Difference between revisions of "Disadvantages"

Revision as of 17:33, 27 February 2014

Disadvantages are traits similar to Advantages, which all characters possess. Where Advantages represent those traits which give a character the upper hand in situations, Disadvantages represent those traits which get them in trouble, or paint a less-than-pretty picture about who they are as people. Disadvantages are divided into two categories, and all players are required to have a minimum of three satisfactory flaws, with an emphasis on the first category.

1. Personality Flaws. These are pretty self-explanatory. People aren't perfect, and they have traits that are negative because that's just how they are. An extreme example would be Severus Snape from Harry Potter, who although heroic, was an unquestionably a nasty, toxic human being. While Staff understands that some real-life psychological illnesses may seem like an easy go-to answer for personality flaws, these will often be scrutinized closely because of a tendency for poor/offensive portrayal of real psychological problems. At least one of your flaws must be in this category.
2. Weaknesses. These are also pretty self-explanatory, but vary a lot more. Maybe your character is missing a limb. Maybe they have an elemental weakness to electricity. Maybe they're terminally ill. If you have to emphasize one section of your Disadvantages over the others, #1 is preferable, but you shouldn't neglect this either.

Joke Disadvantages do not count towards your minimum disadvantages. Some traits may be valid disadvantages, but not strong enough to count towards your minimum. If your character fights strictly non-lethally but that never proves to be the wrong thing to do, it's not really a disadvantage.