Absent-Minded (3pt Flaw)
This Flaw may not be taken with the Merit Concentration. Though you do not forget such things as Knowledges or Skills, you do forget names, addresses, and when you last ate. In order to remember anything more than your own name and the location of your haven, you need to make a Wits roll or, as a last resort, spend a Willpower point.
Addiction (3pt Flaw)
You suffer from an addiction to a substance, which must now be present in the blood you drink. This can be alcohol, nicotine, hard drugs or simply adrenaline. This substance always impairs you in some fashion.
Addictions to inconsequential substances will not be allowed. This includes the popular "Addiction to Nicotine" for Kindred, as most of the adverse effects of Nicotine do not affect creatures that don't breathe or have blood circulation.
Airhead (1pt Flaw)
You're so wrapped up in your own little world, you don't have a clue about reality! Perhaps you retreat into yourself because you're afraid or avoiding a problem, but more likely, you simply arenot using your gray cells. Maybe you fall in and out of conversations and spout non sequitors. Whatever the case, people snicker at you behind your back.
Aging (3pt Flaw)
You are not as spry as you used to be; any one Physical Attribute score (your choice) must be lowered by one dot. This Flaw may be taken once per decade past the 40 year mark.
Allergic (1-3pt Flaw)
You are allergic to some substance, in a manner not unlike mortal allergies. However, you do not get hives or sneeze, but are actually incapacitated y your reaction. If the substance was in the blood you drank, the reaction will be very strong, though touch along is enough to disturb you. If it was in the blood, you will have five fewer dice on all your Dice Pools for 10 minutes. - if you just touched it, the penalty is reduced to two dice. Choose form the list below or make up the substance to which you are allergic: · Plastic: 1pt, · Alchohol:2pt, · Illegal Drugs: 2pt, · Metal: 3pt.
Amnesia (2pt Flaw)
You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself or your family. Your life is a blank slate. However, your past may someday come back to haunt you. (you can, if you wish, take up five points of other Flaws without specifying what they are, and leave it to the Storyteller to detail them. Over the course of the chronicle, you and your character will slowly discover them.
Arrogant (1pt Flaw)
Whether or not you actually think you're better than others, those around you consistently feel that you have a 'holier than thou' attitude. You may phrase things sarcastically too often, or you may really believe that you are holier than most of those you interact with. In any case, you suffer a +1 diff modifier on all social rolls made to sway others of equal or lower social stature.
Arthritic (1pt Flaw)
Your joints, especially your hands, are stiff and swollen. When you attempt anything that requires a fine and careful touch such as sewing or repairing a watch, increase the difficulty of your roll by one.
Asthma (2pt Flaw)
You have Difficulty performing strenuous tasks because you cannot breathe properly. With asthma, your lungs only pull in a fraction of the air that normal lungs require. Any time that you exert yourself, you must make a Stamina roll (Difficulty 6) or be unable to perform any action on the next round while you catch your breath.
Atrophied Heart (4pt Flaw)
You have grown cold and aloof, emotionally detached from the ever-changing world around you. You certainly understand good and evil as philosophical concepts, but morality is no longer something you feel with any passion. As a result, you add 2 to the difficulty of any degeneration check and pay double the usual experience to raise Compassion/Conviction or Road.
Bad Liar (1pt Flaw)
You have tremendous trouble lying. The spontaneous excuses that you come up with are usually unbelievably elaborate or easily refuted with the bare modicum of research. While telling a prefabricated lie, you stutter, stammer, blush or generally look guilty. Increase the difficulty of any roll that involves verbal deception by two.
Bad Sight (1 or 3pt Flaw)
Your sight is defective. The difficulties of any dice rolls involving use of your eyesight are increased by two. As a one point Flaw, this condition can be corrected with glasses or contacts; as a three-point Flaw, the condition is too sever to be corrected.
Bard's Tongue (1pt Flaw)
You speak the truth, uncannily so. Things you say tend to come true. This not a facility for blessing or cursing, or an ability that can be ruled by any conscious control. However, at least once per story, an uncomfortable truth regarding any current situation will appear in your head and come out your lips. To avoid speaking prophecy, the owner of the 'gift' must expend a Willpower point and take a wound level from the strain of resisting (especially if he bites a hole in his tongue).
Beacon of the Unholy (2pt Flaw)
You radiate palpable evil. Clergy and devout mortals know instinctively that there is something horribly wrong with you, and react accordingly. Churches and other places of worship are barred to you as well.
Beholden (1-3pt Flaw)
You owe somebody something, and some day they'll call the marker in. Exactly who you owe, and why, and how much, depends on the value of the Flaw and the Storyteller's twisted imagination. The value or this Flaw is based on how great a favor is owed - for example, if the person saved your life, that's usually a three-point Flaw. Other reasons why you might be Beholden include: someone has dirt on you; you borrowed money from them; they did you a favor; they saved the life of someone important to you; they kept you (or a loved one) from suffering some horrible fate.
Big Mouth (2pt Flaw)
You talk too much, and it gets you in trouble. You tend to blurt out painful truths at inopportune times. At least once per high-tension social scene, you must speak your mind. You can avoid the pain and embarrassment this costs by spending 1 willpower points. This Flaw is particularly dangerous for information-based psychics, who tend to blurt out other people's secrets as readily as their own.
Bitter Tongue (3pt Flaw)
Every time the person speaks, invectives, lies, and evil prophecies pour out. It's not something he can help - a curse of some kind prevents him from being civil. Naturally, this verbal venom does not endear him to family, loved ones, utter strangers, or anyone else. Under the wrong circumstances it can be deadly. In game terms, Bitter Tongue resembles the Bard's Tongue Flaw, but is far stronger. The character cannot speak without insulting someone, blatantly lying, or making some cryptic remark that foreshadows a coming disaster. (These "prophecies of doom" are not something the character can control; they simply spill out.) Only by remaining silent can the person keep his peace… and then just barely!
Black and White (1pt Flaw)
The world is really a collection of shades of gray, but your character doesn't see it that way. To you, everything is as clear as black and white. You think in terms of people being either for or against you, hot or cold, good or evil, easy or impossible, stupid or genius. This closed mindset can cost you dearly in missed opportunities, misunderstandings and under-or overestimation of others. In social situations where your judgmental nature comes to bear, which are more often than you might think, you suffer a one-point penalty to difficulties of rolls. This Flaw is particularly suited to pair with things like Code of Honor and other overly focusing Merits.
Blackmailed (1pt Flaw)
You're being blackmailed by a somebody powerful enough or smart enough to keep you from destroying her. Your blackmailer uses you to her personal advantages, forcing you to do all sorts of awful things you hate doing. She may take money from you, or she may force you to aid her in her own schemes.
Blind (6pt Flaw)
You cannot see. Characters can compensate for the loss of vision by becoming more sensitive to other sensory imput, but visual cues and images are lost to them. Actions involving hand-eye coordination are very difficult to perform, especially under stressful conditions. Difficulties of all Dexterity-based rolls are increased by two. Oddly, vampires with Level Two Auspex (Aura Perception) are still able to use this ability, though the information is interpretably via other senses.
Bound (2pt Flaw)
You are blood bound to a vampire. Your regnant may not necessarily treat you badly, but the fact remains that your will is not entirely your own. The knowledge gnaws at you, even as you find yourself lost in devotion to your vampiric master.
Braggart (2pt Flaw)
Your favorite topic of conversation is yourself. You make every attempt to bring conversations around to your achievements and successes and you never fail to take credit for everything you even vaguely affected. You can't avoid reminding others of your deeds and exploits. Consequently, people tire of listening to you blow your own horn for more than a few minutes. You make all Social rolls at a penalty of +1 to your difficulty as a result of others' inattention and boredom with your self-aggrandizing speeches. (If you take this Flaw, you'll be expected to roleplay your sense of pride and over importance.)
Cannibal (4pt Flaw)
Nature or nurture has forced this diabolist to eat human meat - exclusively. Anyone twisted or desperate enough can eat a person, but the character with this Flaw cannot eat anything else. No other meat (much less grain or vegetable) will nourish him, and he'll get sick if he tries to change his diet. The flesh can be dead, decaying, or even alive, but it must be human. Needless to say, this character has to remain close to other human beings, yet feed discreetly enough to avoid attention. It's a hard life to live, and few cannibals manage to survive this way for very long. There are, of course, exceptions.
Changeling - Slipped Seeming: (1-5 point Flaw)
Your fae seeming bleeds into your mortal seeming and makes you obvious to those mundanes who know what to look for. A one-point would be a slight bluish cast to the skin of a troll, and a five-point would be a pair of satyr's horns. This may make it difficult to explain yourself to mortals: "Ah, my friend… obviously got his head caught in a mechanical rice- picker, and fortunately there was a skilled plastic surgeon nearby…." This Flaw does not give you the benefits of certain portions of your fae mien (Goats legs will not allow you to run at advanced speeds, etc.).
Changeling - Sidhe's Curse: (5 point Flaw)
The sidhe live in mortal terror of Banality, due to the fact it can take root in their souls much more easily than any other of the kith. Unfortunately although you are not sidhe, you are subject to this frailty as well. You gain two points of Banality for every one given by the Storyteller. Sidhe characters may not take this Flaw.
Changeling - Infamous Mentor: (l point Flaw)
Your mentor was, and perhaps still is, distrusted and dis- liked by many of your fellow changelings. As a result, you are distrusted and disliked as well. This is a heavy load, and one not easily shed.
Changeling - Insane Mentor: (l point Flaw)
Your mentor has completely lost his grip on reality, and bas become lost to Bedlam or dangerously insane. Any wrong committed by your mentor may affect your reputation, and some of your mentor's dangerous schemes may somehow involve you.
Changeling - Mentor's Resentment: (l point Flaw)
Your mentor dislikes you and wishes you ill. Given the smallest opportunity, your mentor will seek to do you harm, and may even attack you if provoked. Your mentor's friends will also work against you. Good luck!
Changeling - Twisted Apprenticeship: (l point Flaw)
Your mentor was quite malevolent and taught you all the wrong things about Kithain society. Your concepts of changeling politics are all wrong, and your faulty beliefs are likely to get him you into a great deal of trouble. Over time, after many hard lessons, you can overcome this bad start (the Storyteller will tell you when). But until then, you will continue to believe what you were first told, no matter how others try to "trick" you into thinking otherwise.
Changeling - Diabolical Mentor: (2 point Flaw)
Your mentor is engaged in acts that could cause a tremendous uproar. She could be ignoring unabashed Unseelie activity or worse. Plenty of folks are after your mentor's hide, and you may be tarred with the same brush.
Changeling - Wyld Mind: (2 point Flaw)
Your mind is extremely chaotic and unpredictable. As a result you have difficulty concentrating on any one task. You must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 4) for every extended action roll after the second.
Changeling - Amnesia: (2 point Flaw)
You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself or your family. Your life is a blank slate. However, your past may some day come back to haunt you, and the Storyteller wish, take up to five points of other Flaws without specifying what they are. The Storyteller can supply the details. Over the course of the chronicle, you and your character will slowly discover them.)
Changeling - Geas: (1-5 point Flaw)
You are under some kind of geas at the beginning of play, most likely a Ban, but possibly a long-term quest. This geas may inherited, or it may have on you by a changeling using the Sovereign Art. great a Flaw it is. Something minor, such as a Ban against harming animals or a requirement to give occasionally to charity, would only be worth one point. More difficult geasa are worth more points. A five-point geas is something that rules your entire life, like a Ban against sleeping in the same place more than one night or a quest that requires you to render aid to anyone in need you encounter. The Storyteller decides the exact value of whatever geas you choose.
Changeling - Surreal Quality: (2 point Flaw)
Though the Mists still protect you from mortal detection, there is something about you that mortals find fascinating. At inappropriate times, they will stare at you and strike up conversations in the hopes of getting to know you better. Worse still, those mortals who are of less savory nature will choose you over other potential targets for their illicit acts.
Changeling - Echoes: (2-5 point Flaw)
Your connection to the Dreaming is stronger than in most of the Kithain. As a result of this powerful connection, you are more susceptible to the ancient wives' tales of things which traditionally affect faeries. While Echoes is purchased as a Flaw, it often has some beneficial side effects. The points received with this Flaw reflect the level of your connection to the Dreaming and even to Arcadia. You must have Storyteller approval in order to take this Flaw. The effects of this Flaw are cumulative. A character with a five-point Flaw also suffers the setbacks of the two through four-point Flaws.
- • Minor: Salt thrown over the shoulder for good luck offers a mortal from faerie powers. The same is true of bread. Any mortal who does so cannot be affected by your cantrips in any way for the duration of the scene. You may physically hurt the person, but cantrips simply do not work, or worse, they may well backfire. Additionally any mortal knowing your full name can command three tasks from you, which you must accomplish before you can be freed of that mortal's influence. However, you need only follow the exact wording of the mortal's request, not the desire behind the request. (Two points)
- • Moderate: You may not enter a home without invitation, unless you perform some small favor for the owners of the dwelling. However, the invitation to enter a home may come from anyone at all, it need not be the owner. Cold iron in a residence will bar you from entering the place whether you are invited or not; religious symbols have the same effect. Religious symbols of any sort will prevent you from physically or magically affecting mortals. The sound of ringing church bells causes you pain, just as cold iron does (at this level there is only pain, but as a four-point Flaw, the changeling gains one point of Banality for every turn he is forced to endure the sound). (Three points)
- • Serious: Four-leaf clovers in the possession of a mortal prevent you from using your Arts against that mortal for good or for bad. However, four-leaf clovers picked by you are sure to bring good luck (you cannot botch, or perhaps you temporarily gain the favor of a powerful individual) for as long as the petals of the clover remain intact. The clover must be worn or carried in order for this luck to remain. Any mortal wearing their coat inside out is invisible to you. You may not cross running water, save by means of a bridge. Religious symbols are now repellent to you, forcing you away from those who wear them, The shadow of a cross falling upon your person causes one Health Level of chimerical damage for each turn the shadow touches you. You may no longer enter holy ground without suffering chimerical injuries (one Health Level per turn), though this damage may be soaked. (Four points)
- • Extreme: Wherever you dwell, mushrooms tend to bloom in a faerie ring — even on your plush carpet. The Mists no longer hide your powers. Many people will remember you if you use your Glamour while around them. Chimerical creatures tend to become more real for you than for others, and their attacks cause real and permanent injury. By the reverse, yourchimerical weapons can cause damage to anyone, even mortals. People will likely follow you if you request it, often gaining a dazed look and following you even into dangerous situations. Your difficulties in casting cantrips might be reduced by a substantial amount (Storyteller's discretion), but those wearing cold iron or religious symbols are immune to any Arts you might use. You must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) in order to enter holy ground. Even if you succeed in your Willpower roll, actualphysical damage (one Health Level per turn) occurswhenever you enter holy ground. (Five points)
Changeling - Iron Allergy: (3-5 point Flaw)
Most of the Kithain only suffer pain and Banality when in contact with cold iron. You suffer from actual wounds. Cold iron reacts like superheated steel when touching your skin. The very least you will endure is severe blistering. For each turn in contact with iron, you suffer one Health Level of chimerical damage. As a four-point Flaw, you take one Health Level of real damage every three turns in contact with cold iron. As a five-point Flaw, you suffer this damage if you stand within a foot of the iron and you will take one Health Level of aggravated damage for every turn spent in contact with cold iron.
Changeling - Chimerical Danger: (5 point Flaw)
For some reason, chimera notice you more often than usual. In some cases this is of benefit, but more often than not this Flaw causes problems. Chimerical beasts on a rampage will tend to turn on you before attacking others. Nervosa find you irresistible, and sprites of all types surround you constantly, often making you the butt of their harmless but annoying pranks.
Changeling - Cleared mists: (3 point Flaw)
The Mists are the effect of the Shattering on the human world. It cloaks the powers and enchantments of the Kithain, hiding their presence in its tendrils. Unfortunately, the Mists do not hide your magic or abilities. Should a mortal witness your actions, he will not forget the effects of your Arts or other fae abilities. As a result, you may reveal your nature to the mortal world, triggering dire consequences for the rest of the Kithain.
Changeling - Chimerical Disability: (1-3 point Flaw)
Part of your fae mien is damaged and no longer exists due to a past altercation. This disability is permanent. Examples of this Flaw would be a chimerical hand missing, therefore you cannot pick up chimera with that hand (two points). Your fae
mien is missing one eye, therefore your view of chimera lacks depth perception (three points). One of your chimerical legs is missing; you can still walk, but it becomes extremely difficult to ride a chimerical creature (one point).
Changeling - Changelings Eyes: (l point Flaw)
Your eyes are a startling color, maybe emerald green, violet or yellow. This is a sign you are a changeling, recognizable to those who know the ancient lore.
Changeling - Throwback (1-5 point Flaw)
One or more of your past lives still affects you… badly. Their fears come back to haunt you in your dreams, and you have flashbacks of their worst memories (such as their death, or, evenworse, a personality that encroaches on your own). For bad dreams or flashbacks, take one to two points depending on the severity of the condition and how much it will affect your studies or performance in dangerous situations. For a "roommate in your head," take three points (whether you know he exists or not). For the package deal and a truly miserable existence, take five points, but expect the Storyteller to take every opportunity to use these against you. This Flaw can be "worked off during the course of play, but only with difficulty.
Chronic Illness (4pt Flaw)
You suffer from a debilitating illness such as chronic fatigue syndrome or even cancer. You frequently feel weak, and you are easily injured. Add two to the difficulty of any Athletics or soak rolls.
Club Foot (1pt Flaw)
One of your feet is gnarled and deformed. You move at only half normal speed.
Clumsy (2pt Flaw)
Are your fingers dipped in butter? It would seem so, the way things slide from your grasp! By the rules, you add two to the difficulty of any Dexterity-related roll except combat actions. When a sword's in your hands, you're steady enough - it's the times in between that have people wondering.
Color Blindness (1pt Flaw)
You can see in black ad white. Color means nothing to you, though you are sensitive to color density, which you perceive as shades of gray. This makes it impossible to see auras of any kind. (Note color blindness actually indicates an inability to distinguish between two colors, but we fudged a bit for the sake of brevity.
Compulsion (1pt Flaw)
You have a psychological compulsion of some sort, which can cause you a number of different problems. Your compulsion may be for cleanliness, perfection, bragging, stealing, gaming, exaggeration or just talking. A compulsion can be temporality avoided at the cost of a Willpower point, but is in effect at all other times.
Compulsive Liar (2pt Flaw)
You feel the need to put your personal spin on the truth. You don't necessarily do so out of spite or malice, and you may come to genuinely believe the tall tales that you tell (especially when you spin them often enough). This Trait is especially troublesome when other hunters rely on you for other information on monsters and their habits. You might have to spend a Willpower point to force yourself to be honest, especially if it means publically revealing a previous lie.
Confused (2pt Flaw)
You are often confused, and the world seems to be a very disoriented and twisted place. Sometimes you are simply unable to make sense of things. You need to roleplay this behavior all the time to a small degree, but your confusion becomes especially strong whenever stimuli surround you (such as when a number of different people talk all at once, or you enter a nightclub with loud pounding music). You may spend Willpower to override the effects of your confusion, but only temporarily.
Coward (1-5pt Flaw)
This is no age for cravens; nevertheless, you are one such, at least where certain things are concerned. Perhaps you've suffered some heavy torture or mishap that has left you fearful; or maybe a curse has robbed you of your courage. Then again, you could just be a lily-livered git. The Flaw is the same: In the presence of the thing you fear, you cringe, whimper, weep or flee. Only a powerful effort of will allows you to stand your ground. In game terms, the cost of the Flaw depends on the object of the terror. The base Willpower roll for standing up to a threat or "mortal terror" is 7, although certain fears get harder to face at the higher levels.
- For one point, one group of related things (cats, oak trees, priests) becomes your "mortal terror." In the presence of that terror, you shiver and quail. Nothing else bothers you overmuch. Assuming you succeed on a Willpower roll, everything will be fine, although you certainly won't want anything to do with the object of your fear.
- For two points, common threats (crowds, fires, storms) make you uneasy; if you encounter your "mortal terror" or other very dangerous circumstances (being trapped in a fire, faced with torture, etc.), you panic unless you can make a successful Willpower roll.
- For three points, everything makes you uneasy and certain things drive you wild with fear. Under calm circumstances, you can control yourself, but the presence of a "mortal terror" or a common threat (a battle, an angry nobleman, etc.) panics you unless the required roll is made.
- For four points, you're prone to fits of trembling, and avoid hazards as much as possible. To stand up to combat, danger or authority figures, you must make a Willpower roll. The presence of your "mortal terror" drives you to your knees (or out the door) unless you make a similar roll at difficulty 9.
- For five points, everything that could be even remotely dangerous makes you tremble, and any direct threat makes you want to flee. This doesn't mean you cannot function in day-to-day life, but combat, heroism and open rebellion are virtually impossible without a normal Willpower roll. Should you encounter your "mortal terror," a successful Willpower roll (difficulty 9) is the only thing that can keep you from fainting.
As you might imagine, this Flaw cannot be taken by a character with the Merit: Iron Will.
Craven Image (1pt Flaw)
No matter how highborn you are, there's something "low" about you. People tend to treat you with less respect than you deserve. While this might be good for an occasional disguise, it hampers your dealings with others more often than it helps. In story terms, your superiors chastise you, your peers mock you and your lessers disrespect you. In game terms, the difficulties of social rolls increase by two if appropriate to the situation; making requests or asking favors is daunting for you, for example.
Criminal Marks (1-5pt Flaw)
Your body bears the marks of punishment. Unlike normal scars, such marks are inflicted deliberately, and designed for maximum pain and disfigurement. They are, of course, the most common ways of dealing with lawbreakers in these days. Whippings, brandings, ear-cuttings and amputation serve the ends of justice, both by incapacitating the criminal and by making him stand out from polite society.
Bearing a criminal's scars does not make you a criminal (you may have been innocent, or injured by war and disease), but people consider you one if they can see the marks. Some scars are easy enough to hide, but others are damned near impossible to conceal. Someone branded on the forehead could cover it up with strategically placed mud or soot. A missing nose, on the other hand, is considerably harder to hide. Thus, the Flaw depends on the nature of the marks and the difficulty of concealing them.
- Concealable brand or scarring: one point
- Small brand/severed ear or fingers: two points
- Large, obvious brand: three points
- Severed nose or lips: four points
- Loss of hand or foot: five points
Note that some of these marks may call for other penalties as well, such as lameness or slurred speech. If you bear such disfigurement, your Appearance and Social activities will probably suffer accordingly. On the other hand, it might suit your purpose to pose as an outlaw. Of course, you lose the Flaw bonus if magick heals the marks. No mutation, no Flaw.
Criminal Past (1pt Flaw)
While you are currently an honest and decent individual, that has not always been the case. At some point in the past, you were a known and violent criminal and may have been a hunted man for your criminal activities. All Social rolls with those who know your criminal history are made at +2 diff. Those who know you are unlikely to ever give you the benefit of the doubt unless you have truly proven yourself reformed.
Criminal Record (2pt Flaw)
For whatever crime you may or may not have committed, you are remembered by City Hall. You cannot vote, jobs will be hard to come by, and people who know about your record won't trust you, no matter what happens. Erasing the record means buying off this Flaw first.
Crude (1pt Flaw)
You never learned any manners while growing up. You talk with your mouth full, burp loudly and slurp your soup. When interacting with others in any refined or formal environment, increase the difficulty of any Social rolls by two.
Curiosity (2pt Flaw)
You are naturally curious and find mysteries of any sort irresistible. In most circumstances, you find that your curiosity easily overrides your common sense. To resist the temptation, make a Wits roll (Difficulty 5) for simple things like "I wonder what is in that cabinet!" Increase the Difficulty up to 9 for things like "I'll just peek into the dragons lair – no one will know. What could possibly go wrong?"
Cursed (1-5pt Flaw)
You have been cursed by someone or something with supernatural or magical powers. This curse is specific and detailed, it cannot be dispelled without extreme effort, and it can be life-threatening. Some examples follow: · If you pass on a secret that was told to you, your betrayal will later harm you in some way (1pt), · You stutter uncontrollably when you try to describe what you have seen or heard (2pt), · You are doomed to make enemies of those to whom you have become most attached (so whatever you do, don’t get too close to other characters!) (4pt), Every one of your accomplishments or achievements will eventually, inevitably, become soiled and fail in some way. (5pt)
Dangerous Secret (2pt Flaw)
You are privy to some top secret information that places your life in danger. What it is and how you got it is up to the storyteller to decide. Unlike the Top Secret Access Merit, this secret does you little good and will put you in extreme danger if anyone finds out you possess it. Furthermore the source of your information is unstable or unreliable (an alcoholic co-worker, a Malkavian vampire, or someone who has recently disappeared) thus increasing the odds that you will soon be running for your life. The secret preys on your mind, giving you many a sleepless night. You will be guarded and suspicious of all but your closest family and friends – maybe even them.
Dark Fate (5pt Flaw)
You are doomed to experience a most horrible demise or, worse, suffer eternal agony. No matter what you do, someday, your struggles, and your dreams will come to naught. Your fate is certain and there is nothing you can do about it. Even more ghastly, you have partial knowledge of this, for you occasionally have visions of your fate - and they are most disturbing. The malaise these visions inspire in you can only be overcome through the use of Willpower, and will return after each vision. At some point in the chronicle, you will indeed face your fate, but when and how is completely up to the Storyteller. Though you can’t do anything about your fate, you can still attempt to reach some goal before it occurs, or at least try to make sure that your friends are not destroyed as well. This is a difficult Flaw to roleplay; though it may seem as if it takes away all free will, we have found that ironically, it grants freedom.
Dark Secret (1pt Flaw)
You have some sort of secret that, if uncovered, would be of immense embarrassment to you and would make you a pariah in the Kindred community. This can be anything from having murdered an elder to having once been a member of the Sabbat. While this secret weighs on your mind at all times, it will only surface in occasional stories. Otherwise, it will being to lose its impact.
Deaf (4pt Flaw)
You cannot hear. While you may ignore some applications of Dominate, you may not listen to electronic or vocal media, and the difficulties of many Alertness rolls are increased by three.
Defective Sense (1pt Flaw)
One of your character's senses is dulled or abnormally damaged in some fashion. Perhaps the character is hard of hearing, has limited taste receptors, is color-blind or is correctably nearsighted. In each case, you suffer a two-point penalty to the difficulty of all rolls involving the flawed sense. Obviously, you cannot take this Flaw in conjunction with an Acute Sense of the same type.
Deformity (3pt Flaw)
You have some kind of deformity - a misshapen limb, a hunchback or whatever - which affects your interactions with others and may inconvenience you physically. The difficulties of all dice rolls related to physical appearance are raised by two. Your deformity will also raise the difficulty of some Dexterity rolls by two, depending on the type of deformity you possess.
Degeneration (3, 6 or 9pt Flaw)
Your character will die without the aid of magic or science to sustain her. She might be the victim of a disease or curse, or maybe she's something that wasn't meant to be alive in the first place. At the lowest version of this Flaw, your character simply does not have the natural healing factor with which most mortals are born. All wounds he suffers remain until treated with magic or Technocratic science. He will not heal any damage otherwise. At the six -point version of this Flaw, your character is actually falling apart. A hideous disease might be eating him up from inside, or maybe he's a victim of beetles and/or natural decay if he's the result of someone's half-assed necromancy. Maybe Iteration X didn't tell him that his "perfect android body" was a prototype made by the lowest bidder and that all the warranties are expiring. Whichever version you take, your character takes one health level of damage at three months, one a month later, another a week after that , one more three days beyond that, one the next day and a final one an hour after that. In short, your character's health deteriorates at an accelerated rate, following the progression for natural healing backward until he is dead. Obviously, the character doesn't heal normally, either. With the nine-point version of this Flaw, your character falls apart at the same rate as before, but the damage is aggravated. Obviously, this Flaw is meaningless (and should not be allowed) in short -term chronicles and one-shot games.
Delusion (1pt Flaw)
You believe wholeheartedly in something that just isn't so. For example, you might believe that round rocks are extremely valuable, that you are the long-lost son of a Duke, or that your imaginary friend is actually real.
Démesuré (3pt Flaw)
Démesuré refers to sinful pride that results in extraordinary (and sometimes horrendous) costs to the possessor and those around him. The most famous example is that of Childe Roland, who refused to allow his men to retreat as the Moors slaughtered them, his pride goading him to remain so that he would not appear as a coward. A player who takes this Flaw should select one (maybe more) things that his character takes great pride in - his clothes, his horsemanship, his fighting, etc. When that pride is insulted or threatened, the player must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 9). If he fails, he pursues the salvation of his "honor" to the exclusion of all other business. This obsession can result in lost allies, plans gone completely awry, loss of loved ones or even Final Death. Each time the character achieves goals relating to his obsession, he may make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) to see if he can let the obsession rest for the remainder of the night.
Demon Hounded (1-4pt Flaw)
A demon has taken a special interest in your soul. She appears to you occasionally, using threats, bribes and honeyed words to win you to her cause. Sometimes she just asks you to perform innocuous favors for her. Sometimes she just asks you to sell your soul. Sometimes she offers you favors or information without any apparent catch. In any case, it is not your interests she serves, but those of her diabolical masters. All of her plots are ultimately designed to ensnare you and win your soul. A minor demon (1pt Flaw) may be an annoying imp, incapable of no more than distracting you, thieving small items and pleading for your soul; its plans are unimpressive, but can be frustrating. A greater creature (4pt Flaw) is your physical equal and can concoct horrible devious plans to win your soul. In either case the Storyteller creates the character for the demon, and keeps track of its plots.
Depression (4pt Flaw)
You're mired in a pit of bleak, mind-numbing sorrow. Convinced that your eternally dark mood is completely natural - or deserved - you refuse to seek professional help. You do not regain a point of Willpower per day as most characters do. Instead, you may gain Willpower only through actions, and even those must ardently reaffirm your goals.
Derangement (3pt Flaw)
Your character has a Derangement. Please choose one from the list of derangements located on the wiki.
Diminished Attribute (Variable)
Life isn't fair. When they were passing out brains, brawn or beauty, someone else got your character's portion - maybe several of them. What this means is that your character is remarkably lacking in the social, physical or mental department. He might be a victim of disease or brain damage, or he may just have been born on the shallow end of the gene pool. It happens.
However, you (the player) have points to spend on other stuff. Real life may not be fair, but at least game reality is. However, Storytellers should be careful with this Flaw, and make certain that the player roleplays the actual realities of being shortchanged. For each dot that you lose from your character's Attributes, you get three points back from this Flaw. This kickback isn't subject to the normal limits of seven points of Flaws, but you cannot take more than one additional Flaw without special Storyteller approval and a damn good story. Note that this arrangement is not fair in terms of freebie points, but it lets you make a character who's totally crippled in one area and still get some payback.
Disconcerting (2pt Flaw)
You creep people out. It's not the things you say, or your looks, it's just… you. People don't handle your presence very well, and animals are skittish around you. Your actions may put them at ease, or might make things worse, but that nagging eeriness never fades. Even your best friends admit you're weird. In game terms, your character adds +2 to all social difficulties that involve getting someone to like or trust her. This disconcerting aura has nothing to do with your looks or manners, and you may have to use those talents to balance out the effect you have on those around you. As the player, you may have to act out some sort of eerie mannerism, or struggle with the fact that people just don't care to be around your character.
Disease Carrier (4pt Flaw)
Your blood carries a lethal and highly contagious disease. The disease can be anything from rabies to HIV, and Kindred who drink your blood have a 10 percent chance of becoming a carrier as well. You must spend an extra blood point each night on awakening, or you will being manifesting symptoms of the disease (increased chance to frenzy for rabies, reduced soak rolls for HIV, etc.)
Disfigured (2pt Flaw)
A hideous disfigurement makes you ugly and easy to notice as well as remember. You therefore have a zero Appearance, much like the Nosferatu (who cannot take this Flaw)
Distinguishing Characteristic (1 or 2pt Flaw)
You have a physical feature that makes you very easy to pick out in crowds, such as elaborate tattoos, a scar or an obvious birthmark. This flaw is worth one point if the characteristic is hidden easily under clothes, two points if it is not.
Disturbing Mannerism (2pt Flaw)
Something about you makes other folks uncomfortable. Perhaps you laugh like a gored pig, stink like a tanner, whisper to yourself constantly, or blink rapidly when speaking. Odious as it may be, your habit isn't something you can simply stop; as soon as you stop concentrating on it, the habit returns full-force. In game terms, this Flaw may increase the difficulty of Social rolls at the Storyteller's discretion, depending on how well someone knows you. Strangers may find your behavior odd and distracting, whereas close acquaintances may find it difficult to deal with you at all.
Driving Goal (3pt Flaw)
You have personal goal, which sometimes compels and directs you in starting ways. The goal is always limitless in depth, and you can never truly achieve it. It could be to eradicate the Sabbt or achieve Golconda. Because you must work towards your goal throughout the chronicle (thought you can avoid it for short periods by spending Willpower), it will get you into trouble and may jeopardize other actions. Choose your driving goal carefully, as it will direct and focus everything your character does.
Elderly (4pt Flaw)
Although your mind and wits are strong, your body is frail. Still, you bring experience to any cause you join, though you lack the ability to stand side by side with your more active brethren. All difficulties on physical rolls increase by one, and if you ever botch such a roll, you must immediately roll the appropriate Attribute at difficulty 6. If that roll botches, you lose a dot from that Attribute. Dropping to zero in a Physical Attribute may cripple or kill, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Enemy (1-5pt Flaw)
You have an enemy, or perhaps a group of enemies, who seek to harm you. The value of this flaw determines how powerful these enemies are. The most powerful enemies (Methuselahs or Archmages) would be five point Flaws, while someone nearer to your own power would be worth only one point. You must decide who your enemy is and how you became enemies in the first place.
Ennui (2pt Flaw)
You are world-weary. You have seen enough to know that nothing is ever truly new; the same events and so called passions are merely replayed again and again, with only the faces and names shifting as the many, many years go by. You rarely pay attention to those around you, assuming you know all there is to know of them once you have determined what part they play on the world stage (+1 difficulty to Perception rolls involving people you know). Due to your belief in the predictability of others, you also receive +1 difficulty to the difficulty level of the first action taken following a surprise (such as an ambush).
Errant Mind (1pt Flaw)
You have a deserved reputation for being unreliable. Your mind tends to wander frequently so that you forget meetings you promised to attend, fail to keep promises (although sworn oaths tend to stay in your memory) and otherwise fall short of the expectations of others. You must spend a willpower point each time that you wish to make a determined effort to keep a promise or attend a gathering.
Eyes of the Unholy (2pt Flaw) Supernatural Only
Your eyes are inhuman, resembling FX contact lenses or reflecting light off them like an animal. Interaction with mortals carries a +2 penalty to Social rolls.
Faint of Heart (2pt Flaw)
You are easily sickened by the sight of blood. Whenever you witness a gory scene, you must roll Willpower (difficulty 6). If the roll fails, you are overcome with nausea for the next few minutes. While this doesn't mean you spend the time vomiting (unless the roll botches) it does mean that all difficulties increase by one during that time.
Fear of the Devil (1pt Flaw)
Your religious beliefs may be particularly strong or all but nonexistent, and your experience and intellect may offer all kinds of reassurances, but still you harbor a deep-rooted, irrational fear that someday, for some reason, you will be dragged down to an eternity of torment at the hands of the Devil. This panic may be triggered by anything you associate with "black magic" or by anything violating the teachings of the Church, and obviously will make your interactions with vampires considerably more complex. Although the degree to which you keep your feelings under control may vary, note that this terror is not a conscious choice on your character's part and cannot be "reasoned" away over time. Like many Flaws, Fear of the Devil is presented as more of an opportunity for roleplaying than min-maxing a particular character.
Flashbacks (6pt Flaw)
You managed to make it through the Creation Rights, but not wholly intact. The most insignificant thing can throw you into a different mood or state of mind. Your behavior is extremely unpredictable. Because of your precarious emotional state, your Willpower fluctuates. At the beginning of each story, make a Willpower roll (you may not spend Willpower for an automatic success, obviously). If you succeed, you may participate in the story as normal. If you fail, however, your Willpower is considered to be 1 for the duration of the session. You may roll again at the beginning of the next session to see if you regain your wits.
Geas (3, 5, or 7pt Flaw)
Geas is technically a phrase from the Celtic tradition, but the concept of a magical commandment is fairly universal. In short, a geas is a taboo or mandate that cannot be disobeyed without some serious consequences. Its terms — often delivered by a prophet, priest, midwife, or supernatural agent — are clear from the beginning. Disobeying a geas is a deliberate act, not an ignorant mistake, and doing so is punished accordingly. In short, you're mystically forbidden to do something, doing it anyway puts you in danger. Some geas are simply commandments that the recipient is compelled to follow whether she wants to or not. She must always accept a drink, for example, or must always give away gifts that she receives. Other geas are taboos — the recipient may not eat a certain type of meat, usually from some significant animal, or cannot go without shoes, even in bed. Violating a geas ends in catastrophe. The doom might fall on you immediately, or could occur over time. It might punish you personally, or wound a loved one. Some punishments fall in a single blow, while others become prolonged curses. If you break your geas, don't expect a lightning bolt to come from heaven that minute. However, the death of a child, a terrible car accident, or any number of things could be right around the corner.
Gender Awkwardness (2pt Flaw)
Maybe you’ve taken your role as the sensitive male too far, or you’re just too much of a tomboy for most women. Either way, other members of your gender find something about you particularly uncomfortable, or even offensive. The difficulty of all appropriate rolls involving the same gender is +1.
Graceless (2pt Flaw)
The antithesis of the Graceful Merit: you always look awkward, even when you’re totally on top of things. Everything you do looks, feels, or sounds wrong, even if you go about it the right way. People think you’re a shmuck no matter what you do, and this drives you crazy. Which, of course, makes you look even worse. In game terms, Graceless adds +2 difficulty to all social rolls which involve looking good, from seduction to etiquette, and leads other people to think less of you.
Hard of Hearing (1pt Flaw)
Your hearing is defective. The difficulties of any dice rolls involving the use of hearing are increased by two.
Hatred (3pt Flaw)
You have an unreasoning hatred of a certain thing. This hate is total and largely uncontrollable. You may hate a species of animal, a class of person, a color, a situation - anything. You must make a frenzy roll whenever faced wit the object of your hatred. You constantly pursue opportunities to harm the hated object or gain power over it.
Haunted (3pt Flaw)
You are haunted by an angry and tormented spirit, most likely one of your first victims. This spirit actively attempts to hinder you, especially when feeding, and does its utmost to vent its anguish upon you and anyone in your presence, The Storyteller determines the exact nature of the spirit, its powers, and whether or not it can eventually be laid to rest.
Hemophiliac (3pt Flaw)
If you get cut, you will not stop bleeding without medical help. Any Kindred who bites you will find that they cannot seal the wound with a lick.
Homeless (4pt Flaw)
You live on the streets. you can never have any dots in Resources, and you have no secure place to rest. You cannot heal any lethal damage naturally while living on the street, and you must carry all of your property at all times or risk hiding it and hope no one finds it.
Hunted (4pt Flaw)
You have come to the attention of a witch-hunter, or some similar individual who now seeks your destruction. This hunter is beyond reason and has some form of power, influence or authority that puts you at a disadvantage. Your friends, family and associates are likewise endangered. Sooner or later, this Flaw will result in a confrontation. The resolution should not be an easy one, and until then you are in for one hellish time.
Illiterate (1pt Flaw)
Through lack of education or as the result of a condition like dyslexia, you are unable to read or write.
Impatient (1pt Flaw)
You have no patience for standing around and waiting. You want to do everything now, and the Devil take the hindmost. Every time you are forced to wait around instead off acting, a Self-Control roll is required to see if you go haring off on your own instead.
Inbred (1-5pt Flaw)
Inbreeding can take many forms, and this Flaw is best discussed with the Storyteller before player take it for her character. The Inbred Flaw covers all manner of physical, mental, and emotional defects. A one-point Inbreeding is something simple and unobtrusive, like eyes too close together or an underbite. A three-point Inbreeding is more sever: a congenital health condition (for mortals) or a crippling physical deformity. Five-point Inbreedings are grossly disabling or emotionally crippling - everything form uselessly atrophied legs to a permanent Derangement, decided on mutually by the player ad storyteller. Inbred conditions may or may not be immediately discernible, though their point costs should be relative to their magnitude.
Inconvenient Alliance (1-3pt Flaw)
Some associate of yours is, well, difficult. Although he's a good companion (or at least a worthy ally), people just would not understand your association. Perhaps he's an Inquisitor, a heretic, a shapechanger or a thief. Depending on the circles you travel in, he might be exceedingly virtuous or totally corrupt. Nevertheless, you owe him, perhaps even like him. Out of necessity, though, you prefer to keep your friend at a discreet distance.
Ah, yes… the rub. It seems he's the demanding sort. You cannot just walk away from him. The bonus for the Flaw depends on just how demanding and inconvenient your associate is:
- He may be distasteful, but otherwise unremarkable (such as a beggar or a street orphan): one point.
- He could be a dangerous person to know (a Turk or a vampire's pawn), or a very persistent creditor (such as a moneylender or priest): two points.
- He's really dangerous to know (an Infernalist), really persistent (a greedy bastard son), really repulsive (a leper), or all three (a lecherous and perverted baron): three points.
Whatever the circumstances of your alliance, it is not a short-term asscociation. You might even enjoy this person's company. Now if only he weren't so disconcerting.
Incorrigible Flirt (2pt Flaw)
You cannot resist making playful attempts at seducing anyone who fits your criteria for the perfect sexual partner. Although you may not intend to begin a serious relationship (or any relationship) with the object of your desire, you find yourself assuming the role of coquette or seducer, whichever seems more appropriate, whenever you are in the presence of someone who you consider attractive. You may find yourself flirting with more than one person at the same time, a situation that could turn awkward in a heartbeat. You must spend a point of willpower to remain focused on the matter at hand and defer your urges until a more appropriate time. Worse, your willpower is considered to be one point lower whenever potential hook-ups try to seduce you or bend your will with supernatural powers.
Inept (5 pt Flaw)
You are not attuned to your natural aptitudes, and therefore have five fewer points to spend on your Talents (the most you could take on your Talents would be eight, and the least would be 0). Of course, you can still spend freebie points to take Talents. However, you cannot at the start of the game, have any Talents at 3 or higher.
Infamous Family (1pt Flaw)
You come from a family that is very well known, but not very well liked. You have a bad reputation, and have a particularly hard time losing it because it is seen as a family trait, not a personal one. You have trouble trusting others because others in your community have always acted against you (probably for no more reason than the blood in your veins).
Infamous Lineage (1pt Flaw)
Your family name turns heads for all the wrong reasons. Your grandfather may have been an infernalist or your great uncle a traitor and scoundrel, but a pall of ill repute hangs over you because of it. You may still have station and substantial authority, but you play at a disadvantage due to the rumors and stories. You suffer a +1 diff penalty on social rolls in such circumstances.
Infamy (2pt Flaw)
People in your community tend to recognize you for all the wrong reasons. Maybe you were involved in a local scandal involving a politician, or perhaps you were charged but not convicted in a sensational case. No matter the cause, you tend to attract a lot of attention wherever you go. People look down on you, though they don't necessarily hinder or harass you. Add two to the difficulty of any Social rolls that involve people who know about your past.
Insensitive (1pt Flaw)
You have problems understanding how to gauge other's emotional reactions. You can be rather blunt in handling delicate matters, and you often find yourself apologizing without really understanding what you're done to offend someone. Add two to the difficulty of any Empathy rolls you attempt.
Insomniac (2pt Flaw)
You toss and turn and can't sleep at night. Roll Willpower (diff 7) every night before your character goes to sleep. If the roll fails, you do not sleep and all Perception diff increase by 2.
Intolerance (1pt Flaw)
You have an unreasoning dislike of a certain thing. This may be an animal, a class of person, a color, a situation, or just about anything at all. The difficulties of all dice tolls involving the subject are increased by two. Note that some dislikes may be too trivial to be reflect here - a dislike of White Wolf Magazine or tissue paper, for instance, will have little effect on play in most chronicles. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what you can pick to dislike.
Intrigue Junkie (1pt Flaw)
You can't resist the urge to complicate matters by inserting an element of intrigue in almost everything you do. Nothing for you is ever simple or straightforward. You assume that others have ulterior motives, just as you do. You must spend a willpower point to resist your tendency to mistrust others or to avoid overcomplicating a simple situation
Known to be Dead (2pt Flaw)
The world is a small place, and deaths and disappearances are known to all. You originally lived in the area where the chronicle is set, and the locals know that you are dead. Perhaps they saw you die, or you were discovered in torpor and pronounced dead (perhaps even buried). At ht moment this causes you no problems - but if you use your real name or are spotted by people who knew you, then you can expect problems.
Lame (3pt Flaw)
Your legs are injured or otherwise prevented from working effectively. You suffer a two-dice penalty to all dice rolls related to movement. A character may not take this Flaw along with Double Jointed.
Lazy (1pt Flaw)
You are simply lazy, avoiding anything that requires effort on your part. Preferring to let others do the hard work, you lounge around. For any action that requires preparation, there’s a good chance you didn’t properly prepare. Difficulty rolls for spontaneous Physical actions (including combat, unless it’s part of a planned offensive) increase by one.
Lifesaver (3pt Flaw)
You believe that human life is a sacred gift and will not take a person's life except in the most extreme of circumstances. You may not ever willingly endanger the lives of innocents or in any way participate in a killing. You have no problems with killing animals (for the right reasons), and will kill evil and inhuman creatures to protect others if necessary. (Be very careful, however, with your definition of "evil") Senseless death in all forms repulses you, and you feel that those who perform murder should be punished and stopped.
Lord of the Flies (2pt Flaw)
Buzzing harbringers of decay swirl around you everywhere. Their constant presence makes it difficult for you to interact socially (+1 difficulty when appropriate) and nearly impossible to sneak up on someone or hide effectively. The buzzing of the files inevitably gives you away - all Stealth rolls are at +2 difficulty.
Lost Love (1pt Flaw)
You have lost your true love to death, distance, or marriage. You take little joy in life's pleasures and give up easily in the face of difficulty, since you've already lost the most important struggle. On those occasions when you forget yourself and have a good time, you inevitably feel sorrow afterwards as you think about how it could have been if your true love were with you. Still, time heals all wounds.
Low Self-Image (2pt Flaw)
You lack self-confidence and don’t believe in yourself. You have two fewer dice in situations where you don’t expect to succeed (at Storyteller’s discretion), though the penalty might be limited to one die if you help the Storyteller by pointing out times when this Flaw might affect you). At the Storyteller’s option, you may be required to make Willpower rolls to do things that require self-confidence, or even to use a Willpower point when others would not be obliged to do so.
Lunacy (2pt Flaw) No Garou.
You are affected by the phases of the moon, increasing your chances of frenzy. Under the crescent moon, difficulties to avoid frenzy increase by one. Under the half or gibbous moon, difficulties rise by two. When the moon is full, difficulties increase by three.
Lustful (2pt Flaw)
You can't resist the erotic advances of the appropriate gender(s). You are easily seduced and often exhibit very poor judgment when dealing with sexually attractive people. The difficulty of any attempts to seduce you is reduced by two.
Mage - Arcane Heritage (1pt Merit or Flaw)
Your family has a history of magic, and that reputation colors you as well. If taken as a Merit, Arcane Heritage reflects that your family has traditionally been adept at their craft - perhaps you come from a long line of healers or shamans. If taken as a Flaw, however, your family might have a habit of selling their souls in order to gain power. In any case, you receive a -2 to Social difficulties when interacting with other members of your Tradition or anyone else who would be impressed by your lineage (if Arcane Heritage is taken as a Merit) or a +2 difficulty on such rolls (if a Flaw).
Mage - Arcane Madness (3pt Flaw)
You have great power at your fingertips, but at what cost? Your mind, for whatever reason, is ill-equipped to handle the rigors of magic and you are going steadily mad. You may only cast a number of spells per story equal to your permanent Willpower rating. Thereafter, each spell or magical effect requires a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). Success on this roll indicates that nothing special occurs, but failure indicates that madness takes you. Typically, this takes the form of visions and maniacal voices screaming in your head. These torments last for one hour, though you may end them sooner by spending a point of temporary Willpower. While the madness grips you, however, you suffer a +1 difficulty on all rolls. If the Willpower roll botches, this penalty is increased to +2 and you can only drive the torments off for a single turn by spending Willpower.
Mage - Blood-Hungry Soul (2-5pt Flaw)
One of your prior incarnations (likely one alive during the original Massasa War) fell under the seductive spell of vampiric vitae. Your mage was "born" into his Awakened life an addict (as were all of his incarnations after the unfortunate imbibing of the accursed nectar). It is only now, however, with the rekindling of the war, that his Avatar remembers the desire for the blood that so fulfilled it. For two points, your mage's Avatar remembers its addiction as a long-recovered addict might; it was a bad choice, made long ago and foolishly. Nevertheless, the hunger whispers to his soul every so often, prompting a Willpower roll (difficulty 5) to resist temptation whenever an opportunity to potentially get vampire blood presents itself. Failing that, you must make another roll (difficulty 6) to turn down the stuff if the initial opportunity proves fruitful. The three-point version of this Flaw is identical to the weaker version, save that the first roll's difficulty is 6 and the second increases to 8. The five-point variant awakens within the character all the wracking agonies of a ghoul's lust for his unclean sacrament. Players of these unfortunates must roll Willpower (difficulty 8) to stay the hell away from a chance to lay hands on the sweet venom of Caine's Curse. Should that roll not prove sufficient, make a second roll (difficulty 10) to thrust it away and flee from this self-annihilating lust. (A few Thig have taken to referring to this Flaw as having a "crack-baby Avatar.")
Mage - Conditional Magic (1 to 6pt Merit or Flaw)
There is one thing in the world that is a great boon, or bane, to your character's magic. Perhaps her spells work particularly well against men, or on Tuesdays, or just after a storm, or on people dressed all in black. Maybe she's powerless to affect those who are or who bear that certain thing, such as her magic being unable to affect Christians or those who carry a piece of rowan and red thread. It may be that a certain individual gave her power over them, or perhaps it is utterly proof against her magic due to an oath she swore or spells that were placed on her. The conditions that affect your magic may be common, uncommon or rare, and the value of this Merit or Flaw depends on the rarity of the condition. The base costs listed here assume that you have a difficulty modifier of three on all Arete rolls under the given conditions. You may adjust the difficulty by one for every point more or less you devote to the Trait.
Points - Condition
1 point - Unique: The Sword of Roland, the Matriarch of the MECHA construct, Leap Year
2 points - Scarce as hen's teeth: Current or former members of the Council of Nine, your former Mentors, once in a blue moon
3 points - Rare, but not unheard of: loadstones, Swedish royalty, werewolves, rowan and red thread, the holy days of the archangels
4 points - Special order: virgins, middle eastern eye-bead charms, any member of Iteration X, during a thunderstorm
5 points - Available without much trouble: cold iron, silver, Christians, any member of the Traditions, a windy day, holy ground
6 points - Common as dirt: men, anyone who's ever been baptized, the color purple, under cloud cover, Tuesdays
Mage - Crucial Component (2 to 5pt Flaw)
There is some raw ingredient your mage needs to work his magic, besides magic itself. This component may be something rare or esoteric, like diamonds or ghostly ectoplasm, or perhaps something common or easily obtainable, like anger, alcohol or electricity. Without this crucial component, he cannot work his magic, and if this crucial component cannot be worked into a casting, oh well - you need to find a different Effect. This Flaw does not merely represent a Technocrat's reliance on scientific devices and scientific principles. A Virtual Adept does not need a computer to work his computations; if he had to, he could use a slide-rule or a pencil and paper, or even do them in his head - it just takes longer. But Dr. Va-Voom requires diesel fuel to power all his Devices, and they won't work if he tries to attach solar cells or an etheric proton pack - or at least they won't work for him. This substance does not have to be direct from the source - moonlight can be charged into moonstones and holy water can be bottled - but it does have to be properly stored, with whatever methods or rituals are appropriate. (Charged moonstones must be kept in a black velvet pouch, away from the light of the sun, while holy water must be kept in a specially blessed flask.)
| Flaw | Crucial Component |
| 2 points | sunlight, eggs, motor oil, tea, aspirin, electricity, emotion, ectoplasm |
| 3 points | beeswax candles, blood, fresh lavender, grave dirt, holy water, rage, spectral residue |
| 4 points | virgin's blood, hashish, dead humans, gold, platonic love, the fires of Hell |
| 5 points | diamonds, live humans, rare orchids, lightning strikes, transcendent joy, the tears of angels, any variety of Tass regardless of Resonance. |
Mage - Devil's Mark (1pt Flaw)
Somewhere along the line, your mage made a pact with a demon or devil and it tunneled its foul power into him, leaving a mark in the process. This blemish (known as a witch's nipple) is dark and unwholesome looking, but it is insensitive to pain. In ages past, the "witch prickers" of the Inquisition would test these marks with special pins before they burned infernalists at the stake. In the modern day, the puritanical pricks are few and far between, and most people who see this mark will just think it's a birthmark. Despite the name "nipple," it can grow anywhere on your mage's body. On the plus side, if you have some demonic familiar, your imp can suck Quintessence directly from your character's third nipple, with the added bonus of it being insensible to pain - a real perk when you have a cat chewing on your tit.
Mage - Echoes (1 to 5pt Flaw)
Your mage manifests the traditional marks associated with the supernatural. Maybe it's a little quirk like not having a shadow, or something as severe as a baleful aura. Perhaps milk curdles around your mage and mirrors break. Look up some superstitions associated with the heritage of your mage's Tradition, and pick a few! The Storyteller determines the value of this Flaw, based on the severity of these supernatural problems.
Mage - Faust's Burden (3-6pt Flaw)
Either your mage or one of her prior incarnations cut a deal with a potent Umbrood, and now she must uphold her end of the bargain. This creature need not be a demon. Mammon, after all, is likely to be much friendlier (in the short term, at least) about the matter of a debt owed than, say, Uriel. If it was a previous incarnation that forged this ill-advised pact, the entity remembers your mage's soul (read: Avatar), and it will begin hounding her soon after the Awakening for its due. For three points, your mage owes a significant service to this creature. This service might include a dangerous quest in its name, the freedom to possess you at any time of its choosing thrice in your life, or frequent sacrifices of property or Tass. For four points, this Umbrood may demand more significant sacrifices. For example, it might compel your mage to undertake a potentially life-threatening quest, demand that her magic always be worked in ways that create a Resonance pleasing to it, or impose significant strictures on her life. The five-point version of this Flaw grants the spirit leave to send the mage into a virtually certain-death scenario, to claim her first-born, or to force her to use her magic at any time in any way it sees fit. In the case of these first three variants of this Flaw, failure to comply will be punished accordingly (the Storyteller is encouraged to be a genuine bastard). For the full six points, your mage owes the being in question her immortal soul. It may command her, possess her, use her powers, senses, knowledge (et cetera) at will, and it is perfectly within its rights to do its damnedest to collect as quickly as possible, short of killer her itself. In theory, an awe-inspiring number of successes on a Prime 2, Entropy 5, Spirit 5 Effect might break this obligation. It is much more likely, however, that a combination of cunning, bravery, sheer willpower and luck will overcome the bargain.
Mage - Ineptitude (1pt Flaw)
Your mage just sucks at one particular Ability. Maybe he can't handle driving worth a damn, or he makes computers burst into flames and emit pink smoke. Pick one Ability in which your character has at least one dot - preferably one that will be important to your character in some fashion. (Your Storyteller will know if you do otherwise, and he has nasty ways to make you pay.) You suffer a difficulty penalty of two on all rolls with that Ability.
Mage - Inglorious Pedigree (1pt Flaw)
The Order of Hermes has traditionally stood on the might of its great houses. Even Ex Miscellanea has always had, at any given time, what might be considered its more significant houses. Although your mage hails from the Hodge-Podge, hers is a minor sub-house of little regard with only a handful of members. In fact, she (and quite possibly her mentor) might currently be the only living Awakened members of her praxis within the house. She could be one of the four or so mages of fallen Criamon currently conscious, sane or coherent. Or, she could belong to a sub-house that has never been of any great prominence, always getting by with the barest trickle of Apprentices. In the latter case, you should delineate a very specific set of duties or line of research important to the foundation of your sub-house and choose an appropriate name for it. You suffer a difficulty penalty of two to all Social rolls among mages of the larger houses of the Order when your mages tries to impress them or just get them to take her seriously. In addition, she may sometimes find herself cut off from some of the perks that other mages of the Order take for granted (such as access to surplus Tass or audiences with Masters), simply because she has no powerful fellowship to back her up.
Mage - Magical Rival (2pt Flaw)
Another magus seeks to outdo you in reputation, talent or some other aspect of your magick. This person is not necessarily an enemy - she may even be a close friend. However, she attempts to discredit your work, exceed your standards or steal your glory, no matter what you do. Although your rival may mean you no physical harm or even realize what she is doing, she remains a constant irritation and is a serious threat to your reputation at times. Even if you confront your rival and succeed in convincing her to foreswear her need to outdo you, she eventually reverts to her previous behavior.
Mage - Phylactery (7pt Mage Flaw)
Historically, a phylactery referred to a special arm wrapping with a prayer box that contained sutras, divine power and a portion of the wearer's soul. Mages refer to a phylactery as a container for the power to perform magic. Your mage's Avatar exists in the physical plane, invested into an object or place, or possibly imbued into some creature or person (such as his familiar or ally) or even a part of his body. On rare occasions, it may be invested into some nebulous concept, like a bloodline, secret society or a religion. The good news is that this object or creature is now Correspondence Range 0 in regards to yourself, which means you can sense it wherever it is, unless it's shrouded by warding. Teleporting your phylactery ring off your finger or making you drop your phylactery sword is as difficult a feat as teleporting your finger off your hand or forcing you to chop off your own arm. The bad news is that you must be in actual physical contact with your phylactery in order to work magic — even if that physical contact is long distance, like a Virtual Adept linked via modem to the mainframe in his bedroom. Moreover, you need to be very obvious about what it is you're using to perform your arts. If your mage's phylactery is his staff, your mage must wave it grandly during all invocations; if his phylactery is a crown, he must hold his head high and wear the crown everywhere he intends to do magic. If your mage's phylactery speaks to him as his Avatar, you should also take the Manifest Avatar Merit. If the phylactery is an object, you should probably take the item as a unique focus. As with any unique focus, a phylactery can be repaired or retrieved if it is damaged, destroyed or stolen. If your mage is separated from his phylactery, you may roll Perception + Awareness to sense the surroundings of where it is, depending on how the phylactery might perceive such things. If your mage's phylactery is animate (as with a cat or horse or severed-but-still-living hand) it will also do its best to find its way back to you, having the same homing sense. Similarly, if your mage's Avatar is invested into a place, such as the Royal Forest of Dean or San Francisco, transporting him away from it, at least by magical means, is about as difficult as teleporting a city block to Istanbul. If he is removed from his phylactery by mundane means, his homing sense will lead him back. In cases where a phylactery is a place, the Avatar fuses with the City Father of that area. That is to say, your Avatar becomes one with the totem spirit of that particular region — Emperor Norton in San Francisco, Belle in Atlanta, a cert ain highly trademarked mouse in Disneyland. You should take an Avatar rating on par with the importance of your character's bailiwick. Wild places such as forests, deserts, rivers and even oceans can be linked with the same way, although your character must be in them or on them to work his magic. The Pacific Ocean is huge, but if that's your mage's phylactery, his connection to it ends once he sets foot on dry land. Generally speaking, it's not the size of an area that's important so much as the identity. The Queen of Angels may control most of Los Angeles, but there's a different identity to Hollywood and Malibu. If your character's phylactery is a place, your Storyteller may also allow your character's magic to work in other places somehow linked to it. A mage with Hashberry for her Avatar could probably work her magic in other parts of San Francisco with raised difficulties the further she got from the Haight, and more powerful Avatars could probably work their magic in foreign lands tied to their spirit. Finally, if your mage's phylactery is a concept with a physical or temporal manifestation, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Iteration X, the witch's Sabbath or the season of Christmas, you may work magic as long as your character is an accepted part of that institution. The symbols and tools representing it can be destroyed, of course, stripping your mage of his magic temporarily, but they can be replaced. In cases of identity phylacteries, your mage loses his connection to his Avatar if he is disowned, banished, defrocked, excommunicated or otherwise kicked out. As such, members with this Flaw are intensely loyal. If the organization or other concept is destroyed, the Avatar is destroyed, but an organization cannot be destroyed until all members either die or truly renounce their loyalties. When a concept is your mage's phylactery, his Avatar is the protector or mascot of that concept. If a mage with a phylactery ever dies, the Avatar may or may not go free, at the Storyteller's option. If it does not go free, the phylactery remains as it is, awaiting the mage to reclaim it in his next incarnation.
Mage - Primal Marks (2pt Flaw)
Your mage may have an Avatar of the Primordial Essence, some totem or god of legend, or perhaps she's just gained some powerful spirit's patronage and it's set its mark on her. If the totem is an animal, she resembles what such an animal would look like in human form so strongly that people who don't even know her call her "Bear" or "Moose" or "Raven." If the Avatar is some well known god or hero, your character looks just like people would expect her to, including any particular deformities (although you do get extra points for such handicaps). Your mage looks the part so much that anyone can guess her nature at a glance, and there is some danger in that, especially if your Avatar has a legendary enemy (as most do). Your character's totem or Avatar will also require her to protect its species or finish up its unfinished agenda. Your mage might alternately be the descendant of some famous or infamous house: Pendragon, Murasaki, Bacon, Bathory, Borgia or Le Vey. Besides the family name, you've also inherited the family "look." Students of history can easily picture you banishing the Devil and slaying dragons, or poisoning entire families and bathing in the blood of virgins - especially since they have the illustrations that might give them this idea. Alternately, your mage may just look the part other profession too well. Perhaps she has the red hair and green eyes of an Irish witch, the pale eyes and dark skin of an Arabic sorcerer, the grown-together brows and elongated ring-fingers of a born shapeshifter or the intense yellow, violet or emerald green eyes of one the fae. Students of ancient lore recognize these signs, and your mage may easily become the victim of witch-hunters. However, some witches, changelings, shapeshifters and others may accord you more status in their societies if you "look the part."
Mage - Renunciate (1pt Flaw)
Your mage was indoctrinated into the Order from without. Unlike most, he did not have to endure the grueling three-to-five year period of tutelage (at least, not from a mentor approved by the Order of Hermes). He was instead wooed over to the cause by House Fortunae's frantic recruitment drive. He may have been an Orphan practicing his own brand of Hermeticism, or perhaps he was a convert from another Tradition. Regardless, he is looked down upon by many within the Order for his lack of "appropriate instruction." Your character suffers a difficulty penalty of two n all Social rolls dealing with traditionalists within the Order (i.e., the better part of the Order of Hermes). Most Fortunae, Solificati, and Thig (as well as certain mavericks within the other Houses) cut your character slack, but he is never allowed to forget his "inferior heritage." This Flaw differs from the previous one in that a mage with an inglorious pedigree finds it difficult to be taken seriously, while one with this Flaw finds it hard simply to be accepted.
Mage - Sleepwalker (1 to 4pt Flaw)
Magic? What a load of bullshit. No one in his right mind believes in magic. This is the 21st Century. You'd have to be nuts to believe in that stuff. Unfortunately, your character is nuts. However, his madness is that he doesn't believe in magic no matter how much evidence he sees to the contrary. He rationalizes everything, and even if he can be awakened for a short time by incredibly vulgar magic, the next day he'll remember everything as a weird dream or too much acid, not an earth-shattering revelation of the true nature of reality. He may believe in laser guns and personal jet-packs - after all, that's science - but he refuses to believe in all the nonscientific bell, book and candle stuff. Anything outside the Consensus of modern technological society is just bunk as far as your character's concerned. Or, alternately, your mage believes in magic, faeries, ghosts and werewolves just fine, but he refuses to believe in this strange thing called science. This worldview doesn't make much sense for a resident of the 21st Century, but it's a perfectly reasonable perspective for a visitor from the 16th. Of course, even if your mage's conscious mind is in denial, his Avatar is quite Awake and willing to help with magic and/ or technology. After all, just because you don't actually believe that God is going to send angels and flaming chariots to your rescue doesn't mean you shouldn't pray for Him to send them. As a one-point Flaw, you may only engage in coincidental magic or super-science. Your mage doesn't believe in the vulgar stuff, and he disbelieves it when he sees it. (That is, your character counts as a Sleeper with regards to vulgar magic or super-science.) For a two-point Flaw, your mage doesn't believe in either magic or super-science, and he counts as a Sleeper against both kinds of vulgar Effects. At double the appropriate value, your mage is able to perform vulgar magic and/ or super-science, but he counts as a Sleeper with regard to his own Effects. Moreover, he hallucinates a more rational turn of events. ("What do you mean demons dragged him down to Hell? I just said 'Damn you!' and then he dropped one of his ninja smoke grenades and ran off!") Therefore, the mage gets Paradox from his own vulgar Effects even in a sanctum! Storytellers should be cautious with this Flaw, not allowing players to create min-maxing Technocrats who bring extra Paradox down on their enemies and none on themselves without allowing it to cause them significant problems.
Mage - Sphere Inept (5pt Flaw)
For some reason, your mage sucks at a certain kind of magic. She could be paying off some karmic debt or struggling with some metaphysical concept. Maybe she invested her knowledge in some item in a past life and she hasn't run across it yet in this incarnation. This Flaw acts like Sphere Natural in reverse. Advancement in one particular Sphere (chosen at character creation) costs 1/4 more experience points than normal, rounded up. To take this Flaw, choose one Sphere that your character plans to study. This Flaw can be selected only once, and it must be chosen at character creation.
Mage - Witch-Hunted (4pt Flaw)
A dangerous and skilled mortal hunter stalks your character, fully aware of what your mage is and what he can do. Worse still, the subject is intelligent and crafty, he works to negate the advantages of your character's magic, and he may extend his hunt to your companions and associates. While just about every mage can claim some enemy, this Flaw makes your mage a pariah. (Nobody wants to hang out with someone who's going to bring a psycho-killer along!) The hunter may even have friends or allies who continue to trouble your mage if your mage eludes, dissuades or kills the individual. Whatever the case, this guy wants your mage dead, he's not going to stop, and he has access to special resources (or, at the very least, specialized knowledge) in his quest.
Magic Susceptibility (5pt Flaw)
You are susceptible to the spells of mages. The difficulty to cast a spell upon you is two less, and all spells cast have twice normal effect on you.
Manchurian Candidate (5pt Flaw)
Your working for some secret person or organization and you don’t even know about it. You don’t even know about it. You have been completely brainwashed by this mysterious master. Your ‘owner’ might be a vampire, a mage or even another Para intelligence organization. This manipulator has implanted a certain word or visual signal in your unconscious whenever you hear this word (it might be given to you over the phone) or see the signal (perhaps on the television), you will perform whatever duty this master has asked of you. Afterwards, you will not remember anything from the moment you got your cue until after your duty has been accomplished.
Some common duties might be simply to spy on your employers and report back (by secret mail drop or phone number), to kill a certain person ‘who knows too much’, or to steal valuable equipment. The task was implanted in the original brainwashing session, but your master may force new duties on you at any time, although this usually requires a personal one on one session with the master.
Strange things may go on in your agency, and you might doggedly track down the perpetrator only to discover it is you.
Medicated (1 or 5pt Flaw)
You require a daily medication to stay in good health. As a one-point flaw, your medication is important to your long-term health but has little effect on your day-to-day well-being, as with prescription drugs that keep your cholesterol down. The five point version represents insulin shots or something else that is necessary to keep you alive. If you should miss a day's worth of medicine, you automatically suffer a bashing or lethal level of damage for every 12 hours that pass without your medicine, as determined by the Storyteller. The damage is healed at a rate of one level per 12 hours that pass once you resume your regular medication schedule.
Mental Patient (2 or 5pt Flaw)
Sometime in your life you have run afoul of the mental health authorities. Seeing and talking to beings that no one else can perceive, and hearing voices that may tell you frightening and disturbing things, is far outside the realm of the normal. Anyone who does such things must be crazy! Because you seemed delusional and incoherent you were locked up as a possible danger to yourself and others. Since schizophrenia is the most common diagnosis for such problems you may even have been on powerful antipsychotic drugs for a time. If you managed to convince the officials that you are no longer a danger to yourself or others and you were released this flaw is worth only two points. However if you actually escaped from a mental institution and are on the run from the authorities, then the flaw is worth five points. Even if you were legally released from care the modern mental health system does not consider an illness like schizophrenia curable. Anyone who has ever been institutionalized against his will has this fact noted in his records. Prospective employers, landlords and similar personnel usually look askance at anyone who was crazy. The discrimination and problems for mental cases are much worse if you were not released. Escaped mental patients are regarded in much the same light a escaped convicts. Most people see them as little better than dangerous animals. Everyone, from the police to the general public, will consider you to be a potential killer, even if you have no history of violence. In this age of nation wide databases, and background check using your name social security number or finger prints will reveal your status.
Mistaken Identity (1pt Flaw)
You look similar to another Kindred, and are mistaken for her, much to your chagrin. This individual’s allies will approach you and tell you things you do not want to hear, her enemies will attempt to do away with you, and other will treat you in odd ways. Ultimately you might be able to sort out things, but it will take tremendous effort.
Monstrous (3pt Flaw)
There is something wholly monstrous about you, something that makes you even more hideous than a Nosferatu. You scarcely look human, but the manner in which you differ is up to you. Perhaps you have grown scales or warts all over your body, or perhaps the scream you issued when you died has been permanently frozen on your face. Not only is your Appearance a zero, but you make even the Nosferatu uneasy. Nosferatu may take this Flaw, but only gain one point for it.
Mute (4pt Flaw)
You cannot speak. You communicate with the Storyteller and describe your actions, but cannot talk to player or Storyteller characters unless everyone concerned uses Linguistics dots to purchase a commonly understood sign language or you write down what you wish to say.
Naive (1pt Flaw)
You see world in rose-colored hues. Your privileged upbringing (or massive psychological repression of abuse) makes you all too ready to accept others as kind and caring. You are always the last to suspect foul play or bad intent on the part of another, and this can get you in real trouble. On the other hand, the Flaw often leads people of the Caregiver nature to take you under their wings with more fervor than usual.
Necrophile (3pt Flaw)
No, you don’t have sex with the dead, but you certainly enjoy their company. You are obsessed with dead bodies and “invite” them over to your home. Your apartment is distastefully decorated with severed and mutilated body parts of all kinds. You talk to your dead friends, dance with them, make art out of them and entertain frequently. Some people of particularly refined temperament may need to overcome a Courage roll (difficulty 4) to enter a room where you’ve left your guests and their accouterments.
Nightmares (1pt Flaw)
You experience horrendous nightmare (daymares?) every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours. Sometimes the nightmares are so bad they cause you to lose one die on all your actions for the next night. (Storyteller’s discretion). Some of the nightmare may be so intense that you mistake them for reality. A crafty Storyteller will be quick to take advantage of this.
Notoriety (3pt Flaw)
You have a bad reputation among your packmates, the members of your sept, the other mages of your tradition, or among any other group. This may be your own reputation, or it may be derived from who you associate with. There is a two-dice penalty to all dice rolls for social dealings with the group where your bad reputation circles. A character with this Flaw may not take the Merit of Reputation.
Numinist - Psychic Feedback (1pt, 2pt, or 6pt Flaw)
While the psychic is gifted with potent powers, the use of the talent tires him. Some psychics even experience minor cerebral hemorrhages from the strain of using the power. As a 1pt Flaw, the character experiences headaches or dizziness from each use of the power. Roll Stamina+Meditation (diff 7) or experience a round of disorientation. All actions in this state are at +2 to the difficulty number. As a 2pt Flaw, the psychic experiences minor long-term pain from use of the power. You should roll Intelligence (diff 6) to 'soak' the power's activation successes, which are scored as bashing damage. As a 6pt Flaw, the psychic takes this as lethal damage, though a 'mental soak' is still allowed.
Numinist - Psi Focus (3pt or 5pt Flaw)
Perhaps your psychic needs his lucky crystals to properly heal the sick. Possibly, his cyberkinetic powers require him to mime the action he wishes the machine to perform. Maybe his telekinesis only works on a hubcap he found one afternoon. Either way, he requires some form of crutch for his psychic powers to work. For 3pt, the character must gesture or speak some catch phrase or incantation for the power to work. For 4 points, the power requires a physical focus to work (crystals, a hypnotist's pocket watch, a harmonica). For 5pt, the power only works with a specific focus.
Numinist - Psychic Vampire (5pt Flaw)
The spark of life is dying within you and must be continually fed from outside forces. You are a psychic vampire. Plants and insect life wither or die in your presence as you feed on their energies, and any person you touch for more than an hour will suffer one non-aggravated Health Level as you siphon away his life. Those already injured (including those whose life you have sucked away) will not heal while in your presence. You can still be in the same building without harming someone, but sharing a bed is not possible unless you want the other person to slowly die. If you do not feed the emptiness within yourself at least once a day, you will begin to die. The rate at which you take wounds follows the progression for natural healing in reverse: you take a Health Level after one day, a second in three days, a third in a week, and so on. On the plus side, vampires find your blood completely lacking in sustenance. Sorcerers with this Flaw cannot ever learn the Healing Path.
Numinist - Unsettling Effect (1pt or 3pt Flaw)
Though many psychic powers are completely intangible and unnoticeable, something about your character’s psychic phenomena causes others to recognize that there’s something weird going on. For 1pt, you have a single intangible power (like Telepathy or Psychometry) that generates an unsettling effect - perhaps your subjects can feel your character paging through their minds or everyone around the psychic feels a welter of harmless but eerie emotions when she touches a psychically-charged object. For 3pt, all of your intangible powers (including ones you learn later) have some sort of unsettling effect like this.
Old Flame (2pt Flaw)
Someone you once cared for deeply is now with the enemy. He still attempts to play on your sympathies "for old times’ sake" while working against you. Unless you succeed on a contested Manipulation + Expression roll against your former friend, you do not act against him unless the situation becomes life-threatening.
Obsession (2pt Flaw)
There is something you like, love, or are fascinated by to the point where you often disregard common sense to cater to this drive. You react positively to anything related to your obsession, even if it's not in your best interests. For example, if you are obsessed with supernatural creatures, you will go out of your way to talk to and befriend vampires, werewolves and stranger things, and find out as much as you can about them, disregarding all warnings. There are many other obsessions, including women, men, guns, knives, sports, roleplaying games, you know the type.
Offensive to Animals (1pt Flaw)
For some reason, animals cringe from your touch and are uneasy in your presence. Perhaps it is because you have been tainted by your dealings with the Infernal, or perhaps they just dislike your smell. For whatever reason, animals are jittery around you, including any hounds used to guard your haven or home. You have a two dice penalty in any actions involving animals. All vampires have this flaw.
**Old Injury (2pt Mortal flaw)
At some point in the past, you were badly injured. Whether the injury was through a mundane event or a more supernatural occurrence, the injury has healed… mostly. Extreme weather conditions like bad storms or bitter cold can aggravate the spot, as can physical exertion. During scenes with extreme weather conditions, or during feats of physical exertion (running, jumping, physical combat), roll stamina (difficulty 7). Failure indicates that you automatically suffer the dice and movement penalties of the Injured health level (though without the damage.) A botch gives you the penalties of the Wounded health level.
One Arm (3pt Flaw)
You have only one arm - choose which, or determine randomly at character creation. This happened before the Embrace. It is assumed that you are accustomed to using your remaining hand, so you suffer no off-hand penalty. However, you do suffer a two-dice penalty to any Dice Pool where two hands would normally be needed to perform a task. A character may not take this Flaw with the Merit Ambidextrous.
One Eye (2 pt Flaw)
You have lost an eye, and cannot regenerate it. You have no peripheral vision on your blind side, and must roll two fewer dice for any feat requiring depth perception (including missile combat).
Open Wound (2-4pt Flaw)
You have one or more wounds that refuse to heal, and which constantly drip blood. This slow leakage costs you an extra blood point per evening (marked off just before dawn), in addition to drawing attention to you. If the wound is visible, you are +1 difficulty for all Social-based rolls. For two points, the Flaw is simply unsightly and has the basic effect mentioned above; for four points the seeping wound is serious or disfiguring and includes the effects of the Flaw Permanent Wound.
Otherworldly Taint (2pt Flaw)
Something about you just isn't right. Perhaps you have white hair at a young age, or you’re unusually tall, or you've got eyes that shine slightly silver in the moonlight. Regardless, you've got some feature or mystique you just can't cover up and that other people consider disturbing, even if they don't know why. To most observers, you're simply uncanny; a person skilled in occult or mystical matters can recognize you for what you are with a successful Per + Occult (diff 7). Some people might find your disquieting presence compelling. Most, however, will give you a lot of breathing room - or a lot of trouble.
Outlaw (4pt Flaw)
You are an infamous criminal with a price on your head. Although no one might be devoted full-time to your capture, you can be sure that someone is sent after you whenever you come to the attention of the authorities. If you are caught, there may be a debate about whether to kill you outright or save you for public execution, but your death is assured.
Overconfident (1pt Flaw)
You are an exaggerated and unshakable opinion of your own worth and capabilities - you never hesitate to trust your abilities, even in situations where you risk defeat. Because your abilities may not be enough, such overconfidence can be very dangerous. When you do fail, you quickly find someone or something else to blame. If you are convincing enough, you can infect others with you overconfidence.
Pacifist (5pt Flaw)
You utterly refuse to use violence against anything, even if your life or the lives of others are in immediate danger. Furthermore, you work hard to prevent others from using violence, though you do not recklessly endanger yourself or others to do so. You never carry weapons and refuse to procure them. A Willpower roll, difficulty 6, may be required to resist the temptation to engage in violence when a gross offense has been committed before or against you, such as a loved one being harmed. If you defy your nature and succumb to violence at some point, you cannot regain Willpower each morning until you come to terms with your lapse or you change your life philosophies altogether.
Paraplegic (6pt Flaw)
You can hardly move without the assistance, such as a pair of crutches or a wheelchair. Even then it can be painful and cumbersome to do so. The Storyteller and you should take care to roleplay this Flaw correctly, not matter how difficult it makes things. A character may not take this Flaw along with the Merit Double-Jointed.
Path Inept (5pt Flaw) Hedge-Wizard Only
For some reason, your sorcerer is considerably limited in his ability to advance in the study of a certain branch of your chose magic. This may be the result of a curse, poor training, or even emotional scars from childhood. Whatever the reason, you must choose a single Path that you must spend one quarter more experience points for any gain of Path level or rituals. Raising this Path from two to three costs 18 instead of 14, for example. Be sure to choose a Path that your character plans to study - your Storyteller has ways to get back at you if you try to avoid your Flaw.
Permanent Distraction (3pt Flaw)
The negative counterpart to Selective Distraction, the character has become unable to concentrate on things happening in the here and now. Rather than remaining focused on one thing at a time, he focuses on many, preventing those that would seek to read his thoughts from discerning their true nature, layering his own thoughts with surface ones relating to something completely different. The character appears erratic, distracted and sometimes confused and in reality he is, unable to focus on any one thing at a time as his mind constantly wanders.
System: The first two layers of thoughts linger on something completely irrelevant to the situation at hand, perhaps focusing on what the character had for lunch or what the intend to do that night. Any attempt to read a characters thoughts (for example, through Auspex) will pick up these two surface layers before anything else. This benifit comes with a considerable penalty, however, the character is unable to concentrate or focus on the here and now. The character suffers a +1 difficulty penalty for perception based rolls when his mind wanders and a +1 difficulty penalty to extended actions. Unlike Selective Distraction, this is always active and cannot be turned off.
Phobia, Mild (1pt Flaw)
You have an overpowering fear of something. You instinctively and illogically retreat from and avoid the object of your fear. Common objects of phobias include certain animals, insects, crowds, open spaces, confined spaces and heights. You must make a Courage roll whenever you encounter the object you fear. The difficulty of this roll is determined by the Storyteller. IF you fail the roll, you must retreat from the object.
Phobia, Severe (3pt Flaw)
You have an overpowering fear of something. Common objects of fear include certain animals, insects, crows, open spaces, confined spaces, heights, and so on. You must make a Courage roll not to enter Rotschreck when faced with the object of your fear. The difficulty depends on the circumstances. If you fail the roll, you must retreat in terror from the object of fear. IF you score fewer than three successes, you will not approach it. The Storyteller has final say over which phobias are allowed in a chronicle.
Poor Circulation (1 or 3pt Flaw)
Due to a health condition like heart disease or an artery disorder, your circulation is not up to par. While this condition has little impact on your daily life, it does mean that you’re always cold. It can also impact your healing rate. For 1 pt, you suffer a +1 diff penalty to soak all rolls related to cold. For 3 pt, you also heal all wounds as though they were one health level higher. Additionally, your cold skin may give others the wrong impression about your true nature.
Poor Night Vision (2pt Flaw)
Your eyesight is poor in low-light conditions. Increase the difficulty of any action attempted in dim light, such as what a flashlight might provide or under starlight alone, by two.
Poseidon's Call (1pt Flaw)
An individual with this condition, finds her stability directly tied to that of the weather, calming as skies clear and growing progressively more bloodthirsty as a storm mounts (rolls to resist frenzy are at -1 difficulty in completely calm weather, but +1 on rough seas, +2 in the middle of a thunderstorm, and +3 during a hurricane).
Repulsive Practice (3pt Flaw) Magic-Users Only
Your magic is not clean, nor is it harmless. Your spells require bloodletting, pain, odd or unsettling components (such as rotting flesh) or other unpleasant conditions. Although you aren't required to hurt others to cast magic, you should work to figure out what exactly your spells do entail and let the Storyteller judge whether they are nasty enough to justify this Flaw. If your methods are ever discovered, you can expect the Church to take a very dim view.
Rivalry (1-3pt Flaw)
You have an ongoing rivalry with someone (perhaps a fellow Garou, a fellow Mage, or even a mortal). You may or may not remember how the competition started, but now you and your rival are inseparable. This rival takes advantage of every opportunity to slander you and advance himself at your expense. There may be ways to cool or end this quarrel, but doing so will take a long time. A 1-point rival is at your own power level, and is often annoying but not too dangerous. A 2-point rival occasionally takes harmful action against you, or his words have some measure of influence. A 3-point rival has no qualms about occasionally attempting to have you killed or has some serious clout with someone of higher standing than you (a mortal authority or clan elder). For him, your rivalry has become a matter of death or dishonor.
Sadism (2pt Flaw)
The character must make a self-control roll, at a difficulty that varies with the situation, whenever the option to inflict pain becomes available. Seeing someone whom you don't know with their back turned in the middle of a busy street is not likely to be considered available, but a hated enemy strapped to a table and at your mercy most definitely is.
Sensation Junkie (2pt Flaw)
To you, everything is an endless source of stimulation, and you crave all the stimulation you can get. When an opportunity to try some new kick offers itself, you have to make a willpower roll to resist. The more dangerous the sensation appears, the lower the difficulty of the roll - you might crave forbidden sensations, but you’re not utterly suicidal. Naturally, you can always choose to have your character take life up on its offer even if she makes the roll, but that’s her choice, not a compulsion.
Short (1pt Flaw)
You are below average height, and have trouble seeing over high objects and moving quickly. You suffer a two-dice penalty to all pursuit rolls and you and the Storyteller should make sure your height is taken into account in all situations. In some circumstances, this will give you a concealment bonus.
Shy (1pt Flaw)
You are distinctly ill at ease when dealing with people, and try to avoid social situations whenever possible. The difficulties of all rolls concerned with social dealings are increased by one; the difficulties of any rolls made while you are the center of attention are increased by two. Don’t expect such a character to make a public speech.
Sickened by the Flesh (2pt Flaw)
You are easily sickened by the sight of base flesh and all things to do with it. Whenever you witness a gory scene of battle, obvious signs of corrupted flesh of the enemy or an overt display of carnal lust, you must roll Willpower (diff 6). If the roll fails, you are overcome with nausea for the next few minutes. While this doesn't mean you spend the time vomiting (unless the roll botches), it does mean that all difficulties increase by one during that time.
Sickly (1pt Flaw)
You are constantly coughing and wheezing, and you have trouble shaking colds. You suffered almost every childhood illness imaginable, and you've only become worse as an adult. When making checks to avoid catching a disease or developing an infection, increase the difficulty by two.
Short Fuse (2pt Flaw)
You are easily angered. The difficulties of rolls to avoid freny are always two less, no matter how you were provoked. This is a dangerous Flaw; don’t choose it without careful thought.
Socially Oblivious (1pt Flaw)
Your character has trouble picking up on subtle hints from others. She often overstays her welcome at parties, and she tends to blurt out topics that everyone else takes great pains to avoid in conversation. Your character isn’t a socially repellent person, just occasionally tactless. Add two to the difficulty of any Etiquette rolls you attempt.
Soft-Hearted (1pt Flaw)
You cannot stand to watch others suffer-not necessarily because you care about what happened to them, but simply because you dislike the intensity of emotion. You avoid any situation that involves causing someone physical or emotional pain, unless you make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8). You must have a Humanity rating of 7 or above to take this Flaw. If you are the direct cause of the suffering, and you witness it, you will experience nights of nausea and days of sleepless grief. Whenever you must witness suffering, difficulties of all rolls are increased by two for the next hour.
Speech Impediment (1pt Flaw)
You have a stammer or some other speech impediment which hampers verbal communication. The difficulties of all relevant rolls are increased by two. Do not feel obliged to roleplay this impediment all the time but in time of duress, or when dealing with outsiders, you should attempt to simulate it.
Spiritually Noticeable (3pt Flaw)
Only people who possess either the medium or spirit sight merit can take this flaw. Spirits automatically notice that people with this flaw can always perceive them. Unlike the spirit magnet merit or flaw, spiritually noticeable people are known to be able to interact easily with spirits. While most spirits will ignore you, wraiths who need aid in the mortal world, nature spirits who are upset with environmental destruction and odd spirits who merely want to talk to a human will flock to you. These spirits may be annoyed or they may be honestly friendly but they all want something from you. While having spirits frequently hitting you up for favors can be annoying, having them do so when you are involved in some potentially hazardous activity can be extremely dangerous. Many people with this flaw make deals with one or more spirits to act as guardians against spiritual intrusions.
Stalker/Stalked (2pt. Flaw)
Someone has an unhealthy obsession with your character. Despite repeated calls to the police and several restraining orders, he continus to follow and occasionally harass her. Your Storyteller should create game stats for the stalker. Any time your character heads out on the town, the Storyteller can make a Perception test on your character's behalf (difficulty 6). If it fails or botches, the stalker has managed to tail your character throughout the night and might put in an appearance when it's least helpful.
Stigmata (2-4 Point Flaw)
You constantly seep blood from phantom wounds; even though your flesh remains unbroken, you bleed. The bleeding is fairly slight, but is incessant, costing you an extra blood point each evening (marked off just before dawn). If you bleed from visible locations (such as palms, a common place for stigmata), you are at +1 difficulty to all Social rolls, although certain vampires will probably take your reputation as a seer more seriously. The 4-point version of this Flaw indicates that you bleed from your eyesockets; this obviously makes it almost impossible to travel within human society unveiled, and very much disturbs other Cainites (the difficulty of all Social rolls is increased by +2 rather than +1). In addition, the constant bleeding interferes with your vision, adding onemore to the difficulty of all visual Perception rolls.
Stubborn (1-3pt Flaw)
There is conviction of spirit, there is unshakable will, and there is just plain being ornery. You fall into the last category. When your mind is made up, or when you're set on doing something, nothing can divert you. For one point, you're set in your ways, but a convincing argument will turn you around. For two points, you're a regular mule, and nothing's likely to change your mid short of a catastrophe. For three points, you'll not only defend you conviction to Hell's door, you'll kick it in and argue with the Devil.
Stumbletongue (1pt Flaw)
You know what you mean to say but you have a hard time saying it. You stutter, trip over words, lose your thoughts and otherwise embarrass yourself. Add two to the difficulty of all Social rolls, especially in situations where eloquence is important.
Superstitious (2pt Flaw)
You are one of those people that avoids black cats, walking under a ladder, always carries a rabbit's foot, etc. You will go to great lengths to ritualistically rid yourself of "bad luck" once it has settled in on you. Furthermore, urban legends are very real in your mind and you find yourself doing things like checking the backseat for that man in the shadows before entering your car. A Willpower point will allow you to force yourself to forgive some transgression or convince you that it's not the end of the world, but you're going to need to pick up an extra rabbit's foot later… just in case.
Suspicion Magnet (4pt Flaw)
For some reason, others mistrust you and attribute all kinds of sinister motives to your every word and deed. Even your closest friends refuse to believe that you can do anything without some sort of ulterior motive. You suffer a +2 difficulty to Social rolls, to reflect your problems convincing others of your sincerity or that you are speaking truthfully.
Sympathizer (1pt Flaw)
You have publicly expressed sympathy for some of the Technocracy’s goals and policies. Your outspoken views on the subject have made you suspect in the eyes of everyone aware of them, and you may be suspected of (or murdered for) treason.
Twisted Upbringing (1pt Flaw)
Your parents were quite malevolent and taught you all the wrong things about the world. All your beliefs about how people interact are wrong, and your faulty beliefs are likely to get you into a great deal of trouble. Over time, after many hard lessons, you can overcome this bad start (the Storyteller will tell you when). But until then, you will continue to believe what you were first told, no matter how others try to "trick" you into thinking otherwise.
Twitch (1pt Flaw)
You have some sort of repetitive motion that you make in times of stress, and it’s a dead giveaway as to your identity. Examples include a nervous cough, constantly wringing your hands, cracking your knuckles and so on. It costs one Willpower point to refrain from engaging in your twitch.
Uncontrollable Appetite (2pt Flaw)
You suffer from a tendency to binge whenever you are under stress or have gone without food for more than a few hours. Something in your metabolism snaps and you feel the need to eat enormous amounts of food - everything in sight that is even vaguely edible. Whenever you go more than four hours without at least a snack of some sort, you feel the urge to devour great amounts of food at the next opportunity. You may spend a willpower point to overcome this urge for a scene. At the end of each binge, you must roll Stamina + Survival (diff 7) or be violently ill for the next half-hour.
Uneducated (5 pt Flaw)
You have received absolutely no education, and have five fewer points to spend on you Knowledge Abilities (with eight being the greatest you could have, and 0 being the least). You can still spend freebie points to take Knowledges. As part of this, you cannot have any Knowledge higher than 3 at the beginning of the game.
Unlucky (4pt Flaw)
It’s surprising how rarely things go your way. Every time an opportunity comes along that might let you shine, something comes along to ruin it. Once per game session, the Storyteller should increase the diff of a critical roll you make by 2. If you fail the roll, it’s due to some random element of bad luck.
Unskilled (5 pt Flaw)
You have never trained extensively in any skill or craft, and therefore have five fewer points to spend on you Skills (with eight being the greatest you could have, and 0 being the least). While freebies can be spent to raise your Skills, no Skill may be higher than 3 at the beginning of the game.
Vainglorious (1-3pt Flaw)
You are boastful and know that you deserve any praise you receive. You are particularly found of Kindred who realize their lesser standing in the face of your obvious superiority, although you tend to view any who speak well of you as more intelligence and deserving than most. Due to your arrogance and love of sycophants, you receive an increase of one to three points on the difficulty level for resisting any attempts at Manipulation using flattery (the modifier is doubled if the flatter has a flattery specialty). The modifier is determined by the rating of this Flaw.
Vengeful (2pt Flaw)
You have a score to settle, incurred either during your mortal days or after your Embrace. You are obsessed with taking your revenge on an individual or group, and it is your overriding priority in any situation where you encounter the object of your revenge. You may temporarily resist your need for vengeance by spending Willpower point.
Vulgar (2pt Flaw)
You are rude and socially unacceptable. You seem constitutionally incapable of saying or doing the right things, in spite of all attempts to teach you. Your sire is criticized and ridiculed for choosing you, and you are frequently left off guest lists. You may eventually work off this Flaw, but the Storyteller should make it particularly difficult. At Storytellers option, you may be at +2 difficulty on all Social rolls.
Vulnerability to Silver (2pt Flaw)
You suffer aggravated wounds from silver, just like a werewolf.
Wanted by Law Enforcement (3pt Flaw)
You are the prime suspect in a felony crime. The police actively look for you, and you cannot move openly about your usual hangouts. If you encounter cops who know that you're wanted, they'll call in backup and bring you in.
Ward (3pt Flaw)
You are devoted to the protection of a mortal. You may describe your ward, though the Storyteller will actually create her. This character id often a friend or relative from your living days. Retainers do not count as wards, as they "pay their own way". Wards have a talent for getting caught up in the actions of stories, and are frequently target’s of a character’s enemies.
Weak Lungs (2pt Flaw)
You have a deformity of your lungs, meaning that you become winded easily. Increase the difficulties of all sustained physical activity (running, prolonged combat, climbing, etc) by one.
Wild Talent (4pt Merit to 4pt Flaw)
Though many psychics lack formal training of their gifts, some lack even the most basic control of their powers. These 'wild' psychics tend to have powerful gifts, though the lack of control makes up for the extra power they might have. To determine the level of the Flaw, use the following table. The total Merit or Flaw cannot exceed 4 pts.
+1 = For every extra die the character has when using the power.
-1 = The character must make a willpower roll (diff 7) to use the power.
-2 = The character can only consciously use the power defensively. (i.e. A precognitive character can activate her Danger Sense, or a telekinetic can use the power to deflect attacks.)
-3 = The character has no conscious control of the power, but it works more often to the character's benefit than not. (A clairvoyant who has useful clairvoyant dreams.)
-4 = The character's power activates randomly (at least once per game session) and often at inopportune or embarrassing moments.
Witchwalk (1 to 5pt Flaw) (Hedge-Magic only)
You suffer from a magical prohibition of sorts. The exact nature varies; perhaps salt burns your skin, or perhaps a spring of mistletoe drives you away. The severity of the witchwalk is determined by the number of bonus points granted.
| Point Value | Example |
| 1 point | Your skin is unnaturally pale |
| 2 points | A slight breeze follows you wherever you go. |
| 3 points | Consecrated ground burns your feet (you take no actual damage but remain in great pain as long as you walk on hallowed ground). |
| 4 points | You cast no shadow. |
| 5 points | Throwing salt over the shoulder wards a person from your magic for a full day, and if salt touches your skin you suffer an unsoakable health level of lethal damage. |
