successful critical hit, he suffers a -4 penalty to both Strength
and Dexterity. These lost ability points must be recovered at
the ordinary rate, with rest and care.
[6 Pts.] Crippling: Whenever your character sustains a suc-
cessful critical hit, he suffers a -6 penalty to both Strength and
Dexterity. These lost ability points must be recovered at the
ordinary rate, with rest and care. He also suffers a -10 penal-
ty to his Speed score and a -2 penalty to attack rolls and
Defense until he has rested for at least eight hours.
Special: This flaw may be taken in conjunction with Old
Injury (II).
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by a character natu-
rally immune to critical hits.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by a character with
the natural ability to rapidly regenerate lost ability points, nor
by a character naturally immune to ability point loss or criti-
cal hits.
OLD INJURY (II)
[ Primary Flaw ]
This is another form of old injury.
[2 Pts.] Bad: Whenever your character sustains a successful
critical hit, the damage multiplier of that critical hit increases
by 1 (x2 becomes x3, x3 becomes x4, and so forth).
[4 Pts.] Worse: Whenever your character sustains a success-
ful critical hit, the damage multiplier of that critical hit
increases by 2 (x2 becomes x4, x3 becomes x5, and so forth).
[6 Pts.] Pray For Deliverance: Whenever your character sus-
tains a successful critical hit, the damage multiplier of that
critical hit increases by 2 (x2 becomes x4, x3 becomes x5, and
so forth). Furthermore, your character suffers an additional
2d6 points of damage (added, not multiplied).
Special: This flaw may be taken in conjunction with Old
Injury.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by a character natu-
rally immune to critical hits.
PACIFISM
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character renounces (to a lesser or greater extent) the
use of violence as a solution to his problems. This includes not
only physical violence but magical violence, psionic violence,
and any other form of violence allowed by FX powers or
other unusual abilities.
[3 Pts.] Self-Defense Only: Your character may only engage
in acts of violence as a direct response to violent acts taken
against himself or his close allies. In the event he witnesses a
violent action that affronts his moral code or allegiance (for
example, if he witnesses innocent bystanders placed in dan-
ger by a criminal), he may attempt to intervene in a non-vio-
lent fashion.
[6 Pts.] Total Nonviolence: Your character may take no vio-
lent action against anyone, under any circumstances. His role
in a time of crisis will be limited to rendering aid, healing,
scouting, and other non-confrontational forms of assistance.
Limitation: This flaw, in its “Total Nonviolence” version, is
incompatible with the Bad Shot, Foresworn From Firearms,
Lummox, Poor Fighter, Predictable Fighter, Cruel, and
Vindictive flaws. It is incompatible in any fashion with the
Aggressive flaw.
Special: The GM may decide to disallow this flaw in com-
bination with any other flaw he determines to be as inappro-
priate as the ones listed above.
POOR FIGHTER
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character, whether because of a lack of training, natu-
ral ability, or simple enthusiasm, does not fight as skillfully
as he should.
[2 Pts.] Ungifted: Your character suffers an inherent -1
penalty to all attack rolls.
[4 Pts.] Ungainly: Your character suffers an inherent -2
penalty to all attack rolls.
[6 Pts.] Embarrassing: Your character suffers an inherent -
3 penalty to all attack rolls.
[8 Pts.] Disgraceful: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to all attack rolls.
[10 Pts.] What’s Combat?: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -5 penalty to all attack rolls.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the “Total
Nonviolence” version of Pacifism.
POORLY EDUCATED
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character might be bright, enthusiastic, and talented,
but his formal training is sadly lacking.
15
 [2 Pts.]: At 1st level, your character suffers the loss of 4 skill
points. All Knowledge skills are thereafter treated as cross-
class skills should he wish to place ranks in any of them.
PREDICTABLE FIGHTER
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character fights in a woefully limited and straightfor-
ward fashion.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is incapable of using the full defense,
aid another, trip, or disarm actions in combat.
Limitation: Your character cannot possess the Expertise feat
or any feat requiring it as a prerequisite.
PSIONIC VULNERABILITY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is unusually vulnerable to the deleterious
effects of hostile psychic abilities.
[2 Pts.] Slight Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to all saving throws against psionic pow-
ers and psionic FX abilities.
[4 Pts.] Moderate Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -4 penalty to all saving throws against psionic pow-
ers and psionic FX abilities.
[6 Pts.] Extreme Vulnerability: Your character suffers an
inherent -6 penalty to all saving throws against psionic pow-
ers and psionic FX abilities.
[8 Pts.] Ding! Your Brain is Done: Your character suffers an
inherent -8 penalty to all saving throws against psionic pow-
ers and psionic FX abilities.
Limitation: This flaw may only be taken by characters in
campaigns where psionic abilities will be encountered rela-
tively frequently.
SLOW HEALING
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character finds that recovery from serious injury is a
slow and aggravating process.
[2 Pts.] Slow Healing: Your character recovers 1 hit point
per evening of rest per two character levels (or fraction there-
of). If he receives complete bed rest (24 hours per day, with no
other activity), he may recover lost hit points at his regular
rate.
[3 Pts.] Slower Healing: Even full-day bed rest cannot
improve your character ’s rate of healing.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken by any character for
whom fast healing is a natural condition.
SLOW-WITTED
[ Primary Flaw ]
When danger looms, your character is slower to react than
those around him.
[1 Pt.] Somewhat Slow: Your character suffers an inherent -
2 penalty to his Initiative checks.
[2 Pts.] Rather Slow: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to his Initiative checks.
[3 Pts.] Nerves of Molasses: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -6 penalty to his Initiative checks.
[4 Pts.] Molasses in January: Your character suffers an
inherent -8 penalty to his Initiative checks.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Improved Initiative feat.
UNATHLETIC
[ Primary Flaw ]
Whether your character is out of shape, aging, or just disin-
clined to throw himself around, he’s not as good at full-body
movement exercises as he might be.
[2 Pts.] Slacker: Your character suffers an inherent -2 penal-
ty to Climb, Jump, and Swim checks.
[4 Pts.] Sluggard: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to Climb, Jump, and Swim checks.
UNCOORDINATED
[ Primary Flaw ]
“Right foot in front of left foot, then repeat” is about the
most complicated action your poor, clumsy character can
undertake without trouble.
[2 Pts.] Inept: Your character suffers an inherent -2 penalty
to Balance, Ride, and Tumble checks. Any Perform check
involving dexterous movement (dancing or juggling, for
example) suffers a -4 circumstance penalty.
[4 Pts.] Hopeless: Your character suffers an inherent -4
penalty to Balance, Ride, and Tumble checks. Any Perform
check involving dexterous movement (dancing or juggling,
for example) suffers a -8 circumstance penalty.
UNDERWEIGHT
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character is unusually skinny for his height.
[2 Pts.] Slender: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penal-
ty to grapple checks and to melee damage rolls. His lift/carry
capacity is 75% of that normally allowed for his Strength
score.
[4 Pts.] Emaciated: Your character suffers an inherent -2
penalty to grapple checks and to melee damage rolls. His
16
lift/carry capacity is 75% of that normally allowed for his
Strength score. He also suffers an inherent -1 penalty to all
Strength ability checks and Strength-related skill checks.
Limitation: This flaw may not be combined with the Obese
flaw.
UNEXCEPTIONAL
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character displays no particular brilliance or excellence
in any of his abilities.
[2 Pts.]: Lackluster: Your character may never have any nat-
ural ability score higher than 13. He may place a maximum
number of ranks in any class skill equal to his current level +2.
[4 Pts.]: Extreme Mediocrity: Your character may never have
any natural ability score higher than 11. He may place a max-
imum number of ranks in any class skill equal to his current
level +1. He may never possess the Skill Focus feat.
Special: Any permanent ability increase that would
improve one of the character ’s ability scores above the
allowed maximum is lost without compensation.
Special: The character may still increase his abilities above
the listed maximum via the use of magical items or other FX
artifacts, provided they are acquired during the normal
course of play.
UNHEALTHY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character suffers from a variety of physical ailments
that could be the result of age, injury, disease, or even plain
old hypochondria.
[2 Pts.]: All numerical fatigue penalties (to Strength and
Dexterity) are doubled for your character. His allowed light
load is decreased by 10 pounds, his medium load is decreased
by 20 pounds, and his maximum load is decreased by 30
pounds. He suffers an inherent -1 penalty to all saving throws
against poison and disease.
Note: If your character is also Underweight (see above),
apply the percentile decrease in his lift/carry capacity before
subtracting the totals listed here.
UNLUCKY
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character might not be fortune’s fool, but he’s almost
certainly fortune’s rubber chew toy.
[3 Pts.] Cursed: Any time your character rolls a natural 1 on
a skill check, that skill check fails in the most picturesque and
potentially complicating fashion possible, at the GM’s
fiendish discretion. Whenever your character rolls a natural 1
on an attack roll, he drops the weapon he used to make that
attack roll. If he is incapable of dropping the weapon (for
example, if it is clenched inside a locked gauntlet), he will
instead injure himself for 1d4 hit points.
[6 Pts.] Cosmic Tragicomedy: Furthermore, your character
cannot gain or spend Action Points.
WEAK CONSTITUTION
[ Primary Flaw ]
Your character lacks resistance to pathogens and harmful
substances.
[2 Pts.] Moderately Weak: Your character suffers an inher-
ent -2 penalty to all saving throws made to resist poisons,
drugs, and diseases.
[4 Pts.] Weak: Your character suffers an inherent -4 penalty
to all saving throws made to resist poisons, drugs, and dis-
eases.
[6 Pts.] Very Weak: Your character suffers an inherent -6
penalty to all saving throws made to resist poisons, drugs,
and diseases.
[8 Pts.] Extremely Weak: Your character suffers an inherent
-8 penalty to all saving throws made to resist poisons, drugs,
and diseases.
Limitation: This flaw may not be possessed by characters
with any natural or unusual immunity to poisons, drugs, or
diseases.
WEAK-WILLED
[ Primary Flaw]
Your character lacks the mental fortitude one might wish to
have before venturing out into a world full of bizarre myster-
ies and deadly combat.
[1 Pt.]: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penalty to his
Will saving throw.
This flaw may be taken multiple times, up to a maximum
Will Save penalty of -8.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Iron Will feat.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME
(AIDS)
[ Medical Condition]
AIDS is a chronic condition that causes degeneration of the
human body’s immune system. It is thought to be a result of
infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Although there are an increasingly effective number of treat-
ments for AIDS, there is no known cure, and the condition
can be extremely serious in its advanced stages.
[3 Pts.] HIV Positive: Your character has been infected by
the HIV virus. This does not necessarily mean that he has
developed AIDS yet– with a careful lifestyle and the assis-
tance of complicated drug treatments, the development of
17
full-blown AIDS can be staved off for an increasingly impres-
sive length of time. An HIV-positive character suffers an
inherent -2 penalty to Fort Saves due to the side-effects of his
anti-retroviral drug regime. Furthermore, the character must
make a Wealth check (DC 15) each month in order to pay for
this drug regime. Failure to maintain drug treatment will
invite the progression of the disease into AIDS.
Furthermore, your character may occasionally suffer med-
ical and social hassles due to his infection. The Ostracism flaw
(page 37) would be appropriate in some areas of the world.
Progression of Disease: For every two game weeks in which
the character does not receive his drug treatment, there is a
cumulative 5% chance that the disease will progress to the
point of genuine AIDS. If this happens in play, no additional
Flaw Points are awarded for the worsening of the character’s
condition.
[7 Pts.] AIDS: Your character’s immune system has become
damaged to the point where he is considered to have a full-
blown case of AIDS. Your character suffers a -2 penalty to his
general Fort Save and a -6 penalty (cumulative with the -2) to
all Fort Saves made to resist diseases. AIDS patients frequent-
ly suffer serious illness or death from what are called “oppor-
tunistic infections,” that is, diseases that are normally easily
held in check by a healthy immune system. Your character
must also maintain his drug treatment on a continual basis, or
the -6 penalty to Fort Saves against disease will become a -8
penalty (after one week without drugs, lasting until they are
next taken).
Special: This flaw may be combined with the Weak Immune
System flaw, if you don’t like your character very much.
Limitation: This flaw may not be combined with any feat or
FX power that grants heightened resistance to diseases. The
character may still acquire or create a magic item or FX arti-
fact that confers resistance against disease, provided he does
so during actual play rather than at or before 1st level.
ASTHMA
[ Medical Condition]
This is a chronic lung condition that causes frequent bouts
of labored breathing, as well as occasional attacks of brutal
coughing, wheezing, and chest constriction. Asthma is often
(but not always) linked to allergies.
[1 Pt.] Nuisance Asthma: Your character suffers an inherent
-2 penalty to all skill checks or saves made to reflect exertion
over an extended length of time.
[2 Pts.] Mild Asthma: Your character suffers an inherent -1
penalty to all Fort Saves and an inherent -2 penalty to all skill
checks or saves made to reflect exertion over an extended
length of time. Furthermore, when holding his breath, he is
treated as though his Constitution score were 2 points lower
than it really is.
[4 Pts.] Serious Asthma: Your character suffers an inherent
-2 penalty to all Fort Saves and an inherent -4 penalty to all
skill checks or saves made to reflect exertion over an extend-
ed length of time. Furthermore, when holding his breath, he
is treated as though his Constitution score were 4 points
lower than it really is.
[6 Pts.] Severe Asthma: As per Serious Asthma. Furthermore,
whenever your character makes a skill check or save to reflect
exertion over an extended length of time (carrying weights,
running, holding his breath, etc.), he must make a Fort Save
(DC 17) or suffer an asthma attack. An attack will last for 2d10
minutes, and for that duration will confer a -2 circumstance
penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, and Defense due to
wheezing, coughing, and anxiety.
[8 Pts.] Crippling Asthma: As per Serious Asthma.
Furthermore, whenever your character makes a skill check or
save to reflect exertion over an extended length of time (car-
rying weights, running, holding his breath, etc.), he must
make a Fort Save (DC 20) or suffer an asthma attack. An
attack will last for 4d10 minutes, and for the duration will
confer a -4 circumstance penalty to attack rolls, skill checks,
and Defense due to wheezing, coughing, and anxiety.
During this time, the character must refrain from taking fur-
ther violent or energetic action (running, charging, or taking
an attack action in two or more rounds in a row), or an addi-
tional 1d10 minutes will be added to the duration of the
attack for each such action.
Special Handicap [Allergy Trigger, +2 Pts.]: Any time your
character is exposed to large amounts of dust, smoke, or any
other nose/throat irritant (GM’s discretion), he must make a
Fort Save (DC 15). If your character has mild or serious asth-
ma, he will suffer a -2 circumstance penalty to attack rolls and
skill checks for 2d6 rounds (this penalty is cumulative in the
event of subsequent bouts of allergic irritation). If your char-
acter has severe or crippling asthma, he will suffer one of his
usual attacks.
The GM may increase the DC of the Fort Save if the intensi-
ty or quantity of the irritant is deemed to be unusually high.
CLUBFOOT
[ Medical Condition]
This is a congenital deformation of one foot, more common
in (but not entirely limited to) boys rather than girls. Surgical
correction for clubfoot is fairly routine in developed nations–
this flaw presumes that some correction has been made, but
that it hasn’t been entirely successful.
[2 Pts.]: Your character suffers an inherent -3 penalty to all
Balance checks and Jump checks.
DIABETES (TYPE I)
[ Medical Condition]
The body of a diabetic does not produce (or does not make
proper use of) insulin, a hormone required for the conversion
of sugar and starch into useful energy. Type I is the less com-
mon form of diabetes, in which the body simply does not pro-
duce insulin on its own. This form of diabetes is usually diag-
nosed in childhood.
18
 [5 Pts.]: Your character is capable of living a full and excit-
ing life, but must do so at the expense of a number of incon-
veniences:
• Your character suffers an effective -1 penalty to his Wealth
score due to his need to carefully pursue a specialized diet
and lifestyle regimen.
• Your character suffers one of the following three health
problems; either select one at 1st level or roll randomly on a
d6:
1-2: Diabetic Skin Condition: Your character suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to his Charisma score.
3-4: Eye Trouble: Your character suffers an inherent -1
penalty to all Search and Spot checks.
5-6: General Health Trouble: Your character suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to all Fort Saves.
• Your character must make a Wealth check (DC 13) each
month in order to pay for his insulin regime. Failure to main-
tain insulin treatment will invite problems, as discussed
below:
• Your character is dependent upon artificial insulin, and
generally must inject himself with it twice every twenty-four
hours for maximum effectiveness. Each 24-hour period that
passes without an insulin infusion will bestow a -2 circum-
stance penalty to Constitution upon the character; this penal-
ty will last until the character again receives an insulin injec-
tion and rests for at lest eight hours. This Constitution penal-
ty is cumulative; a character that reaches a Con score of 0 will
enter a diabetic coma and die.
DIABETES (TYPE II)
[ Medical Condition]
Type II diabetes (sometimes referred to as “adult onset” dia-
betes) is both more common and less severe than Type I. The
body of a Type II diabetic still produces insulin, but either
doesn’t produce enough or doesn’t use what it produces
properly. A relatively mild drug regimen may be used to help
contain Type I diabetes– in many cases, combined with prop-
er exercise and diet habits, this regimen can nearly eradicate
the symptoms of the disease.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is capable of living a full and excit-
ing life, but must do so at the expense of a number of minor
inconveniences, not as bad as those faced by Type I diabetics:
• Your character suffers an effective -1 penalty to his Wealth
score due to his need to carefully pursue a specialized diet
and lifestyle regimen.
• Your character suffers one of the following three health
problems; either select one at 1st level or roll randomly on a
d6:
1-2: Diabetic Skin Condition: Your character suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to his Charisma score.
3-4: Eye Trouble: Your character suffers an inherent -1
penalty to all Search and Spot checks.
5-6: General Health Trouble: Your character suffers an
inherent -1 penalty to all Fort Saves.
• Your character is somewhat dependent upon his medica-
tions to assist in controlling his condition. Each week that
passes without a dose of the character’s usual medication will
confer a -1 circumstance penalty to the character’s Con score.
This penalty is cumulative. A Type II diabetic negligent
enough to reach a Con score of 0 in this fashion will enter a
diabetic coma and die.
EPILEPSY
[ Medical Condition]
Epilepsy is a complex neurological condition that affects
about 5% of the adult population at some point in their lives.
The primary outward effect of epilepsy is a variety of
seizures. For game purposes, the myriad forms of epilepsy
have been greatly simplified into the hierarchy presented
below. Emotional stress is often a trigger for epileptic compli-
cations, therefore, Will Saves have been used as the default
triggers for possible epileptic seizures.
[2 Pts.] Mild Epilepsy: Whenever your character is forced
to make a Will Save, there is a 25% chance (non-cumulative)
that he will have what is called a “simple partial seizure.”
During such a seizure one part of the character’s body (typi-
cally an arm or a leg) will begin to twitch and spasm uncon-
trollably. This seizure will last 3d6 rounds, imposing a -1 cir-
cumstance penalty to attack rolls and skill checks for the
duration.
[4 Pts.] Moderate Epilepsy: Whenever your character is
forced to make a Will Save, there is a 30% chance (non-cumu-
lative) that he will have what is called a “complex partial
seizure.” In addition to the usual physical seizure effects,
your character’s consciousness and memory may be briefly
impaired.
During such a seizure one part of the character’s body (typ-
ically an arm or a leg) will begin to twitch and spasm uncon-
trollably. This seizure will last 3d6 rounds, imposing a -1 cir-
cumstance penalty to attack rolls and skill checks for the
duration. Furthermore, there is only a 50% chance (non-
cumulative, and rolled for each allowed action) that the char-
acter will be able to take any action he desires. In place of any
lost action, the character will mumble unintelligibly and fid-
dle with his clothes or equipment for a few seconds. This does
not render him helpless.
[6 Pts.] Severe Epilepsy: Whenever your character is forced
to make a Will Save, there is a 35% chance (non-cumulative)
that he will have what is called a “tonic-clonic convulsive
seizure,” also known as a “grand mal.” Your character will
fall to the ground for 1d8+2 rounds, during which time he
will be unable to take any conscious actions. Though he is not
helpless, he is considered prone for all defensive purposes,
and opponents entering or leaving his threatened areas do
not trigger attacks of opportunity from him. He may not sus-
19
tain spells or other FX powers through such a seizure.
Special Handicap [Photosensitive Epilepsy, +2 Pts.]:
Although widely popularized, this is an extremely rare form
of epilepsy (approximately 3-5% of epileptics are affected by
it). A photosensitive epileptic may suffer seizures through
exposure to flickering patterns of lights, including but not
limited to strobe lights, video games, and certain dance or
party lighting effects, as well as flashy magical spells and
other visual FX abilities. Whenever your character is exposed
(GM’s discretion) to flickering lights, there is a 40% chance
(non-cumulative) that he will have a seizure appropriate to
his level of epilepsy. This percentile chance must be re-rolled
for every five rounds (thirty seconds) of continual exposure to
flickering lights.
Note: After an epileptic character has experienced (and
recovered from) a seizure, he will not be susceptible to anoth-
er one for a minimum of ten minutes. Photosensitive epilep-
sy is the sole exception.
Limitation: Photosensitive epilepsy may not be combined
with blindness (page 12).
HEMOPHILIA
[ Medical Condition]
Hemophilia is a hereditary condition (sex-linked, occurring
far more frequently in men than in women) that compromis-
es blood clotting. A hemophiliac, when injured, will bleed for
an unusually long period of time, both internally and exter-
nally. A cut that would be an inconvenience to an ordinary
person may prove lethal to a hemophiliac if proper medical
attention isn’t sought.
[4 Pts.] Hemophilia: Whenever your character is injured by
a piercing, cutting, or slashing weapon (basically, anything
with a sharp or penetrating edge), he will continue to lose 1
hit point per round thereafter due to blood loss. This blood
loss will continue for 2d8 rounds, and may only be halted by
a successful Treat Injury check (DC 15) or the use of a magical
healing spell or a similar FX power.
[8 Pts.] Severe Hemophilia: Whenever your character is
injured by a piercing, cutting, or slashing weapon (basically,
anything with a sharp or penetrating edge), he will continue
to lose 2 hit points per round thereafter due to blood loss. This
blood loss will continue for 2d8 rounds, and may only be halt-
ed by a successful Treat Injury check (DC 17) or the use of a
magical healing spell or a similar FX power.
Note: Subsequent injuries will not cause a cumulative loss
of hit points due to bleeding, however, each subsequent
injury will extend the duration of the bleeding by an addi-
tional 1d6 rounds.
MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY
[ Medical Condition]
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is an “environmental
illness,” a set of chronic allergic reactions generally triggered
by exposure to scented chemical products (typically cleaning
chemicals, detergents, perfumes, fabric softeners, and the
like). MCS can make life in the contemporary world a contin-
ual aggravation for its unfortunate sufferers, as the majority
of ordinary people are totally oblivious to the scented chemi-
cals they are constantly using in public and private places
alike.
[2 Pts.] Mild Sensitivity: Whenever your character enters a
crowded area or a space that would be filled with scented
chemicals (restaurants, public restrooms, etc.), there is a base
40% chance (rolled once every ten minutes or so) that your
character will be exposed to a substance that will set him off.
If he is exposed, he will suffer a fairly standard allergic reac-
tion– watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, and tightness in his
throat and chest. This episode will last for 1d6 minutes and
will inflict a -1 circumstance penalty to attack rolls, skill
checks, and Defense upon the character for the duration.
[5 Pts.] Severe Sensitivity: Whenever your character enters
a crowded area or a space that would be filled with scented
chemicals (restaurants, public restrooms, etc.), there is a base
70% chance (rolled once every ten minutes or so) that your
character will be exposed to a substance that will set him off.
If he is exposed, he will suffer an unusually debilitating aller-
gic reaction– swollen eyes, runny nose, painful sneezing, and
tightness in his throat and chest. This episode will last for 2d6
minutes and will inflict a -2 circumstance penalty to attack
rolls, skill checks, and Defense upon the character for the
duration. Furthermore, he will suffer a total circumstance
penalty of -4 to all Spot and Concentration checks.
Note: If your character encounters a large concentration of
any triggering chemical (particularly in an enclosed area), the
GM may increase the percentile chance of an allergic episode
at his own discretion.
Friends and allies of your character may prevent allergic
episodes by avoiding the use of strong perfumes, deodorants,
aftershaves, and similar substances. Of course, even a single
person wearing a powerful scent can trigger a full-on allergic
attack if they get close enough to your character (GMs take
heed), so caveat emptor.
Special: Characters that possess the “scent” ability may
only possess this flaw with the GM’s explicit permission;
although it might be appropriate for some character concepts,
it might also be unduly crippling for a character with a hyper-
sensitive nose to spend pretty much the entire campaign in
paroxysms of sneezing and gagging.
Special (Designated Flaw Synergy): If your character also
possesses severe or crippling asthma (page 17), each instance
of a MCS allergic attack will require a Fort Save (DC 17).
Failure will double the duration and numerical penalties of the
MCS allergy attack. Either of the above degrees of asthma
taken in conjunction with MCS is worth +1 Flaw Point.
If your unfortunate character possesses the Allergy Trigger
special handicap for asthma, it is “set off” each time the char-
acter encounters a MCS trigger. All resulting penalties are
cumulative! This special handicap, taken in conjunction with
MCS, is worth +2 Flaw Points.
20
 Limitation: Characters that do not breathe or need not fear
airborne contaminants for racial reasons may not select this
flaw.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
ANXIETY DISORDER
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character suffers from a very general condition of high
anxiety– he is a chronic worrier and fretter, often spending
weeks or months agonizing (often in private) over everything
from his financial future to his social acceptability. This disor-
der interferes with his sleeping habits and his general state of
health.
[2 Pts.]: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penalty to both
Fort Saves and Will Saves, as a result of the degradation of his
physical and mental states due to a gnawing sense of worry.
Roleplaying acute outbursts of anxiety from time to time
would not be inappropriate, however, bear in mind that this
does not mean a constant stream of moaning and wailing.
BIPOLAR DISORDER
[ Psychological Condition ]
“Manic depression” is a more common term used to
describe bipolar affective disorder. Although there are at least
six clinically diagnosed varieties of this disorder, for game
purposes it is defined as a condition that causes pendulum-
like swings between periods of high energy and elation
(“manic phase”) and morbidity, agitation, and feelings of
worthlessness (“depressive phase”).
[3 Pts.]: Prior to each game session, the GM should roll 1d10
to determine which “phase” your character is currently in. On
a roll of 1-4, he is completely normal. On a roll of 5-7, he is in
a “depressive” phase, and on a roll of 8-10 he is in a “manic”
phase.
During a manic phase, the character should behave in an
energized and enthusiastic manner– he is gung-ho for just
about any challenge, ready to seize the day and live life to the
fullest. He receives a +1 morale bonus to Will Saves.
During a depressive phase, the character will be plagued by
feelings of intense worthlessness and bleakness; the pleasures
of life hold no interest for him, and he may skip essentials
such as eating or sleeping. He may entertain morbid or suici-
dal thoughts, and he will be bitter, morose company at best. A
depressive character suffers a -2 morale penalty to all attack
rolls, skill checks, and saving throws. At the GM’s discretion,
he may also suffer a -2 circumstance penalty to Charisma.
If a game session covers the events of more than one day, the
GM may re-roll to determine the character’s phase at the
beginning of each game day.
CHRONIC CONFUSION
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character suffers from lapses in memory and attention
that seem to leave him a bit befuddled. This is quite above
and beyond ordinary absent-mindedness, and is often associ-
ated with advanced age (page 7). From time to time, your
character should have trouble remembering names and faces,
as well as remembering where he is and what he’s doing. He
may suffer bouts of irritability, and will even wander away
from friends and allies during critical situations.
[3 Pts.]: In addition to the role-played effects of this flaw,
your character suffers an inherent -2 penalty to Initiative
checks, Concentration checks, Search checks, and Spot
checks.
DELUSIONAL
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character suffers from occasional audiovisual halluci-
nations, sometimes imagining events or situations that aren’t
actually real.
[2 Pts.]: From time to time the GM will feed you a descrip-
tion (without telling you that it’s delusional, of course) of an
event or encounter that your character will believe to be utter-
ly real. Most of these delusions will fall apart when examined
and refuted by other party members, but there should always
be some tension about each incident. Is your character mere-
ly hallucinating again, or is there really a shadowy figure fol-
lowing the group from nightclub to nightclub?
Special: No form of magical/FX healing or protection
against illusions will suffice to remove these delusions. They
originate deep within your character’s mind for reasons
appropriate to his background.
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY
[ Psychological Condition ]
Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder,
Dissociative Identity Disorder is generally recognized as a
result of severe childhood trauma. Temporary dissociation is
a part of everyone’s life– daydreams, reveries, and intense
absorption in a fictional medium such as a book are all rou-
tine examples. An individual with DID has a particularly
severe dissociative disorder that has caused the formation of
one or more secondary personality states within his mind;
from time to time, one of these secondary personalities “takes
over” conscious operation of the body while the character’s
primary personality dissociates.
The “multiple personality” label was set aside because
while a character with this disorder may feel that he has one
or more “entities” within him, each of these entities is really a
manifestation of his own identity, no matter how extreme its
behavior or opinions might be. These entities do not have ran-
dom traits– their mannerisms and behavior patterns stem
from the character’s primary personality and past experi-
ences.
Regardless of the nature of the dissociative secondary per-
sonality, there are several set conditions which, for ease of
game abstraction, may cause the secondary personality to
“steal” conscious control of the character’s body away from
his primary personality. To wit:
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 • Each time your character awakes from sleep, there is a
20% chance, non-cumulative, that his secondary personality
will take over for 1d6+2 game hours (total rolled secretly by
the GM).
• Each time your character is knocked or rendered uncon-
scious, there is a 40% chance, non-cumulative, that his sec-
ondary personality will take over for 1d6+2 game hours once
he regains consciousness.
• Each time your character suffers a state of panic, there is a
40% chance, non-cumulative, that his secondary personality
will take over for 1d6+2 game hours.
For the purposes of simplicity, your character’s secondary
and primary personalities share the same set of skills and
abilities, and share the same body of background informa-
tion. However, when a secondary personality takes control,
“he” will “arrive” knowing nothing of the past eight hours of
the primary personality’s life. This information will not be
assimilated into the shared memory of the two personalities
until later. Conversely, the primary will return to control not
knowing what has transpired while he was dissociated.
The value of this flaw is based on the fundamental attitude
of the secondary personality:
[3 Pts.]: Amiable Dissociation: Your character’s dissocia-
tive personality is fundamentally amiable to the main per-
sonality’s goals, lifestyle, and friends. Although he may have
different preferred methods of action and will still have to
cope with the confusion of any new situation he enters, the
secondary personality will generally cooperate with whatev-
er happens to be the plan when he assumes control.
[5 Pts.]: Neutral Dissociation: Your character’s dissociative
personality is unconcerned with or indifferent to the main
personality’s goals, lifestyle, and friends. The secondary per-
sonality may miss appointments, throw previous plans out
the window, and otherwise disrupt the main personality’s
life; not out of malice but rather out of guilt-free disinterest.
From time to time, the secondary personality may be coerced
or persuaded into pursuing one of the primary personality’s
goals, especially in times of danger or crisis– though he will
almost certainly insist that some plans made by the primary
personality need to be changed.
[7 Pts.]: Difficult Dissociation: Your character’s secondary
personality is disdainful of or somewhat opposed to the pri-
mary personality’s goals, lifestyle, and friends. He will active-
ly work to interfere with any of the primary personality’s
plans if he can– though he won’t behave in a violent fashion
toward any of the primary personality’s friends and allies, he
won’t respect anything about them, including their personal
possessions. The secondary may attempt to sabotage major
areas of the primary personality’s life out of sheer spite.
DYSLEXIA
[ Psychological Condition ]
Although your character is literate, he has difficulty with
reading, writing, and spelling. Dyslexia is a congenital and
developmental condition that “scrambles” some information
between the brain and the page; although it does not make
comprehension impossible, it can be very frustrating, partic-
ularly in times of stress.
[2 Pts.]: Your character suffers a -4 circumstance penalty to
any process or skill check requiring him to refer to written
material (GM’s discretion), and a -8 circumstance penalty to
any process or skill check dealing solely with written materi-
al (writing a novel or decoding an ancient scroll, for example).
Generally speaking, comprehension of written material will
take your character about twice as long as it ordinarily
should. Taking ‘10’ or ‘20’ on a skill check involving reading
or writing will probably require a successful Concentration
check (DC 12-18, depending on the complexity of the task).
Limitation: A character may not be both illiterate (page 11)
and dyslexic. Blind (page 12) characters may not be dyslexic,
either.
Note: This condition is assumed to be “as bad as” illiteracy
because while an illiterate individual won’t be able to receive
the information a dyslexic does, he also won’t waste his time
trying.
NARCISSISM
[ Psychological Condition ]
Although every healthy individual has some narcissistic
tendencies, “narcissistic personality disorder” occurs when
narcissism overpowers an individual’s other character traits
and becomes the major driving force of his existence.
While a vain/dandy (page 40) character is obsessive about
his personal appearance, a narcissistic character is obsessed
with his own importance on a much deeper level– while a
vain individual simply relishes looking good, a narcissist can-
not stand to turn over the spotlight to anyone else. A narcis-
sist is a glory-hound of the worst sort, fixated upon credit and
recognition for achievement regardless of actual achievement. It
is of paramount importance (often quite transparently obvi-
ous to others) for a narcissist to attempt to “hog the credit” for
any positive action and likewise shrug off the blame for any
defeat, even if it falls squarely on him.
[2 Pts.]: Your character’s unbridled conceit, unrealistic self-
estimation, and glaring thirst for recognition all combine to
make him somewhat difficult to get along with. His behavior
may be somewhat amusing in small doses, but over a long
enough period of time it will probably become tremendously
aggravating to his friends and allies.
At the GM’s discretion, your character may suffer a variable
circumstance penalty (-1 to -4) to Charisma-based skill and
ability checks in situations where his narcissism may be
expected to grate on the nerves of NPCs.
NARCOLEPSY
[ Psychological Condition ]
Narcolepsy is a highly troublesome condition that often
goes undiagnosed; many of the individuals afflicted with it
continue to believe that they’re just not getting enough sleep.
22
In reality, they suffer from a neurological condition in which
the REM state of sleep intrudes quite precipitously into con-
scious activity.
Although there are a variety of conditions that fall under the
general category of “narcolepsy,” for game purposes this con-
dition will focus on episodes of sudden unconsciousness.
[4 Pts.] Relatively Mild Narcolepsy: Your character experi-
ences frequent (but short) bouts of irresistible sleep. The GM
should select an arbitrary point very early in any session of
play; there is a 40% non-cumulative chance at that point
(rolled secretly by the GM) that the character will fall asleep
(wherever he is and whatever he happens to be doing) for
1d6+1 rounds. The character will fall prone and be unable to
defend himself; he will most likely be considered helpless.
Every hour on the hour (in real time, not game time) from
that selected point, there is another 40% chance that the char-
acter will experience a narcoleptic bout, no matter what he
happens to be doing (unless he is already unconscious). If this
point occurs during a break in play, check for narcolepsy
immediately after play is resumed.
[8 Pts.] Severe Narcolepsy: Your character experiences more
certain and sustained bouts of irresistible sleep. The GM
should select an arbitrary point very early in any session of
play; there is a 60% non-cumulative chance at that point that
the character will fall asleep (wherever he is and whatever he
happens to be doing) for 2d6+2 rounds. The character will fall
prone and be unable to defend himself; he will most likely be
considered helpless.
Every hour on the hour (in real time, not game time) from
that selected point, there is another 60% chance that the char-
acter will experience a narcoleptic bout, no matter what he
happens to be doing (unless he is already unconscious). If this
point occurs during a break in play, check for narcolepsy
immediately after play is resumed.
Special Handicap [Cataplexy, +2 Pts.]: Cataplexy is a neu-
rological symptom frequently associated with narcolepsy.
Whenever your character experiences an intense emotional
reaction (gets angry, sad, violent, exuberant, tense, fright-
ened, etc., at GM’s discretion), there is a non-cumulative 40%
chance that he will suffer a temporary bout of muscle weak-
ness or paralysis. This bout lasts 1d10 rounds and inflicts a -2
circumstance penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, skill
checks, and Defense for its duration.
Limitation: This flaw may not be possessed by characters
that do not (for racial or FX reasons) sleep.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character is preoccupied with orderliness, perfection-
ism, and control over virtually everything in his life and envi-
ronment. This obsession comes at the cost of flexibility, spon-
taneity, openness, and efficiency, and can drive others crazy.
[2 Pts.] Mild OCD: As your character sees it, following his
established procedures is even more important than the suc-
cess of those procedures; all of the details, lists, and protocols
he has established must be respected or he will get testy.
While his anally-retentive personal habits make him difficult
to get along with, no real damage is actually done when his
procedures are disrupted; he gets irritated and even more
unpleasant, but certainly not violent. Your character may
even attempt a Will Save (DC 20) in moments of crisis to bite
back his instincts and cast off his compulsions for a short peri-
od of time.
[4 Pts.] Severe OCD: As above, but your character is even
more stubborn and prickly when his quirks and procedures
are not respected, to the point where he will start heated argu-
ments or childishly refuse to participate in an ongoing plan or
mission if he can’t have enough time to do things his own
way. Your character is not allowed a Will Save to override his
habits; his mind simply won’t let him try. Your character
expects the world to bend over backward to meet his needs,
and does not consider the possibility of the reverse.
PARANOIA
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character is obsessed with the idea that nebulous par-
ties or forces are up to no good, beyond the understanding of
most people (and well beyond their ability to interfere).
Paranoia may be generalized (“They’re everywhere, but they
don’t know about me yet”) or personalized (“They’re after
ME specifically!”). Please note that paranoia isn’t worth any
Flaw Points if “they” really are out to get your character–
after all, in such circumstances paranoia is a healthy survival
trait. It may, however, still be used in a campaign in which
shadowy conspiracies do exist, simply by extending its
ridiculousness well past the boundaries of even the real
threat.
[1 Pt.] Nervous Quirk: Your character’s paranoid tendencies
are somewhat restrained, but still an obvious part of his life.
Work with the GM to define 3-6 very minor paranoid habits
or superstitions that will frequently spice up the manner in
which you portray your character.
[2 Pts.] Full-Blown Paranoia: Your character’s paranoia is
one of the defining features of his life. His constant paranoid
quirks are clearly obvious to others. Though not dangerous,
they range from amusing to irritating. In concert with the
GM, select 3-6 major paranoid habits that your character will
continually engage in; a few superstitious rules of behavior
(“Never, ever arrive at an appointment right on time”) would
also be quite appropriate.
[3 Pts.] Disruptive Paranoia: Your character’s paranoia is so
pronounced that it visibly interferes in his attempts to lead a
normal life and interact with others. He will enact bizarre
(and sometimes dangerous) security measures in his home or
apartment, cancel appointments for no apparent reason, dou-
ble back on his route three or four times when driving any-
where, hail one taxi and then sprint through traffic for anoth-
er– the possibilities are endless. Work with the GM to define
3-4 solid and debilitating rules of superstitious behavior
(“Sprinkle salt over any threshold before you enter a room;
23
this will negate the supernatural power of the Banzai
Gnomes”), as well as a bevy of lesser quirks and habits.
Special Handicap [Schizophrenia, +1 Pt.]: Your character is
not only paranoid, but his paranoia is defined by the unshak-
able belief that there is One Root Cause for all of his fears and
conspiracy theories, one “big bad” that makes everything
happen. This is a subject of frequent research and pontifica-
tion on your character’s part.
PHOBIA
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character has an unreasoning fear of a certain thing or
situation. This phobia must center on an object or situation
that is reasonably common, yet not entirely disruptive to the
ongoing game. Possibilities include (but are not limited to):
• Snakes • Enclosed Spaces
• Spiders • Fire
• Darkness • Guns and Ammunition
• Heights • Bridges
• Water • Automobiles
• Disease • Dirt/Uncleanliness
• Open Spaces • Sharp Objects
[2 Pts.] Phobia: When your character is in the presence of
the object of his phobia, he suffers a -2 morale penalty to all of
his skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Generally
speaking, he may remain in moderate proximity to the object
of his fear (while enduring the penalties described above) but
will be forced to attempt a Will Save (DC 14-18) if forced to
closely approach a phobia trigger or touch it directly.
[4 Pts.] Severe Phobia: When your character is in the pres-
ence of the object of his phobia, he suffers a -2 morale penal-
ty to all of his skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. He
will attempt to remove himself from proximity to the object of
the phobia as fast as possible; each round in which he wishes
to even remain in sight of the object (or venture back toward
it) will require a Will Save, minimum DC 16). Failure of any
such Will Save means the character will be unable to attempt
another one for at least five rounds. If the need to get away
from the phobia trigger interferes with other actions he might
wish to take during this time, so be it– he flees first and thinks
later.
[6 Pts.] Extreme Aversive Shock: As per Severe Phobia, with
two additions. First, the -2 morale penalty inflicted by the
presence of a phobia trigger is bestowed upon the character’s
Defense score as well. Second, the first time the character
enters the proximity of a phobia trigger (close enough for the
GM to award the above penalties), the character must make a
Will Save (DC 18). Failure means that the GM should roll a d6
and consult the table below:
1-2: Nausea Attack: The character becomes nauseated; he
will remain nauseated as long as he remains in the presence
of the phobia trigger, and for 1d6 rounds after leaving its
presence.
3-4: Panic Attack: The character will become panicked until
out of sight of the phobia trigger; for 1 hour thereafter he will
suffer a -1 morale penalty to skill checks and attack rolls,
cumulative with any other such penalties.
5-6: Nervous Collapse: The character will immediately fall
unconscious for 1d6 rounds; this means he will fall prone and
be considered helpless. Upon recovering consciousness, he
must make another Will Save if he awakes in the presence of
the phobia trigger. Failure means that the GM gets to roll that
d6 again.
With the exception of the situation described above under
“nervous collapse,” a character need make this Will Save only
the first time he encounters any given phobia trigger.
Afterward, he will be subject to the standard conditions of
Severe Phobia. If he flees the situation and returns, it counts as
a new encounter, and he must make the Will Save again.
Special Handicap [Common Trigger, +1-2 Pts.]: If the GM
determines that your character’s phobia trigger is unusually
common or widespread in his foreseen campaign, he may
award an additional 1 or 2 Flaw Points for that phobia, as
appropriate.
Special: With the GM’s explicit permission, a character may
possess two or more phobias.
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
[ Psychological Condition ]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a recurring nerv-
ous condition that occurs in individuals subjected to some
form of violent or disturbing experience in the past (a mug-
ging, a wild animal attack, the death of a loved one, combat,
etc.). The precise nature of the traumatic experience should be
determined by discussion between the player and the GM.
When a character with PTSD encounters a situation that is
reminiscent of his “trigger,” he will experience a nervous
reaction, of a severity dictated below:
[2 Pts.] Nervous Jitters: Whenever your character encoun-
ters a situation similar to his “trigger,” he must make a Will
Save (DC 16) or suffer a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls and
Defense for the duration of his proximity to the trigger.
[4 Pts.] Disabling Flashback: Whenever your character
encounters a situation similar to his “trigger,” he must make
a Will Save (DC 18) or suffer a -4 morale penalty to attack
rolls, skill checks, and Defense for the duration of his prox-
imity to the trigger.
[6 Pts.] Panic Attack: Whenever your character encounters
a situation similar to his “trigger,” he must make a Will Save
(DC 20) or immediately become panicked. Even after removing
himself from proximity to his trigger, he will suffer a -1
morale penalty to attack rolls and skill checks for 1d3 hours.
Special Handicap [Common Trigger, +1-2 Pts.]: If the GM
determines that your character’s stress trigger is unusually
common or widespread in his foreseen campaign, he may
award an additional 1 or 2 Flaw Points for that trigger, as
appropriate.
24
 Special: With the GM’s explicit permission, a character may
possess two or more stress triggers.
Limitations: The situations that trigger stress should be
more general than those associated with a phobia.
QUIRK/MANNERISM
[ Psychological Condition ]
Your character has a recurring, involuntary nervous habit,
mannerism, or general style of personal interaction that is
quite unusual. This quirk should be roleplayed whenever
appropriate; at the GM’s discretion, it may cause questions or
comments from NPCs.
[1 Pt.]: This flaw is for the delineation of any sort of nonvi-
olent, non-disruptive quirk not covered by other available
flaws. Possibilities include but are not limited to:
• Character affects a speech pattern or accent clearly not
natural to him;
• Character bobs and weaves drunkenly even when sober;
• Character speaks to animals without apparent irony or
humor;
• Character frequently slurs his speech for no apparent rea-
son;
• Character habitually wears coats or shirts inside out for
“good luck;”
• Character always speaks in the third person or narrates
his own actions
At the GM’s discretion, a quirk or mannerism may inflict a
-1 circumstance penalty to Charisma-based skill and ability
checks in certain situations; at all times, it inflicts a -1 penalty
to Disguise checks due to the difficulty of consciously hiding
it.
Limitation: A character may possess only one Quirk/
Mannerism for which he receives a Flaw Point.
TOURETTE’S SYNDROME
[ Psychological Condition ]
Tourette’s is a “spectrum” nervous disorder, meaning that it
has a variety of symptoms, some of which can be confused
with those of other psychological disorders. Although it is
widely known as the “Cursing Disease,” there’s a bit more to
it than that, even when abstracted for game purposes:
[1 Pt.] Simple Tics: Your character suffers from occasional
“simple tics,” which are completely involuntary physical
actions or vocal outbursts. Motor tics include pulling at
clothes, jumping, skipping, imitating others, furious scratch-
ing, and obscene gestures. Vocal tics include random grunts,
snorts, laughs, whistles, coughs, or even short nonsense
words. These tics should be roleplayed from time to time at
the player ’s discretion. The character also suffers an inherent
-1 penalty to Charisma due to the off-putting social effect
these tics have on strangers.
[2 Pts.] Complex Tics: Your character suffers from occasion-
al “complex tics,” which last longer and are more involved
than simple tics. Complex motor tics include sudden jerks,
nods, waves, blinking, or facial grimacing. Complex vocal tics
include strings of obscenities, imitations of speeches made by
other characters, socially taboo phrases, or even strings of
nonsense words and phrases. These tics should be roleplayed
from time to time at the player’s discretion. The character also
suffers an inherent -2 penalty to Charisma due to the off-put-
ting social effect these tics have on strangers.
Note: Outbursts of obscenity are referred to as “coprolalia,”
and may be disruptive in some gaming groups. When role-
playing this disorder, players may feel free to substitute
milder epithets and terms in order to avoid offending or dis-
turbing fellow players. Also, please note that a Tourette’s suf-
ferer need not be callous about his outbursts– in fact, many of
them are mortified and apologetic about the things that come
out of their mouths during an outburst.
Special Handicap [Stress Trigger, +2 Pts.]: Whenever your
character is subjected to emotional stress (anger, fear, hatred,
injury to a friend or loved one, etc.), there is a flat 50% chance
that he will experience a sudden and relatively long
Tourette’s outburst (2d6+2 rounds if precision is required).
During such an outburst, he will suffer motor and vocal tics
of the appropriate complexity level; the motor tics will inflict
a -1 circumstance penalty to attack rolls and Defense, and the
vocal tics ruin any attempt to hide or move silently.
If the character can cast arcane spells, this special handicap
is worth an additional 2 Flaw Points; an outburst of Tourette’s
will greatly interfere with the vocalizations needed for spell-
casting. There is a 20% chance that any spell with a vocal (V)
component will be lost when cast due to a Tourette’s tic.
Special Handicap [Violent Outburst, +1 Pt.]: Your charac-
ter suffers from Tourette’s tics of an unusually vehement or
violent nature– though he won’t feel at all violent, his hyster-
ical, aggressive, and threatening outbursts will often scare the
bejeezus out of NPCs and strangers. The possibilities for plot
complication are endless.
SECONDARY FLAWS
AGGRESSIVE
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is impulsive and belligerent, favoring threats
and combat over all other means of problem-solving.
[2 Pts.]: Your character tends to strike first and think later;
he assumes hostility on the part of strangers and unknown
beings, and he believes that they are logically expecting hos-
tility in return. Threats and demands are the only forms of
negotiation he understands, and the only forms he is likely to
respect. Cracking a few skulls, in his opinion, is usually the
only way to get people to listen to reason.
Your character is not necessarily murderous, and his friends
and allies can talk him out of foolish courses of action, but
they had best do so quickly!
Special: Your character suffers a -4 penalty to any
Diplomacy check made against any character used to more
25
civilized methods of persuasion than totally overt threats.
Limitation: This flaw may not be combined with the
Cowardly flaw or with the Pacifism flaw.
AIRY/FLAKY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character acts and dresses in a manner that convinces
others (accurately or otherwise) that he isn’t “all there,” men-
tally speaking.
[2 Pts.]: Perhaps your character has a particularly spaced-
out personality, and speaks in flowery language full of refer-
ences to nebulous mysticism. Perhaps he dresses like an
aggressive gypsy version of Elton John. Possibly he writes a
series of self-help books discussing his encounters with anal-
probing aliens from another galaxy. Whatever his problem is,
his friends can endure it, but strangers find it off-putting. In
addition to the obvious roleplaying consequences of this flaw,
your character suffers an inherent -4 penalty to Intimidate
checks, and may suffer a variable penalty to Charisma in
other circumstances when interacting with strangers.
AMNESIA
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character’s life before now is a blank slate. He is unable
to remember where he came from, what his real name is, and
what he was doing for large portions of his life. Although he
has not forgotten his skills and personal talents, the process
by which he acquired them is a total mystery. Evidence point-
ing him in any specific direction is also frustratingly thin.
[2 Pts.]: In addition to the obvious difficulties this can cause,
the character is also quite obsessed with discovering what his
mind is concealing. Any time the chance presents itself to
explore the mystery of his past, the character will have to
exert an incredible force of will (The GM may even call for a
Will Save against a high DC) to resist it.
Special: Psionic or magical examination of the character’s
mind will be unable to reveal any of the secrets behind his
amnesia, beyond general flickers and glimpses of vague
clues.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with any advantages
that would (in the GM’s opinion) require the character to
have a fully working memory of his past.
BILLY THE KID SYNDROME
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
For some lamentable reason, your character has acquired a
reputation as “the one to beat” within a certain field of skill or
specialization. Cocky hotshots, ignorant wannabes, and con-
summate professionals alike are constantly on the lookout for
your character, seeking to test themselves against him.
They’re not enemies– they just want to see what he’s made of,
and how they stack up against him.
[2 Pts.]: At fairly regular intervals, complete strangers show
up in your character’s life and challenge him to some sort of
contest relevant to his abilities (for example, if your character
has a reputation as an inhumanly fast video game player,
opponents will be looking for a showdown with his game of
choice). They don’t take “no” for an answer and they’re not
always sporting or accommodating when your character is
busy.
BOASTFUL
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is full of hot air concerning everything about
himself– his military record, his car, his drinking capacity, his
skills at fishing and basketball, the important people he
knows, his personal weapons, his romantic conquests, his
close friends, and his aspirations in life.
[2 Pts.] Loudmouth: Your character cannot discuss himself
or his friends without embellishing the facts and exaggerat-
ing the details. Unlike most veteran soldiers and bar regulars,
he doesn’t regard this behavior as a playful sort of game– he’s
a compulsive braggart with some personal deficiency or thirst
for attention. He cannot bear to be upstaged, and will exag-
gerate his stories to the point that demands will usually be
made for him to prove his claims– which he usually can’t.
[4 Pts.]: Violent Loudmouth: What’s worse, your character
will inevitably start a confrontation or threaten violence to
defend his obviously outrageous and exaggerated stories.
The more he lies, the more incredulous the reaction of those
around him– and thus the angrier her gets.
Special: If your character must bite his tongue when discre-
tion is obviously called for, he may attempt a Will Save (DC
set by the GM, moderate difficulty) to do so. If he must bite
his tongue as a matter of life or death, he can swallow his
pride for a short while without a Will Save.
COLD FISH
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is an unusually taciturn and emotionless per-
son. He has no interest in sports, wagers or amusements (save
those of the quietest and most cerebral sort). He has little flair
for personal interaction and seems decidedly uncomfortable
around celebrants, drunkards, children, attractive members
of the opposite sex, and open displays of emotion.
[2 Pts]: Your character isn’t necessarily condescending or
disdainful about the habits of other people. He’s just far
removed from any ability to appreciate those habits. Imagine
him as an alien presence, forever trying to comprehend
what’s going on around him and forever failing. Frequently,
it’s more comfortable for him to withdraw from contact with
others than to tolerate exuberance, rashness, relaxation, and
camaraderie. Although he may value others, he has few ways
of expressing this value. He gives praise only rarely and mat-
ter-of-factly, because he does not grasp that others might
enjoy it. His emotional displays are generally limited to anger
and its near-cousins.
Special: At the GM’s discretion, your character may suffer
a -2 circumstance penalty to certain Charisma-based skill
checks made against strangers or new acquaintances.
26
COMPULSIVE LIAR
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character suffers from the psychological compulsion to
exaggerate, obfuscate, and even tell outright lies about virtu-
ally everything in his life. Unlike a narcissist (page 22) or a
boastful individual (page 26), your character’s lies don’t even
have to be self-aggrandizing. For unknown reasons, your
character simply cannot stop weaving webs of lies– harmless
or otherwise– around himself. Each lie he tells will inevitably
require another lie at some point in the future when it comes
under scrutiny. A liar, as a wise man once said, had best have
an excellent memory.
[2 Pts.] You will be expected to roleplay this behavior an
acceptable percentage of the time; failure to lie often enough
may result in the GM ruling certain lies on your character’s
behalf. Your character may attempt to force down his com-
pulsion in moments of great need, with a Will Save (DC typi-
cally 15 or higher).
COWARDLY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character has an excessive fear of personal injury,
death, failure and abandonment. He is not inclined to take
risks, hates to enter a dangerous situation before others, and
will often engage in pitiful displays of cowardice that would
shame a character made of sterner stuff.
[3 Pts.]: Your character will frequently attempt to maneuver
himself physically to place others between himself and dan-
ger. He has very little shame about cringing displays of cow-
ardice. While he won’t completely abandon close friends in
need, he certainly won’t step boldly forward to risk his neck
on their behalf. He’ll do the minimum necessary (fleeing with
an unconscious friend over his shoulder, for example, as
opposed to fighting the gang member that knocked the friend
unconscious). Whenever possible, he will fight in the least
honorable and risky way imaginable, taking cover or using
high-powered weapons even if such actions aren’t strictly
necessary.
Special Handicap [Yellow, +1 Pt.]: Your character suffers a
-2 morale penalty to all saves against fear, horror, and demor-
alization effects.
Special: This flaw exerts a powerful pull on your character’s
actions. It may be combined with other personality conflict
flaws, provided that when one cancels out the other the char-
acter will still suffer some penalty. For example, a cowardly
character would never imagine leaping into a freezing river to
save a drowning pack animal. However, a cowardly miser
would do so in an instant if that pack animal carried his bags
of treasure, exposing himself to extreme risk without thought
of his usual cowardice. While the character’s cowardice is
temporarily subsumed, his behavior could by no means be
termed healthy.
Limitation: This flaw may not be combined with the
Aggressive flaw, nor may a cowardly character be
Overconfident or Risk-Addicted.
CRIMINAL HONOR CODE
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character adheres to a code of outlaw “honor.” The
actual purpose of such a code is to make him a more effective
criminal, more secure from the authorities, than to make him
more “honorable” for any practical reason.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is expected to adhere to the follow-
ing rules. Breach of a criminal “code” will generally result in
violent reprisals from other criminals if the breach is discov-
ered.
•Never go to the authorities when you have been wronged
by another; never inform the authorities of wrongdoing by
another. Personal insults and affronts must be settled person-
ally– to ask someone in power to protect or compensate you
is unworthy and cowardly. Courts of law are for chumps and
weaklings;
•Justice must be of an equal measure to the crime; injury for
injury, theft for theft, death for death. A direct personal insult
(to one’s manhood, womanhood, or sense of honor) must be
met with a duel or with murder if a duel is not accepted;
•Never, under any circumstances, forgive any insult or
injury on anyone’s terms but your own, after full satisfaction
has been achieved. The sole exception is when you are forced
to extend forgiveness by a criminal figure in authority over
you; and
•Never betray a close friend; Never reveal information to
anyone that would be harmful to a friend; In turn, never for-
give a betrayal by a former friend.
Note: Adherence to a criminal code of conduct may require
ritualized gestures of loyalty to other, more powerful crimi-
nals, as well as other minor lifestyle details that can be settled
between player and GM before a campaign begins.
CRIMINAL RECORD
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character has been convicted of one or more crimes,
and has served time for them. They remain on his record, and
interfere with his life to this day. Your character’s actual guilt,
for purposes of this flaw, is immaterial. In addition to the
effects listed below, a criminal record will interfere with a
character’s attempts to gain legitimate employment, secure
loans or credit, and rent living space.
[2 Pts.]: Lesser Crime: Your character never hurt anyone, but
he did do something stupid and illegal– possession or trans-
portation of mild drugs, perhaps, or a bit of check fraud or
similar con artistry, or a prank that soured into accidental
vandalism or theft.
[3 Pts.]: Multiple Lesser Crimes: Your character has an
established history of misdemeanors and minor crimes– per-
haps he is a habitual trespasser or vandal, or likes to pick
fights and make empty threats.
Your character may be considered somewhat infamous in a
27
small area (his native city), and will gain a +1 bonus (whether
he likes it or not) to Reputation checks made by law-enforce-
ment personnel in that area.
[4 Pts.]: Serious Crime: Your character committed a felony
in which no one was injured– computer hacking, perhaps, or
automobile theft, or a major con scheme.
Your character may be considered somewhat infamous in a
small area (his native city), and will gain a +2 bonus (whether
he likes it or not) to Reputation checks made by law-enforce-
ment personnel in that area.
[5 Pts.]: Violent Crime: Your character didn’t necessarily
hurt anyone, but at the very least he put others in danger.
Assault and battery, arson, armed robbery, and kidnapping
are all possibilities, as is manslaughter or murder.
Your character may be considered infamous in a sizable area
(his native city and surrounding regions), and will gain a +4
bonus (whether he likes it or not) to Reputation checks made
by law-enforcement and media personnel in that area.
Your character will almost certainly face restrictions on his
ability to purchase weapons and his ability to vote or hold a
job (GM’s discretion, dependent upon local laws and cus-
toms).
[6 Pts.]: Multiple Violent or Serious Crimes: Your charac-
ter has a record involving several violent or unusually auda-
cious felonies.
Your character will definitely be considered infamous in a
sizable area (his native city and surrounding regions), and
will gain a +6 bonus (whether he likes it or not) to Reputation
checks made by law-enforcement and media personnel in
that area.
Your character will almost certainly face restrictions on his
ability to purchase weapons and his ability to vote or hold a
job (GM’s discretion, dependent upon local laws and cus-
toms).
Special Handicap [On Parole, +3 Pts.]: Your character
remains on parole for his last conviction. Although he has
some freedom of movement and activity, he is required to
report to his parole officer on a daily basis, avoid contact with
known criminals, and prove that he is seeking or holding
down a legal job. Violation of any of these strictures may be
treated very harshly– your character could even be returned
to prison. This may put quite a damper on a life of adventure
and excitement. Your character will remain on parole for at
least two years of game time.
Limitations: The “On Parole” handicap may only be select-
ed if your character is attempting to live (or present the illu-
sion of living) an open and legal existence. It may not be
selected in conjunction with the Poor Reputation (Wanted)
special handicap on page 38.
Furthermore, any character with a Criminal Record worth 3
or more Flaw Points will almost certainly be disbarred from
the possibility of future service in a military or law enforce-
ment capacity (though exceptions are always made, especial-
ly in the fictional worlds of adventure games). GMs, please
take note.
CRUELTY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character takes genuine pleasure in inflicting pain
upon others, and often in watching pain be inflicted. It is
rarely satisfying to him to merely defeat his enemies when he
can humiliate them or prolong their suffering as well.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is not necessarily murderous, nor
does he even necessarily like his cruel streak. Nonetheless, he
feels a definite thirst for cruel, punishing solutions to his life’s
problems– he desires those who interfere with him to suffer a
commensurate degree of aggravation, pain, and loss before
he overcomes them. A straightforward and sporting victory is
an empty one, according to his heart. Clever cruelties fill him
with joy– after all, he is not a mindless brute, but rather a
shaper of punishments to fit the nature of each crime.
This is differentiated from the Vindictive flaw (page 40); a
vindictive character is relentless in his pursuit of revenge or
redress, but he isn’t necessarily savage and uncouth in gain-
ing it. A cruel character doesn’t need to dash off and seek
vengeance for every little wrong done to him, but when he
does overcome an opponent, only a Will Save (DC fairly high)
will allow him to overcome his cruel impulses.
DARK DESIRE
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character ’s innermost desire can only be described as
vile or evil– to possess some unimaginably powerful thing, to
seize power for cruel purposes, or perhaps even to bend the
laws of reality and invite a supernatural force into our world.
[2 Pts.]: This is not an idle fascination for your character– it
is the core of his very existence, a black secret that he shares
with no one. At all times, your character is pondering, schem-
ing, seeking information, and carefully moving himself in
what he believes to be the proper direction for his goal. It’s
not so much that he’s working in opposition to the plans of
his “friends and allies,” it’s that he considers them ultimately
superfluous– tools to be used and discarded when necessary.
Although your character is infinitely patient, at the very end
of his quest, when the goal is in sight, there is no betrayal he
will not make and no bond he will not forsake to grasp what
he has always desired.
Special: If your character attains his dark desire, it won’t
happen after a month or two of adventuring. It will happen
after years, or, more likely, decades. The attainment of a dark
desire will almost certainly turn your character into an antag-
onistic NPC under the GM’s control, so it is essential for full
dramatic impact that this flaw be kept as utterly secret as pos-
sible.
Limitation: This flaw is perhaps best utilized in campaigns
involving supernatural elements. It may only be selected with
explicit GM approval, due to the fact that it plants a long-term
antagonist in the middle of the player-characters, who are
28
usually presumed to be heroes.
DEBT OF HONOR
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character owes a debt to a powerful NPC, and that
debt is to be repaid with service rather than with goods or
money.
[2 Pts.]: Moderate Debt: Over the course of the unfolding
campaign, your character will be called upon to perform
three substantial services for an NPC. These services will test
the character’s abilities and will contain assorted challenges
and dangers. If your character fails to heed the call when his
services are requested, something unfortunate will happen to
him– he and his friends will very likely be targeted for vio-
lence by the character he has spurned.
[4 Pts.]: Substantial Debt: As above, save that your charac-
ter will be expected to carry out six substantial services for the
NPC over the course of the campaign.
The nature of the NPC (crime boss, occult researcher, reclu-
sive megalomaniac, etc.) should be such that he feels no real
emotional connection to your character. Your character will
therefore have no idea how much of a risk he is facing when
he undertakes each service. The nature of each service will
also probably be contrived to minimize potential reward for
your character, especially when the NPC wants something of
value retrieved or an enemy wiped out. These missions are
duties to be discharged, not opportunities to acquire loot and
glory.
Special Handicap [Certain Weirdness, +2 Pts.]: Oh, no. The
nature of the NPC is such that the errands assigned to your
character are certain to involve unusually bizarre inconven-
iences, particularly strange requirements, and especially
weird or occult obstacles. The GM may disallow the use of
this handicap in campaigns that do not feature occult/weird
elements.
Special: The NPC won’t mind at all if other characters
accompany yours out of friendship or duty, but he won’t offer
them a single penny in compensation for their time and effort.
DEPENDENCY
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character suffers an addiction to a chemical substance
(for whatever reason appropriate to his background). Unless
the character merely has an “ugly habit” (see below), his sub-
stance can be one of three things:
• An illegal drug
• A legal but expensive drug
• A unique substance that the character must make or
distill on his own.
If the character must spend money to secure a dose of the
substance, each dose should require a Wealth Check, DC 11-
14. If the character must create it himself, the raw materials
should require a DC 10 Wealth Check per dose and the DC of
the skill check made to create the chemical must be at least
15.
[1 Pt.]: Ugly Habit: The character suffers a need for a social-
ly acceptable vice– he is a chain-smoker or a “boozer” (never
quite reaching the level of a drunkard). Four waking hours
without a smoke or a swig (as appropriate) will make your
character grumpy and impose a -1 penalty to skill checks and
attack rolls until he gets what he needs. This penalty is cumu-
lative every two hours after that. There are other problems
associated with long-term smoking and excessive drinking,
but other flaws should be used to simulate them. Reduce your
character’s Wealth score by 1 to reflect the money spent on
this habit.
[2 Pts.]: Mild Addiction: Your character must receive at
least one dose of this substance every twenty-four hours or he
will suffer a -1 penalty to all rolls, including attack rolls, skill
checks, and saving throws. An additional cumulative -1
penalty will be applied for every twenty-four hours thereafter
in which the character is deprived of the substance to which
he is addicted, until craving and withdrawal render the char-
acter effectively helpless.
[4 Pts.]: Serious Addiction: Rather than a -1 penalty, your
character will suffer a -2 penalty after each listed interval of
time passes. When this penalty reaches -10, your character
must make a Fort Save (DC 18) or go into a comatose state
from withdrawal shock. This save must be made every six
hours thereafter. If the character is not given his substance or
hospitalized within twenty-four hours of going comatose, he
must begin making Fort Saves (DC 18) every six hours or die.
[6 Pts.]: Deadly Addiction: As above, and worse. The DC
of each Fort Save starts at 20 and rises by 2 with every subse-
quent save. If a save is failed, your character immediately dies
of withdrawal shock.
Special Handicap [Controlled Supply, +2 Pts.]: The sub-
stance is rare and proprietary, and someone else has a monop-
oly on it. Your character is entirely dependent upon an NPC
for his supply of the drug.
Special Handicap [Reprehensible Habit, +2 Pts.]: The sub-
stance is a notorious illegal drug, subject to societal controls
and law-enforcement crackdowns. Acquiring it is hazardous
to the character’s pocketbook, his reputation, and possibly his
life.
Special Handicap [Side Effects, +1 Pt.]: The substance has
an intoxicating or debilitating side effect. For one hour fol-
lowing the intake of each dose, your character suffers a -4
penalty to both Dex and Wis.
Limitation: No racial ability, FX power, or feat granting
resistance against poisons or chemicals will have any effect on
this addiction.
DEPENDENT
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character takes care (emotionally and financially) of
someone extremely close to him (aunt, uncle, parent, grand-
parent, daughter, ward, etc.). This individual is relatively
29
helpless compared to your character and his adventuring
friends.
[2 Pts.]: Your character must work to protect his own iden-
tity and the identity of his dependent(s). If the dependent(s)
were ever to be revealed to your character’s enemies, they
would make the perfect hostages. The dependent has a great
deal of emotional loyalty to your character but cannot offer
any practical assistance
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Lone Wolf
flaw.
Special: This flaw may be taken multiple times, provided
that each new Dependent is geographically separated from
the others (for example, two grandparents would qualify as
one Dependent if they lived together and two Dependents if
they lived in different cities).
DIVISIVE DESTINY
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character is bound by fate (and/or his own choices) to
bring a great deal of pain and anguish to his own family, com-
munity, or nation (or perhaps all of the above), and that des-
tiny cannot be consciously averted. This division will most
likely occur over religious, political, or cultural matters, and
should be discussed and described with the GM’s coopera-
tion before the campaign begins.
[2 Pts.]: This is a flaw that will almost certainly have a
greater impact as the character gains levels and experience.
The further along he progresses toward his desired goals, the
more he will splinter his family and culture, and the more
painful (or bloody) the greater conflict will become.
Note: This flaw can have a great deal of bearing on the
nature and outcome of any given campaign, and may be more
appropriate to campaigns with supernatural elements. Even
for a secondary flaw, this one requires the explicit permission
and cooperation of the GM.
Limitation: A character cannot be Estranged (see below) if
he has a Divisive Destiny.
DOUBLE LIFE
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
While most characters adventure under their own names or
have no difficulty concealing their adventuring habits from
others, your character faces a particularly delicate balancing
act and must keep up his masquerade or face drastic and last-
ing consequences. This flaw is particularly appropriate for
spies, costumed vigilantes, and the like.
[2 Pts.]: Your character’s “civilian” identity is respectable
and well-known enough (or his job is sensitive and prestigous
enough) that connection to your character’s adventuring
identity could irreparably damage it. At regular intervals,
your character may have to take part in social or work func-
tions to “keep up appearances” when he would rather be
adventuring.
Special Handicap [Wanted Double, +2 Pts.]: Your charac-
ter’s adventuring identity operates outside the law and is
sought by legal or governmental authorities on a number of
charges. Use this special handicap rather than the Poor
Reputation (Wanted) (page 38) or Criminal Record (page 27)
flaws when dealing with a secondary identity. After all, while
Bob Johnson can be arrested or subpoenaed, his alter-ego, the
Caped Avenger, keeps no mailing address.
DRIVING OBSESSION
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is totally consumed by a fixation with a sin-
gle far-reaching (and probably unattainable) goal. This obses-
sion has become the cornerstone of his life’s work– although
he may occasionally be diverted from it by necessity, he
always returns to it. Obsessions of this sort are often vengeful.
A young man who saw his parents murdered and vowed to
hunt criminals for the rest of his life would be a prime candi-
date, for example.
[2 Pts.]: Your character can feign temporary disinterest in his
driving obsession, but it really is his reason for living. He will
not long tolerate any distraction from it, and he will tolerate
no sarcasm or teasing as a result of it. If your character
attempts to set aside his driving goal, he will find himself tor-
mented by everything from nightmares to waking hallucina-
tions– at the GM’s discretion, this psychological punishment
will make life increasingly unlivable until the character
resumes the duties dictated by his obsession. This obsession
will definitely come between your character and the long-
term relationships most of us take for granted– especially
love and family.
Special Handicap [Specific Sense of Duty, +2 Pts.]: Your
character’s driving obsession has led him to adopt a very spe-
cific “duty” that he drives himself to carry out as though it
were mandated by a higher authority. Compare and contrast
with the actual Duty/Responsibility flaw (below)– your char-
acter keeps at his task because he is whipped by his personal
mental demons, not because he owes anyone else a service.
This duty should take a very clear form (such as “patrol this
area regularly for crime/supernatural events” or “guard the
members of a specific family at all times, without their knowl-
edge”), and the character should be willing to sacrifice him-
self for it without hesitation. This handicap may not be taken
in conjunction with an actual Duty/Responsibility.
DUTY/RESPONSIBILITY
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character is bound by a regular and formal duty to an
NPC or an organization. This is not simply a personal feeling
of loyalty– it is an official capacity, a commitment that must
be met, or there will be consequences– personal, social, and
perhaps even criminal.
[2 Pts.] Unchallenging/Occasional Duty: Your character
either carries out his duties only part of the time or has an
extremely unchallenging duty, requiring him only to carry
out orders and assignments. A reserve military officer might
qualify for the former; a rookie beat cop would qualify for the
latter.
30
 [4 Pts.] Substantial/Challenging Duty: Your character
spends most of his waking hours every week in the pursuit of
his duty, and must occasionally make important decisions on
his own authority– a homicide detective or any other profes-
sional law-enforcement officer would qualify for this level of
Duty/Responsibility.
[6 Pts.] Important/Challenging Duty: Your character’s duty
is the focus of his life, and he spends a bare handful of hours
every week doing anything not related to it. A staff officer in
a sensitive military position (nuclear missile silo duty, for
example) would qualify for this level of Duty/Responsibility.
Special Handicap [Hazardous Duty, +2 Pts.]: Although
danger is a part of the life of any d20 adventure game charac-
ter, your character doesn’t even have the option of choosing
when and how he will face many of the dangers in his life. He
has volunteered for a position of enhanced risk, and his supe-
riors will frequently order him into risky situations– perhaps
even suicidal ones– regardless of his opinion on any given
mission.
Special Handicap [Restricted Movement, +2 Pts.]: Your
character, by the nature of his duty, is confined to certain
areas and facilities even when he is technically “off-duty.”
This handicap is particularly appropriate to military person-
nel, who are not usually free to enter or leave military bases
as they please and must formally request extended leaves
well in advance of their desired date.
Special Handicap [Restricted Contact, +1 Pt.]: Your charac-
ter is not allowed to freely communicate with those outside of
the establishment he serves. Any letters or phone calls he
sends will be monitored. He may expect to be completely out
of touch with friends and relatives at regular intervals, and he
may also expect to have his contact with certain individuals
barred for security reasons.
Note: This flaw may be quite harmful to group cohesion in
certain campaigns. For example, a U.S. Army Special Forces
officer may have some difficulty adventuring with a party of
three biker-gang members. The bikers have freedom of move-
ment nearly everywhere save on the soldier’s base, and he
can hardly be expected to leave it any time he likes to hang
out with them.
Special: This flaw can and should be used to routinely offset
at least some of the cost of the Civil Rank, Clerical Rank, Law
Enforcement Rank, and Military Rank advantages.
ESTRANGED
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character is cut off from both his family and the socie-
ty that reared him, not by formal outcasting or rule of law, but
by emotional conflicts that are too painful for either side to
even confront, much less set aside.
[2 Pts.]: Your character carries a great weight of mixed frus-
tration and regret about this situation, and will spend much
of his time contemplating it, often at the expense of good
humor or good fellowship. He will get no aid from his fami-
ly or his society; indeed, he will be reluctant to go near them,
even when circumstances seem to require it. A good GM will
weave this estrangement throughout an ongoing campaign,
ensuring that it rears its head from time to time to turn some
satisfaction or new happiness into ashes in your character’s
mouth.
Special: While reconciliation is not impossible, it will only
come at the end of a long effort by both sides-- an effort that
the other side may not be willing to make even if your char-
acter is.
Limitation: A character cannot be Estranged (see above) if
he has a Divisive Destiny.
EXPLOSIVE TEMPER
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
When your character gets angry, he erupts– losing control
over his words and actions, and often making impulsive,
heated decisions that he will later have cause to regret.
[2 Pts.]: When something happens to make your character
angry, he must succeed at a Will Save (DC set by the GM
based on circumstances, ranging from moderate to near-
impossible) to avoid flying completely off the handle. While
he’s bad enough when he makes that save, he’s a terror when
he fails it. He will kick objects, throw things, threaten his
friends and allies, disorder everything around him, start
fights, and throw himself heedlessly into potentially foolish
combat. After a temper tantrum has spent itself, your charac-
ter will generally sulk, making himself miserable company
for an hour or two.
Special: This differs from the Aggressive flaw in that your
character might not even want to be a terribly violent person.
His bouts of rage might be accurately described as incidents
of possession– his temper consumes him, and he doesn’t par-
ticularly enjoy it, but it happens nonetheless.
GREED
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
While most heroic adventurers enjoy the rewards of their
missions, your character covets the acquisition of new mate-
rial possessions to an extremely unhealthy degree.
[2 Pts.]: The lure of wealth seems to draw a curtain down
over your character’s better judgment. Any chance for easy
money (heck, any chance for not-so-easy money, too) has
your character wetting his lips, rubbing his hands together,
and trying to think up some scheme (often quite ludicrous)
whereby he can get away with said money.
Curiously enough, once he’s got his hands on a new pile of
cash, he tends to do with it as he pleases and thinks no more
of it. It’s the acquisition of riches that sets his blood on fire,
not the hoarding of them.
At the GM’s discretion, your character may be forced to
make a Will Save against a moderate DC (12-16) to success-
fully turn down a money-making opportunity unless press-
ing, life-or-death business is keeping him occupied.
31
 Special: This flaw does not make the character a kleptoma-
niac. He suffers no compulsion to take things that are clearly
owned by people he likes, fears, or respects.
HEROIC CODE: FAIR PLAY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character has made it part of his “work ethic” to never
take undue advantage of an opponent, and to always fight in
a forthright and sporting manner.
[2 Pts.]: Your character refuses to flank others, shoot anyone
in the back, take opponents unaware, or attack anyone lying
prone upon the ground. In moments of drastic need, your
character may attempt a Will Save (DC dictated by the GM,
no doubt a very high number) to override this habit.
Limitation: This flaw probably isn’t suitable for character
classes with the ability to make sneak attacks. It is incompat-
ible with the Cruelty flaw.
HEROIC CODE: HONESTY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is scrupulously truthful, even when dealing
with villains and criminals. Two wrongs don’t make a right,
after all.
[2 Pts.]: Your character may not place any ranks in the Bluff
skill or the Gambling skill. Furthermore, he absolutely refus-
es to tell lies except in the most dire circumstances, even to
“bad guys,” and refuses to exaggerate, gamble, or even lie on
behalf of others. In moments of drastic need, your character
may attempt a Will Save (DC dictated by the GM, usually a
rather high number) to override this habit.
Special: Your character may still conceal his non-adventur-
ing secret identities, and assume false names and faces.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with any feat that
improves the Bluff skill or the Gambling skill, and it is incom-
patible with the Boastful and Compulsive Liar flaws.
HEROIC CODE: LAW AND ORDER
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Even if your character is a costumed vigilante or an extrale-
gal interloper, he has the utmost respect for the letter of the
law and balks at pushing its boundaries too far. He views
himself as a “forward element” of uniformed law enforce-
ment and prefers to turn matters over to the legitimate
authorities as soon as possible.
[2 Pts.]: Your character refuses to pick locks, break and enter,
interrogate suspects without turning them over to the police
first, commandeer vehicles or property from ordinary citi-
zens, etc. Basically, if it involves anything more than
patrolling and confronting criminals or villains engaged in
obvious acts of mischief and mayhem, your character tut-tuts
at it. In moments of drastic need, your character may attempt
a Will Save (DC dictated by the GM, no doubt a very high
number) to override this habit.
Limitation: This flaw is probably not entirely compatible
with any advanced character class predicated on sneaking
and thieving. It is incompatible with the Kleptomaniac flaw
and with the Cruelty flaw.
HEROIC CODE: LOYALTY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character views the bonds of his friendships as sacred
and inviolate.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is incapable of abandoning a friend
or ally, even if it would make sense to do so, even in foolish
or suicidal conditions. Come hell or high water, your charac-
ter prefers to fight side by side with his friends and will die
doing so if that’s what fate decrees. Your character is rarely
the one that gets sent running for help.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Lone Wolf
complication (page 34).
HEROIC CODE: MERCY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character has sworn an oath to never take the life of
another sentient being, even in the pursuit of the greater
good.
[2 Pts.] Merciful: Your character cannot intentionally kill
another person, nor allow another person to die when action
on the hero’s part could save them. Your character will con-
sider even an accidental death to be his complete responsibil-
ity, and will therefore exercise extreme caution with his pow-
ers and abilities.
[4 Pts.] Remorseful: Furthermore, your character has
extreme difficulty dealing with the guilt caused by a death
that he could have prevented. If he accidentally causes or fails
to prevent (provided such prevention was in his power at all)
a death, he will lose all of his current Action Points as a reflec-
tion of his anguish, as well as 50 XP per character level.
HUMORLESS
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is absolutely (possibly even genetically, if
nonhuman) without a sense of humor. He doesn’t understand
the concept of humor, and attempts to explain it to him will
only baffle him further.
[2 Pts.]: Your character might even be friendly, sociable, and
capable of enjoying himself– he simply does not laugh or
grasp why anyone else laughs. His earnest sincerity and gen-
uine lack of comprehension are alien and often disquieting to
those who don’t know your character. Occasionally, his fail-
ure to understand the nuances of humor will cause him to
miss the subtext of an important social interaction, or give
someone the false impression that he is making fun of them.
Special: In addition to the roleplaying consequences of this
flaw, your character will suffer a -8 circumstance penalty to
any Perform check where an element of humor is involved in
the performance.
32
IMPULSIVE
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character lacks patience– in moments of crisis, he
demands action immediately, even if it may be the wrong
action, for in his opinion there’s absolutely nothing worse
than inaction.
[2 Pts.]: Your character hates to wait for advice, confer on a
plan or procedure, or put off any decision that can (in his
opinion) be made immediately. When his under-utilized com-
mon sense does take hold, he will still be forcefully opposed
to what he thinks of as “dithering and dickering,” and will
tend to quickly aggravate others with his insistence upon
rapid, decisive action.
Note: This flaw is differentiated from Aggressive (page 25);
an impulsive character isn’t after violence per se, merely deci-
sive action. An aggressive character, provided he can keep a
watchful eye on his target(s) of choice, has no trouble making
careful preparations for violence provided that violence is
imminent.
INFERIORITY COMPLEX
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character has a permanent chip on his shoulder. All his
life, as he sees it, nobody has ever appreciated the true depth
of his talents and abilities.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is extremely sensitive about small
things that he imagines reflect the contempt others feel for
him. If asked to take the lead on the trail, he’ll assume it’s
because he’s thought unimportant enough to be risked. If
asked to take the rear, he’ll assume it’s because they think him
boring If asked to take the middle, he’ll assume it’s because
they don’t think he’s skilled enough to handle himself in the
front or the rear. While your character is usually able to sub-
sume his festering resentment beneath a layer of jagged
humor or false conviviality, it occasionally boils over and
causes extreme discomfort for everyone around him.
Sometimes, your character also takes foolish and unnecessary
risks in an effort to demonstrate his skills.
INSATIABLE CURIOSITY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is compelled at every step of his life by an
incurable need to peek behind every closed door (metaphori-
cally speaking) and unearth every secret he possibly can. This
includes everything from the intricacies of a villain’s plans to
the hidden contents of abandoned buildings. Your character
must be exceedingly cautious, lest he go the way of the
proverbial cat.
[2 Pts.]: Whenever your character is confronted with a
chance to learn something new and interesting, especially if
relevant to his current adventure or investigation, he must
make a Will Save against a DC set by the GM in order to keep
his mind on whatever else he needs to be doing.
Special: No character with this flaw is ever compelled to pry
into the private lives and secrets of those he trusts, respects,
and adventures with. Though surely a few questions every
now and again can’t hurt a bit...
INTOLERANT
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is vehemently prejudiced against a certain
race or large social group other than his own. Whether this
intolerance springs from simple ignorance or a legitimate
grievance is up to you.
[2 Pts.]: Your character’s overt hostility (which goes as far as
name-calling, fight-picking, and boorish public behavior, but
not as far as malicious mayhem such as arson or murder) will
generally be an embarrassment to his friends and allies. It
might also get him and the rest of the adventuring party into
regular trouble with NPCs (especially politicians, police offi-
cers, bartenders, business owners, soldiers, etc.) of the appro-
priate race.
Special: At the GM’s discretion, your character may suffer
a -4 circumstance penalty to certain Charisma-based skill
checks made against characters of the appropriate race or
social group, as well as against other, more enlightened NPCs
who find your character’s prejudice contemptible.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken if the prejudice it
grants is commonly held by a large percentage of the cam-
paign world’s population and is generally regarded in a pos-
itive fashion. Furthermore, it may not apply to “monstrous”
races such as trolls or goblins (if used in the campaign) which
are generally assumed to be inimical to the civilizations from
which player-characters come. Remember, this isn’t a flaw
unless it’s socially reprehensible.
KLEPTOMANIA
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character lives for the thrill of stealing things from
other people. This flaw is differentiated from Greed (page 31)
in that a kleptomaniac cares more about the act of theft (not
just acquisition) itself than the value of anything being stolen.
While a kleptomaniac has no problem with seeking a nice
payoff from a crime, he’s often just as thrilled to snatch some-
thing small and unobtrusive from a purse or a wallet.
[3 Pts.]: Your character feels constant urges to steal things,
and loves nothing more than the secret thrill of getting away
with his thefts. At restaurants, he will steal silverware; when
left with unattended purses or coats he will lift small valu-
ables from them. If your character is a professional criminal,
so much the better– but big thefts are how he makes his liv-
ing, not how he gets through the day. If your character isn’t
trying to steal from others (even his close friends, alas) often
enough, the GM may begin enforcing theft attempts upon
him (possible Will Save allowed to resist the kleptomaniac
impulses in moments of danger or crisis). This can be a very
tricky flaw for a character to live with, so caveat emptor.
LAZY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is a slacker, a layabout, and a wastrel. he has
33
no interest in honest work, or even in dishonest work. He
prefers to let others bear the brunt of any effort– he might not
even care whether or not he gets any of the credit as long as
he doesn’t have to waste any time or effort pulling his own
weight.
[2 Pts.]: Your character suffers an inherent -1 penalty to Will
Saves and to all Profession skills due to his lack of drive and
discipline. He will constantly attempt to shirk or avoid work
and his attention to detail is somewhat lacking; this can be
either amusing or irritating to his friends, depending upon
the circumstances.
Limitation: A lazy character may not have a Driving
Obsession (page 30).
LECHEROUS
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is frequently and severely distracted by his
weakness for his compatible sex.
[2 Pts.]: Your character finds it difficult to resist the lure of
any chance to be near potential romantic entanglements. Just
as a drunkard dreams of wine bottles, beer cans, and shot-
glasses, your character dreams of healthy young flesh, flirta-
tions, and brief but passionate romantic affairs. Your charac-
ter is continually hopping in and out of beds (or trying to, if
his lechery exceeds his personal charm) and wasting many
long hours at bars, clubs, and restaurants cruising for a new
conquest.
Special: Your character must make a Will Save (DC gener-
ally rather high) to avoid the urge to make a pass at a poten-
tial partner whenever the opportunity presents itself (save in
dire moments of emergency). This can cause no end of com-
plications for the character and his allies when time or discre-
tion is of the essence
LONE WOLF
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is anything but a team player. Whether he
regards the presence of others as a hindrance to his abilities
and style or just prefers to keep his own company is up to
you.
[2 Pts.]: Your character has an extremely difficult time work-
ing with others in groups and getting along in such arrange-
ments for any length of time. If forced to tolerate the continu-
al presence of others, he will be a grating, sarcastic, and gen-
erally divisive influence when he’s not ditching the others to
do things his own way. He will frequently find excuses to
“scout ahead” or “take care of some personal business,”
ensuring that he won’t often be close at hand when he’s need-
ed in an emergency.
Limitation: This flaw can go a long way toward splintering
a group in the most inconvenient fashion possible. GMs, be
certain that players wishing to take this flaw for their charac-
ters can be trusted not to take it so far that it ruins the game
for everyone.
MACHO/SPARTAN
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character makes a point to project himself as tough,
bullish, and ready for anything. He’ll have nothing but scorn
for anyone with a lesser tolerance for adversity and he cer-
tainly won’t back down from a challenge to his fortitude.
[2 Pts.]: The central function of this flaw is that your char-
acter will get on others’ nerves with amazing regularity.
Furthermore, your character will routinely refuse to do things
the easy and comfortable way. Beds? Beds are for sissies.
Heavy clothing in freezing weather? Hey, freezing weather ’s
good for you. Grin and bear it! Your character’s macho
assumptions may sometimes leave your adventuring party
without vital tools or clothing when entering a hazardous sit-
uation. Even when freely offered creature comforts, your
character will utterly disdain their use.
The GM may call for a Will Save if your character attempts
to back down from a direct challenge to his machismo. If
acceptance of creature comforts is a matter of diplomatic
importance, your character will make every effort to appear
content with them, while making every private effort to shun
them that he can.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
Vain/Dandy (page 40), nor with Lazy (page 33).
MELANCHOLY
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is uninvolved in the excitement and
pageantry of life– his world is introspective, bleak, and mor-
bid. While not actively out to kill himself, he has no com-
plaints about dying, and seems somewhat bemused by the
lengths everyone around him goes to to avoid it.
[2 Pts.]: This is not merely a pose– something has happened
to your character to rob him of joy and exuberance. Although
he keeps a sense of humor, it’s wry and cynical, frequently
exercised at the expense of others. Your character often spec-
ulates on the nature of death and on the manner of the death
that awaits him, regardless of whether or not such talk dis-
comforts those around him. When injured or left in a state of
extreme peril, your character is quite lackadaisical, and will
be more of a detriment than a benefit to anyone struggling to
survive nearby. If your character does find the will to carry
on, it’s only because he’s found something new to amuse him
for a little while.
MISER
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is obsessed not so much with the joy of mak-
ing new fortunes as he is with hoarding and contemplating
what he’s already gained. He’s also a notorious skinflint.
[2 Pts.]: Your character balks at spending a single nickel
more than absolutely necessary for anything, from the food
he eats to the places he sleeps in and the weapons and equip-
ment he trusts to save his life. Your character has very little
dignity where his wallet is concerned, and will gladly sleep in
34
the back seat of a car and wear the same clothes for six
months straight, no matter how much better he could do for
himself.
Furthermore, your character will suffer a continual -2 penal-
ty to all Wealth checks, due to the fact that he will inevitably
hold some of his resources back no matter how dire the situ-
ation.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Someone with power (or powerful friends) has mistaken
your character for someone else (someone they despise, natu-
rally) and is out to get your character. Alternately, your char-
acter might find himself continually confused with a criminal
or villain.
[2 Pts.] Limited Recognition Your character has the equiv-
alent of a 2 Pt. Nemesis: Villain (see page 36), a dangerous
NPC (and that NPC’s circle of friends and allies) who thinks
your character is someone else– someone he needs to hunt,
hinder, or punish
[4 Pts.] Widespread Recognition Your character is widely
mistaken for another individual who has offended or alarmed
a great many people. His life will be more constantly and
deeply disrupted by this problem.
Special Handicap [Perfect Double, +1 Pt.]: Your character
really is an exact physical double of the NPC he’s being con-
fused with– although very small details (birthmarks, scars,
etc.) may be different, only the closest friends and associates
would be able to reliably tell the two apart, and then only
with time and observation.
MONETARY DEBT
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character owes a relatively huge sum of money to a
powerful NPC that expects repayment. Although it’s under-
stood that your character will pay in installments as his
adventuring career proceeds, those installments had better be
generous and steady.
[2 Pts.] Significant Debt: If the NPC is a vicious and dan-
gerous character (crime boss, loan shark, terrorist warlord)
the debt owed is set at $75,000. This is the equivalent of 15 +
1d6 wealth checks against a DC of 13 + 1d4, at least one of
which must be made about every two game weeks.
If the NPC is merely firm and unfriendly (disapproving rel-
ative, large bank) the debt owed is $100,000. This is the equiv-
alent of 20 + 1d8 wealth checks against a DC of 25+1d4, at
least one of which must be made about every game month.
[4 Pts.] Massive Debt: If the NPC is a vicious and danger-
ous character (crime boss, loan shark, terrorist warlord) the
debt owed is set at $150,000. This is the equivalent of 30 + 2d6
wealth checks against a DC of 15 + 1d4, at least one of which
must be made about every two game weeks.
If the NPC is merely firm and unfriendly (disapproving rel-
ative, large bank) the debt owed is $200,000. This is the equiv-
alent of 40 + 2d8 wealth checks against a DC of 17 +1d4, at
least one of which must be made about every game month.
Special: A vicious NPC denied payment on the amount
owed will resort to intimidation and violence. A firm and
unfriendly NPC denied payment will resort to repossession
of goods, lawsuits, and slashing your character’s credit rat-
ing.
If your character fails to make one or more of his regular
payments, or somehow displeases his creditor without entire-
ly defaulting on the repayment, compound interest may
begin to accrue on what he still owes (necessitating one or
more extra payments) and a new repayment schedule may be
forced upon him.
It is possible that the NPC creditor may be willing to occa-
sionally negotiate the substitution of a service for one or more
payments.
NEMESIS: GOVERNMENT
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
A powerful figure in a major government (or an entire
agency, or a multi-national coalition) is out to get your char-
acter for reasons justifiable or otherwise. This nemesis will
make recurring appearances in your character’s life. Your
character might experience everything from tax troubles to
arrest warrants to expulsion from an entire country. The pre-
cise nature of their argument with your character is up to you.
[2 Pts.] Minor Nemesis: The nemesis is a local power figure
(city bureaucrat, small-town mayor) or a relatively weak or
distant agency.
[4 Pts.] Moderate Nemesis: The nemesis is both popular
and powerful (mayor of a huge city) or an agency with a
respectable reach.
[6 Pts.] Major Nemesis: The nemesis is a dangerously pow-
erful national figure (senator, vice-president) or a formidable
agency such as MI-5 or the CIA.
[8 Pts.] Daunting Nemesis: The nemesis is either a pivotal
world figure (President of the United States, perhaps) or a
major coalition (NATO) with worldwide striking power.
NEMESIS: LEGAL
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
A powerful lawyer (or an agency full of lawyers) is out to
get your character for some real or imagined slight. They
might be seeking a civil suit relating to one of your charac-
ter’s earlier adventures (Property damage? Wrongful
assault?) or they might be set upon your character by his ene-
mies. The annoying possibilities of this complication are end-
less. Your character would be well advised to retain skilled
legal counsel and to avoid accepting manilla envelopes from
strangers in public places.
[2 Pts.] Hassle: The nemesis is a local ambulance-chaser,
persistent if not overly menacing.
35
 [4 Pts.] Major Hassle: The nemesis is a cunning and experi-
enced partner in a decently-sized firm with branches in sev-
eral cities.
[6 Pts.] Big-League Trouble: The nemesis is a legal jugger-
naut, one of the ten most powerful firms in North America or
Europe, with offices all over the place and a team of lawyers
assigned full-time to your character’s case.
[8 Pts.] The Stuff of Nightmares: The nemesis in question
has a branch office dedicated entirely to pursuing your char-
acter’s case, twenty-four hours a day. Private detectives are
after your character, a dozen summons await him at any
given time, and civil suits are pending in a dozen jurisdic-
tions. Pray for death.
NEMESIS: MEDIA
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
An influential figure (or group of figures) in the local or
national media holds a grudge against your character and
they love nothing better than to pursue it in print, on tape,
and on the internet. Your character will find himself routine-
ly criticized, lambasted, ridiculed, and dissected (metaphori-
cally speaking) in a wide variety of journalistic tableaus, as
appropriate to the nemesis’ sphere of influence.
[2 Pts.] Fleabiter: The nemesis is a small-town reporter or
editor, or a tabloid nutcase.
[4 Pts.] Muckraker: The nemesis has some clout, as an edi-
tor or award-winning reporter for a major city newspaper or
TV station.
[6 Pts.] Big Name: The nemesis is a national media figure –
an established syndicated columnist read by millions or a
major network TV journalist seen by tens of millions.
[8 Pts.] Angling For A Pulitzer: The nemesis is an entire
publishing chain or a major national network, full of celebri-
ties and researchers clamoring for your character’s head on a
pike.
NEMESIS: ORGANIZATION
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character has made an enemy of a powerful non-gov-
ernmental organization. This could be anything from a pri-
vate “think tank” to a a secret society, a religious cult, or a
body of organized criminals.
[2 Pts.] Local Trouble: The organization is either very weak
and overextended, or its power is confined to a relatively
small area.
[4 Pts.] Cause For Concern: The organization is fairly large
and competent. Your character will have to watch his back
wherever he goes.
[6 Pts.] Lurking Danger: The organization has quite a reach
and the resources to back a major power play. Your character
had best have all of his cards up his sleeve when he takes
them on– they’re certifiable bad news.
[8 Pts.] Big, Big Trouble: The organization is perhaps one of
the shadowy masters of the world, capable of striking any-
where on earth at any time, with agents and resources in hun-
dreds of places, ready and willing to make your character’s
life rather miserable.
Special Handicap [Unusual Powers, +1 Pt.]: If the organi-
zation has access to powers (psionics, magic, supernatural
abilities, high-tech alien FX abilities, etc.) that your character
and his allies do not, the GM may consent to allow an extra
Flaw Point for this special handicap.
NEMESIS: VILLAIN
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
A villain or criminal has taken a decided interest in pursu-
ing and defeating your character. Your character’s nemesis
regards his fight with your character as one of the driving
interests of his life. Whether or not your character agrees is
irrelevant.
[2 Pts.] Minor Antagonist: The nemesis is directly compa-
rable in power and ability to your character, though he does-
n’t show up very often.
[4 Pts.] Competent Antagonist: The nemesis is directly com-
parable in power and ability to your character, and he takes a
much more frequent interest in bothering your character.
[6 Pts.] Major Antagonist: The nemesis is more powerful
and able than your character, with significant resources at his
command, and he takes everything very, very personally.
[8 Pts.] Grounds For Suicide: How could it be worse? The
villain is a total nightmare– he’s your character’s superior in
every human sphere, he dresses better, he has more friends
and more money, he has a seemingly endless supply of ninja
assassins, and he spends a great deal of money to ensure that
the local TV stations only play late-night movies that your
character can’t stand.
Special Handicap [Lieutenant, +1 Pt.]: If the villain has a
noteworthy lieutenant (not as powerful as the chief villain,
but still competent enough to enhance the villain’s capabili-
ties significantly) the GM may consent to allow one or more
(in the case of multiple lieutenants) extra Flaw Points.
Special Handicap [Unusual Powers, +1 Pt.]: If the villain
has access to powers (psionics, magic, supernatural abilities,
high-tech alien FX abilities, etc.) that your character and his
allies do not, the GM may consent to allow an extra Flaw Point
for this special handicap.
NIGHTMARES
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character suffers from recurring and nearly incurable
nightmares, stemming from an extremely stressful event or
encounter in his past (or perhaps from some mysterious cause
not yet explained).
[2 Pts.] Occasional Nightmares: There is a 40% chance per
period of sleep that your character will experience extremely
36
vivid and lengthy nightmares. The character must make a
Will Save against a DC of 15; failure means that the character
will be mentally fatigued the next day. While he can still run
and charge, he will suffer a -2 circumstance penalty to all
Spot, Search, Knowledge, and Concentration checks, and he
will suffer a -1 circumstance penalty to all of his attack rolls.
These penalties last until he is next able to sleep undisturbed.
[4 Pts.] Frequent Nightmares: There is a 65% chance per
period of sleep that your character will experience extremely
vivid and lengthy nightmares. The character must make a
Will Save against a DC of 17; failure means that the character
will be mentally fatigued the next day. While he can still run
and charge, he will suffer a -2 penalty to all Spot, Search,
Knowledge, and Concentration checks, and he will suffer a -
1 penalty to all of his attack rolls. These penalties last until he
is next able to sleep undisturbed.
Special: If the character is an arcane spellcaster, this flaw is
worth an additional two (2) Flaw Points. A bout of night-
mares will rob the character of a single prepared spell slot of
each level he can cast for the next day. For example, if a char-
acter that can prepare two 1st level spells suffers a bout of
nightmares, he will only be able to prepare one 1st level spell
the next day.
Limitation: This flaw may not be possessed by characters
that do not sleep (for racial, supernatural, or technological
reasons) as humans do.
OBNOXIOUS
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Plainly speaking, your character is a jerk. He has little or no
grasp of social niceties, and his personal behavior is guaran-
teed to offend and aggravate just about everyone around him.
Whether this is a calculated posture or an innocent (if unfor-
tunate) set of habits is up to you.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is one or more of the following
things– loud, rude, impatient, arrogant, intrusive, insensitive,
bombastic, crude, strident, and/or narrow-minded. In addi-
tion to the roleplaying burden of these traits, your character
suffers a -4 penalty to all Diplomacy checks.
Limitation: A character may not be both Obnoxious and
Tongue-Tied (page 39).
OSTRACISM
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character is feared, hated, and discriminated against
for something in his nature that he cannot change, be it his
skin color, his social background, or any unusual racial abili-
ties and powers.
[2 Pts.] Limited Ostracism: Your character experiences occa-
sional taunts from strangers, and often finds himself subject-
ed to epithets or unpleasant scrutiny. Sometimes, shops or
restaurants won’t admit him, but he’s relatively free from
actual violence.
[4 Pts.] Severe Ostracism: Your character faces a society
with a deeply-entrenched suspicion of his kind, and as a
result experiences constant discrimination, embarrassment,
disdain, and occasionally even threats or physical assaults.
[6 Pts.] Sanctioned Ostracism: The prejudice your character
faces is officially sanctioned by the government of the society
in which he lives. He is formally treated as a second-class cit-
izen, if he enjoys any rights at all, and must often submit him-
self to “security registration” and restricted movement pat-
terns. Legal and police authorities will be no help at all if he
is persecuted, threatened, or injured.
Special: This flaw may only be taken with explicit GM per-
mission, as it is obviously highly dependent upon the nature
of the campaign world.
OVERCAUTIOUS
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is no coward– he is quite willing to face
danger and carry out his responsibilities. However, he is too
dependent upon planning, information gathering, caution,
and second opinions. He will attempt to delay any decisive
action as long as possible, until “all options have been con-
sidered,” and he will proceed with unseemly slowness even
when he becomes set on a course of action.
[2 Pts.]: Your character will drag his heels on virtually every-
thing– he doesn’t see himself as indecisive, but in essence
that’s his problem. While there’s much to be said for caution,
it cannot serve in every situation, and your character’s friends
and allies are bound to get aggravated with him at regular
intervals for his love of “thorough consideration.”
OVERCONFIDENT
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is absolutely certain that he can take any
challenge set before him, even if the odds against him are
ridiculous. Unfortunately, your character is also pretty much
wrong.
[2 Pts.]: Your character scoffs at the idea that “discretion is
the better part of valor.” He won’t back down from a fight, he
dislikes calling for reinforcements, and he has a habit of con-
stantly underestimating any danger or opponent placed in his
way. Your character might be forced to make a Will Save (dif-
ficulty relatively high) any time he attempts to withdraw
from danger or back down from a challenge.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Cowardly flaw or the Overcautious flaw.
POMPOUS
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is a staggeringly snooty, affected, and formal
individual.
[2 Pts.]: Your character always acts as though he owns the
place he’s standing in and everyone nearby happens to work
for him. While your character might mean well and be a per-
fectly lovely person, he speaks and acts in a fashion that,
37
while perfectly natural to him, is either ludicrous or grating to
almost everyone else. He never uses a ten-cent word when a
five-dollar word is available, takes too long to say just about
everything, and relaxes only when inebriated or somehow
mind-controlled.
Special Handicap [Condescending, +1 Pt.]: What’s worse,
your character continually acts as though nobody around him
truly understands anything as well as he does (or, indeed, is
capable of doing so even under optimum circumstances). He
makes a constant show of explaining things to people that
don’t necessarily need them explained.
Special Handicap [Snob, +1 Pt.]: Perhaps most aggravating
of all, your character is simply incapable of enjoying anything
unless he is simultaneously denigrating the taste or accom-
plishments of someone else. His continual disdain for the
opinions, habits, and possessions of others is bound to get on
someone’s nerves sooner or later. His lack of tact inflicts an
inherent -2 penalty to all of his Diplomacy checks.
POOR REPUTATION
[ Secondary Flaw: External Trouble ]
Your character has an extremely unflattering reputation in a
certain area or within a certain group of people. Regardless of
whether or not the reputation is deserved, it’s firmly
entrenched and all but impossible to counter. This is not the
same as a formal record of alleged wrongdoing (like a crimi-
nal record), but it can be just as troublesome.
[2 Pts.] Suspicious/Untrustworthy: The precise nature of
the reputation should be left to the GM, as appropriate to
your character’s background. If your character is law-abid-
ing, he might have a reputation as a suspicious and unsavory
person. If your character is already an unsavory person, he
might have a reputation among other unsavory people as an
oath-breaker, or potential informer. While this reputation
won’t make anyone attack your character on sight, it will
make virtually everything he tries to do more difficult.
Contacts won’t take him seriously, police officers or criminals
(or both) will hassle him on the streets, and so forth.
This flaw will provide a +3 bonus to all Reputation checks
made by appropriate NPCs when attempting to identify your
character. If your character is successfully identified, he will
suffer –4 circumstance penalty on checks involving the fol-
lowing skills for the duration of the encounter: Bluff,
Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Perform.
[4 Pts.] Presumed Corrupt/Malicious/Awful: As above, but
worse and/or more widespread. If your character is law-
abiding, he might find himself slandered as anything from a
murderer to a crooked businessman. If your character is
already an unsavory person, he might have a reputation
among other unsavory people as a definite otah-breaker or
informer.
This flaw will provide a +6 bonus to all Reputation checks
made by appropriate NPCs when attempting to identify your
character. If your character is successfully identified, he will
suffer –6 circumstance penalty on checks involving the fol-
lowing skills for the duration of the encounter: Bluff,
Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Perform.
Special Handicap [Wanted, +1-4 Pts.]: Your character is
sought by legal or governmental authorities for crimes he
may or may not have committed. Compare and contrast with
Criminal Record (page 27); a character with this handicap has
not yet been caught. The more serious the charges, and the
wider the area of the hunt for him, the more this handicap is
worth (GM’s discretion). This handicap is incompatible with
the Criminal Record (On Parole) handicap, page 27.
Special Handicap [Bounty, +1-3 Pts.]: One or more govern-
ments (or wealthy private citizens, or criminal organizations)
in the region where your character has a poor reputation have
put up a reward for his capture or death. The more this boun-
ty is worth (GM’s discretion), the more points it provides, as
the more interest it will arouse. This is not entirely the same
as a Nemesis flaw (pages 35-36), as the threat comes from ran-
dom and unknown bounty hunters, skip tracers, and assas-
sins rather than a consistent enemy.
PRIMITIVE
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character comes from a culture and society that are
significantly behind the level of technological development
common in the campaign. Not only does your character lack
the casual familiarity with technology that most of us take for
granted, he has no appreciation
of the customs and safety precautions that technology may
require.
[4 Pts.] Backwards: Your character comes from a society sev-
eral generations removed from current technology and social
developments. While not familiar with many of the specifics
of modern life, the character will not be at a total loss when it
comes to simple things like operating doorknobs. An average
man or woman from 1910 would suffer from this flaw if
dropped into the early 21st century– they would be familiar
with the general concept of airplanes, electricity, and automo-
biles, but quite unused to the speed, size, noise, and automa-
tion of modern society. In addition to the obvious roleplaying
consequences of this flaw, your character suffers the follow-
ing:
• At 1st level, he may not select the following feats:
Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Aircraft Operation, Burst
Fire, Drive-By Attack, Exotic Firearms Proficiency, Gearhead,
Surface Vehicle Operation, or Vehicle Expert. Nor may he
select any other feat deemed by the GM to enhance or depend
upon skills or techniques beyond his level of training.
• At 1st level, he may not place any ranks in the following
skills: Computer Use, Craft (Electronic), Drive, or Pilot. These
skills will be forever considered cross-class if he learns them
at a later time.
• He suffers an inherent -1 penalty to all of the following
skills: Craft (Chemical),Craft (Mechanical), Craft
(Pharmaceutical), Craft (Structural), Demolitions, Disable
Device, Investigate, Knowledge (all), and Treat Injury.
38
 [6 Pts.] Truly Primitive: Your character comes from a socie-
ty that is many centuries behind current technological and
social developments. He has no conception of the power
sources, weapons, transportation, and entertainment devices
used by modern people; his reaction to modern society may
veer from amusement to terror, depending on the situation.
• At 1st level, he may not select the following feats:
Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Aircraft Operation, Burst
Fire, Drive-By Attack, Exotic Firearms Proficiency, Gearhead,
Personal Firearms Proficiency, Surface Vehicle Operation,
Surgery, or Vehicle Expert. Nor may he select any other feat
deemed by the GM to enhance or depend upon skills or tech-
niques beyond his level of training.
• At 1st level, he may not place any ranks in the following
skills: Computer Use, Craft (Chemical),Craft (Mechanical),
Craft (Pharmaceutical), Craft (Structural), Craft (Electronic),
Demolitions, Disable Device, Drive, or Pilot. These skills will
be forever considered cross-class if he learns them at a later
time.
• He suffers an inherent -2 penalty to all of the following
skills: Investigate, Knowledge (all), and Treat Injury.
Special Handicap [Superstition, +1 Pt.]: Your character’s
worldview is too supernaturalist to accept the true nature of
technology. Your character is constantly making offerings of
goods or prayer to the “spirit forces” around him; he may
evolve a number of rituals that he performs before doing any-
thing from entering an automobile to turning on a television.
Note: If you wish your character to suffer additional social
consequences for his culture of origin, select the
Unsophisticated flaw (page 39) as well.
RISK-ADDICTED
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is held in thrall by the surge of adrenaline he
feels whenever he stares into the gaping jaws of death or mis-
fortune.
[2 Pts.]: This flaw is quite similar to Overconfident (page
37)– in fact, in terms of effects, the two are nearly identical.
The difference is that a Risk-Addicted character is totally cog-
nizant of the extreme danger of any given situation, and well
aware that he might not be skilled enough to take on the
entire world and live, and he simply does not care. Your char-
acter never feels more alive than when his fate and fortune
are hanging by a slender thread, and he seeks to put himself
in such situations as often as possible. In short, he will rarely
retreat, surrender, or back down from games of chance and
risk. A Will Save against a fairly high DC may be required if
he ever wishes to exercise discretion rather than valor.
Limitation: This flaw may not be taken in conjunction with
the Overconfident flaw (page 37), as their effects are too close
to one another.
STUBBORN
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character is obstreperous, thick-skulled, and incorrigi-
ble– whatever decision he makes and however he makes it, he
expects to have his way. No appeal to duty, rationality, or
friendship can penetrate this stubborn veneer without a fight.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is aggravatingly certain that he
knows best about everything. He will fight to have his own
way just about all the time, asserts his authority over others
even when he doesn’t have any, and disregards the good
advice of those who know better even when it’s for his own
clear good. In certain circumstances, your character may be
allowed a Will Save (moderate difficulty) to swallow his
pride and accept someone else’s leadership without protest
for some length of time.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Tongue-Tied
flaw (see below).
TONGUE-TIED
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Although your character frequently wishes to express him-
self, he is shy, hesitant, uncertain, and woefully unpolished in
the social graces.
[2 Pts.]: Your character is extremely socially handicapped, in
a manner determined by agreement between yourself and the
GM. In addition to suffering a -1 penalty to your character’s
initial Charisma score, you must roleplay one or more of the
following– shyness, hesitance, lack of assertiveness, and gen-
eral submissiveness to virtually everyone around you. Your
character may be required to make a Will Save if he wishes to
assert his presence or authority in anything but a life-or-death
situation.
Special: If your character has the Leadership feat, he does
not add his positive Charisma modifier (if any) to the
Leadership check total.
Special: This is a secondary flaw largely as a result of the
roleplaying burden it places upon you. Playing a milquetoast
is not for everyone, so think carefully before applying this to
your character.
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with the Stubborn
flaw (see above) and the Obnoxious flaw (page 37).
UNSOPHISTICATED
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character might not be lacking in genuine brainpower,
but he comes from an ethnic group or area that is considered
by most ordinary folks in the campaign world or nation to be
amusingly backwards.
[2 Pts.]: Your character displays the accents and personal
habits customary to his place of origin; as a result of these
traits, he is regarded as a hick, a rube, a redneck, or a provin-
cial. Their presumption may be that he is anything from
quaint and superstitious to downright stupid. Con artists and
39
tricksters will single your character out for attention, and those three words are meaningless to him.
strangers in bars or restaurants will have plenty of choice wit-
ticisms and taunts to throw at him. At the GM’s discretion, Special (Dedicated Flaw Synergy): If your character has a
your character will suffer a -2 circumstance penalty to most Criminal Honor Code (page 27), this flaw will exacerbate that
Charisma-based skill checks in situations where his origin beyond any rational limit. Your character, when wronged,
could be considered a hindrance in the eyes of onlookers. will be a demon incarnate, thirsting for blood. This flaw,
taken in combination with Criminal Honor Code, is worth
Note: Compare this flaw with Primitive (page 38). This flaw one (1) additional Flaw Point.
means that your character isn’t actually backwards, but is
treated like he is. A Primitive character actually is backwards, WEIRD FLAWS
but receives no social trouble for it unless he takes this flaw as
well. The two flaws may be combined.
BANE
Special: This flaw is incompatible with Vain/Dandy. [ Weird Flaw ]
Your character is extraordinarily vulnerable to injuries
VAIN/DANDY from a single material substance. A bane might be a specific
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ] metal (gold, silver, cold iron, etc.), a special wood (Rowan,
Ash, Yew, etc.) or a completely fictional substance, as appro-
Your character is excessively obsessed with his clothes and
priate to your character’s background. Your character had
appearance, in one of two ways:
best try to keep his vulnerability a closely-guarded secret.
[2 Pts.]: A character that is principally vain doesn’t neces-
[2 Pts.] Moderate Bane: Whenever your character is struck
sarily care about the quality of the clothes he wears, but he is
by a weapon shaped from or incorporating his bane, the fol-
absolutely fastidious about his image and his presentability.
lowing must be noted:
He bathes at every opportunity, dotes on his hair, flexes and
poses, and generally seizes any opportunity to make himself
• All attacks with a bane weapon or substance have their
look dashing. He’s the sort of person who polishes his boots
critical threat ranges doubled against a vulnerable target;
twice a day even when on trail in the wilderness. He cannot
abide the feeling of uncleanliness, even when dirt on his face
• All attacks with a bane weapon deal +1d4 damage against
or clothes would help hide him from a nearby danger. He
a vulnerable target. This damage is not multiplied in the
must make a Will Save (GM’s discretion) to tolerate a state of
event of a critical hit. Damage from a bane weapon can never
uncleanliness for any length of time.
be non-lethal; and
A dandy, in contrast, is a foppish clotheshorse with a prefer-
• Even simple contact with the bane substance will result in
ence for the comforts of civilization over the hard pleasures of
1d3 points of irresistible damage to a vulnerable target.
the street or the wilderness. While a dandy can bear a bit of
grime or sweat, he can do so primarily because he likes to
[4 Pts.] Severe Bane: Whenever your character is struck by
keep a change of clothes (or several) on hand. When setting
a weapon shaped from or incorporating his bane, the follow-
out on an adventure, he will inevitably try to haul along as
ing must be noted:
many improbable and unnecessary fine things as he can get
away with, and while his friends might occasionally appreci-
• All attacks with a bane weapon or substance have their
ate that rare bottle of cognac while on the mountain trail, they
critical threat ranges tripled against a vulnerable target;
won’t be pleased to discover that he tossed out the GPS loca-
tor device to make room for it.
• All attacks with a bane weapon deal +2d4 damage against
a vulnerable target. This damage is not multiplied in the
Limitation: This flaw is incompatible with Macho/Spartan,
event of a critical hit. Damage from a bane weapon can never
Primitive, and Unsophisticated.
be non-lethal; and

VINDICTIVE
[ Secondary Flaw: Personality Conflict ]
Your character cannot bear to let others have the last word
or the last blow. If wronged, he must revenge, no matter how
inconvenient or foolish that may prove.
[2 Pts.]: Your character has a vicious revenge complex, and
is incapable of bearing up with dignity under insults or
injury. Likewise, he is all but incapable of forgiving a slight or
an injury, and will go to elaborate (and frequently dangerous)
lengths to secure his revenge. Although he does not ask that
his friends and allies help him achieve his vengeance, he
grows highly irate when they attempt to interfere. “Letting it
go” is not in his vocabulary; strung together in that order,
• Even simple contact with the bane substance will result in
1d6 points of irresistible damage to a vulnerable target.
[6 Pts.] Deadly Bane: Whenever your character is struck by
a weapon shaped from or incorporating his bane, the follow-
ing must be noted:
• All attacks with a bane weapon or substance have their
critical threat ranges tripled against a vulnerable target;
• All attacks with a bane weapon deal +2d8 damage against
a vulnerable target. This damage is not multiplied in the
event of a critical hit. Damage from a bane weapon can never
be non-lethal;

40
 • A character struck by a bane weapon must make a Fort
Save (DC 17) or suffer the temporary loss of 1 point of Con,
which must be healed in the usual fashion. This Con loss is
cumulative, if the character is struck several times and fails
more than one Fort Save.
• Even simple contact with the bane substance will result in
2d6 points of irresistible damage to a vulnerable target.
Special Handicap [Common Bane, +2 Pts.]: Your charac-
ter’s bane substance is fairly cheap and widely available. Iron,
for example, is a great deal more common than silver.
Note: Damage from a bane substance will negate natural
Damage Reduction and fast healing alike.
CURSED
[ Weird Flaw ]
Your character suffers from some sort of supernatural
curse; this curse is both subtle and shrewdly applied, so that
it is very difficult to detect, let alone remove. The curse caus-
es a rotating variety of colorful misfortunes– your character
can never be sure what’s going to go wrong on any given day
until something actually does.
[3 Pts.] Mild Curse: The GM should secretly roll 1d10 at the
beginning of each game session. This will determine the mis-
fortune suffered by the character for that entire session, not to
be revealed to him until necessary:
Roll Misfortune
1 -2 to Ref Saves
2 -2 to Fort Saves
3 -2 to Will Saves
4 -1 to all saving throws
5 -2 to all skill checks
6 -1 to Defense
7 -1 to attack rolls
8 -4 to Initiative checks
9 -4 to all Intelligence-based skill checks
10 -4 to all Dexterity-based skill checks
[5 Pts.] Serious Curse: The GM should secretly roll 1d10 at
the beginning of each game session. This will determine the
misfortune suffered by the character for that entire session,
not to be revealed to him until necessary:
Roll Misfortune
1 -4 to Ref Saves
2 -4 to Fort Saves
3 -4 to Will Saves
4 -2 to all saving throws
5 -3 to all skill checks
6 -2 to Defense
7 -2 to attack rolls
8 -8 to Initiative checks
9 -6 to all Intelligence-based skill checks
10 -6 to all Dexterity-based skill checks
DARK TAINT
[ Weird Flaw ]
Your character’s body or spirit (or perhaps even both) has
become “contaminated” by some form of evil supernormal
power; whether or not your character wishes to fight back
against this power, this will cause complications for him.
[3 Pts.]: This flaw causes several problems:
•Your character will register as vaguely “evil” to any spell
or FX power capable of detecting such a quality. Although the
impression will be mingled with that of his true nature, it will
still be quite suspicious.
•Your character only has a 50% chance of responding to any
magic spell (or FX power) capable of healing him, cleansing a
poison or disease from his body, or otherwise restoring his
health. Any such spell cast upon him that does not take effect
will be lost.
•Your character will be unable to wield or activate FX items
that are defined by the GM to be intrinsically “good;” such
items will be totally dead in his hands and may even cause
some pain when handled.
•From time to time, strange events may take place around
your character that will cause even his friends and allies to
worry about him. Plants might wither at his touch, comput-
ers might shut off spontaneously, books might burst into
flame. These events will not be continual, but may occur once
or twice a month, and their exact nature is left to the GM’s
fiendish discretion.
HAUNTED
[ Weird Flaw ]
Your character suffers from the subtle but persistent atten-
tion of an invisible poltergeist or some other minor supernat-
ural force. This presence might have been picked up as a
result of looting a tomb or archaeological dig, or it might be
related to an ancestral legacy.
[2 Pts.] Weak Poltergeist: Your character is the subject of
continual mischief as a result of this haunting– small objects
will be moved or stolen, animals will be spooked, food and
beverages will be spoiled, and so forth. Strange noises might
wake him in the night, and vulgar or threatening notes might
be typed on computer screens. While the haunting spirit
doesn’t have the power to harm your character directly, his
life will be a bit messy and aggravating as long as the spirit
lingers.
[4 Pts.] Strong Poltergeist: The poltergeist’s actions are
more persistent and harmful. While still incapable of directly
attacking your character, the spirit will misplace important
objects (personal weapons, vital documents, car keys, etc.)
and perform substantial acts of environmental sabotage
(slashed tires, exploded home appliances, etc.) roughly 1d3
times per session (roll kept secret by the GM, of course).
Special: This supernatural presence is extremely canny and
difficult to get rid of. Religious blessings and genuine magic
41
can drive it away for a while, but only an extremely involving
and costly divine or magic ritual (well beyond the reach of
any 1st level character) will ever drive the spirit away (GM’s
discretion). The spirit may have difficulty following the char-
acter into other planes, at the GM’s discretion. Then again, it
might be close at hand when he travels to another plane, and
take the opportunity to slip through with him.
PHOTOPHOBIA
[ Weird Flaw ]
Your character has a marked aversion to bright light in gen-
eral and direct sunlight in particular. If he has a severe
enough version of this flaw, he may develop the unseemly
habit of exploding when sunlight hits him.
necessarily harmful– it just means that an orderly life is out of
the question.
[2 Pts.]: While the precise effects of this flaw are up to the
GM, you should expect your character to suffer visitations of
weirdness above and beyond that which is par for the cam-
paign. Mobsters might decide to bury the bodies of a few of
their victims in his backyard. He might start receiving all the
incoming mail for two dozen Churches of Scientology. The
cockroaches in his apartment might begin to display alarming
hints of sentience, including the construction of small altars to
him. All the money in his wallet might spontaneously trans-
mute to Confederate States of America currency, circa 1862.
These effects should never be directly harmful, but will often
be somewhat irritating.

[2 Pts.] Mild Photophobia: Whenever your character is

exposed to bright light without the benefit of protection (such
as sunglasses), he will suffer a -1 penalty to all of his skill
checks and attack rolls. Whenever he is exposed to direct nat-
ural sunlight, he suffers that penalty automatically and loses
1 hit point per round of exposure. This damage is irresistible.

[4 Pts.] Moderate Photophobia: The effects of the flaw are

doubled. In bright light, the character suffers a -2 penalty to
all skill checks and attack. When exposed to natural sunlight,
he suffers that penalty automatically and loses 2 hit points per
round of exposure. This damage is irresistible.

[6 Pts.] Severe Photophobia The effects of the flaw are

tripled. In bright light, the character suffers a -3 penalty to all
skill checks and attack. When exposed to natural sunlight, he
suffers that penalty automatically and loses 3 hit points per
round of exposure. This damage is irresistible.

[8 Pts.] Extreme Photophobia: In bright light, the character

suffers a -4 circumstance penalty to all skill checks and attack
rolls. When exposed to natural sunlight, he must make a
Fortitude Save against a DC of 20 or suffer 4d6 points of irre-
sistible damage per round of exposure, as he bursts into
actinic flame. If he makes his save, he will suffer only 2d6
points of irresistible damage.

Special Handicap [Explosive, +1 Pt.]: If your character is

reduced to 0 hit points by exposure to sunlight, he must make
a Fort Save (DC 25) or immediately explode. This explosion
will kill your character instantly and deal fire damage in a
ten-foot radius, 1d4 per level or hit die possessed by your
character (whichever allows for a more powerful explosion).
A Ref Save (DC 15) is allowed for half damage in the event
anyone else is caught in the radius of this explosion. The dan-
ger of explosion remains each round your character is
exposed to sunlight.

Limitations: This flaw is incompatible with any resistance

or immunity to light-based attacks and with any FX power
that allows the creation of light.

STRANGE ATTRACTOR
[ Weird Flaw ]
Your character is an “oddity magnet,” a focal point for
bizarre occurrences and strange disruptions. This flaw is not

42
Seasoning With Age: Something Extra at 1st Level
The concept of “seasoning with age” allows players to quick-
ly and easily build a sort of back story for their characters.
While most adventurers start out at 1st level fresh out of
youth or school with little worldly experience, a character
given a few rolls on the table below can spend several years
working in one or more careers, acquiring a little money and
perhaps a few skills or useful goods along the way.
To season a character with age before 1st level, assume that
the character enters a career at the age of 18, as listed below.
For every roll on the table below, Seasoning With Age, the char-
acter is aged one year.
There are three types of trade into which your character can
enter. A Mundane Occupation means steady if somewhat bor-
ing work in a thoroughly civilized area– clerical work, work-
study at a university, or a boring retail job, for example. While
there are no opportunities to acquire riches or glory, a mun-
dane occupation is relatively safe work. In addition to what-
ever he picks up from rolling on the chart, a character receives
a +1 temporary Wealth Bonus for every two full years he
spends in a mundane occupation.
A Risky Occupation is a bit more adventurous. On a regular
basis, the character will be expected to travel or expose him-
self to some chance for injury or misfortune. Work aboard a
commercial fishing boat, cutting timber, and working in a
busy factory near hot furnaces and molten metal would all
qualify as risky occupations.
In addition to whatever he picks up from rolling on the
chart, a character receives a +1 temporary Wealth Bonus for
each year he spends in a risky occupation.
A Dangerous Occupation pays well and offers as much sea-
soning as the character can handle. Working as a soldier, a
Table: Seasoning With Age
Roll Mundane Occupation Risky Occupation
bodyguard, a safari guide, or a race-car driver would qualify
as a dangerous occupation. In addition to whatever he picks
up from rolling on the chart, a character receives a +1 tempo-
rary Wealth Bonus for each year he spends in a risky occupa-
tion or a +3 temporary wealth bonus for every two full years.
Your character may hop from job to job as each increment
passes, or he may spend his years comfortably ensconced in
the same occupation.
Note that while money accrues steadily and other rewards
are still fairly frequent, there is a chance with each roll that
the character will suffer some sort of setback... an injury, an
illness, or even the acquisition of an enemy.
A player may roll as many times as he is willing to on the
table at left. When a player ceases rolling, his character enters
his adventuring career at 1st level, with any extra cash, goods,
and problems he has picked up from the table.
Misfortunes of Seasoning
Seasoning a character with age can be a rocky process.
Occasionally, a roll on the table will result in the acquisition of
a misfortune. While your character gets to keep his temporary
Wealth bonus (if any) for that year, in place of bonus skill
ranks or other rewards, he suffers some sort of permanent
handicap as a result of misadventure, injury, illness, or dumb
luck.
The GM should roll 1d20 on the table below. If your charac-
ter is in a mundane occupation, subtract 2 from the roll (the
minimum possible result is still 1). If your character is in a
risky occupation, add 4. If your character is in a dangerous
Dangerous Occupation

1 Misfortune Misfortune Misfortune

2 1d2 Craft ranks 2 Craft ranks 1d4 Craft ranks
3 1d2 Knowledge ranks 2 Knowledge ranks 1d4 Knowledge ranks
4 +1 Temp Wealth +1 Temp Wealth Misfortune
5 Equipment +1 Wealth +1 Wealth
6 1d2 Profession ranks 2 Profession ranks 1d4 Profession ranks
7 +1 Temp Wealth +1 Wealth +2 Wealth
8 1d2 Craft ranks Misfortune Misfortune
9 +1 Wealth Equipment Equipment
10 +1 Temp Wealth Equipment +1d4 Temp Wealth
11 +1 Wealth +1 Wealth +200 XP
12 Equipment Misfortune Misfortune
13 1d2 Class Skill ranks +2 Temp Wealth Equipment
14 +1 Temp Wealth +100 XP +1d2 Wealth
15 50 XP 2 Class Skill ranks +1d4 Class Skill ranks
16 +1 Temp Wealth +100 XP Misfortune
17 Equipment +2 Temp Wealth +1d4 Temp Wealth
18 1d2 Craft ranks 2 Craft ranks 1d4 Craft ranks
19 1d2 Knowledge ranks 2 Knowledge ranks 1d4 Knowledge ranks
20 Misfortune Misfortune Misfortune

43
occupation, add 8.
Misfortune Table
Roll Problem
1 Slight Injury. -1 Hit Point
2 Slight Injury. -1 to Fort Saves
3 Failed Love Affair. -1 to Wealth
4 Lingering Illness. -1 to Constitution
5 Lingering Illness. -1 to Strength
6 Repetitive Stress Injury. -1 to Dexterity
7 Broken Arm, Slow Healing. Your choice of -2 to
Sleight-of-Hand or -2 to Repair checks.
8 Broken Leg, Slow Healing. Your choice of -2 to
Climb checks or -2 to Jump checks.
9 Serious Financial Setback. -2 to Wealth
10 Slight Injury. -1 Hit Point
11 Lingering Neurosis. Acquire a Quirk/Manner ism
(page 25) for no compensation. If you already have
one, lose 1 point of Charisma
12 Skin Disease. -2 to Charisma
13 Chronic Fatigue. -1 to Climb, -1 to Jump, and -1 to
all Fort Saves.
14 Serious injury. -1 Constitution, -1 Strength
15 Major Financial Setback. -3 to Wealth
16 Pick up the “Ugly Habit” version of the
Dependency flaw (page 29) with no compensation.
If you already have it, proceed to MildDependency
for no compensation.
17 Suicide Attempt. -1 to Constitution, -1 to all Will
Saves
18 Major Illness. -1 to Wealth, -1 to Constitution
19 Family Crisis. End up with a 2 pt. Dependent (page
29) or become Estranged (page 31). Your choice– no
compensation for either.
20 Make an enemy. Select a 2 pt. Nemesis (page 35) of
your choice. No compensation.
21 Nervous Episode. Acquire 2 Pt. version of Nervous
(page 14) or 2 pt. version of Bad Shot (page 8).
22 Devastating Financial Crisis. -4 to Wealth.
23 Legal Trouble. Acquire 2 pt. Nemesis (Legal) on
page 35 or 2 pt. Poor Reputation (page 38). No com-
pensation.
24 Severe Injury. -1 Hit Point, -1 Strength, -1 Dexterity,
-1 to Fort Saves
25-26 Make an Enemy. Select a 4 pt. Nemesis (page 35) of
your choice. No compensation.
27+ GM’s Choice! Select any 3 Pts. worth of flaw(s)
appropriate to character. No compensation!
Benefits of Seasoning
On the other hand, the majority of the results rolled on the
table above are going to benefit your character in some fash-
ion.
• Skill Ranks: Gain the indicated number of ranks to apply
in one or more skills of the listed type.
• Temporary Wealth: A temporary wealth bonus may be
used only once, to enhance any Wealth check. A character
with a temporary wealth bonus higher than +1 may blow it
all at once or divide it between multiple Wealth checks, or
even pass it on to others.
• Wealth: A permanent Wealth Bonus.
• XP: Gain the indicated amount of XP.
• Equipment: Roll 1d20 on the table below. If your charac-
ter is in a mundane occupation, subtract 2 from the roll (the
minimum possible result is still 1). If your character is in a
risky occupation, add 4. If your character is in a dangerous
occupation, add 8. Any equipment not desired may be dis-
posed of for cash before play begins.
Equipment Table
Roll Result
1 Briefcase, Field Bag, or Range Pack (Standard)
2 Casual Outfit, Fatigues, or Tool Belt
3 Aluminum Case (10 lb.) or Business Outfit
4 Cell Phone, Multipurpose Tool, or Briefcase
5 Backpack, Climbing Gear, or Sleeping Bag
6 Cell Phone, Business Outfit, or 2-Person Tent
7 2-Person tent, Climbing Gear, or First Aid kit
8 Digital Camera, Gas Mask, or Formal Outfit
9 Aluminum Case (75 lb.) or Business Outfit
10 Digital Camera or 2 Cell Phones
11 2 Business Outfits or Formal Outfit
12 Player’s Choice, Wealth Check DC 13 or less
13 Walkie-Talkie (Professional) or 35mm Camera
14 Kit: Disguise, Demolitions, or Chemical
15 Basic Tool Kit or Formal Outfit
16 Kit: Disguise, Chemical, or Surgery
17 Desktop Computer or Notebook Computer
18 Player’s Choice, Wealth Check DC 18 or less
19 Desktop Computer or Notebook Computer
20 Desktop Computer with Printer, Scanner
21 Notebook Computer with Digital Camera
22 Deluxe Tool Kit or GPS Receiver
23 Player’s Choice, 2 items of Wealth Check DC 18 or
less
24 Yamaha YZ250F or Chevrolet Cavalier
25 Player’s Choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 23 or
less
26 Yamaha YZ250F or Chevrolet Cavalier
27 Chevrolet Corvette or Harley Davidson FLSTF or
player’s
choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 26 or less
28 Player’s Choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 30 or
less
The GM may also wish to allow players to acquire certain
low-cost advantages by using the Seasoning With Age system
(after all, if flaws can be acquired, it may seem only fair). If so,
use the alternate table below– in addition to equipment, sev-
eral advantages are offered as possibilities for certain rolls.
Alternate Table: Equipment and Advantages
Roll Result
1 Briefcase, Field Bag, or Range Pack (Standard)
44
2 Casual Outfit, Fatigues, or Tool Belt 6 Scroll with 2 1st-level arcane spell. Roll 1d8, twice.
3 Aluminum Case (10 lb.) or Business Outfit 1: Feather Fall, 2: Hold Portal, 3: Jump, 4: Mage Armor,
4 Cell Phone, Multipurpose Tool, or Briefcase 5: Shield, 6: Sleep, 7: Power Device, 8: True Strike
5 Backpack, Climbing Gear, or Sleeping Bag or 1 7 Potion of Charisma
average connection (page 50) of the player’s choice) 8 Potion of Constitution
6 Cell Phone, Business Outfit, or 2-Person Tent 9 Potion of Dexterity
7 2-Person tent, Climbing Gear, or First Aid kit 10 Potion of Intelligence
8 Digital Camera, Gas Mask, or Formal Outfit 11 Potion of Strength
9 Aluminum Case (75 lb.) or Business Outfit 12 Potion of Wisdom
10 Digital Camera or 2 Cell Phones, or 2 average con-
nections (page 50) of the player’s choice
11 2 Business Outfits or Formal Outfit
12 Player’s Choice, Wealth Check DC 13 or less, or a 1
pt. Academic Degree (page 46) of the player’s
choice
13 Walkie-Talkie (Professional) or 35mm Camera
14 Disguise Kit, Demolitions Kit, or Chemical Kit; or a
1 pt. Alternate Identity (page 48)
15 Basic Tool Kit or Formal Outfit
16 Chemical Kit, Disguise Kit, or Surgery Kit; or a
major connection (page 50) of the player’s choice
17 Desktop Computer or Notebook Computer
18 Player’s Choice, Wealth Check DC 18 or less; or a 1
pt. Property (Living Space or Land, player’s choice)
19 Desktop Computer or Notebook Computer
20 Desktop Computer with Printer, Scanner, or a 2 pt.
Database/Library
21 Notebook Computer with Digital Camera
22 Deluxe Tool Kit or GPS Receiver, or a 2 pt. Property
(Land or Living Space, player’s choice)
23 Player’s Choice, 2 items of Wealth Check DC 18 or
less
24 Yamaha YZ250F or Chevrolet Cavalier, or a 2 pt.
Ally (page 47) of the player’s choice
25 Player’s Choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 23 or
less
26 Yamaha YZ250F or Chevrolet Cavalier, or a 2 pt.
Alternate Identity (page 48) or Ally (page 47) of the
player’s choice
27 Chevrolet Corvette or Harley Davidson FLSTF or
player’s choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 26 or
less
28 Player’s Choice, one item, Wealth Check DC 30 or
less

GM Option: Weird and Arcane Equipment

With the GM’s explicit permission, a character in a risky or

dangerous profession may stand a chance of picking up an FX
item over the course of his pre-game adventures. If this
option is used, whenever a natural 20 is rolled on the equip-
ment table, give the player the option of rolling 1d12 on the
table below rather than taking the “mundane” benefit.

Roll Result
1 Potion of cure light wounds
2 Tattoo of spider climb
3 Scroll with 1 1st-level arcane spell. Roll 1d6. 1:
Feather Fall, 2: Hold Portal, 3: Jump, 4: Mage Armor,
5: Shield, 6: Sleep
4 Potion of darkvision
5 Potion of invisibility

45
Advantages: Selection and Use
As mentioned earlier, the difference between advantages
and feats is that feats gnerally represent some intrinsic quali-
ty of a character (granted by nature, training, or experience)
while advantages generally represent qualities or material
goods that can, in one way or another, be lost or destroyed.
They exist primarily outside the character.
Advantages are best used with strict GM permission and
supervision, to ensure that all of the player-characters will fit
into the campaign envisioned by the GM.
The Price of Advantages
Advantages must be purchased with Flaw Points. The price
of each version of an advantage is listed beside its descrip-
tion.
Taking Shares in Advantages
Ordinarily, one character will have absolute control over an
advantage. However, in the case of certain material advan-
tages (businesses, properties, etc.)it is possible for characters
to take a “share” by each placing one or more Flaw Points into
a common pool. For example, one character could buy a large
house for 4 Flaw Points. Four characters could also pitch in to
communally purchase the same house for 1 Flaw Point
apiece.
Advantages and Realism
Players and GMs alike should remember that the systems
provided for the use of most of these advantages are meant
for use only on a micro-level within a campaign world. That
is, they function very well when examined from the limited
perspective of the characters but perhaps not so well when
extrapolated to the macro-level economics of an entire city or
nation.
Adding and Subtracting Advantages
Sooner or later, someone or something is probably going to
do something lamentable to one or more of your character’s
advantages. While it might be hard to deal with the burning
of a favorite building or the murder of a valued ally, you
should remember that one of the primary functions of most
advantages is to start your character off with a bang. By the
time your alter-ego has reached a moderately high character
level, his resource intake should have become substantial
enough to replace or improve upon any advantage knocked
briefly out of play by enemy action. Don’t forget that it’s per-
fectly acceptable to take those resources and pump them into
improving the fruits of your old advantages, too, even before
anyone messes with them. The point cost of an advantage dic-
tates its starting point, not its ultimate potential!
ACADEMIC DEGREE
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character has received a degree of some sort from an
accredited institution of higher learning. His placement of
skill ranks should reflect the nature of his degree(s); these
aren’t handed out for free (honorary degrees, while flattering,
carry none of the same advantages).
[1 Pt.] Four-Year Degree: Your character has a four-year
(“bachelor’s degree”) degree in a subject of his choice. This
will improve his employment prospects as well as his credi-
bility in his chosen field. He receives a +1 circumstance bonus
to one selected Profession skill whenever he uses that skill to
make money.
[2 Pts.] Master’s Degree: Your character has a master’s
degree in a subject of his choice, which generally requires two
years of work beyond a bachelor’s degree. This will signifi-
cantly improve his employment prospects as well as his cred-
ibility in his chosen field. He receives a +2 circumstance
bonus to one selected Profession skill whenever he uses that
skill to make money. He also receives a +1 bonus to all Bluff,

Master List of Advantages

Advantage Brief Description

Academic Degree The character has earned a formal degree of some sort from an accredited institution
Allies Character has one or more NPC associates willing to risk something on his behalf
Alternate Identity Character has one or more specially-prepared false identities
Assistant Character has a close NPC supporter to help him in times of need
Black Market Ties Character has insider knowledge of the black market
Business Character owns or controls a profitable business
Civil Rank Character has a position within a government agency
Clerical Rank Character has political clout within a religious hierarchy
Connections Character has an information network of NPCs
Database/Library Character owns a number of books or a useful computer database
Ghosted Evidence of the character’s existence has been deliberately covered up
Law Enforcement Rank Character is empowered to arrest suspects and uphold the law
Military Rank Character holds a position of command authority in an army or navy
Patron Character has a “sugar daddy,” not quite an ally and not quite a boss
Property: Land Character owns one or more tracts of land
Property : Living Space Character owns one or more buildings or areas within buildings
Special Reputation Character enjoys the benefits of a positive or helpful reputation

46
Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made in academic circles. rable (or at least closely compatible) temperament and alle-
giance to your own character. NPC allies may also be “ordi-
[3 Pts.] Doctorate: Your character has a PhD (from the Latin naries;” if so, the GM should add 1-2 class levels to them.
Philosophiae Doctor) in a subject of his choice, which generally
requires three years of graduate work culminating in a dis- Allies and Adventuring: Allies are not cohorts! If they join
sertation. This will greatly improve his employment your character on a mission or an adventure, it will be
prospects as well as his credibility in his chosen field. He because they’re heeding the call of friendship or obligation
receives a +3 circumstance bonus to one selected Profession rather than the siren song of a share in anything captured or
skill whenever he uses that skill to make money. He also taken. Allies will not leave their business to run off with your
receives a +1 bonus to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate character at the drop of a hat– most frequently, they’ll only do
checks made in academic circles. He also has the legal right to so when their interests (or interests shared with your charac-
refer to himself as “Doctor,” and NPCs in academic circles ter) are thought to be endangered.
will gain a +2 circumstance bonus to any check (including
Reputation checks) they make to recognize or identify him. The following tables can be used to generate allies in a
hurry, or to provide ideas for the creation of more detailed
ALLIES NPCs. Roll 1d20 on the appropriate table.
[ Social Advantage ]
An ally is an NPC, well-known to your character, who feels Table: Standard NPC Allies*
some sort of emotional attachment and loyalty to him(con-
trast this with a connection, page 50, an NPC that will provide Roll Ally
your character with information but feels no particular loyal- 1-2 Beat Cop, Detective
ty toward him). 3-4 University Professor
5-6 City Council Member/Alderman
While an ally might not necessarily be a friend, he is willing 7-8 Shop Owner
to risk something to help your character when necessary, and 9-10 Writer, Reasearcher, or Journalist
he’s also willing to offer financial or material assistance on 11-12 Military Officer (Noncom)
relaxed or deferred terms. An ally in the right place can aid 13-14 Computer Programmer
your character and his friends in a wide variety of ways– by 15-16 Thief or Con Artist
providing information without prompting, by providing safe 17-18 Forest Service Ranger
haven after a hard day, or even by fighting alongside your 19-20 Smuggler or Black Marketeer
character if circumstances force him to do so.
*Such a character will typically be able to call upon the serv-
As the GM sees fit, an ally might even serve as an adventure ices of 1d4+1 1st level Ordinaries at any time.
hook for the entire party, by summoning your character to his
aid in a time of need. An ally’s practical bond to your charac- Table: Powerful NPC Allies**
ter must sometimes be reaffirmed by action on your charac-
ter’s part, but you should rest assured that well-maintained Roll Ally
alliances are the most effective alliances of all. 1-2 Police Precinct Captain
3-4 Major University Administrator
[2 Pts.] Standard Ally: A standard NPC ally costs 2 Flaw 5-6 City Mayor
Points; the character will be a capable individual about as for- 7-8 Powerful Business Owner
midable as a player-character of 1st or 2nd level. 9-10 Influential Major Journalist
11-12 Military Officer (Commisioned)
[4 Pts.] Powerful Ally: An unusually well-placed or capable 13-14 Renowned Computer Expert
ally costs 4 Flaw Points; such an ally will be a relatively well- 15-16 Freelance Cat Burglar
placed or skilled individual at least as formidable as a player- 17-18 U.S. Marshal, Senior FBI Agent
character of 3rd or 4th level. 19-20 Major Underworld Figure

[6 Pts.] Very Powerful Ally: A very powerful ally costs 6 **Such a character will typically be able to call upon the
Flaw Points; such an ally will be a highly-placed, influential, services of 1d6+1 2nd level Ordinaries at any time.
or outstandingly skilled individual; at least as formidable as
a player-character of 5th or 6th level. Table: Very Powerful NPC Allies***

Special Benefit [Unusual Powers, +2 Pts.]: Your ally has Roll Ally
access to powers (psionics, magic, supernatural abilities, 1-2 Police Chief
high-tech alien FX abilities, etc.) above and beyond the pale of 3-4 World-Renowned Scholar
normality. This will make him more dangerous, more knowl- 5-6 Senator or Parliamentarian
edgeable, and harder to destroy. This special benefit is not 7-8 National Tycoon
appropriate to campaigns without supernormal elements. 9-10 Globe-trotting Aristocrat
11-12 Military Officer (Senior)
Special: The NPC ally will usually be a character of compa- 13-14 National Religious Figure

47
 15-16 National Underworld Chief
17-18 FBI Divisional Supervisor
19-20 Veteran Secret Agent
***Such a character will typically be able to call upon the
services of 1d8+2 3rd level Ordinaries at any time, and any-
where between 40-100 1st level Ordinaries.
ALTERNATE IDENTITY
[ Special Advantage ]
Your character has constructed at least one false persona
(complete with documents and paperwork) in addition to his
“default” identity. The usefulness and depth of this alternate
identity both depend on how many Flaw Points are invested
in it.
[1 Pt.] Superficial ID: Your character’s identity will with-
stand any normal perusal– he has a fake mailing address, a
well-forged picture ID, a false employment record, and even
a small bank account.
[2 Pts.] Thorough ID: Your character ’s alternate identity is
far better developed. It includes a driver's license, passport,
work permits, bank accounts, rent and property records,
criminal records, and school records, all expertly forged or
arranged from legitimate sources. Only the most paranoid
investigation or the most solid evidence of wrongoing by
your character could crack this fictional facade.
[3 Pts.] Excellent ID: Your character’s alternate identity has
a great deal of substantiating background evidence– photos,
mementos, letters from fictional relatives, awards and
plaques, school papers, and mentions in newspapers and
other media dating back at least several years. Any private
investigator or routine police inquiry would be absolutely
fooled, and even a suspicious and thorough investigation
would turn up almost nothing to reveal your character’s
fraud.
Your character may have multiple alternate identities if he
desires.
ASSISTANT
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character is aided in his adventuring life, work, or
research by a close NPC associate who helps the character
organize his affairs and protect his secrets. Although called an
“assistant,” this person is really more of a best friend, and
might be a servant (butler, chauffeur, pilot, executive secre-
tary, etc.), a relative (uncle, aunt, parent, etc.), or just about
anything your character concept can accommodate.
Please note that it isn’t an assistant’s purpose to fight along-
side your character as a bodyguard or “yes-man.” Your char-
acter’s assistant exists to pick up the burden of certain sup-
porting tasks such as investigation, research, shadowing of
other NPCs, equipment acquisition, and occasional helpful
errands such as the purchase of groceries.
[3 Pts.] Competent Assistant: Treat the Assistant as a 2nd
Level Smart or Dedicated Hero NPC, with skills and feats
selected by you and approved by the GM.
[6 Pts.] Skilled Assistant: Treat the Assistant as a 4th Level
Smart or Dedicated Hero NPC, with skills and feats selected
by you and approved by the GM.
Special: Should you wish to assign flaws to the assistant
NPC in order to grant the NPC more skills or useful abilities,
you may do so, but only with the GM’s explicit permission.
BLACK MARKET TIES
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character has insider knowledge of the black market;
this will allow him to gain access to black market goods (and
speed the acquisition of those goods).
General Black Market Ties: For each Flaw Point invested in
this advantage, your character gains a +3 competence bonus
to Knowledge (streetwise) checks made to locate any black
market merchant.
Specific Black Market Ties: For each Flaw Point invested in
this advantage, your character gains a +6 competence bonus
to Knowledge (streetwise) checks made to locate a black mar-
ket merchant within a specified urban area (and its outlying
suburbs). This area is selected at 1st level and cannot be
changed.
The bonus from specific ties is cumulative with that pro-
vided by general ties.
BUSINESS
[ Material Advantage ]
Your character owns (or has a controlling interest in) a sta-
ble business in a town or city. Your character doesn’t actually
run the business (counting inventory is rarely an activity
appropriate to a life of heroic adventurer), but he oversees its
operations at the highest level and receives regular reports
from the NPC employees that run it for him. These employ-
ees are considered loyal and friendly, insofar as they are paid
to do their job. They won’t risk their lives for your character,
nor, under any circumstances, will they serve as cohorts or
collaborators on an adventure.
Your character will receive income from the business on a
monthly basis. This income takes the form of a monthly
Wealth bonus that may be applied to 1d2+1 Wealth Checks
per game month.
Each month, the GM should roll 1d6 to determine how well
the business is currently doing:
1-2: Poor month
3-4: Average month
5-6: Excellent month
Each of the four types of business available for player-char-
acter ownership has those three income levels listed after its
description below. The initial cost of business ownership is as
follows:
Prices: Small Business: 1 Flaw Point
48
 Average Business: 2 Flaw Points
Large Business: 3 Flaw Points
Huge Business: 4 Flaw Points
Chain Business: 6 Flaw Points
Small Business: Most small businesses are administered
from a home or apartment. If they have a storefront, it will be
relatively tiny. In some crowded urban areas, a small business
may be nothing more than a mobile food cart or a fixed stall
at a farmer ’s market.
Income– Poor Month: +1 Wealth
Average month: +2 Wealth
Excellent Month: +3 Wealth
Average Business: An average business deals in a more
expensive or specialized set of goods, or has an established
storefront with decent foot traffic. Most family restaurants
and competitive franchises are average businesses.
Income– Poor Month: +2 Wealth
Average month: +3 Wealth
Excellent Month: +4 Wealth
Large Business: A large business is situated in a busy dis-
trict, possibly near harbor facilities or a major airport to pick
up on the business of travelers. A large and successful bar or
hotel would qualify.
Income– Poor Month: +3 Wealth
Average month: +4 Wealth
Excellent Month: +5 Wealth
Huge Business: A huge business is a rare and well-tended
affair, with dozens of employees, a steady clientele, and an
established market presence.
Income– Poor Month: +4 Wealth
Average month: +5 Wealth
Excellent Month: +6 Wealth
Chain Business: Your character controls 1d4+1 average
businesses scattered over a certain area. Their combined
income is rather nice.
Income– Poor Month: +6 Wealth
Average month: +7 Wealth
Excellent Month: +8 Wealth
Special Benefit [Enhanced Profit, +2 Pts.]: Your character’s
business is unusually profitable, thanks to positioning, lack of
competition, quality, or sheer dumb luck. The business’
Wealth bonus may be applied to 1d4+1 Wealth Checks per
game month.
Special: While your character needn’t spend any of his time
overseeing the day-to-day details of mundane commerce,
there are a number of reasons why a business will occasional-
ly demand some attention. Your character will be expected to
deal with extortion and protection schemes, buyout offers
honest or otherwise, potentially violent competitors, and
other extraordinary distractions. Generally speaking, the bet-
ter your business does, the more attention it will attract from
government authorities and unscrupulous interlopers alike.
Should your character neglect his duties as the owner and
overseer of a lucrative business (or fail to take adequate steps
for good management when he’s away for long periods of
time), he can expect to enjoy the adventure of dealing with
arsonists, extortionists, hostile creditors, penniless debtors,
callous tax-men, police officers, annoyed bankers, and other
colorful characters.
CIVIL RANK
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character holds a position of authority in a government
(either as a policy-maker or a figure within an agency that
carries out policy).
[1 Pt.] Superficial Rank: Your character is a “gopher” on a
senate floor or something similar. His title grants him access
to certain areas that are off-limits to the public and puts him
in contact with movers and shakers; possibly there’s some
sort of holiday party every year, but not much else.
[2 Pts.] Minor Rank: Your character is a personal advisor or
aide to a powerful regional decision-maker, such as a mayor
or state senator. Your character has some influence of that
NPC’s opinions, and may juggle that character’s appointment
schedule and make certain promises on that NPC’s behalf.
Your character may gain (at the GM’s discretion) a +1 circum-
stance bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks
made when he is speaking on behalf of his employer.
[4 Pts.] Substantial Rank: Your character is a powerful local
decision-maker or a minor national decision-maker; the chief
inspector of a city bureau, perhaps, or a city council member
(or even the mayor of a small city). If your character has
national influence, he might be an administrator for an
agency such as the EPA or the IRS. He may serve in an advi-
sory capacity to a law-enforcement agency, however, Law
Enforcement Rank (page 52) is required to have any real pow-
ers in that respect. Your character gains a +1 circumstance
bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made when
dealing with his constituents or underlings.
[6 Pts.] Significant Rank: Your character is the mayor of a
large city, a powerful division head for a state agency, a trust-
ed advisor to a governor (or possibly even a head of state), an
appointed official with state- or region-wide powers, or per-
haps even some sort of “troubleshooter” for the highest pow-
ers of the land. Your character gains a +2 circumstance bonus
to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made when deal-
ing with his constituents or underlings.
Civil rank beyond the types described above is not offered,
due to the general difficulty of integrating such responsibili-
ties with a career of heroic adventuring. Governors, Senators,
Presidents, MPs and the like give the orders that send adven-
turers out to do business– they tend not to go out and do it
themselves.
Limitation: There are almost certainly stringent codes of
professional conduct and public behavior that will constrain
49
a character with this advantage, and there will be established
procedures for tossing your character out on his behind if he
violates them. If your character has a fixed set of time-con-
suming duties, use the Duty/Responsibility flaw (page 30) to
offset some or all of the cost of this advantage.
CLERICAL RANK
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character has been invested and confirmed as a formal
leader within a church hierarchy, responsible for the spiritual
guidance of the church’s worshippers, the oversight of mun-
dane church affairs, and the social welfare of the church’s
community.
Characters with this advantage have a formal investment in
the ever-shifting decision-making hierarchy of a priesthood,
and while they may still adventure (especially on missions for
the priesthood or against opposed supernormal powers),
they will from time to time be summoned back to a church to
engage in relatively mundane work.
Price: There are three ranks attainable through the use of
this advantage, each of which has a title meant only to convey
an approximation of the character’s duties. Religion-specific
titles may be quite different.
Priest: 2 Flaw Points
Senior Priest: 4 Flaw Points
Regional Senior Priest: 6 Flaw Points
Along with the responsibilities of a position, your character
will have some discretion over the use of church funds and
may call for aid from church followers. Either form of aid will
be available once per month– a variable Wealth bonus and a
variable number of 1st level Ordinary NPCs (for a day of non-
hazardous service). Funds and followers may only be used in
the clear pursuit of church goals or worthy causes (or causes
that can be safely disguised as such).
Priest: Your character assists in the running of a large
church, or is solely responsible for the running of a small or
rural church.
Wealth Bonus: 10+1d2
Followers: 1d4 1st level Ordinary NPCs
Your character gains a +2 circumstance bonus to any check
made to gather information relating to his church, its history,
or its hierarchy. He maintains some physical control over
church facilities and property.
Senior Priest: Your character would be given control over a
large church in a medium-sized city, or over several smaller
churches in an outlying region.
Wealth Bonus: 10+1d10
Followers: 1d8+1 1st level Ordinary NPCs
Your character gains a +4 circumstance bonus to any check
made to gather information relating to his church, its history,
or its hierarchy. He maintains significant physical control
over church facilities and property.
Regional Senior Priest: Your character would be responsi-
ble for the largest church in a given city, or for several medi-
um-sized churches in a similar area. He will almost certainly
be a public figure and commentator of some sort.
Wealth Bonus: 15+4d6
Followers: 3d8+3 1st level Ordinary NPCs
Your character gains a +8 circumstance bonus to any check
made to gather information relating to his church, its history,
or its hierarchy. He maintains total physical control over
church facilities and property within his assigned area.
Special Benefit [Well-Liked, +1 Pt.]: Your character is
unusually liked by many of his church’s worshippers and
community members. He can therefore call upon his allowed
number of Ordinaries twice per game month rather than
once.
Special: If the addition of clerical ranks to a game seems
almost certain to bog it down, consider making one or more
characters a roving “troubleshooter” for his priesthood, trav-
eling from church to church, dealing with unusual problems
and using his formal clout to expedite matters. In campaigns
with supernatural elements, “special” clerics can also be dis-
patched by church hierarchies to hunt the forces of darkness.
See the special benefit below:
Special Benefit [Privy to Secrets, +1 Pt.]: Your character is
part of an initiated elite within the church hierarchy (or per-
haps even a secret society), with access to forbidden informa-
tion. Your character will probably be charged with extraordi-
nary responsibilities– in supernatural campaigns, this benefit
takes on special meaning. Your character gains a +2 circum-
stance bonus to all Gather Information checks made to find
anything out about his church.
Note: All characters possessing this advantage will receive
monthly room and board courtesy of their religious order–
nothing fancy, but always available in a time of need.
CONNECTIONS
[ Social Advantage ]
A connection is an NPC contact, known to your character,
willing to supply occasional information and perhaps certain
services involving little or no personal risk (smuggling, fenc-
ing of goods, passage of messages, etc.)
Compare and contrast a connection with an ally– the latter
is tied to your character by a bond of friendship or loyalty,
while the former won’t stretch out his neck for your character
except when paid well and paid in advance. A connection is a
valuable resource, but he should never be mistaken for a
dependable comrade.
Price: One Flaw Point will buy two average contacts– NPCs
described in cooperation with the GM. Average contacts ore
people “in the know” that are nonetheless not really in com-
mand of their situations. An average contact might be:
50

• A street-level gangster or thief
• A beat cop
• A minor bureaucrat
• A rookie journalist
• A low-ranking military officer
One Flaw Point can also be used to buy a major contact, along
the lines of an average contact but much more powerful and
well-connected. For example:
• A crime boss or smuggler chief
• A police captain or veteran detective
• An influential politician
• A popular and established journalist
• A high-ranking military officer
Generally speaking, a connection can be contacted about
once per game week (by pre-arranged message service, if not
in person) and a single conversation (or the equivalent) can be
held. If your character wishes to press a connection for more
information in a short time period, he will be intruding upon
that connection’s regular routine and will have to pay (in
goods, cash, or information of his own) for the privilege.
A connection, if abused or mistreated, will generally slink
back into the character ’s employ in exchange for an unusual-
ly large payment by way of an apology. It is , however,quite
possible for a connection to vanish and swear off all contact
with your character if he severely mistreats that connection!
If your character treats a connection well, especially by
dropping occasional gifts of cash or information in the con-
nection’s lap, that connection may (at the GM’s discretion)
proactively approach your character with important informa-
tion rather than waiting for your character to come to him.
A canny GM can use connections to put out information
leading toward adventure, or tying into the ongoing plot of
the campaign.
Special: When in serious doubt as to what a connection can
do for a character, the GM may use the following rule of
thumb. By getting in touch with an average connection, your
character can make a Gather Information check with a +2 cir-
cumstance bonus to the roll. By contacting a major connec-
tion, your character can gain a +4 circumstance bonus to his
roll. Double these bonuses if the questions lie within the very
narrow field of the connection’s specialty– there is a differ-
ence, for example, between asking a Navy SEAL about air-
craft carrier logistics (not his specialty) and underwater dem-
olition techniques (right up his alley).
DATABASE/LIBRARY
[ Material Advantage ]
Your character own a massive computer database or physi-
cal library, which he frequently consults.
[2 Pts.] Useful Library/Database: This is a database or
library offering a +2 circumstance bonus to each of three (3)
Knowledge, Profession, or Craft skills, selected when the
library or database is acquired. At least an hour of study must
be spent in the library to gain one of these bonuses for the
next roll made with the skill in question. A library or database
bonus for any given skill may be used only once per day per
character.
[4 Pts.] Huge Library/Database: As above, save that the
database or library offers a +2 circumstance bonus to all
Knowledge, Profession, and Craft checks made following at
least an hour of study. A library or database bonus for any
given skill may still be used only once per day per character.
Special: A player may negotiate with the GM for a special
capability or focus for his database or library. For example, a
crimefighting adventurer might wish to own a library of
criminal files or a database that constantly updates the known
locations and rap sheets of perpetrators. Such special func-
tions are available only with the GM’s explicit permission.
Special Benefit [Arcane/Forbidden Materials, +1-3 Pts.]:
Your character’s library or database contains material of an
occult or highly secret nature (depending upon the supernor-
mal content of the GM’s campaign). The nature of this mate-
rial must be settled by the GM prior to the start of the cam-
paign; whether or not your character knows the full extent of
this material is up to him.
Special Benefit [Focus, +1 Pt.]: Your character may select a
single Knowledge, Profession, or Craft skill; the library will
offer a +4 circumstance bonus rather than a +2 bonus to
checks involving that subject.
GHOSTED
[ Social Advantage ]
According to all official records and histories, your charac-
ter does not exist. There is no record of his birth. He has no
criminal record or school history, no licenses for anything, no
credit records, no purchase records, no fingerprints or DNA
samples in storage. He is a ghost, a nonentity, a high-tech rat
that has been allowed to slip between the cracks of civiliza-
tion.
[2 Pts.]: This tactic is often used by secret agencies to make
their operatives anonymous. This renders them immune to
blackmail or tracking via background habits– it also makes
them more easily expendable, and leaves no paper trail to tie
them to their employers.
Nobody knows your character, or will recognize him on the
street until he’s done something to establish himself. Perhaps
cosmetic surgery has been used to alter his natural features.
Whatever the case, your character is protected by a blanket of
total obscurity. Anyone attempting to pry into his back-
ground will find nothing but dead ends or those false leads
your character wishes them to find.
Note: This advantage is incompatible with the following
flaws: Criminal Record, Dependent, and Poor Reputation. It
may not be taken in conjunction with a glaringly obvious
Bodily Mark, nor with the Special Reputation advantage, nor
with the Renown feat. It is often taken in conjunction with the
51
Alternate Identity advantage.
LAW ENFORCEMENT RANK
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character has been deputized or employed by a legiti-
mate law enforcement agency, and as a result has both the
legal authority and the legal responsibilities of a sworn officer
of the law.
Your character has arrest and detention powers, search pow-
ers, and the power to use reasonable force (modified by the
specifics of where and when your character was granted this
authority, at the GM’s discretion) within his jurisdiction. On
the other hand, you character must respect the authority and
operations of uniformed law enforcement officials, or his
legal powers are history.
[2 Pts.] Minor Rank: Your character is a beat cop, a rookie,
or a part-time assistant, such as a rural deputy sheriff. Your
character is essentially a “spear carrier,” fulfilling the orders
of his higher-ups without doing too much thinking on his
own. His jurisdiction will generally be limited to a single
urban area or county. He gains a +1 circumstance bonus to
Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made against crimi-
nals or members of the general public (when he is acting in
his official capacity).
[4 Pts.] Substantial Rank: Your character holds a rank com-
mensurate with some ability and experience. He might be a
beat sergeant, responsible for several other beat cops and
their reports. He might be a detective, responsible for high-
pressure investigations and challenging assignments. His
jurisdiction will generally be limited to a single urban area or
county. He gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Bluff,
Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made against criminals,
subordinates, or members of the general public (when he is
acting in his official capacity). He also gains a +2 bonus to
Gather Information checks made to discover anything about
his department, its history, or its personnel.
[6 Pts.] High Rank: Your character is a fairly big fish in the
law enforcement food chain. He might be a precinct captain,
responsible for commanding and controlling dozens of offi-
cers. He might be a senior detective, responsible for an entire
investigation team or department. His jurisdiction will gener-
ally be limited to a single urban area or county. He gains a +3
circumstance bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
checks made against criminals, subordinates, or members of
the general public (when he is acting in his official capacity).
He also gains a +4 bonus to Gather Information checks made
to discover anything about his department, its history, or its
personnel.
Special Benefit [Wider Jurisdiction, +1-2 Pts.]: Your char-
acter’s powers are granted by an agency with more area to
cover than one city or county. For 1 point, he can have region-
al jurisdiction (for example, in an entire U.S. state), and for 2
points he can have national jurisdiction (anywhere within a
single sovereign country). Your character will generally out-
rank (or at least have some advantages over) local law
enforcement when specifically assigned to a local case.
Special Benefit [Lessened Scrutiny, +2 Pts.]: Your character
is on a very long leash, as far as his behavior is concerned. For
whatever reason is appropriate to his story (perhaps he is
undercover, perhaps he has friends in high places), many rou-
tine disciplinary and procedural violations on his part will be
overlooked. While he should be careful not to push things too
far, he can get away with quite a bit if he’s careful.
Limitation: There are almost certainly stringent codes of
professional conduct and public behavior that will constrain
a character with this advantage, and there will be established
procedures for tossing your character out on his behind if he
violates them (unless he benefits from Lessened Scrutiny,
detailed above). If your character has a fixed set of time-con-
suming duties, use the Duty/Responsibility flaw (page 30) to
offset some or all of the cost of this advantage.
MILITARY RANK
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character holds an enlisted or commissioned rank in
the armed forces of a single country.
Military rank, precedence, and service distinctions can be a
terribly complicated body of knowledge, even for those with
many years of active service under their belts. The following
very loose abstraction is designed to render the general con-
cept playable to gamers with little or nor practical military
knowledge, rather than to capture all the nuances of a system
in a manner that will be thoroughly pleasing to those that
might have lived with them– my apologies!
Also, for direct demonstration purposes, the system provid-
ed discusses only the rank and grade structure of the United
States armed forces.
Special: All characters selecting this advantage should also
select the “military” occupation at 1st level. Players may wish
to examine the Advanced Occupation Packages offered on
pages 56-60 for ideas.
Rank/Grade: The United States armed forces use a system
of equivalent “grades” to define the order of rank precedence
while preserving the individual titles and idiosyncrasies of
each service. There are two grade tracks, (E)nlisted) and
(O)fficer, as may be seen on the table below. Characters of
equivalent grade are considered equal in precedence even
across service boundaries; a navy O-6 (Captain) is fundamen-
tally evenly matched by an army O-6 (Colonel); he would be
outranked by an army O-7 (Brigadier General) and would
himself outrank an army O-5 (Lieutenant Colonel). This of
course assumes a neutral setting for any meeting– an army
General would not presume to tell a navy Captain what to do
on the bridge of his own ship.
Duties: Players and GMs should define a character’s mili-
tary duties and aspirations before a campaign begins, using
reference material whenever required. Loosely speaking,
enlisted personnel are the “doers” and officers are the “plan-
ners;” grunt work is no more assigned to Colonels and
Admirals than strategic planning is assigned to buck Privates.
52
Table: Military Ranks: Flaw Point Costs, Grade, and Service Equivalents*
Cost/Grade Army Air Force Navy Marines
1 (E-2) Private Airman Seaman Apprentice Private 1st Class
2 (E-3) Private 1st Class Airman 1st Class Seaman Lance Corporal
3 (E-4) Corporal/Specialist Senior Airman Petty Officer 3rd Class Corporal
4 (E-5) Sergeant Staff Sergeant Petty Officer 2nd Class Sergeant
5 (E-6) Staff Sergeant Technical Sergeant Petty Officer 1st Class Staff Sergeant
6 (E-7) Sergeant 1st Class Master Sergeant Chief Petty Officer Gunnery Sgt.
7 (E-8) Master Sergeant Sr. Master Sergeant Sr. Chief Petty Officer Master/First Sgt.
8 (E-9) Sergeant Major Chief Master Sgt. Master Chief Master Gun. Sgt.
7 (O-1) 2nd Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenant Ensign 2nd Lieutenant
8 (O-2) 1st Lieutenant 1st Lieutenant Lieutenant (j.g.) 1st Lieutenant
9 (O-3) Captain Captain Lieutenant Captain
10 (O-4) Major Major Lt. Commander Major
11 (O-5) Lt.Colonel Lt. Colonel Commander Lt. Colonel
12 (O-6) Colonel Colonel Captain Colonel
13 (O-7) Brigadier General Brigadier General Rear Admiral (Lower) Brig. General
14 (O-8) Major General MajorGeneral Rear Admiral (Upper) Maj. General
15 (O-9) Lt. General Lt. General Vice Admiral Lt. General

•This chart refers only to the grades and ranks of the United States armed services.
There are, of course, too many exceptions to this general rule
to cover– combat pilots in most services are officers, and
many lower-ranking officers take to the field with their enlist-
ed personnel and endure the same conditions as well as their
command responsibilities.
Prerequisites: Enlisted personnel must meet certain mini-
mum physical standards. Anyone with a Strength, Dexterity,
or Constitution score of less than 10 will not be eligible for
service. Enlisted personnel must also have relatively clean
criminal records; felony convictions will almost certainly pre-
clude service.
Officers must meet the same physical standards and even
more stringent educational and background standards.
Anyone with an Intelligence score of less than 10 will not be
eligible for officer rank in any service; the GM may deny offi-
cer rank to any character he deems to have an obviously defi-
cient technical or educational background. The criminal
records of a potential officer will be scrutinized even more
closely than those of an enlisted individual.
Command Responsibilities: This advantage must be used
very carefully and judiciously– the higher a character’s rank,
the more he will be responsible for within the military hierar-
chy, the more competition and scrutiny he will face, and the
more paperwork he will have to endure. There is a point at
which a career of heroic adventuring becomes out of the ques-
tion for an individual serving in the military.
Cost: The cost in Flaw Points of any given rank is provided
on the table above. Definitely use the Duty/Responsibility
flaw (page 30) to offset some or all of the cost of this advan-
tage. Although Duty/Responsibility is a secondary flaw, it
should be considered mandatory for characters taking mili-
tary rank.
7 or higher receive an additional +2 Wealth bonus.
Officer characters of grade O-2 or higher receive an addi-
tional +1 Wealth bonus. Characters of grade O-4 or higher
receive an additional +2 Wealth bonus, characters of grade O-
6 or higher receive an additional +3 Wealth bonus, and char-
acters of grade O-8 or higher receive an additional +4 Wealth
bonus.
Military rank-holders gain a variable circumstance bonus to
all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made against mil-
itary personnel of lesser rank. This bonus increases as the gap
between the characters widens (based on the difference in the
number of Flaw Points spent on their respective ranks), as
indicated on the chart below:
Point Difference Effect
1 +1 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
2 +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
3 +3 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
4+ +4 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate
Furthermore, an officer gains an additional +1 bonus against
enlisted personnel, in addition to those listed above. Please
note that these bonuses may only be used in situations where
the personnel involved are acting in a military capacity.
Special Benefit [Lessened Scrutiny, +2 Pts.]: Your character
is on a very long leash, as far as his behavior is concerned. For
whatever reason is appropriate to his story (perhaps he is a
Special Operations soldier, perhaps he is detached on a spe-
cial mission), many routine disciplinary and procedural vio-
lations on his part will be overlooked. While he should be
careful not to push things too far, he can get away with quite
a bit if he’s careful.

Special Benefits: Enlisted characters of grade E-5 or higher If your character is an officer, he may even have an inde-
receive an additional +1 Wealth bonus. Characters of grade E- pendent command on a special project, away from continu-

53
ous scrutiny and oversight. This may be an ideal situation
from which to launch a d20 Modern campaign involving mil-
itary characters.
This special benefit is incompatible with the “Restricted
Movement” handicap of the Duty/Responsibility flaw (page
30).
PATRON
[ Special Advantage ]
Not wholly an ally, not wholly an employer, a patron is an
NPC or an organization that supports your character with
money and information in exchange for his services or con-
sultation. Your character must be careful not to offend or
upset his patron, lest his funds be reduced or cut off. He
should also keep in mind the fact that a patron can be a great
target for an enemy if the patron’s involvement in his affairs
is made too obvious.
[2 Pts.] Weak Patron: Your character may call upon his
patron 1d3+1 times per month for any one of the following:
• A +1 bonus to any Wealth check;
• A 1st level Ordinary NPC to perform a support or research
task (for up to twelve hours);
• A +2 bonus to any Gather Information check; or
• A weapon or piece of equipment, Wealth check DC not to
exceed 10, generally to be loaned for about a week, though
lengthier arrangements are certainly possible.
[4 Pts.] Useful Patron: Your character may call upon his
patron 1d3+1 times per month for any one of the following:
• A +2 bonus to any Wealth check;
• 1-3 1st level Ordinary NPCs to perform a support or
research task (for up to twenty-four hours);
• A +4 bonus to any Gather Information check;
• A weapon or piece of equipment, Wealth check DC not to
exceed 15, generally to be loaned for about a week, though
lengthier arrangements are certainly possible;
• Travel arrangements or hotel reservations in any major
city on twelve hours’ notice; or
• A rental vehicle (in the patron’s name) on eight hours’
notice, generally rented for 1 day
[6 Pts.] Powerful Patron: Your character may call upon his
patron 1d3+1 times per month for any one of the following:
• A +3 bonus to any Wealth check;
• 1-5 1st level Ordinary NPCs to perform a support or
research task (for up to forty-eight hours);
• A +8 bonus to any Gather Information check;
• A weapon or piece of equipment, Wealth check DC not to
exceed 21, generally to be loaned for about two weeks,
though lengthier arrangements are certainly possible;
• Travel arrangements or hotel reservations in any major
city on three hours’ notice; or
• A rental vehicle (in the patron’s name) on one hours’
notice, generally rented for 1-3 days
Special Benefit [Generous Patron, +1 Pt.]: Your character
may select this benefit multiple times; each time he selects it
the number of aid requests he may make per month is
increased by 1.
PROPERTY: LAND
[ Material Advantage ]
Your character maintains or owns one or more tracts of
undeveloped (or estate) land, in the location of his choice
(with GM approval). The size of this acreage is based on the
number of Flaw Points spent; what your character does on his
land is his own business.
Flaw Points Total Acreage
1 10
2 25
3 50
4 100
5 250
6 500
7 1,000
8 2,500
9 5,000
10 10,000
PROPERTY: LIVING SPACE
[ Material Advantage ]
Your character maintains one or more rental properties, hid-
den bolt-holes, houses, or secure hideouts to which he can
retire (or send others) in a time of need. It may be assumed
that the character does not need to pay anything for the
upkeep of each property (having taken care of that when he
set each property up), and that their locations are not publi-
cized unless the character allows himself to be traced or fol-
lowed to one during the course of a campaign.
Cost Nature of Property
1 Studio apartment or run-down house
2 Large apartment or average house
3 Luxury suite or large house
4 Multi-unit housing or manorial house
5 Apartment building, warehouse,
mansion, or linked network of luxury
suites
Special Benefit [Secure Space, +1 Pt.]: Your character has
taken the trouble to beef up security in the chosen space or
building. The windows are barred and reinforced, the doors
are steel with multiple heavy locks, and a thorough check has
been performed to ensure that there are no overseen means of
entrance. The walls are thick and sturdy, offering substantial
cover from incoming fire and other sources of damage. All in
all, the property is a good place to weather a siege or hide
from enemies.
Special Benefit [Protected Space, +1 Pt.]: Your character
has taken the trouble to have the chosen space wired with a
variety of alarms and security devices. Each window and
door has a breakage alarm, each ventilation unit has an intru-
sion sensor, and there are pressure plates in the floor in front
of each door. Video cameras cover most of the interior and the
immediate exterior, and thermal or motion sensors cover the
54
door approaches. This security network can be set to flash
loud or silent intrusion warnings to anyone inside the space,
via a single control area.
Special Benefit [Secret Space, +1 Pt.]: The space in question
is secret! If it’s a building, the useful space within is dis-
guised. If it’s underground or similarly concealed, it’s about
the size of the listed property (a studio apartment is a studio
apartment whether 300 feet underground or 300 feet above
it). Entrance and egress are provided for by one or more hid-
den doors, some of which may have tunnels that open a fair
distance away from the secret base itself.
Special Benefit [Wider Reputation, +1-2 Pts.]: The wider
your character’s reputation stretches (i.e. the more sectors of
society in which he can play it to his advantage), the more it
will cost. A 2-point version of this benefit would suggest a
national or even international reputation, as might be pos-
sessed by a major media star.
Limitation: This advantage is incompatible with the
Ghosted advantage (page 51) and the Poor Reputation flaw
(page 38).

Special Benefit [Hermetically Sealed, +1 Pt.]: The space in

question is airtight, and has an atmosphere-processing sys-
tem. This renders anyone inside it immune to radiation,
smoke, and toxic atmospheres existing outside the structure.
All entrances are equipped with airlocks.

Special Benefit [Special Room, +1 Pt.]: The space in ques-

tion (if larger than one room) contains a room specially
equipped to serve a certain function. A special room offers a
circumstance bonus to one or more types of skill check per-
formed within:

• Emergency Room: +3 to Treat Injury checks

• Forensics Lab: +3 to Investigate checks
• Garage: +3 to Repair checks made on vehicles
• Laboratory: +1 to Knowledge checks , +2 to Research
checks
• Machine Shop: +1 to Craft (electronic) checks, Craft
(mechanical) checks, and Repair checks

A character may select more than one special room for his
living space, provided the GM rules that the space is big
enough to contain it. The bonuses granted are in addition to
those usually granted by equipment such as surgical kits or
tool kits.

SPECIAL REPUTATION
[ Social Advantage ]
Your character enjoys a great deal of positive word-of-
mouth concerning himself or his actions. His reputation pre-
cedes him and often makes life easier for him within a select-
ed geographic area or sector of society.

Cost: Select two of the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy,

Gather Information, Intimidate, and Perform. For every Flaw
Point invested in this advantage, the character gains an addi-
tional +2 bonus to those two skills for the duration of an
encounter where an NPC has recognized him (in a friendly
fashion). This is cumulative with the usual +4 modifier to all
of the above skills that is awarded for such recognition.

Up to 4 Flaw Points may be invested in this advantage (not

counting any points spent on special benefits).

Special Benefit [Very Good Reputation, +1 Pt.]: Any bonus

points are awarded to all five listed skills, not just the two
your character would ordinarily select.

55
Advanced Occupation Packages
The following Advanced Occupation Packages are meant to
be used as templates to facilitate the rapid creation of certain
character archetypes, and to serve as an introduction to the
character customization possible with the system presented
in this book.
Adventuring Archaeologist
Your character is a fairly non-traditional scholar of human
history, beliefs, settlements, and civilizations. Cocky, physi-
cally fit, and assured of his own immortality, your character is
much more likely to be found clandestinely breaking into for-
bidden tombs or wrestling priceless artifacts from smugglers
than he is grading term papers. True, his methods can leave
something to be desired– a number of journalists have spread
insinuations that he is a callous violator of cultural traditions,
and his entry into a Pharaoh’s tomb a few years ago may have
placed a small curse upon him. However, when a field study
has to be conducted in a dangerous corner of the world,
there’s no one more qualified for the task.
Starting Occupation: Academic or Adventurer
Preferred Starting Class: Smart
Flaw Package: Old Injury (II) (2 pts.), Debt of Honor (2
pts.), Insatiable Curiosity (2 pts.), Nemesis (Media, 4 pts.),
Nemesis (Villain (Evil archaeologist) 4 pts.), Strange
Attractor (2 pts.), Overconfident (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 18 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +1 class level (Tough or
Strong), Great Fortitude, Brawl, Educated, Patron (Small
University, 2 pts.), Academic Degree
Discretionary Flaw Points: 1
Army Ranger
Your character is a Ranger, one of the U.S. Army’s fast-mov-
ing, hard-hitting scouts, pathfinders, and shock troopers.
Your character has not been tested in combat, and, truth to be
told, he’s worried about how well his nerves will hold up.
Starting Occupation: Military
Preferred Starting Class: Tough or Strong
Flaw Package: Nervous (2 pts.), Duty/Responsibility
(Challenging, Hazardous, Restricted Movement, Restricted
Communication, 11 pts.), Macho/Spartan (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 15 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Endurance, Personal
Firearms Proficiency, Military Rank (E-4, Army Specialist,
3 pts.), Toughness, Weapon Focus (M16 Rifle), Far Shot
Discretionary Flaw Points: 2
Aspiring Rock Star
Your character is an inexperienced, lippy, aggressive, and
impatient little cuss just beginning to find acclaim on the local
club scene. Although he’s not quite as good as he thinks he is
(heck, nobody could possibly be as good as your character
thinks he is), there’s no denying that he does put on a show
worth paying to see.
Starting Occupation: Creative or Celebrity
Preferred Starting Class: Charismatic
Flaw Package: Bodily Marked (Tattoos, 1 pt.), Impatient (2
pts.), Inattentive (2 pts.), Boastful (2 pts.), Impulsive (2
pts.)
[Total Package Value: 9 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Skill Focus (Perform skill of
your choice), Renown, Creative, Special Reputation (1 pt.),
Connections (2 average connections in the local club scene)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 1
Blind Assassin
Your character is a harmless-looking elderly man whose
obvious blindness is the perfect disguise for his profession.
He is a deadly close-quarters assassin, specializing in knife
attacks and relying upon his ultra-sharp ears to replace the
sensory input once provided by his eyes.
Starting Occupation: Criminal or Athlete
Preferred Starting Class: Fast
Flaw Package: Impaired Vision (Blindness, 8 pts.), Slow
Healing (2 pts.), Age (4 pts.), Quirk (Always apologizes to
bystanders for things he did not do, 1 pt.)
[Total Package Value: 15 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Blind-Fight, +2 Dex (3 pts.),
Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Heroic Surge,
Mobility
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Cat Burglar
Your character is no common window-smasher or carjack-
er– he’s a committed cat burglar, light on his feet and deft
with his hands, the sort of debonair and coldly professional
criminal you don’t see very often outside of caper movies.
He’s at his best dressed all in black, padding silently across a
rooftop or rapelling down an unclimbable stone wall, on his
way to a heist that nobody but the best could possibly pull
off. Despite his eagerness to help himself to the valuables of
his victims, he’ll never allow himself to truly harm another
person and goes so far as to eschew carrying a gun so he’ll
never be tempted to use it.
Starting Occupation: Criminal
Preferred Starting Class: Fast
Flaw Package: Foresworn From Firearms (2 pts.),
Predictable Fighter (2 pts.), Criminal Record (4 pts., Felony
conviction and time served), Heroic Code (Mercy, 2 pts.),
Risk-Addicted (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 12 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +2 Dex, Black Market Ties
(1 pt., specific urban area of your choice), Acrobatic, Skill
Focus (Climb), Skill Focus (Disable Device), Stealthy
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Con Artist
Your character is a slick and charming young confidence
56
trickster, forever running from city to city, just one step ahead
of the law– and his aggravated victims.
Starting Occupation: Criminal
Preferred Starting Class: Charismatic
Flaw Package: Greed (2 pts.), Kleptomania (2 pts.), Risk-
Addicted (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 6 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Confident, Deceptive,
Trustworthy
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Conspiracy Theorist
Your character never thought he’d end up dedicating his life
to sifting through the great mass of disinformation that is
human history and journalism, looking for the keys that will
reveal the clandestine machinations behind everything.
Unassuming, meek, and a little afraid to leave the comfort-
able confines of his home city, your character ekes out a mea-
ger living from his conspiracy-related nesletter and website,
all the while looking over his shoulder for any sign that They
might be on to him.
Starting Occupation: Investigative or Blue-Collar
Preferred Starting Class: Smart or Dedicated
Flaw Package: Butterfingers (2 pts.), Impatient (2 pts.),
Nervous (2 pts.), Paranoia (Disruptive, 3 pts.), Phobia
(Agoraphobia, 2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 11 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Skill Focus (Investigate),
Educated, +1 skill rank in each of the following
Knowledges: Arcane Lore, Current Events, History,
Philosophy; Skill Focus (Research), Business (1 pt.,
Conspiracy newsletter), Connections (2 average
contacts; fellow conspiracy buffs around town)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 1
Alternate Flaw Package: If “They” are real, add a 4-8 point
Nemesis (Organization) and beef your character up with a
few feats that will aid his practical survival (Dodge,
Alertness, etc.).
Daredevil Stuntperson
Your character was small-statured and unpopular in high
school, so he became a physical prankster, using his own
body as the focal point of attention-getting stunts. Although
the tactic was only modestly successful in school, it led to a
later career as a stuntperson for film and stage. Your charac-
ter has been shot from a cannon, dropped from great heights,
submerged underwater, and covered in flames too many
times to count. He isn’t indestructible, but try telling him that!
Starting Occupation: Athlete or Adventurer
Preferred Starting Class: Tough
Flaw Package: Old Injury (2 pts.), Post-traumatic Stress
Disorder (2 pts., relates to stunt that went wrong and
killed mentor), Impulsive (2 pts.), Inferiority Complex (2
pts.), Risk-Addicted (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 10 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Acrobatic, Athletic, Great
Fortitude, Toughness (twice)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Famous Writer
Your character was working the graveyard shift at an indus-
trial laundry when he sold his first novel for a truly ludicrous
sum. Since then, he’s piled on success after success, and has
reached middle age with a huge body of work and an even
larger body of fans. He uses his ample spare time for amateur
investigation of crimes and Fortean occurrences.
Starting Occupation: Creative
Preferred Starting Class: Smart
Flaw Package: Age (2 pts.), Butterfingers (2 pts.), Clumsy
(4 pts.), Easily Winded (2 pts.), Poor Fighter (3 pts.),
Dependents (Family, 2 pts.), Insatiable Curiosity (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 17 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Windfall (twice), Renown,
Property: Living Space (Large House, 3 pts.), Studious,
Trustworthy, Connection (1 major contact in the New York
publishing biz), Library (2 pts.)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
High-Rolling Gambler
Your character is an attractive young jet-setter, a fixture at
the tables in Vegas and Atlantic City, and an occasional sit-in
at illicit games of poker, blackjack, or roulette played for high
stakes against very dangerous people. Your character culti-
vates a devil-may-care demeanor and shrugs off the loss of
thousands of dollars at a time to conceal one unfortunate
fact– he’s a physical coward. Gambling is his means of build-
ing and maintaining self-confidence in the face of of the terri-
ble secret that he’s no good in any genuinely dangerous con-
frontation.
Starting Occupation: Dilettante
Preferred Starting Class: Charismatic
Flaw Package: Climate Aversion (2 pts., cold climates),
Glass Jaw (2 pts.), Cowardly (2 pts.), Explosive Temper (2
pts.), Vain (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 10 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Windfall (twice), Confident,
Skill Focus (Gamble), Renown
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Investigative Journalist
Your character is an idealistic and well-educated freelance
journalist, dedicated to a personal struggle for truth in the
public interest. Your character pits his sleuthing abilities
against everything from corrupt politicians to abusive corpo-
rations. Although he is perhaps a bit too much in love with
his own romanticized image of himself, he is well-nigh incor-
ruptible.
Starting Occupation: Investigative
Preferred Starting Class: Dedicated or Smart
Flaw Package: Clumsy (2 pts.), Dull Reflexes (2 pts.),
Flinching (2 pts.), Heroic Code: Honesty (2 pts.), Insatiable
Curiosity (2 pts.), Vain (2 pts.)
57
 [Total Package Value: 12 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Skill Focus (Gather
Information), Skill Focus (Investigate), Attentive,
Trustworthy, Academic Degree
(Journalism, 1 pt.), Contacts (2 average contacts of your
choice)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 2
Martial Artist
Your character is a dedicated student of the martial arts,
seeking perfection of body and spirit through rigorous fight-
ing discipline. His quest for perfection has been interrupted
by the murder of his former master– now he quests for
vengeance against the evil martial arts instructor who carried
out that murder!
Starting Occupation: Athlete
Preferred Starting Class: Fast or Strong
Flaw Package: Foresworn From Firearms (2 pts.),
Dependent (Aged grandmother, 2 pts.), Macho/Spartan (2
pts.), Nemesis: Villain (7 pts., includes 1 major lieutenant)
[Total Package Value: 13 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Connections (2 minor con
nections in the Chinese underworld), +1 character level or
Blind-Fight, Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, and Combat
Reflexes
Discretionary Flaw Points: 2
Monster Hunter
Your character is a private eliminator of supernatural hor-
rors, obsessed with a one-person war against the power of the
shadows. Supported only by his mysterious benefactor, his
trusty shotgun collection, and his four-pack-a-day habit, he’s
out to kick monster ass.
Starting Occupation: Adventurer or Investigative
Preferred Starting Class: Tough or Dedicated
Flaw Package: Old Injury (2 pts.), Dependency (Ugly
Habit, Smoking, 1 pt.), Driving Obsession (Destroy powers
of darkness on earth, 2 pts.), Overconfident (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 7 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Iron Will, Patron (Weak),
Personal Firearms Proficiency
Discretionary Flaw Points: 1
Alternate Flaw Package: If you’d like your character to have
more of a history with the forces of darknes, add a 4-8 point
Nemesis (Villain) and spend the extra Flaw points to increase
his knowledge or his fighting abilities. Weird Flaws (pages 40-
42) might also be appropriate.
Navy SEAL
Your character is a newly-forged Sea-Air-Land specialist,
one of the U.S. Navy’s elite go-anywhere, do-anything special
operations personnel. Your character has endured a hellish
training regimen and acquired a deadly set of skills. The only
flaw he really faces is a peculiar (and secret) trait for a man in
his position– he’s frightened of sharks!
Starting Occupation: Military
Preferred Starting Class: Tough or Strong
Flaw Package: Bodily Marked (SEAL Tattoo, 1 pt.),
Duty/Responsibility (Challenging, Hazardous, Restricted
Movement, Restricted Communication, 11 pts.),
Macho/Spartan (2 pts.), Overconfident (2 pts.), Phobia
(Sharks, 2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 18 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Endurance, Great Fortitude,
Personal Firearms Proficiency, Military Rank (E-5, Navy
Petty Officer 2nd Class, 4 pts.), Stealthy, Surface Vehicle
Operation (Powerboat)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 4
Occult Knight
Your character is a sworn initiate of a secret order of chival-
ry, which may or may not be connected to any major world
religion. Your character’s knightly order, which dates back to
medieval times, opposes another secret society or clandestine
cabal. Once, they did this openly on the field of battle. In
modern times, they live, fight, and die completely in the
shadows. There are only a few dozen of your character’s
brothers and sisters active at any given time, all serving will-
ingly in an unforgiving and often-fatal occupation.
Starting Occupation: Religious or Military
Preferred Starting Class: Fast, Strong, or Tough
Flaw Package: Bodily Marked (Symbols of his Order; 2
pts.), Duty/Responsibility (Challenging, Hazardous; Serve
his Order to the death, 8 pts.), Heroic Code: Loyalty (2
pts.), Macho/Spartan (2 pts.), Nemesis (Organization, 6
pts.), Melancholy (2 pts.), Nightmares (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 24 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +1 class level, Weapon
Focus (of your choice), Brawl, Dodge, Improved Initiative,
Toughness, Alternate Identity (Thorough), Patron (Useful;
His Order)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Professional Bodyguard
Your character thought he was out of the boudyguard game
for good, but his independent business venture failed, leaving
him with a substantial debt and only one way to pay it off–
the “monkey suit” business. Now he chauffeurs VIPs and
watches their every move, ready to throw himself in front of
a bullet or a knife in the blink of an eye. Although not cur-
rently licensed to carry a firearm, your character flatters him-
self that he doesn’t need to do so in order to get the drop on
any potential assailant.
Starting Occupation: Adventurer, Athlete, Law
Enforcement or Military
Preferred Starting Class: Strong or Tough
Flaw Package: Obese (3 pts.), Duty/Responsibility
(Challenging, 6pts.; guard clients’ lives with his own),
Heroic Code: Loyalty (2 pts.),
Monetary Debt (2 pts.), Stubborn (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 15 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Alertness, Skill Focus
(Spot), Improved Initiative, Combat Martial Arts,
58
 Defensive Martial Arts, Toughness
Discretionary Flaw Points: 3
Professional Athlete
Your character is a young player of a professional sport
(baseball, basketball, soccer, football, rugby, tennis) or a com-
petitive athlete training for Olympic-caliber events (swim-
ming, gymnastics, track and field, etc.). His physical abilities
are top-notch, though his combat experience is extremely lim-
ited. Perhaps the occasional heroic adventure on the side
adds spice to his life– his relative fame makes it harder for the
shadowy evils of the world to dispose of him as they might a
more obscure adventurer.
Starting Occupation: Athlete or Celebrity
Preferred Starting Class: Fast, Strong, or Tough
Flaw Package: Dependent (2 pts., close family member),
Select one of the following for 2 pts.: Boastful,
Overconfident, or Risk-Addicted; Duty/Responsibility (2
pts., currently optioned to pro sports team), Heroic Code:
Loyalty (2 pts.), Heroic Code: Fair Play (2 pts.), Quirk
(Talks trash and uses sports lingo at odd and inappropri-
ate times, 1 pt.)
[Total Package Value: 11 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +2 in one of the following
abilities: Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution; Skill Focus
(Choose one: Jump, Tumble, Climb, Swim, or Ride),
Athletic, Renown, Run
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0
Rich Vigilante
Your character is the young heir to an extensive industrial
empire, but his wealth is nothing but a means to an end. A
decade ago, your character’s parents were murdered in cold
blood, and your character swore eternal vengeance on the
entire criminal fraternity. Having intensely honed his body
and his mind, your character now prowls his city by night in
a lightweight black armored costume, hunting wrongdoers of
any sort. Although he has sworn a solemn oath never to take
a human life, he has absolutely no compunctions about
administering severe beatings to the criminals he faces.
Starting Occupation: Dilettante
Preferred Starting Class: Strong
Flaw Package: Foresworn From Firearms (4 pts.), Driving
Obsession (2 pts.), Heroic Code: Mercy (2 pts.), Double
Life (2 pts.), Lone Wolf (2 pts.), Macho/Spartan (2 pts.),
Nemesis: Organization (6 pts., local branch of the mafia),
Nemesis: Media (4 pts.; crusading anti-vigilante TV
reporter), Risk-Addicted (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 26 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Acrobatic, Armor
Proficiency (Light), Athletic, Blind-Fight, Combat Martial
Arts, Combat Throw, Defensive Martial Arts, Windfall
(three times), Ally (Sympathetic police sergeant, 2 pts.),
Assistant (2nd level Dedicated Hero, 3 pts.; sardonic aged
butler who has grudgingly agreed to aid your character’s
vigilantism.)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 1
Secret Agent
Your character was a career naval officer before he was
selected for secret service training. Cunning, ruthless,
debonair, and often “wolfishly immature,” he is nonetheless
the agent his superiors turn to time and time again when
things get desperate.
Starting Occupation: Dilettante or Military
Preferred Starting Class: Charismatic or Dedicated
Flaw Package: Double Life (2 pts.), Duty/Responsibility
(Challenging, Hazardous, Restricted Movement, Restricted
Communication, 11 pts.), Glass Jaw (2 pts.), Vain (2 pts.),
Lone Wolf (2 pts.), Nemesis (Villain, global menace bent on
revenge, 1 major lieutenant, 9 pts.), Risk-Addicted (2 pts.)
[Total Package Value: 30 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +1 character level,
Connections (4 connections in various countries, 2 pts.),
Military Rank (Navy O-4, Lt. Cmdr., 10 pts.), Attentive,
Deceptive, Confident, Quick Draw, Alternate Identity (1
pt.)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 2
Surveillance Geek
Your character is a black-box genius and an old-school tech
whiz; though not much to look at, he has a razor-keen mind
and the infinite patience required for surveillance operations.
He also has a serious handicap for his line of work– scrupu-
lous honesty.
Starting Occupation: Technician
Preferred Starting Class: Smart
Flaw Package: Asthma (Allergy Trigger, 8 pts.),
Underweight (2 pts.), Tongue-Tied (2 pts.), Paranoia (2
pts.), Diabetes (Type II) (2 pts.), Heroic Code: Honesty (2
pts.)
[Total Package Value: 18 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Alertness, Attentive,
Cautious, Gearhead, +2 Intelligence (3 pts.), Meticulous,
Ally (Fellow Surveillance Geek, 2 pts.)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 3
SWAT Officer
Your character is a highly-trained and motivated Special
Weapons and Tactics officer for a major metropolitan police
department. Your character and his peers are called out to
deal with the most dangerous and unstable disturbers of the
peace, and despite the risks of his position your character
thrives on the challenge and the sense of camaraderie within
his elite unit.
Starting Occupation: Law Enforcement
Preferred Starting Class: Fast, Tough or Strong
Flaw Package: Duty/Responsibility (Challenging,
Hazardous, 8 pts.), Dependent (Child or aging parent, 2
pts.), Heroic Code: Law and Order (2 pts.), Aggressive (2
pts.)
[Total Package Value: 14 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: Personal Firearms
Proficiency, Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Burst-Fire,
59
 Weapon Focus (H&K MP5 Submachinegun),Law-
Enforcement Rank (2 pts.), Improved Initiative,
Armor Proficiency (Light)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0

Veteran Homicide Detective

Your character has been around the block, as they say, and
is nearing fifteen years of active duty. Truth to be told, those
years have really piled on the problems, and your character
just isn’t as spry as he used to be. His resolve to put wrong-
doers behind bars remains undiminished– for now, at least.
Another bullet in the ribs might mean an early retirement.

Starting Occupation: Law Enforcement

Preferred Starting Class: Tough or Smart
Flaw Package: Age (2 pts.), Inflexible (2 pts.), Old Injury
(II) (2 pts.), Unathletic (2 pts.), Asthma (2 pts.),
Duty/Responsibility (4 pts., homi cide detective), Quirk
(Persistent, vocal distrust of new technology) (1 pt.)
[Total Package Value: 15 Flaw Points]
Bonus Feats and Advantages: +1 character level, Law
Enforcement Rank (4 pts.), Attentive, Quick Draw,
Connections (2 average connections on the street)
Discretionary Flaw Points: 0

Help! I’m a prisoner in Cryptosnark Games’ layout depart-

ment! I’m being forced to add copious heaps of white space
to the end of this document! Call the police!

60
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All
Rights Reserved.
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2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in
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Section X: The Azathoth Problem: Ah, you think you’re clever with that search function, don’t you? Well, Baron Azathoth is an incredibly experienced interdimen-
sional master criminal, and you have to get up pretty early if you want to pull a fast one on him. Last we heard, he was somewhere in Europe. Honest. The rest
is up to you...
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to
statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Book of Distinctions And Drawbacks Modern Copyright 2003 Scott Thomas Lynch
Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, based on
material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
This document is produced under version 1.0, 1.0a, and/or draft versions of the Open Game License,the d20 System Trademark Logo Guide, and the System
Reference Document by permission of Wizards of the Coast. Subsequent versions will incorporate final versions of the license,guide, and document.
The following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with Section 1(e)of the Open Game License,version 1.0a: Any and all Cryptosnark
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Distinctions And Drawbacks,” “The Book of Distinctions and Drawbacks Modern,” “The BODD,” “Broadswords & Bulletholes” and “The BODD Modern”; names of
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The above Product Identity is not Open Game Content.
Subject to the Product Identity designation above,the following portions of this document are designated as Open Game Content::All new d20 game mechanics
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Content by virtue of appearing in the System Reference Document or some other Open Game Content source.