Merits and Flaws
Although the standard character creation rules presented in Exalted allow for considerable diversity, players and Storytellers desiring greater customization and detail may incorporate the optional system of Merits and Flaws into their games. Merits represent specific advantages purchased with bonus points. Characters may theoretically have as many Merits as they can afford to purchase, limited only by the relative scarcity of bonus points. Flaws work in reverse, imposing disadvantages in exchange for additional bonus points to spend on other Traits.
Characters may only receive up to 10 extra bonus points (mortals only 5 points!) from Flaws, regardless of the number taken. This cap limits abuse of Traits solely obtained for points and cuts down on patently ridiculous combinations of high-value Flaws. The dying, insane, blind, one-legged, one-armed sterile man cursed with terrible fate and bad luck is a pathetic wretch that doesn't really belong as a heroic protagonist, even if he has five dots in almost every Ability and Willpower 10 to show for it.
Most importantly, Storytellers may veto any selection of Merits and Flaws for any character for any reason, period. This decision should take into account the ways that Merits and Flaws affect the character who takes them as well as the other protagonists in the game. A character with Known Anathema is going to bring down reprisal on a Circle of Solar Exalted, and the other players didn't ask for that trouble. On the one hand, this creates drama and story seeds. On the other, players may not appreciate being part of this particular drama just because somebody felt he just had to take another dot of Essence. In a similar vein, Storytellers should consider whether a Merit or Flaw will be played as intended or lie forgotten in the margin of a character sheet. While ostensibly the duty of the player who selected the Trait, it is the Storyteller's job to ensure that Flaws are not conveniently overlooked.
Merits and Flaws are used only if they are allowed in the particular campaign. Nek Dæn Campaign has special rules concerning Merits and Flaws.
Gaining and Losing Merits and Flaws
If something happens during the course of play that removes, modifies or imposes a new Trait, the Storyteller has three choices. The first is to treat Merits and Flaws like Backgrounds. They can change with the plot and events but do not cost or reward players after character creation. This system is simple, but it can create a sense of unfairness if a player takes extra points with Amputee and then finds a Solar healer to regenerate the missing limb, while a character who suffers an Abyssal's Artful Maiming Onslaught receives no compensation for the loss of a hand.
The second option requires more work from the Storyteller, but it offers more fairness. If the character loses a Trait, it will eventually be replaced with another Trait of equal value. If a character gains a Trait, then it comes with the erosion of another Trait. This method is easy on the bookkeeping, but it may feel contrived, especially if the Storyteller cannot find a good story explanation for the change. Also, this method does not address circumstances of great point discrepancy, where a character stands to gain a Trait whose value greatly exceeds the existing number of Merits or Flaws.
The final method is the most complicated but, also, the most thorough. If a character loses a Merit or gains a Flaw, she receives a number of experience points equal to twice its bonus point value. If a character gains a Merit or loses a Flaw, she must pay a like number of experience. If the character cannot pay this full cost, she pays whatever she has available and must allocate all further experience to the remaining balance until it is paid in full. Characters with more than 10 points of Flaws receive no experience for the excess. The Storyteller may use any of these three methods or a combination, as appropriate, to the specific Trait and situation.
Only sensible Merits and Flaws will be listed here. For example, Destiny and Dark Fate didn't make much sense so I dropped them.
Merits
Physical
Ambidextrous (1- or 2-pt. Merit, 1-pt. for Lunars)
For one point, the character can use both hands equally well and never suffers an offhand penalty for any task.
Characters with the two-point version of this Merit can also hold weapons and tools with their feet as readily as their hands, an adaptation common among the Haltans of the East and highly useful for characters who have lost the use of both hands. Matters of balance and common sense still apply, however, so omnidextrous characters will not be able to walk around carrying objects with every hand and foot simultaneously.
Lunars pay only one point to be omnidextrous.
Most people favor one hand over the other and suffer an internal penalty for using a weapon or tool with the off hand. An ambidextrous character ignores this penalty and can freely use either hand for Dexterity-related actions without penalty. In close combat, an ambidextrous character wielding a melee or one-handed martial arts weapon can shift his weapon from one hand to the other freely with a single success on a {Dexterity + (Martial Arts or Melee}] roll. Doing so counts as an action but reduces the Parry DV of the target of the character's next attack by two, provided that the two combatants are already in close combat.
Acute Sense (1- or 3-pt. Merit per sense)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take the 3-point version.
The character has one or more senses heightened to superhuman sensitivity, for a cost of one bonus point each. The character adds two dice to any Perception and/or Awareness dice pool involving a heightened sense, but his player must make a reflexive Wits + Awareness roll at standard difficulty whenever that sense experiences extremely intense stimuli. Failure inflicts a one-die penalty to all actions requiring concentration until the stimulus abates or the acclimation roll succeeds on a successive turn. If a character instead pays three bonus points per sense, the sense is heightened to preternatural acuity. For example, a character with preternatural hearing could navigate entirely by the reflection and pitch of echoes, compensating entirely for pitch darkness or blindness except for an inability to discern colors and purely visual data. This sensitivity also adds four dice to relevant rolls involving the sense. Unfortunately, such extreme acuity increases the difficulty of sensory-overload rolls and the dice penalty for failure to two. The enhancement provided by this Merit is not cumulative with Charms and other magic. Only the highest bonus applies. Bonus dice awarded by a heightened sense do not aid in resisting overstimulation.
Double-Jointed (1- or 3-pt. Merit, 1- or 2-pt. for Lunars)
For a cost of one point, the character is unusually supple and capable of remarkable feats of contortion. Add one die to such an individual's grappling attempts, as well as to any Athletics or Larceny rolls where such flexibility proves advantageous.
Characters with the three-point version of this Merit are uncanny contortionists, capable of seemingly impossible feats. These freakish acrobats add two dice to rolls benefiting from flexibility and can bend every finger to the wrist, kick their legs straight up, maintain indefinite splits, dislocate and reset joints painlessly and slip free of most conventional restraints with a Dexterity + Athletics roll at a difficulty assigned by the Storyteller.
Lunar Exalted pay only two points for the greater version of this Merit.
Large Size (4- or 6-pt. Merit)
Characters with the four-point version of this Merit are roughly 25 percent larger than average, standing over seven feet tall and usually weighing in at 300 pounds or more. Such imposing bulk grants one additional -0 health level.
NOTE: Common mortals may not take the 6-point version.
For six points, the character is almost impossibly huge, standing eight to nine feet tall and weighing 500 or more pounds. Such characters receive one -0 level and one -1 Health level but lose one die from Dexterity rolls to use small weapons, writing instruments or other tools not designed for their massive hands. Unlike health levels bestowed by Charms, the added toughness afforded by this Merit is immediately evident to everyone. The character will certainly stand out in most crowds and may have to stoop to pass through doorways built for smaller individuals. Most characters with this Merit have both Strength and Stamina rated at 3 or higher.
Lunar Exalted with this Merit are proportionally larger in all forms and thus receive the extra health level(s) unless wearing another specific being's face as with Prey's Skin Disguise. Large Size may also represent extremely obese characters of normal stature, particularly when coupled with a low Dexterity.
Legendary Attribute (5-pt. Merit, 3-pt. for Exalted)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take this merit.
Characters with this Merit have the potential to attain superhuman strength, speed or resilience and may select a Physical Attribute in which they can attain a rating one dot higher than the normal limit imposed by their Essence allows. This may be done during character creation or after it. For mortals and Exalted with Essence 1 to 5, this allows a rating of 6 in the chosen Attribute. Exalted with Essence 6 may raise the Attribute to 7, etc. Other versions of this Merit exist to accommodate Social and Mental Attributes. Such Legendary Attributes follow the same rules apart from being classified as Social or Mental Merits.
Pain Tolerance (3-, 5-, or 7-pts. Merit)
Characters with this Merit can shrug off injuries that would leave most individuals unconscious or writhing in agony. For a cost of three points, the character can ignore one die of wound penalties, but this numbness increases the difficulty of all Awareness rolls based on touch by one. Five points allow the character to ignore two dice of wound penalties but also increases the difficulty of touch-based Awareness by a like amount.
At seven points, the character feels nothing. Even if mortally wounded, he may continue to act without any penalties for injuries that do not involve actual maiming. If maimed, the character can briefly jog on broken legs, swing his shattered stump of an arm like a club and perform other acts of relentless fortitude. The downside to seven-point resilience is that the character automatically fails rolls that require a sense of touch and must visually inspect his body for injuries that require treatment to prevent infection or bleeding to death.
The effects of this Merit are not cumulative with Charms and other magic that negate wound penalties. Only the most powerful effect applies. Pain Tolerance is particularly common among ghosts, Lunar Exalted and deathknights with corpse-like flesh.
Special Resistance (Variable Cost Merit)
For every point invested in this Merit, the character adds one additional die on applicable Resistance and Endurance rolls versus poison or disease. A character may not purchase more than five additional dice of immunity to either form of injury.
NOTE: Common mortals can purchase up to 3 points worth of additional dice against either form of injury, but not immunities.
Alternately, the character may have total immunity to a specific poison or disease for a cost of one point. The character will suffer no ill effects from that toxin or become sick from exposure to the malady. It is not possible to purchase immunity to infected wounds with this Merit. Immunity to alcohol simply means that the character will never suffer alcohol poisoning, though he may become inebriated and even pass out from excessive drinking. All forms of this Merit assume the character has built his Special Resistance through repeated exposure to the appropriate danger — intentionally or otherwise.
Special Sense (Variable Cost Merit)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take this merit.
Characters with this Merit have one or more senses that process stimuli beyond the normal ranges of detection for their species. For example, a character may be able to see heat as well as visible light, to hear high frequency pitches like a dog or to recognize pheromones like a bee. There is no fixed mechanical effect for this broader sensitivity, but Storytellers should certainly accommodate the character's gift when narrating sensory details. If this Merit is taken in conjunction with the appropriate Acute Sense Merit, the character's heightened awareness also applies to the unusual ranges of that sense. Every significant expansion of a single sense's range costs two bonus points.
Strong Back (3 pts. -Merit)
Cost: 3 pts.
Availability: Anyone
Your character is exceptionally strong when it comes to heavy lifting. Add one dot to the character's Strength solely for purposes of determining how much she can lift or carry. The added Strength does not apply for any other purpose.
Strong Lungs (2 or 3 pts. -Merit)
Cost: 3 pts. (2 pts. for Western mortals and Water-aspected Dragon-Blooded)
Availability: Anyone
Your character can hold his breath for (Stamina x 60) seconds, plus an additional 60 seconds for every success on a (Stamina + Resistance) roll.
Mutation (Variable Cost Merit or Flaw)
NOTE: Common mortals may take just one pox or deficiency, as a 3-point merit or a 2-point flaw.
Characters with this Merit display unusual or even unnatural features, typically as a result of supernatural parentage, direct or ancestral exposure to the Wyld or an uncapped Demesne or even an especially pronounced Lunar Tell. Regardless of their actual origin, aberrations purchased with this Merit take the form of Wyld mutations. Useful mutations costs a number of bonus points equal to their mutation point rating + 2. Harmful mutations taken as Flaws grant bonus points equal to their mutation point rating + 1.
Characters with an Essence pool may spend 2 motes of Essence in place of one Willpower point to fuel any activation costs required by mutations but may not purchase the Essence Channeler blight under any circumstances. Similarly, character with a natural healing rate superior to mortals cannot purchase the Regeneration affliction. As always, the Storyteller may veto or modify the cost of any mutation deemed unfair, particularly if that feature is already covered by another Trait. Features obtained with this Merit do not count as actual Wyld mutations for the purposes of determining whether a creature may safely endure Creation, but only beings with less mutation points than their Stamina may pass their aberrations on to offspring (who must still take this Merit/Flaw as appropriate).
Pain Tolerance (3-, 5- or 7-pt. Merit)
NOTE: Common mortals may only take the 3-point version. Heroic mortals may take 3- or 5-point versions.
Characters with this Merit can shrug off injuries that would leave most individuals unconscious or writhing in agony. For a cost of three points, the character can ignore one die of wound penalties, but this numbness increases the difficulty of all Awareness rolls based on touch by one. Five points allow the character to ignore two dice of wound penalties but also increases the difficulty of touch-based Awareness by a like amount. At seven points, the character feels nothing. Even if mortally wounded, he may continue to act without any penalties for injuries that do not involve actual maiming. If maimed, the character can briefly jog on broken legs, swing his shattered stump of an arm like a club and perform other acts of relentless fortitude. The downside to seven-point resilience is that the character automatically fails rolls that require a sense of touch and must visually inspect his body for injuries that require treatment to prevent infection or bleeding to death. The effects of this Merit are not cumulative with Charms and other magic that negate wound penalties. Only the most powerful effect applies. Pain Tolerance is particularly common among ghosts, Lunar Exalted and deathknights with corpse-like flesh.
Mental
Acute Sense (2- or 1-pt. Merit)
Cost: 2 pts. (for hearing or vision) or 1 pt. (for touch, taste or smell)
Availability: Anyone
One of your character's senses is especially perceptive. Acute Sense functions as a sense-specific specialty for the Perception Attribute. Each time the Merit is purchased, the character gains a one-die bonus to Perception-based rolls that involve a specific sense (hearing, smell, taste, touch or vision). This Merit may be purchased up to three times, either granting up to a three-die bonus to a single sense or granting lesser bonuses to different senses.
Internal Compass (1-pt. Merit)
The character has an uncanny sense of direction and gains one extra die to all rolls made to navigate a ship or to find her way through a maze. She can orient herself with regard to the cardinal directions of Creation or the Underworld with a Wits + Awareness roll at standard difficulty.
Eidetic Recall (1- to 5-pt. Merit, 3-pt. for Alchemicals)
NOTE: Common mortals may take up to 2 senses (2 points) version.
Characters with this Merit have a nearly perfect memory of everything they have ever witnessed, at a cost of one bonus point for every sense the character can infallibly recall. Eidetic Recall allows character to identify someone by a whiff of remembered perfume or to remember the exact wording of every argument used in a trial or to revisit scenes with photographic memory. It is assumed that this record is always functioning, though the Storyteller may require a Wits + Awareness roll to memorize or remember details observed in moments of intense stress (such as combat).
Alchemical Exalted pay a flat cost of three points for full Eidetic Recall of all five senses.
Extra Favored Ability (2-pt. Merit)
Cost: 2 pts.
Availability: Sidereals, Dragon-Bloods, any un-Exalted character
Your character possesses a preternatural aptitude for some Ability. For two points, the character may acquire one Favored Ability (in addition to any normally gained through character creation), which follows all the normal rules for Favored Abilities with regard to bonus and experience point costs. A mortal character may never have any non-Favored Ability rated higher than any Favored Ability. This Merit may be purchased multiple times, with each Merit representing a different Ability. No character may have more than five Favored Abilities, however, so a Sidereal may not purchase more than one extra Favored Ability (since Sidereals acquire four through character creation), while a Dragon-Blood may not purchase more than two. Typically, heroic mortals begin with one Favored Ability and may purchase this Merit up to four times.
Jack of All Trades (4-pt. Merit)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take the this Merit.
Characters with this Merit have a broad basis of knowledge and skill to draw upon and an almost preternatural ability to adapt their understanding to new purposes and situations. They suffer no penalty to Attribute rolls when lacking the required Ability for a dice pool.
Social
Born to Rule (2-pt. Merit)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take this Merit.
Characters with this Merit convey authority in every gesture and inflection, most likely as a result of aristocratic upbringing. Others develop such majesty through the practice of leadership or upon receiving the mantle of Exaltation. Regardless, this Merit adds one die to all Social rolls when interacting with an acknowledged inferior (as determined by the Storyteller).
Carouser (2-pt. Merit)
Cost: 2 pts.
Availability: Anyone
Your character knows how to party and how to best present himself to fellow party-goers. The character gains a two-die bonus to all social rolls made to influence, charm or seduce others in the context of any party less sophisticated than a formal cotillion—whether in a raucous Northern bar, a Nexus orgy or the drunken initiation party for a newly Exalted Dragon-Blood. The character also gains a two-die bonus to all (Stamina + Resistance) rolls made for him to resist the effects of consuming too much alcohol or other recreational drugs at the party. At the Storyteller's discretion, this two-die bonus may also apply to any rolls relevant to sexual performance in the context of the party.
Enchanting Feature (2-pt. Merit)
Something about the character is striking and attractive or at least conveys a strong presence. He may have deep eyes that seem to hold the secrets of the universe or a voice that resonates like the basso rumble of a lion. Whenever the character can exploit this feature, he adds one die to all pertinent Social rolls, as decided by the Storyteller.
Innocuous (2- or 4-pt. Merit)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take the 4-pt. version.
Characters with the two-point version of this Merit have an eerily unremarkable visage. Height, weight and build are all average, all plain. No one is apt to pick them from a crowd unless their skin and hair is dramatically different in hue than all the locals — and, possibly, not even then. People are less likely to remember them at all if they do nothing to draw attention to themselves. Such everyman anonymity adds one die to pertinent Larceny and Stealth rolls and adds one to the difficulty of any casual pursuit or investigation of the character. This will not foil any serious inquiry, nor does it grant any bonus if the character is alone or does something memorable (such as showing any level of an anima banner). Characters must have Appearance 2 in order to purchase this version of Innocuous.
The four-point version of Innocuous is a Supernatural Merit rather than Social. The character is not simply ordinary, but cloaked in an aura of subtle obscurity. Those who witness and even interact with her find their memories blurred. They may recall the conversation, but not the person with whom they spoke. More astute characters might remember "that girl" or maybe even "that redhaired girl" if they are especially insightful, but that’s about the best most can hope for.
Mechanically, this more powerful version doubles the bonuses afforded by the lesser version of this Merit. Additionally, onlookers do not remember more than superficial details from interactions with the character without a Wits + Essence roll. The base difficulty of this roll is 6, reduced by 1 for every significant interaction the observer had with the character in the previous week. Roll at the conclusion of each encounter. Once a witness pierces the anonymity, the difficulty of subsequent memory checks is the number of full weeks she has gone without interacting with the obscured character. This roll is made once a week, starting with the first full week of no contact. On a failure, existing memories of previous encounters with the obscured character blur and fade regardless of their significance. Magical beings (those with Essence 2+) indefinitely ignore the aura of anonymity after they pierce it once, but only if the hidden character has a lower permanent Essence. Unfortunately, magically cloaked characters have obvious difficulties forming lasting relationships and may not have more than two dots each of Allies, Contacts, Mentor or any other socially dependent Backgrounds unless their associates are powerful magical beings assumed to have pierced the veil. Veiled characters may not have Followers, Henchmans, a Cult, any form of Command or other Backgrounds contingent on being widely known without extremely unusual circumstances approved by the Storyteller.
Sidereals may not purchase Innocuous in either version, as their innate Arcane Fate surpasses and supersedes the Merit's effects. The effects of Innocuous do not stack with Charms and other magic that conceal identity. Only the most powerful effect applies.
Silver Tongue (3-pt. Merit)
Cost: 3 pts.
Availability: Manipulation 2+
Your character is a skilled con artist and inveterate liar. The character's player gains a two-die bonus to all Manipulation rolls based on deliberate deception.
Property
(None in Player's Handbook made much sense. Resources and Artifact backgrounds are quite enough.)
Supernatural
Daredevil (4-pt. Merit, 3-pt. for Mortals)
NOTE: Sadly, Common mortals do not benefit from this merit since they normally do not gain any extra dice from stunts. Heroic mortals can get the 3-point version.
Fortune smiles on the recklessly brave. A character with this Merit may reflexively spend one Willpower point to double the number of stunt dice awarded to a Physical action with a difficulty of 3 or higher. This Willpower may be spent after the Storyteller determines the rating of a stunt and does not prevent simultaneous Willpower use for automatic success or channeling a Virtue. Note that Daredevil does not increase the number of motes or Willpower awarded for a successful stunt. Heroic mortals pay one less point for this Merit, as their daring is all the more impressive for its lack of magic.
Lucky (1- to 5-pt. Merit, 1- to 3-pt. for Sidereals)
A character with this Merit lives in interesting times, blessed with an unlikely preponderance of fortune that follows his every enterprise. He may or may not also have Destiny, as luck is quite a different force than fate. Those with Destiny find their luck invisibly guiding them toward that ordained end, while those without particular fate drift aimlessly and gracefully as a windblown leaf through the challenges of life.
Lucky characters receive a luck pool equal to the number of points invested in the Merit. Players may spend a point of luck to repeat any roll at the same difficulty and target number. Even botches may be rerolled with luck, provided the botches are not the result of broken oaths enforced by the anima of an Eclipse Caste Solar or a Moonshadow Caste Abyssal or similarly potent curses. Multiple rerolls may be applied to a single task until the desired result is obtained or until the luck runs out.
Players may also spend points of luck to affect a game of chance or other completely random event involving the character. Each point spent in this manner increases the character's chance of success by 10 percent. In such situations, the Storyteller should roll one die, adding one to the result per luck point spent. If the modified result comes up 6 or higher, the event favors the character. Characters with this Merit regain one luck point after every full week they do not call upon their luck and refresh their luck pool fully at the end of each story. Sidereal characters receive two more luck points than the number of points invested in the Merit, though they may not have a luck pool greater than five. Consequently, Sidereals with this Merit pay a maximum of three points for a luck pool of five and may not have a luck pool smaller than three.
Prescient Dreamer (3-pt. Merit, 2-pt. for Sidereals)
A character with this Merit regularly dreams of what may be. The reason for this may be a gift from a god capable of seeing into the future or an unconscious awareness of fate's strands upon the dreamer or simply a quirk of destined Exaltation for Sidereals. Regardless of the reason, such characters always remember prophetic dreams more clearly than others and recognize them as visions, even if they do not know what they mean. The futures they see may involve events of decades hence or those of the next day, though they are usually within the dreamer's lifespan.
Deriving meaning from the vague symbolism of such omens requires an Intelligence + Occult roll at a difficulty assigned by the Storyteller to reflect the overall significance of the event. The number of successes determines the clarity of understanding. One success reveals that a great calamity will come soon, but the nature of the calamity remains shrouded, as does its location and exact timing. Five successes may unearth a plot of assassination with a timetable and visions of the conspirators. Characters with this Merit do not control their visions in any way. Such dreams come unbidden and follow the whims of fate and the Storyteller. A prescient dreamer may sleep soundly for years without an omen and then experience visions every night for a month. Once a character reveals the dream to others or takes actions based on the dream, he interferes with that destiny and decreases its overall probability. This is especially true for dreams whose content lies many years in the future.
Thaumaturgy Merits
Only this 1st Edition merit is mentioned in 2e.
Essence Awareness (3-pt. Supernatural Merit)
The mortal has, through dint of study, hard work, luck or sheer cussed-mindedness, learned how to unlock some small portion of his Essence, enabling him to manipulate it in small fashions. Compute his Essence pool normally, then divide it into two pools. The first, equal to one third of his Essence pool, can be drawn upon normally — he can use it to power spells or other effects, sustain enchantments, etc. The other two thirds can only be accessed with a Willpower roll (difficulty equal to the number of motes the thaumaturge wants to spend that turn). At this level of mastery, the thaumaturge can only regenerate 1 mote per day into his pool, regardless of circumstance.
Flaws
Physical
Amputee (3-pt. Flaw)
The character lacks an arm or a leg, either as a result of a congenital defect or injury sustained later in life. Alternately, the character retains the limb, but only as a useless, paralyzed husk. The mechanical effects of amputation vary. Characters missing a hand may only perform two-handed tasks with extreme difficulty, if at all. It is assumed that any character with only one hand considers that hand primary and, therefore, suffers no off-hand penalty.
See Amputation Effects for more information.
Climate Sensitive (2-pt. Flaw)
Characters with this Flaw experience discomfort and even take ill if they are subjected to environmental conditions substantially different than those they are accustomed to. The value of this Flaw depends on the likelihood of encountering the undesired conditions. For two points, the character responds poorly to a particular extreme of temperature (arctic, tropical) or humidity (arid desert, marsh/jungle).
Whenever a character with this Flaw finds himself in an environment he finds uncomfortable, he adds 1 to the difficulty of all Survival rolls, as well as all Endurance and Resistance rolls to resist manifestations of the undesired conditions. This Flaw may not be taken to include any area the Storyteller indicates the game will never visit.
(The four-point-version didn't make sense.)
Disfigured (3- or 4-pt. Flaw)
NOTE: Common mortals may not take the 4-pt. version. But see Mutation, above—if you really want your character to be ugly.
Characters with this Flaw suffer some wretched deformity. For three points, they might bear the pitted pockmarks of a smallpox survivor, gross birth defects, heavy scarring from burns or wounds, useless protrusions of Wyld-warped tissue or something stranger still. Exalted and other magical beings may suffer deformities appropriate to their nature, such as a Lunar with a hideous Tell or ghosts with excessively prominent death marks. Characters with the lowest version of the Flaw cannot ever have an Appearance rating greater than 1 and lose one die from other Social pools in which their unsightly deformity could prove a hindrance. It is usually possible to conceal three-point deformities with heavy clothes, masks or other garb. While so attired, the character suffers no penalty and may act as though he has a normal Appearance unless the other party knows his true visage. Characters with Appearance 1 who do not have this Flaw are simply ugly, but not strikingly so.
The four-point version of this Flaw represents truly monstrous deformity: full-body scarring, the gaping pits and rotting abscesses of a leper, hideous Wyld-mutation or something more horrible still. Wretches at this level of hideousness have an Appearance of 0 that cannot be improved with bonus or experience points and automatically fail any Appearance-based roll (note the exception with intimidation). All but the most tolerant and charitable souls (Compassion 4+) will respond to the character with utter revulsion and disgust, resulting in a two-die penalty on most Social rolls. At best, monstrous characters can expect contempt and pity. In crueler regions, they may be run out of town or stoned for public amusement.
Abyssal Exalted may take with Flaw with Storyteller approval to represent a rotted or death-twisted visage. Storytellers may certainly default to the rules as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Abyssals, giving no bonus-point reward to players who choose the path of decay and putrescence. However, the game effects of this Flaw adequately represent the fear and loathing a rotted Abyssal will engender in most people.
Poor Vision (1-pt. Flaw)
Characters who cannot see clearly (i.e. lost one eye) suffer a -2 internal penalty to all rolls involving vision. This includes ranged attacks and most Awareness rolls.
Small (3-pt. Flaw)
A character with this Flaw stands only four and a half feet tall or less. She has difficulty reaching and manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, reducing her effective Strength by one dot for the sole purpose of meeting the minimum requirements of weapons and large tools. Her reduced size also costs her one -1 health level. Lunar Exalted with this Flaw appear proportionally smaller in all forms unless assuming a specific guise as with Prey's Skin Disguise. In addition to representing children or short adults or pygmy races such as the Djala, this Flaw can aid in portraying extremely gaunt and frail characters of normal height (especially in conjunction with low Stamina).
Sun-Seared (2-, 3- or 6-pt. Flaw)
NOTE: Common mortals may only take the 2-point version. If they become Exalts later, this flaw might go away...or turn worse!
The character finds sunlight uncomfortable and suffers horrible sunburns from relatively mild exposure. This Flaw is common among albinos (see Unusual Appearance), especially the Dune People of the South. Some ghosts and Abyssals also manifest this trait as a Supernatural Flaw, unable to bear the light their dead or blackened souls have forsaken.
A character with the two-point version of this Flaw is at -1 on all dice pools in direct sunlight and suffers one die of unsoakable bashing damage for each hour of sun exposure.
Characters with the three-point version increase the penalty to -2 and suffer damage every 30 minutes.
The extreme six-point form of this Flaw is rarely seen outside of the most tainted spectres, Abyssals and Demon-Blooded. Such wretches are at -3 under direct sunlight and suffer one die of unsoakable bashing damage every minute. Characters bundled in heavy clothes or otherwise limiting their direct exposure, such as under an overcast sky or darting from shadow to shadow double the interval necessary to inflict damage. Those with the six-point version only suffer damage every five minutes for indirect exposure.
Unusual Appearance (1- or 2-pt. Flaw)
For one point, the character has hair and/or eyes of a striking color, such as vivid scarlet, sea green, ashen white or some stranger hue. For two points, the character's skin also exhibits remarkable pigmentation or the colorless white of an albino. It is also possible that the character has no hair on his body at all. Regardless of the specifics, the character's appearance must deviate notably from the expected norm to warrant an actual Flaw. For example, there is nothing unusual about green-haired Haltans, though such a character might take this Flaw for a story set among the blonde and gray hues of a village in the Far North. As always, the Storyteller retains final say on whether a character's appearance deviates sufficiently. Those marked by striking colors have a harder time hiding or impersonating others and may suffer discrimination and suspicious stares from xenophobes (losing one die from pertinent Stealth, Larceny and Social rolls). True albinos often have the Sun-Seared Flaw.
Weak Immune System (4-pt. Flaw, 3-pt. for Exalted)
Mortal characters with this Flaw have a harder time fighting off illness, their players adding 2 to the difficulty of all Resistance rolls for the characters to resist disease and infection.
Exalted characters instead half their dice pools to resist or throw off such maladies (rounded down) but retain their usual superhuman resilience to the actual effects of ailments they contract. This means that Chosen with this Flaw will often experience the discomfort and distraction of illness for long bouts at a time, perhaps making them wish they were dead even if they are never in any real danger.
Mental
Unskilled (Variable Point Flaw)
NOTE: Common mortals may gain only up to 2 points from this Flaw.
Characters with this Flaw have less education and training to draw upon than most adults. They may be too young to know much yet or so old that dementia and lack of practice has robbed them of their skill. Perhaps they slept through school, or maybe they just aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer (could also be reflected by a low Intelligence or Wits). Whatever the reason, such a character receives one point for every dot of Abilities forfeited during character creation. Characters with this Flaw must still meet the statistic requirements of all known Favored Abilities (one dot for Exalted; all Favored Abilities rated equal or above non-Favored for heroic mortals) and obviously cannot purchase Ability dots with bonus points.
(Latest Errata: Characters do not have to put one dot into every Favored, Caste or Aspect Ability. Most of them do, but it's not compulsory.)
Weak-Willed (2-pt. Flaw)
Character starts with Willpower one point lower than normal: 3 for mortals, 4 for Exalted. These are the absolute minimums; anyone weaker in will than that is an extra.
Obviously, the character cannot gain more Willpower with bonus points or Merits at character generation.
He needs to spend experience points to build his Willpower.
Social
Child (3-pt. Flaw)
The character has not yet reached full maturity, and therefore, most adults treat him with patronizing amusement or disdain. His opinions are generally ignored in favor of those older and wiser, especially in matters for his own good. And that assumes anyone even bothers to hear what he has to say in the first place. The character's player loses one to three dice from all Social rolls involving interactions with adults, depending on the tolerance of the adult in question. Most children also have the Small Flaw and a measure of Unskilled.
Disturbing (2- or 3-pt. Flaw)
NOTE: Common mortals may only take the 2-pt. version.
Characters with this Flaw make others uncomfortable. It's not that they are necessarily ugly or even rude, but they exude an indefinable aura of menace that discomfits those around them. For two points, this adds 1 to the difficulty of all Social rolls not based on intimidation. For three points, this penalty increases to 2. In general, characters with this Flaw can expect most people to give them a wide berth and to minimize contact even when Social rolls do not actually come into play.
Property
(None in Player's Handbook made much sense.)
Supernatural
Unlucky (1- to 5-pt. Flaw)
A character with this Flaw suffers an endless stream of misfortune that plagues his life. Chance simply dislikes the character and thwarts his enterprises. The character receives a negative luck pool equal to the points invested in the Flaw. The Storyteller may spend a point of this bad luck to force the reroll of any roll on the part of the character's player at the same difficulty and target number as the original roll. The least successful result of these applies unless the Storyteller spends additional points of bad luck to force another reroll and so on until the Storyteller runs out of luck or accepts the outcome of the lowest roll.
Alternately, the Storyteller may spend points of bad luck to negatively influence a game of chance or other completely random event involving the character. Used in such fashion, the Storyteller rolls one die, subtracting one from the result for every luck point spent. If this yields a result of 5 or less, the outcome opposes the character. Strangely enough, characters may be simultaneously Lucky and Unlucky.
Although the two can cancel (particularly in contests of chance), the Storyteller and the player need not spend their respective luck points to affect the same rolls. A character blessed with mixed fortune experiences great highs and lows without any mediocrity, winning a king's ransom in a game and losing it the next night. Characters with this Flaw refresh their pool of bad luck at the end of every story.