How to affect enemies with your disadvantages?

[ShurikVch]

At a first glance, it may be a strange question: disadvantages named so for a reasons.

But let's look at it like this...

Being a coward in a game which full of encounters with a hostile creatures is a notable disadvantage - right?
Not exactly...
It may give you access to Craven - goto feat for SA optimization builds;
Absorb Fear - 2nd level CF of the Dread Witch PrC (HoH) - will be notably less useful if you just don't fear anything;
Live My Nightmare (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/spelltouchedFeats.htm#liveMyNightmare) - by RAW it will work for fearless character, but DM may be tempted to say something like: "You don't fear anything, period. What's, exactly, will see the enemy to be afraid of?"

Is there any other benefits of PC's cowardice?

Which other disadvantages may be actually useful in right circumstances?

[Flickerdart]

Illiteracy makes you immune to some effects, including exploding runes and "free loot and no dragons this way" signs.

[ZamielVanWeber]

I once managed to get through an interrogation in a zone of truth while giving away no information by having no knowledge skills other than Knowledge (Local) for a region we were not currently in.

[rockdeworld]

I once managed to get through an interrogation in a zone of truth while giving away no information by having no knowledge skills other than Knowledge (Local) for a region we were not currently in.
That isn't exactly how K: Local works, but that probably wasn't relevant to your interesting story.

Looking like a giant brute and having ranks in Intimidate can work well for you if you have no actual combat skills and you desire your enemy to waste a Dominate Person on you.

Be too weak to be a useful worker when captured and offer your accounting skills instead. Then subvert enemy operations by exposing a huge scandal/diverting funds to incriminate an official/stealing.

Blind people are immune to gaze attacks.

Being an object sounds pretty bad, but it makes you immune to most spells.

Being slow usually means not setting off traps.

An inattentive and easily-duped Paladin will have a hard time breaking their code of conduct.

[Necroticplague]

Being deaf makes you immune to sonic effects.


Side note: Live My Nightmare can be quite sensible for a character immune to fear. After all, what nightmares must lurk inside your head to be it so that even the most monstrous of beings do not shake you? To quote a webcomic I like "These walls aren't meant to keep you out. They're there to keep him in."

[ahenobarbi]

Blind people have easy time ignoring illusions & they tend to have adventage fightin' in dark areas. Not having yer own ideas would give you edge with one of my former DMs.


"These walls aren't meant to keep you out. They're there to keep him in."

Mind sayin' what comic does that come from? Sound like a comic I'd enjoy.