Changeling Flaws

Flaws in the new World of Darkness system do not grant additional points at character creation. Instead, every time a Flaw you have chosen for your character limits or otherwise hinders that character during a game session, you will gain one additional XP at the end of that game session. Most such Flaws are limited to an XP bonus of +1 per Flaw per game session, but some situations might warrant multiple bonuses during a given game session.

Mental

• Addiction: Your character is hooked on a certain substance or behavior. If he doesn't get it regularly, he gets anxious and goes out of his way to satisfy his need, even neglecting more important duties. If he goes three or more game sessions without indulging this addiction, he is assumed to have beaten it (your character loses the Flaw). The Storyteller is free to inflict harsh withdrawal symptoms, however. Note: Satisfying this particular addiction does not count as indulging a Vice such as Gluttony. No Willpower points are gained for doing so.
• Amnesia: Your character cannot remember a certain period of her life. This might have been caused by physical or psychological trauma, and memories might come back at the most unexpected or inopportune moments. In addition, she might not remember allies or enemies from her past. This seeming disregard might insult others, make them abandon your character, or drive them to make her remember. For all she knows, there might be a warrant out for her arrest in a distant county or state.
• Coward: Your character is afraid to confront unknown situations, and hesitates when he should act boldly.
• Forgetful: Your character doesn't have amnesia, but she does have trouble remembering particular details. What was the name of that cursed book I was supposed to rescue from the library? The player should avoid relying on her own memory or asking for memory rolls for her character. The character doesn't forget everything, especially not truly important details, but she should forget enough to make things frustrating for her companions.
• Glamour Addict: Per the Addiction Flaw, but the changeling’s substance of choice is Glamour. Alternately, he could be addicted to the act of harvesting itself. (Lords of Summer)
• Illiterate: Your character was either abducted before learning to read and write well, or lost her ability to do so somewhere during her time in Faerie. She may be able to recognize simple words and symbols (stop signs and the logos for some famous brands) or to sign her name, but anything beyond that is challenging and arduous. (Lords of Summer)
• Nightmares: Some peoples’ psyches are naturally predisposed toward nightmares. In such dreamers, the more intense the dream is, the more likely she is to experience nightmares — the intensity of the dream unnerves the dreamer, and what began as a simple dream of some other kind takes a dramatic shift into the nightmarish. In game terms, any dream with an Intensity higher than the dreamer’s Resolve becomes a nightmare. These nightmares retain the beginning dream’s Intensity, however, meaning that such dreams are quite likely to leave the dreamer ill rested the next morning. (Changeling: the Lost)

Physical

• Cannibal: Your character has developed a taste for human flesh somewhere along the line. While not quite an addiction, it is a strong preference and one your character finds hard to resist. It is possible that the taboo against giving into this “treat” only makes it more tantalizing for her. (Lords of Summer)
• Crippled: Your character cannot walk. He has no natural Speed trait, and must rely on a wheelchair or vehicle to travel. A manual wheelchair's Speed is equal to your character's Strength, but he must spend an action to move or suffers a -2 penalty to both Speed and any other action performed (he uses one arm to spin a wheel). An electric wheelchair has a Speed of 3 and allows for other actions in a turn without penalty (your characters' hands are largely free).
• Cumbersome: Unlike the Giant Flaw, the extra mass your character carries around is not entirely beneficial to his health. He weighs three to four times what an average human of his size does and must shop for clothing in specialty stores. He has difficulty sitting in chairs with arms, fitting through narrow doorways or crossing weak bridges or floors. He can never raise his Stamina above 3. This Flaw may be taken in conjunction with the Giant Merit, exacerbating the Giant’s difficulties to “fit in” in a world designed for average-sized humans. (Lords of Summer)
• Dwarf: Your character is much shorter than the average person. His adult Size is 4. This Flaw awards points only if the character's short size causes him physical or social problems (besides the obvious problem of having a low Health score).
• Hard of Hearing: Your character's hearing isn't so good. Subtract two dice from any hearing-based perception rolls. Even though he suffers this penalty on all hearing rolls, you get an experience point at the end of a session only if this Flaw caused him notable trouble.
• Lame: Your character has a leg or foot condition that impedes his movement, slowing him down. His basic Speed factor is 2 (instead of 5). Add this to his Strength + Dexterity to determine his Speed trait (see p. 95). You get an experience point at the end of a session only if this Flaw causes your character notable trouble.
• Manifest Mien: Your character’s Mask is imperfect in some small way, leaving humans who witness his Flaw uncomfortable. A Skitterskulk’s hair (including that on his face and body) might be bristly and stand out from his skin as a fly’s does, or he might always move with a scuttling walk. An Airtouched might seem always out of breath, or an Earthbone’s skin always covered in a faint layer of dust or smudges of dirt. Even for the Fairest, a Manifest Mien is no boon — a Bright One might be easily mistaken for a human on some sensory enhancing drug that gives his skin an almost palpable glow, or a Muse come across as “too beautiful,” making those around her spin conjecture about which plastic surgeon she sees to achieve such inhuman features. Note: In no way should the Manifest Mien Flaw be used to benefit the character. While a Hunterheart’s prominent fangs might be intimidating, with this Flaw he leaves those who see them thinking he’s a poser who files his teeth to look “tough” rather than a frightening predator. As always, a character gains no extra experience points if a Flaw comes into play but does not in fact hinder him in some undesirable way. (Lords of Summer)
• Mute: Your character cannot speak and must communicate through hand signs, gestures or by writing.
• One Arm: Your character is missing an arm, which makes it hard to perform certain tasks. At the Storyteller's discretion, tasks that normally require two hands take twice as long to perform or are impossible. If your character attempts to perform a challenging task in the normal amount of time, he suffers a -3 penalty.
• One Eye: Your character is missing an eye. He has no real depth perception, so all penalties for ranged attacks are doubled. If he attempts to drive in heavy traffic, any 1s rolled on any die cancel out successes on a one-to-one basis, and you may not re-roll 10s.
• Poor Sight: Your character's sight isn't so good. Subtract two dice from any sight-based perception rolls. Even though she suffers this penalty on all seeing rolls, you get an experience point at the end of a session only if this Flaw causes your character notable trouble.

Social

• Aloof: Your character is uncomfortable in social settings and avoids crowds and interaction as much as possible. She dislikes being the center of attention and recoils from center stage. Experience is gained when she avoids attention or social environments and misses out on potential rewards as a result.
• Anachronism: Your character suffered longer in Arcadia than most, and now much of the human world he returned to is unfamiliar. He may be flatly unable to complete certain tasks that modern changelings take for granted until he learns the ins and outs of recent technology. In addition, the local freehold likely sees him as a breach of secrecy waiting to happen, and is unwilling to let him wander freely through the area. Note: It is all but unheard of for changelings who have spent more than 100 years in Arcadia to return. Most Anachronistic Lost will have come from no later than the early 1900s, but even a century provides plenty of challenges for a returning fae. In 1900, there were no functional airplanes, no radio programs (let alone television), very few automobiles (all handmade) or electric lights (most homes were still lit with gas or oil lamps and candles). Gas stoves had just begun to be commercially available, along with portable cameras, and most clothing was still made for the family by the women of the house, who wore floor-length skirts even when gardening or bicycling. (Lords of Summer)
• Behavior Blind: Your character doesn't really understand human behavior and is blind to common social cues that communicate other people's basic feelings. Maybe he was raised by wolves or terrible parents, but he is socially maladapted. He can't tell when others use sarcasm or innuendo, or if he's boring them. An experience point is awarded only if this Flaw is directly related to a setback that delayed or prevented your character from achieving his goals. Perhaps an important contact or ally refused aid due to being insulted or disgusted by your character's behavior. Note: This Flaw does not preclude your character from having the Empathy Skill, but barring successful Skill rolls, he cannot figure out other people's moods.
• Deformity: Your character has a misshapen limb, a terrible visible scar or some other physical affliction that might cause revulsion in others. You suffer a -2 penalty on Social rolls when your character makes new acquaintances.
• Embarrassing Secret: Your character has a secret about her past that she must hide or else suffer shame and ostracism from her peers. An experience point is awarded only if your character harms her other causes by working to keep her secret. Perhaps she misses an important meeting with an ally so that she can distract a reporter from looking into her past. Extra experience can be awarded if the secret gets out, at which point this Flaw might be exchanged for Notoriety at the Storyteller's discretion.
• Notoriety: Your character, like O.J. Simpson or Michael Jackson, is renowned for some heinous deed, regardless of whether he committed it or not. This Flaw could derive from his infamous family or from his association with a scandalous organization such as the Mob or a company known for environmental infractions. If recognized, he inspires a negative reaction in others. An experience point is awarded only if the negative reaction causes some harm to your character's goals.
• Racist/Sexist: Your character has biased opinions of other races, genders, gender-preference groups or cultures. Unfortunately, he also has trouble keeping those opinions to himself, even in the presence of such people. Experience is gained when your character acts on his biases and is confronted, dismissed, ignored or even attacked for them.
• Speech Impediment: Your character has trouble speaking properly. This might be due to a lisp, stutter or wound. This Flaw should be roleplayed whenever your character speaks. If you consistently forget to do so, the Storyteller may warn you that your character's condition is improving and might soon be cured.
• True Tongue: Your character is a horrible liar. While he is physically capable of telling a fib, when he does so it’s obvious. Maybe he stutters when he tries to tell a lie, or perhaps he can’t keep his stories straight from one moment to the next and contradicts himself. Whatever the reason, those who he lies to can just tell he’s not coming clean with them. Even lies of omission are difficult for him — those around him just have a feeling there’s more to the story than he’s letting on. (Lords of Summer)
• Untrustworthy: Something about your character just engenders suspicion in others. Maybe it’s her shifty eyes. Maybe she talks just a bit too fast, or someone has spread rumors about her breaking pledges in the past. Regardless, others are hesitant to put their faith in her, and she is at a –2 penalty for all Persuasion and Socialize rolls, or any challenge using Manipulation. (Lords of Summer)