Illegal: Up 1 level
Example: Sara has a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Its symptoms
are extreme fatigue (Reduced Fatigue -4, -12 points) and a lack of
motivation (Laziness, -10 points). Expensive medication, taken once a
week, can prevent this. Weekly treatment is worth 1/2 value, but the
medication costs Sara 1/2 of her monthly income each month, so this
value shifts up one, to 3/4. The value of this disadvantage is 3/4 of
-22 points, or -16 points.
Note: The disadvantages below, marked with a ***, are provided for the
GM's and players' convenience when designing chronic illnesses. They
should and are generally will not be allowed to characters as stand-alone dis
advantages.
***Reduced Fatigue: -3 points/level
Your fatigue pool is lower than your ST; every level of this
disadvantage lowers it by one. If this is part of a permanent
disadvantage, you can never gain fatigue above this limit. If this is
part of a chronic illness, the onset of this disadvantage will cause
an immediate loss of fatigue equal to the level of this disadvantage
(ST cannot go below 0) and the upper limit on fatigue will be
adjusted, as above, until the illness ends. Note that you do not get
the fatigue back once the illness subsides!
***Reduced Hit Points: -5 points/level
As Reduced Fatigue, above, with the exception that the onset of a
chronic illness can cause HT to drop below 0, possibly killing the
character.
***Reduced Skills: -5 or -10 points/level
For every level of this disadvantage, you have a -1 penalty to your
skill rolls. For one type of skill (Mental or Physical), the penalty
is worth -5 points/level. For all skills, it is worth -10
points/level.
Insomnia (-5 or -10 points)
You go through periods where falling asleep is very difficult. Each
night during an insomnia episode you must make a Will roll. On a
success, you fall asleep easily and this episode is over. On a
failure, you only get half a night of sleep (costing 2 fatigue; see
sidebar on p. B134) and the episode will continue for another night.
On a critical failure, you get no sleep that night (costing 5
fatigue). Once an episode ends, the GM rolls 3d to determine how many
days until the next episode begins (at the -10 point level, the GM
rolls 2d-1). When you suffer prolonged stress, the GM may require a
Will roll. A failure means an episode starts that night.
Late Maturation - A Racial Disadvantage (5 points per level)
Reverse of the Early Maturation advantage (p. A12, CI53), Late Maturation doubles (more or less) the age at which a member of the race is considered an adult (age 18 for humans). That age can't be higher than the age when the aging rolls (p. B83) begin, although it can be equal.
If a character with Late Maturation takes also the Youth disadvantage (p. B29), his current age is 10% -- per level of Youth -- lower than the “maturation” age. Limit of number of levels that can be taken for Youth (three for humans) is determined by the GM, and depends on the actual age when a member of the race reaches the race's average attribute values.
The perfect example for this disadvantage are the Hobbits from The Lord of the Rings, which have indeed inspired me to design it. They are considered adult at the age of 33, so they would have one level of Late Maturation. They probably reach their adult stat values at age of about twenty, so they could take up to four levels of Youth disadvantage, each worth three years.
Loyalty (-5/-10/-15 points)
Similar to Sense of Duty -- but focusing on a single entity (person, organization, idea etc.) instead of a group -- or Fanatisicm -- only less severe -- this disadvantage shows how much a character is loyal to someone or something. It is similar to the Loyalty check for Hirelings (see sidebar p. B195), but it should be roleplayed whenever possible. However, if the player for some reason can't decide on his character's actions, he should roll vs. the appropriate Loyalty number, as if the character was a Hireling. There are two levels of this disadvantage:
Loyalty (-5 points) means that the character will listen to the orders of the person or the organization he is loyal to, unless these involve dangerous and -- especially if he also has Honesty -- illegal situations. At this level, the character's Loyalty number is 10.
Strong Loyalty (-10 points) is somewhat more binding, forcing the character to follow his ideals or leader even in some dangerous situations, although not those which involve almost certain injuries and possible death. It can be considered a weaker version of Fanaticism, and the character rolls Loyalty at 15.
Fanaticism, Loyalty (-15 points) is so binding that the character will carry out any order or course of action, even those which involve possible permanent injury and/or even certain death. The follower will do all in his power to carry out his master's will, having his own initiative to promote his leader's ideals or to serve his leader -- since this could be considered a Loyalty of 20 and more, which according to p. B195 doesn't even have to be rolled, as is covered by the Fanaticism disadvantage.
Moron (-10/-20 Points)
You are simply a moron. This disadvantage is independent of IQ; many of history's
greatest scientists and authors have been morons.
When you (the player) have a clever plan for party action, or a solution
to a mystery faced in the adventure, you must make an IQ roll in order
for your character to have the same idea! If the roll is failed, the PC
has a moronic idea, instead, and eagerly offers a suggestion that is either
very obvious or obviously wrong. The 20-point version is Utter Moron. Utter
Morons make their "idea rolls" against (IQ/2), rounded up.
If your idea could be justified by one of your skills, you may make
a skill roll instead of IQ. Utter Morons may likewise roll against unmodified
skill. Both versions have trouble with ideas based upon default skills. Morons take a -2 on all "idea" default rolls; Utter Morons take a -4.
While most morons are very obviously morons, some will seem smart! A
Fighter Moron might talk tactics like Alexander, provided he never has
to come up with an idea on his own. Get the same character in a mystery
plot, and he's as likely to EAT the clues as put them together to form
a solution. Scientist Morons are at a loss when faced with moral or social
dilemmas, but have no trouble with physics. For such PCs, this serves as
a "bite your tongue" disad, so when a Warrior Moron's player
comes up with the solution to a mystery, his character won't suddenly turn
into Conan the Detective. The 20-point version can be stifling . . .
Night Blindness (-10 points)
You have a difficult time seeing in poor lighting. All vision
penalties for darkness are doubled for you (minimum -2, maximum -10).
Any vision benefits from Acute Vision or Alertness are lost in
darkness.
Nuisance (Variable)
A nuisance is someone who makes the character's life difficult in minor ways, but can occasionally be helpful.
This is a subclass of the "Enemy" disadvantage -- figure the cost of the Nuisance character normally (including modifiers for frequency of appearance), then halve the cost.
When the dice or the GM decide that the Nuisance appears in the adventure, (s)he shows up to cause minor problems for the PC. In a modern-day game, the Nuisance may have borrowed some equipment that the PC needs for the adventure, or visits the PC at an awkward time. A Nuisance in a Supers game may need to be rescued by the PC hero.
However, if the roll for the Nuisance character to appear is a natural 18, then the Nuisance actually provides some sort of minor benefit to the PC. In a modern-day game, the character may be able to act as a reliable Contact for one question the PC has, or can loan the PC a piece of needed equipment for the duration of the play session. In a Supers game, the character may be able to rescue the PC hero.
Fictional examples:
In "Seinfeld", Kramer is a Nuisance for Jerry.
In "The Simpsons", Homer Simpson is a Nuisance for Ned Flanders.
In "Sailor Moon", Chibi-Usa [Reenie] is a Nuisance for Usagi [Serena].
Old Age (-5/-10/-20 points)
You are old enough to begin making aging rolls (p. B83). For -5
points, you are over 50 years old, and must make aging rolls every
year. For -10 points, you are over 70 years old, and must make aging
rolls every six months. For -20 points, you are over 90 years old, and
must make aging rolls every three months. You do not have to make any
aging rolls until game play starts, regardless of how old you start
off as.
Note that certain game worlds and races will follow different aging
guidelines. If so, substitute the equivalent ages in place of those
above.
Poor Memory (-10 points)
You can't remember details. This is not the same thing as Absent-Minded; you can concentrate on boring tasks and generally remember to do the minor day-to-day things that need doing, but you can never quite remember important facts when you have to. You can never take notes unless your character is physically taking notes in the game (in which case he should keep them on him, or he may forget where he put them). Anytime you need to remember a detail, roll versus IQ. If you learned the detail less than an hour ago, it's a straight IQ roll. Less than a day is at -2, less than three days is -4, less than a week is -6, and less than a month is -10! Any details you learned over a month ago will only be remembered on a critical success.
Remember that this is only a -10 points disadvantage; don't get too silly with it. If you get a new job, a roll will be needed to remember the address of the place (unless you have it written down), and another roll would be needed to remember the starting time, but you do not need to roll to remember than you got a job! This just affects the details, not the overall stuff.
Pregnant (Variable)
The character with this Disadvantage is, of course, pregnant. Unlike most Disadvantages, this one becomes more disabling (and worth more points) over time. For simplicity's sake, it has been divided into three sections. (Note that these are somewhat extreme, and represent the later portions of each trimester.)
First trimester: (0 points)
The game effects of very early pregnancy are minimal. The character may wish to change her behavior (trying to kick addictions, preparing to lead a more cautious lifestyle, getting a job, etc.), but there are no game effects.
Second trimester: (-15 points)
The pregnancy is beginning to affect the character's life, but she is not disabled by it. She needs to be more careful about fighting (see Miscarriage, below). Move is reduced by 1, and each point of Fatigue takes 15 minutes to recover instead of 10. The character is considered to have Light Encumbrance for carrying purposes. Skill use is not affected. Note that, depending on the character's circumstances and society, this may be an appropriate time to acquire a social stigma.
Third trimester: (-45 points)
The character's lifestyle may be radically altered by her condition. Speed (but not initiative) and Move scores are halved, and the character receives a -2 penalty to any active Physical Skill. In addition, all Fatigue costs are doubled, and the character is considered to be at Medium Encumbrance for carrying purposes (although this doesn't further affect move). Any active adventurer should be taking it easy by this point; if the penalties above aren't enough to dissuade her, the increased risk of miscarriage should.
Miscarriage:
A pregnant woman is especially vulnerable in hit location 10. A crushing or impaling blow there that does (HT/2) damage (round up) in the second trimester, or (HT/3) damage in the third, runs a risk of causing a miscarriage. The GM makes a HT roll for the character. There is a penalty for how advanced the pregnancy is; -2 in the second trimester, -3 in the third. Immediate medical attention gives a +1 to the health roll. A failed roll indicates a miscarriage; a critical failure indicates a miscarriage with severe medical complications. (The exact medical effects are left for the GM to determine, as they depend greatly on medical care and TL.)
Point costs for the disadvantage:
How should the GM handle a Disadvantage that increases in value over time? One option is to rule that the Disadvantage is simply handled as an acquired Disadvantage (like a hand or eye that is lost in play). If the points can't be applied to other things, it effectively discourages the characters from intentionally getting their characters pregnant.
Another option is to rule that the points from the Disadvantage replace other, related Disadvantages. The second trimester Pregnancy points could pay off, for example, a level of Poverty (the mother got a job to pay for the child); an Addiction (kicking smoking for the child's health); or a particularly negative Mental Disadvantage (learning to control her temper to stay out of fights). The points should not be added to Abilities or Skills (with the possible exception of domestic skills, at the GM's option), and should not be used to pay for a new Advantage or inappropriate Disadvantage. The GM is the final arbiter.
After the child is born, it may be taken as a Dependent: Infant Child (-50 or -100 points) disadvantage (see above). This can replace any changes made in the character using the points from this Disadvantage. If the child is not taken as a Dependent, the player should (at the GM's option) pay for anything replaced by Pregnancy.
If a character begins with a second or third trimester Pregnancy, it is handled as a normal Disadvantage. Players should be careful about taking this Disadvantage if they don't think they can pay it off!
Racial Enemy(Cost: Variable)
This disadvantage works in a similar fashion to "Enemy" in Gurps Basic. The race that possesses this disadvantage will suffer harassment, difficulties, and even violence at the hands of the members of the enemy race - often for no other reason than the PC is a racial enemy. Unlike the Normal enemy disadvantage, where a PC usually has to anger someone to gain an enemy, a Racial Enemy will hate you for your race - and thus, there are far more people who hate your character than normal..
For example, a human who has another human Enemy: Barco the Bully, only has Barco to fear - but an Elf who has Orcs in general as a Racial Enemy must fear ALL orcs! That's an awfully big difference!.
BASE COST:
If the Racial Enemy is 100pts or less, racially (Orcs, goblins) -5pts
If the Racial Enemy is 101pts to 200pts racially (Ogres, small Giants), Base Cost: -10pts
If the Racial Enemy is 201pts or more racially (Large Giants, Dragons), Base Cost: -20pts
Modifiers for Frequency:
Occurs on a 6 or less: ½ cost
Occurs on a 9 or less: Base Cost
Occurs on a 12 or less: 2x Base Cost
Occurs on a 15 or less: 3x Base Cost
Modifiers (Miscellaneous):
If the Enemy Race is especially numerous: -5pts
If the Feeling is Mutual (Mutual Hatred): -5pts
Slow Healer (-15 points)
Your body takes a long time to heal, and isn't particularly responsive
to attempts to speed it up, either. When rolling to heal naturally, you
roll half as often as a normal character (even when under the care of a
physician). If you take a potion or an ultra-tech healing drug, make a
(HT-2) roll. Failure means the drug has the minimum possible effect (a
drug that restores 1d hits would restore only 1). Any attempts to heal
you with magic, psionics, or other healing powers are at -3 to skill. This
penalty is for ``generic healing'' only; it DOESN'T apply to attempts to
remove your gall bladder, clean your teeth, or set your ankle. GM decides
any unclear cases.
Small Town (-10 Points)
This is the disadvantage for the character that was born in a small town, and never left it. You have no first-hand knowledge of anything outside of a few hours walk out of town. You have no idea about customs within larger communities or cities, so often you either mistake another person's intentions, or offend them with your own small-town customs.
You get a -1 reaction from all citizens of a large city who realize that you are from a small town. Also, you get -3 on all social skill rolls made outside of your community. Also, the GM can disallow any skill or spell, simply by saying that there was no one in that town who could teach that skill.
Plus, in any social situation within a larger community than you are used to, you must make an IQ roll to keep from doing anything completely inappropriate. You may drink from the ladle in the punch bowl, or attempt to quiet everyone before a banquet so you can sing the ever favorite, "Now We Eat Our Very Good Food" song.
The character with the Small Town disadvantage may not take Area Knowledge for anyplace other than their home town. Od course as the character experiences the ways of the world, and learns more, this disadvantage could be bought off.
Trouble Magnet (-15 points)
No matter what you do, you always seem to be in the center of controversies you know nothing about. This makes your life very interesting.
When a thief needs to stash the loot from the diamond heist he hides it in your garage. The lady you stop to ask directions from is accompanied by a jealous bodybuilder boyfriend who automatically assumes that you were trying to seduce her. The Mafioso the FBI has been tracking looks just like you. Your appartment is right next to the CIA safehouse and you accidently get all their mail. The Illuminati want to talk to you. Your phones are tapped and the guy behind you at the supermarket wears dark sunglasses and talks into his lapel pin.
Unlike the Weirdness Magnet disadvantage, these problems are sightly more mundane. Instead of a talking dog who tells you his problems, you end up "adopted" by a dog that is the problem in the fact that he steals items and hides them at your house...and no matter how hard you try you cannot get rid of him.
These problems are not immediately harmful and could even work out to the character's advantage, but they will always make the character's life interesting, if not dangerous.
Wanderlust (-5/-10 points)
You have a difficult time staying in anyone place for a long time, the need to explore the world is too great to sit at home. After six months of living in one place you must make a will roll each week or begin your adventures again for at lest a month. You may have a permanent dwelling and even a family, but you can never totally give up your wanderings.
At the 5 point level this is just a desire to get out of the house. You may wander your favorite tracks, visit adjoining towns, or simply go stay with relations or friends who live somewhere else. At the 10 point level you must see something new. Go somewhere you have never been, or wander until you have experienced something new and exciting. This can become quite a dangerous disadvantage for adventurers.
Seafaring Wanderlust: Another version of the 10 point disadvantage is specific to sailors. The desire is to return to the sea. In addition to the limitations above, you must never leave sight of the ocean or you must start making will rolls after one week away from salt water.