Advantages and Disadvantages

Oh yeah? But can you do this?

Over and above the fact that different people are stronger or weaker, more or less trained than others, there are things some characters can do that others cannot. These vary from simple "stupid human tricks" to feats that defy explanation even by trained stage magicians. From a game structural perspective, an Advantage is like a Power in that it is an ability that you either have or do not have. However, Advantages are available to humans, even Extras, and are substantially less powerful than an actual Power.

Characters may, with MC approval, take a number of Disadvantages during character creation. Each Disadvantage taken will allow the player to take an additional Advantage.

Physical Advantages

Ambidexterity: The character can use either hand without penalty. They can fight with two weapons that can both be used in one hand and gain the increase of 1 damage in the main weapon without suffering a penalty to the attack roll. Normally doing so carries a -2 dicepool penalty to the attack.

Direction Sense: The character knows what direction things are from where they are. They know what direction they are facing and roughly how far they are from places that they have been. This can get disrupted by being moved while they are unconscious, but not by being marched around while blindfolded.

Double Jointed: The character can fold themselves up into ridiculous shapes and squeeze through spaces that seem... unlikely. Getting out of a pair of handcuffs isn't even a test - they can just do it.

Extremely Competitive: If another character performs a stunt, such as in a chase or dance fight, the character gains a +2 dicepool bonus to match that stunt. The threshold to convince the character to back down, give up, or drop an issue is increased by 1.

Fighting Finesse: The character can use their Agility instead of their Strength when attacking with Melee Weapons if those weapons can be used in one hand or are flexible weapons.

Natural Immunity: There is some poison or disease that the character is completely immune to the harmful effects of.

Swarming: The character is very good at fighting in groups, and does not suffer penalties for fighting in large groups and does not provide penalties to their allies.

Mental Advantages

Eidetic Memory: The character can remember things that they have seen or heard in incredibly accurate and minute detail. This means that, for example, when they see a slasher walking around dressed as a human after they the same guy dressed as a monster, they will almost invariably recognize them as one and the same.

Experimenter: The character can quit any time. Ingesting chemicals over a long period of time will still cause adaptation and eventually physical dependence, but the character is never psychologically or spiritually addicted to anything.

Time Sense: The character knows what time it is. They know how long it has been since the last time you asked what time it is. And they can decide ahead of time how long they will sleep - they not only do not need a clock, they don't need an alarm clock to manage their lives.

Social Advantages

Attractive: The character is sexually attractive, and it is especially easy for them to make progress through flirtation. The thresholds for convincing people who are sexually inclined towards the apparent sex and species of the character of things by these means are reduced by 1.

Calm Heart: The character doesn't get offended by insults, even deliberate ones. This means among other things that litanies of curses do not count as a trigger for a Rage Frenzy.

Innocence: Human society has prejudices and for whatever reason, people just don't think the character is guilty of "stuff". Maybe they look small and harmless, maybe they just have an air of extreme respectability. Whatever the reason, people do not want to believe bad things about them. This increases the threshold to convince other people that the character has done something wrong by 1.

Loyalty: The character really likes his friends, or maybe just takes duty to the team very seriously. The threshold to convince them to turn on those they feel loyal to (often including the other characters) is increased by 1. This even applies to magic, and the character effectively gains 1 extra hit to resist Authority and similar effects if they are being made to turn on their allies. In the case of ongoing domination such as Possession, the bonus hit can retroactively cause the character to resist the effect if they are subsequently let loose on their friends.

Physical Disadvantages

Allergy: The character is allergic to something reasonably common, such as mold, pollen, or cats. While in the presence of their nemesis, the character is fatigued.

Blatantly Magical: There is something about the character which is very demonstrably outside the boundaries of human normality. Like possibly little wings on the back or a gaping hole in the chest where churning gears can clearly be seen. While such traits can be covered with clothing or hidden in the dark, it could be a severe problem for the Vow of Silence were such things to be seen by normal people.

Conspicuous Consumption: The character bleeds from the mouth, has weeping sores, or in some other way is obviously very ill.

Deadly Allergy: The character has some generally avoidable, but potentially lethal allergy. If they consume the substance, whether it's peanuts, shellfish, or penicillin, it is treated as a lethal poison.

Distinctive Appearance: The character is easy to describe, possibly because the look wildly different from others, but maybe just because there's something really obvious like a burn mark on their face or a missing eye.

Tunnel Vision: The character can only defend themselves in combat against one opponent at a time.

Mental Disadvantages

Aimless: The character's hopes and dreams feel distant and unreal. Advancing their Driving Passion does not allow them to refresh an Edge.

Anachronism: The character is from another time, or possibly just grew up in an Amish community or a savage region of one of the outlands. And they do not know how machines work unless they are specially instructed on them. The character cannot default when operating 21st century devices.

Compulsive Behavior: The character feels compelled to do some thing over and over again in ways which are maladaptive. This can be comedic, tragic, distinctive, and time wasting. A good example of Compulsive Behavior can be found in the TV show Monk.

Delusional: The character is absolutely certain of something that does not appear to be true and will not be swayed by any evidence to the contrary. This would include most religious beliefs, but the character is not awarded Disadvantages for believing ridiculous things that are believed by a large portion of the population, because such delusions do not negatively impact the character. So if you believe that there are important messages from aliens coded in dog howls, that's a disadvantage; but if you believe that there are important messages from Jesus coded in cheese sandwiches, this is not a disadvantage. Not because it isn't counter-factual and immune to contrary evidence, but because society at large has accepted people with such delusions and made accommodations for them.

Disloyal: The character would sell their grandmother for a hamburger. The threshold to get them to betray their allies (including with magic) is reduced by 1.

Flake: The character is not particularly committed to goals or ideals, and it is easy to convince them to do other things. The threshold to convince them to follow a different course of action is reduced by one.

Illiterate: The character cannot read.

Prideful: The character has an extreme aversion to admitting fault. They will cling to a course of action that is obviously not working, and they will allow their sense of pride to get in the way of personal relationships.

Temperamental: The character is prone to outrageous emotional outbursts. The threshold to resist or end a frenzy is increased by 1.

Social Disadvantages

Diplomatic Incident: Something the character did, or at least something that someone thinks the character did causes them to be unliked by another group that they have to deal with sometimes.

Doomed Romance: Eventually you have to come to terms with the fact that the only common element in all your failed romances is you. The character's love life is a series of train wrecks. For whatever reason, the people they fall in love with turn out to be married, alien impostors, or fated to die grisly deaths.

Eerie Presence: The character's mere presence triggers the spooky sense of normal people.

Feared by Children: Children do not like or trust the character. It's like the character is played by Alan Rickman.

Haunted: Left to their own devices, spirits harass the character. It's entirely possible that no one knows why this is. If a Ghost has a choice of targets, it will attack them.

Infectious Mood: The general disposition of the character is infectious. However, since they are a supernatural creature, and therefore crazy, the moods that they impart in others are similarly maladaptive. The character's Master Passion plays out in Extras who are in their presence for extended periods of time.

Minor: The character is under the critical age in their nation of origin where they are afforded the full rights and responsibilities of an adult. This may make it difficult to get into a club or get them pulled over by the popos while they are driving.

Naive: The character is unfamiliar with modern society for whatever reason, and does not know how to respond socially to normal behavior.

Offensive to Animals: Beasts do not like the character. If a Giant Animal has a choice of targets, it will attack them.

Oppressed Minority: The character is a member of a group that is discriminated against.

Red Taped: The character's experience with mortal government is an unending hellscape of inexplicable delays and senseless harassment. It takes forever for their driver's license to be renewed, they are regularly pulled out of line at airport screenings, and life is frustrating.

Unattractive: The character is physically unattractive, and the threshold to influence anyone through flirtation is increased by 1.

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