Custom Flaws?

[shadow_archmagi]

So, feats are precious. Players love them. Flaws are worth feats, so players love them too.

But the default Flaws are pretty lousy. And boring. Mostly boring. Good feats add a new dimension to your character, like letting him fight underwater, or with twice as many knives.

So a good flaw should add a new dimension too, even if it is ultimately a drawback. So when my Binder asked for a flaw, we worked out that his flaw should be that summoning creatures from beyond life and death should make him vaguely worrying, and mark him immediately as some kind of magic-user. (If I ever used the diplomacy chart, probably the equivalent of having all interactions start one step down the chain)

My next player made several suggestions, among them "A voice in his head that gives advice and may or may not be real"

So that's where I am. I simply can't decide what it should be, or how that should manifest mechanically. Simple insanity? Okay, but what does that mean ingame? Some kind of tricksy Fey? Okay, but what does that mean ingame? I mean, there are just so many options here. A devil? A solar? A demon? A Githyanki?

[ShinyRocks]

I don't think you need to know the 'why' yet. If the player's got a very strong idea for the why, then great. But for the mean time, the fact that they the voice is enough. I think to make it a Flaw, you'd have to have them really affected by the voice. So they're compelled to respond to it, or to repeat what it says, or to act on its suggestions. I think the last one is a bit severe, but the first two are a nice role-playing hook and also would be a real Flaw - affecting diplomacy, accidentally blurting out combat tactics and so on.

And if the player doesn't really have an idea for what or why the voice is, then later that gives you a nice sidequest hook. Finding the source of the voice etc.

[Morph Bark]

Sounds like a penalty to Wisdom-based checks and skill checks, as it would be destracting. Maybe very rarely grant a +2 bonus on a single Knowledge check or just outright tell something related to the vestige that might help, but that would make it more into something beteen a Flaw and a Trait.

[Curmudgeon]

Before you go about creating custom flaws, I suggest you look over more of the official flaws. Dragon magazine added dozens more flaws over a one year publication span. The issues with flaws are the following:

# 324
# 325
# 326
# 327
# 328
# 329
# 333

[shadow_archmagi]

Sounds like a penalty to Wisdom-based checks and skill checks, as it would be destracting. Maybe very rarely grant a +2 bonus on a single Knowledge check or just outright tell something related to the vestige that might help, but that would make it more into something beteen a Flaw and a Trait.

Oh, the 'voices' player is not a Binder. The Binder's flaw was just an example, I'm all done with him now. The current player is a Gray Elf Wizard (Enchanter).


Before you go about creating custom flaws, I suggest you look over more of the official flaws. Dragon magazine added dozens more flaws over a one year publication span. The issues with flaws are the following:

# 324
# 325
# 326
# 327
# 328
# 329
# 333


Tragically, I don't have a subscription, so I have no real way of accessing them.


I like the idea about being compelled to respond to it, and repeat what it says.

[prufock]

Voice in the head suggests to me 3 or 4 possibilities:
If the player is a spellcaster, make it either a -6 to Concentration checks or -2 to Caster level checks, fluff it as "distracting."
If the player is not a caster, instead make it a -2 to spot, listen, sense motive, again fluffed as distracting.
Or, regardless of character class, model it after the "Pathetic" flaw and just make it a flat -2 to Wisdom.
I wouldn't have the voice be real, just a pathology on the character's part. He can interact with it, and you can play it, but it's just a figment of his imagination.

[ZombiePunch]

Flaws (http://www.realmshelps.net/datafind/feats.shtml)

Here's a good list of published flaws.
Flaws are the one the only homebrew I allow, can't go wrong with an occasional will save to avoid a detrimental situation or skill penalties.