Disadvantage
Each hero can receive a maximum of 80 AP from disadvantages during hero creation. Disadvantages are not just ways to receive some quick additional AP. Therefore, the AP value of disadvantages is lower, than for corresponding advantages.
Afraid of (…) I-III
Strong fears affect the hero’s actions. The trigger for such fears shouldn’t be too uncommon. Examples include a fear of blood, magic, spiders, darkness, the sea, heights, open spaces, confined spaces, or the dead and undead. The GM has the final say as to whether a certain fear is permissible. …
Annoyed by Minor Spirits
Minor spirits are small elemental creatures that are not inherently dangerous but can be very annoying. Some spellcasters attract minor spirits to themselves when using magic. …
Bad Habit
Most Bad Habits aren’t a real problem for the character. They are annoying and disruptive, but rarely have substantial negative consequences. …
Bad Luck I-III
Not every hero is born lucky. Some adventurers possess considerably less luck than their companions. …
Blind
The character is blind, whether from birth or due to an eye injury or disease. Blind characters cannot see and must use other senses to orient themselves. …
Bound to Artifact
A spellcaster with this disadvantage is bound to a magical artifact. This could be the unfortunate result of a bad mistake while creating or binding the artifact, or maybe some other magical influence that created the connection. The artifact can be a Tradition artifact, such as a mage’s staff or an elf’s iama or soul instrument (a musical instrument with a strong personal connection), but not always; other items with strong personal meaning are also possible. The GM decides whether an item is suitable. …
Colorblind
Heroes thus afflicted cannot distinguish between colors and perceive the world only in black and white. …
Deaf
The hero cannot hear, whether from birth or due to injury or illness. …
Decreased Arcane Power I-VII
The hero’s body can store less arcane energy than other spellcasters. …
Decreased Karma Points I-VII
The hero’s body absorbs less karma points than do those of other Blessed Ones. …
Decreased Life Points I-VII
The hero is not as resilient as others and can absorb less damage. …
Decreased Spirit
The hero is more susceptible to spells than other members of the same race. …
Decreased Toughness
The hero is not as tough as others. …
Fat
A characters who is at least 50% heavier than usual for their height is considered fat. …
Frenzy
In battle, the hero attacks all combatants in sight with little distinction for friend or foe. Frenzy is especially common among Thorwalers; among them live the socalled Swafnir’s Children, who are kept isolated and marked with red headbands to warn people of their potential for unguided violence. …
Hair-Bound Power
A portion of a magic user’s power is bound to the spellcaster’s hair, which grows very quickly regardless of its length. This disadvantage is especially common among elves and witches. …
Incompetent
Some people are particularly inept and incapable in certain situations. …
Magical Restriction
In contrast with the advantage Magical Attunement, spellcasters with this disadvantage suffer penalties to magic skill checks when outside the stated environment. Spellcasters with Curse of Night, an especially common magical restriction, can use magic freely only during nighttime hours. Examples of other environments are listed below. …
Maimed
The hero was born crippled, or maimed by combat or torture. The disadvantage’s effects depend on the part of the body affected. You cannot combine certain variants of Maimed (such as One-Handed and One-Armed for the same arm). There’s no way to heal such a mutilation; only a handful of very rare magic spells or divine intervention can remove this disadvantage. …
Misfortune
Misfortune just seems to follow some heroes around. Cruel Fate seems drawn to them again and again. …
Mute
The hero cannot talk and finds it understandably difficult to communicate, even with others with whom the hero shares a common language. …
Negative Trait
Characters are not always driven by rational motives. Greed, superstition, or short tempers can compel them just as easily. …
Night-Blind
The hero has trouble seeing things in the dark. …
No Familiar
It’s rare for a witch to grow up with no connection to a familiar, but, for unknown reasons, some witches just never find one. Other witches sometimes view these unfortunates as outsiders. …
No Flying Balm
Some unfortunate witches never obtain flying balm at Witches’ Night gatherings, nor do they have the skill and arcane power to create flying balm themselves. …
Not Free
These characters are bondsmen or slaves with few or no rights in society. They can own property, but with strong legal restrictions (for example, slaves and bondsmen are rarely allowed to own weapons). …
Obligations I-III
The adventurer has obligations to a group, organization, or person such as a church, an order, or a teacher. The hero is considered an underling to this person or group. Failure to meet obligations might have big consequences—from a penitential pilgrimage to expulsion from the community, or even leader-sanctioned assassination. …
Personality Flaw
Personality Flaws are particularly unpleasant behaviors or habits that can make life with other people complicated. …
Physical Peculiarity
The hero has some type of readily apparent physical peculiarity, such as a wart on the nose, a cleft lip, or a small hunchback. It could even be a witch’s strand—an obvious streak of white hair on the head (for people with hair that is normally a color other than white, of course). In that case, the person’s remaining hair color is otherwise typical for their age and ethnicity (as its name implies, this particular peculiarity is slightly more common among witches and warlocks). …
Poor I-III
The hero comes from a lower social class or for some reason doesn’t have much money and lacks resources. …
Principles I-III
These characters follow strict moral or religious limitations and always try to live by some sort of code. Breaking these codes can, for example, result in selfdoubt, a self-imposed quest for redemption, or even expulsion from a like-minded community. …
Restricted Sense
A hero with Restricted Sense could have bad eyesight or hearing, perhaps due to age, or might have lost the sense of taste after a bout with disease. …
Sensitive Nose
A character with this disadvantage has a delicate sense of smell. Offensive odors, like decay or feces, can cause dizziness and nausea. Elves commonly suffer this disadvantage. …
Sensitive to Pain
Some heroes are more delicate than others, and experience pain more keenly. Such sensitivity restricts them further when they are injured. …
Sensitive to Sunlight
People with this disadvantage suffer pain when sunlight touches their skin. Albinos commonly suffer sunlight sensitivity, but there are other reasons why heroes might have this disadvantage. …
Sleepwalker
The adventurer sleepwalks; the GM can decide what happens during periods of sleepwalking. …
Slow
Slow characters can’t move as quickly as others and take more time to travel long distances. …
Speech Impediment
A character with this disadvantage has a lisp or a stutter, or suffers from some other kind of speech difficulty. …
Stigma
The hero is plagued by a physical stigma, a mark or other physical oddity obtained at birth, by accident, or because of a curse. These signs can take many different forms. People interacting with the hero might have a hostile or aloof reaction to the stigma. …
Susceptible to Cold
Beings who have the Susceptible to Cold disadvantage suffer more acute discomfort in low temperatures. …
Susceptible to Disease I-II
Some people have trouble resisting diseases and get sick more often than other Aventurians. …
Susceptible to Heat
Such characters suffer more from high temperatures. …
Susceptible to Poison I-II
Some people have particular trouble resisting poison, intoxicants, and other damaging substances. …
Susceptible to Spells I-II
Some people have intrinsic difficulty resisting spells and other magical effects. …
True Name
According to legend, all creatures (and even many objects) have a “true name”. The subject doesn’t necessarily know its true name (but knowing can be a disadvantage for some people if the name falls into the wrong hands). It’s easier to cast magic on people if you learn their true name. …
Ugly I-II
The hero is decidedly unattractive compared to other members of the same race, and repels most intelligent creatures. …
Weak Astral Body
The spellcaster’s body is uniquely unsuited as a reservoir for magical power. …
Weak Karmic Body
The Blessed One’s body is especially unsuited as a reservoir of karma points. …
Weak Regeneration (Arcane Energy) I-III
This disadvantage retards a magical hero’s AE regeneration during the Regeneration Phase. …
Weak Regeneration (Karma Points) I-III
This disadvantage interferes with a Blessed One’s KP regeneration during Regeneration Phases. …