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View Full Version : My new and improved flaws that are actually flaws! ( I hope!)



ngilop
2015-09-29, 08:32 PM
Arcane Fatigue

Conjuring magical energies is especially draining for you.

Effect
Whenever you successfully cast a spell you must immediately make a Fortitude save (DC 12 + spell level). If you fail you become fatigued. If you are fatigued as a result of this flaw, it has no further effect until that condition is removed.


Claustrophobia

You are uncomfortable in enclosed spaces.

Effect
You become shaken while in any space where you are within 10 feet of a wall or other solid surface on 2 or more sides, or if the ceiling is less than 10 feet above your head. (Such as while walking down a 20-foot-wide corridor or while you are in any room with a 10-foot-high ceiling.) Spells and effects that remove fear do not remove this condition


Cowardly

You are susceptible to fear.

Effect
You have a -5 penalty on all saves against Fear effects. Even if you succeed on such a save, you are still shaken for 1 round

Special
You are never able to become immune to fear or terror effects.


Feeble

You are unathletic and uncoordinated.

Effect
You take a -6 penalty on Strength-, Dexterity-, and Constitution-based ability checks and skill checks.


Frail

You are thin and weak of frame.

Effect
Subtract 2 from the number of hit points you gain at each level. This flaw can reduce the number of hit points you gain to 0 (but not below).

Special
You must have a Constitution of 3 or higher to take this flaw.


Gullible

You believe what you see, and you trust others more than you should.

Effect
You suffer a -4 penalty on saving throws made to resist enchantment and illusion spells and effects. You also suffer a -4 penalty on Sense Motive checks.


Hatred

You are engulfed by a deep hatred of a particular race and you become insensibly enraged in their presence.

Effect
You suffer a -6 penalty to your Armor Class and on attack rolls and skill checks whenever you are not engaged in combat with your selected race and a member of that race is close enough that you could engage it in melee combat.


Inattentive

You are particularly unaware of your surroundings.

Effect
You take a -8 penalty on Listen checks and Spot checks.


Infirm

You become fatigued when your body is assaulted by poison, disease, or magic.

Effect
Whenever you fail a Fortitude save, you become fatigued, in addition to any other effects you might suffer. This condition lasts until you get 8 hours of complete rest. This flaw applies only once to any given source that requires a Fortitude save. Failing a Fortitude save while fatigued causes you to become exhausted.


Meager Fortitude

You are sickly and weak of stomach.

Effect
You take a -5 penalty on Fortitude saves.


Murky-Eyed

Your vision is obscured.

Effect
In combat, every time you attack an opponent, roll your attack twice. If either or both results indicate that you miss, your attack fails.


Noncombatant

You are relatively inept at combat.

Effect
You take a -4 penalty on all attack rolls.


No Time For Book Learning

You put no faith in the written word.

Effect
You are illiterate. You can never learn to read any language, and you suffer a -4 penalty on all Knowledge checks except Knowledge (nature).


Pathetic

You are weaker in an attribute than you should be.

Effect
Reduce one of your ability scores by 4.

Special
You cannot take this flaw if the total of your ability modifiers is 6 or higher.


Poor Reflexes

You often zig when you should have zagged.

Effect
You take a -5 penalty on Reflex saves.


Shaky

You are relatively poor at ranged combat and manual precision.

Effect
You take a -4 penalty on all ranged attack rolls and all Dexterity checks.


Short Attention Span

You have little patience, causing you to have difficulty concentrating on repetitive tasks.

Effect
You suffer a -6 penalty on all skill checks made to retry an action that you previously failed. This penalty is cumulative, increasing by -6 for every failed attempt. In addition, you may not take 20 on any skill check.


Short Temper

You become angry and flustered under stressful circumstances.

Effect
If you suffer any damage or any detrimental effect during combat, you must make a Will save at DC 10+1/2 damage dealt or 15+ 1/2 HD of the source of the detrimental effect or become enraged. While enraged you suffer a -3 penalty to your Armor Class and a -2 penalty to attacks and you cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except for Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration. You cannot cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. You can use any feat you possess except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. This enraged state lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier and cannot be ended prematurely. This penalty stacks with those from the use of the barbarian rage ability, resulting in a -5 AC penalty.


Slow

You move exceptionally slowly.

Effect
Your base land speed is halved (round down to the nearest 5-foot interval).

Special
You must have a base land speed of at least 20 feet to take this flaw.


Superstitious

You fear magic, and avoid it when possible.

Effect
Whenever you see an item, effect, or location obviously created by magic (whether by spell or some other means), you become frightened. The frightened condition lasts until you can no longer see the obviously magical item, effect, or location.

Special
You are never able to cast spells.


Unlucky

You seem to always fall short at the worst possible moment, right when it matters most.

Effect
You can never benefit from a luck bonus. In addition, whenever a roll is made on a table for a result that would effect only you, two rolls are made and the least desirable outcome is chosen. Examples might include finding an individual magic item, treasure or trap; but not for wandering monsters or other events that would certainly impact the whole party


Unreactive

You are slow to react to danger.

Effect
You take a -10 penalty on initiative checks.


Vulnerable

You are not good at defending yourself.

Effect
You take a -3 penalty to Armor Class.


Weak Will

You are highly suggestible and easily duped.

Effect
You take a -5 penalty on Will saves.

Solaris
2015-10-04, 10:18 PM
Making the numbers bigger kind of misses the point about why some flaws aren't very debilitating - it doesn't matter if my character has a -2, -4, or -30 to attack rolls when he hasn't had to make an attack roll since character creation because he's a wizard.

I've found that the flaws work just fine as they're written if care is taken to apply them to something that still impacts the character without completely hamstringing them. The paladin flaws printed in Dragon Magazine are pretty good examples of this, as most of them apply circumstantial attack roll penalties to a class whose main schtick is fighting.