Starting Flaws

You are Bisexual and thus attracted to people of either gender expression. This also means you’re quite prone to panic whilst dating. Add +2 difficultly to any social rolls involving seduction or flirtation. Your character does not need to take this trait to be Bisexual.

You have some sort of secret that, if uncovered, could pose many problems for you. This could be a torture dungeon in the basement, being on various flightlogs, running a secret meth empire or the actual gunman of the grassy knoll.

When you sleep, it is very difficult for you to awaken. It is a +2 difficulty threshold to try wake you up or awaken when you are asleep. In addition you receive a -2 Penalty on all dice rolls if you got less then 8 hours of sleep.

One of your senses is very poor. This is a non-correctable condition, and all Perception rolls relying on that sense are +2 Difficulty.

You experience horrendous nightmares every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours. You are encouraged to describe the nightmares and intergrade them into your roleplaying.

Upon awakening, you must make a willpower roll at Difficulty 7 or
lose a die on all actions for that day. Botching this roll will cause you to believe that you are still locked in a nightmare even when you are truly awake.

You refuse to harm a certain class of “prey”. These could any group or category of people, such as women, children, police officers, the rich, the poor, Catholics, Hindus, the innocent. If you accidentally harm a member of such a group you must make a Trauma Roll.

This flaw is not for every Highroller. You should only take this flaw if your character regularly causes harm to others. It’d make sense on a serial killer but not a law abiding office worker. Storytellers may veto this flaw if needed.

You feel compelled to avoid any situation that involves causing someone physical or emotional pain. In order to do so you must make a temporary Willpower roll, Difficulty 8

You have a speech impediment that hampers verbal communication. Difficulties of all die rolls involving verbal communication are increased by +2. You are encouraged to roleplay this flaw whenever possible.

You are distinctly ill at ease when dealing with people and try to avoid social situations whenever possible. Difficulties for all rolls involving social interactions with strangers are increased by +2. If the character becomes the center of attention in a large group, difficulties are increased by +3.

Maybe your parents were cruel, or you were frequently in Juvey.
Regardless, you are callous to the suffering of others. At character creation only use Self-Control to determine Morality; do not add Conviction.

You must integrate this flaw into your character’s backstory.

You have an enemy, or perhaps a group of enemies, who want your head. The power and scope of these enemies depend on the value of the flaw taken.

• 1) Very motivated individual
• 2) Small group of people
• 3) Small organization, such as a street gang or local police department.
• 4) Large organization like an alphabet agency, regional criminal organizations or large corporations
• 5) Entire governments or mega-corporation

A value of 1 would be like having another highroller or maybe a cop with a grudge out for you, while a value of 5 would be like being an internationally wanted fugitive such as Bin Laden.

• 1) You’ve got a face only a mother can love.
• 2) You look like you suffered a horrible accident years ago.
• 3) You look like you suffered a horrible accident yesterday.

You are physically unattractive in some way. Any rolls that involve physical appearance take a penalty to Difficulty at the rating of this flaw. You should make note of how you are ugly on your Character Sheet. Social interactions should be roleplayed with this Flaw in mind.

Exceptions to the penalty (or even have the Flaw be used as a bonus) can be made if you are trying to use your appearance to frighten or intimidate. These are at the discretion of the Storyteller.

At a rating of 2 or higher you are unable to have an Appearance Rating above 2.

At a rating of 3 this flaw is also considered a Deformity. You must come up with additional effects that effect your character. For example, a hunchback would suffer a penalty to Dexterity. It is your responsibility to workshop this with a Storyteller.

You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself or your family, though your past might well come back to haunt you. You retain your short term memories and knowledge of your own skills however. Your origins and the circumstances behind your amnesia can be up for the storyteller to determine, and they are encouraged to make it as interesting as possible.

You automatically fail all Perception rolls related to smell and are unable to pass them with Willpower. Storytellers should not convey such descriptions of smell when relaying information to Highrollers with this trait.

Maybe your wages have been garnished. Maybe you’ve got a gambling debt to the mob. Maybe you’re drowning in student loan debt. Either way, you are flat broke, and completely incapable of saving up money. After each session, you must pay 1d10 x 100 or face the consequences.

Who the highroller is in debt to is your responsibility to come up with.

You have only on eye – which eye is missing is up to you. The Difficulties of all Perception rolls involving eyesight are increased by 2, and the Difficulties of all die rolls requiring depth perception are increased by 1. (This includes ranged combat.)

You have an overpowering fear of something. This could be anything, but common examples include heights, spiders, the ocean, crowds or snakes. You must make a courage roll every time you encounter the object of your fear. The difficulty of the roll is determined by the Storyteller, and if you fail the roll you must retreat from the object. You must keep this trait in mind whilst roleplaying.

You are well below average height – four and a half feet tall or less. You have difficulty reaching or manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, and your running speed is one-half that of a normally proportioned human

You are extremely territorial, staking out a particular area as your home and react aggressively to trespassers.

If another person enters your territory uninvited, you must roll Self-Control. If you fail the roll (or choose not to roll at all) immediately attack the interloper until they’re dead or have left your territory. You are also reluctant to leave your territory except in desperate circumstances.

You are vengeful by nature. Whenever you are wronged, you become obsessed with taking your revenge, and it is your overriding priority in any situation where you encounter the object of your malice. You may temporarily resist your need for vengeance by spending a Willpower point.

Note that your vengeance does not have to be disproportionate, and you do not have to avenge trivial slights (such as being short-changed by a cashier)

You have nearly no short term memory. Though you can retain some long-term memoires and your abilities, you forget names, faces, addresses, what and when you’ve eaten and more. In order to remember anymore than your own name and address you must make a Wits roll or spend a Willpower point.

This flaw may not be taken with the Merit Concentration.

You are an anachronism. For one reason or another you are not of this current time. You do not understand modern technology, culture or customs. Subtract 3 dice from any action that requires you to interact with modern technology. It is highly recommended you integrate this into your roleplaying.

One or both of your legs are damaged or amputated. This hinders your ability to walk and entirely restricts you from running. You must use a cane, leg braces or other mobility aides. If you are able to walk at all, you do so with a pronounced limp. Your walking speed is a fourth of a normal human and you cannot run.

It is also the responsibility of the player to come up with the backstory of why their character has this disability. It is highly recommend you integrate this into your character’s backstory.

You have one less Dying health level than normal. You die at 3 levels below Incapacitated, rather than at 4 levels below Incapacitated.

You are a prisoner when not participating in the games. Through natural or supernatural means you are broken out to attend the games, but after each session you are returned to prison. You do not have access to training materials during downtime, and this will restrict the abilities you can advance.

You start each game with nothing more than the clothes on your back. You may have some items that a prisoner could reasonably obtain, but nothing else. In addition you are in a single, predictable location for anytime you’re not in a game. If you make enemies during the games, it will be very easy for them to reach you.

Finally, it is the responsibility of the player to determine why you are imprisoned. Are you a hardened criminal, or a person who was in the wrong place, wrong time? Are you a violent offender, or a white collar criminal? Are you wrongfully convicted, or the target of political oppression?

You have an innate belief that all sentient beings have an inalienable right to life. This goes on beyond held beliefs, you are literally incapable of allowing someone to be killed; whether through action or inaction. Every time you do, you automatically suffer a failed Degeneration Check. You either c lose a point of morality (representing your character becoming callous) or gain a derangement.

Please note this is a serious, character altering flaw. It is possible to have a high regard for life without taking this flaw.

Your character only has one arm. It is up to the player which arm is missing. It is also the responsibility of the player to come up with the backstory of why their character has one arm. It is assumed you’re accustomed to being amputated and suffer no penalties from being off-handed. However, you suffer a -2 Penalty to any action where two hands would be needed.

A character may not take this flaw along side the merit Ambidextrous.

Maybe you’re a wanted murder, an escaped prisoner, a notorious drug lord, or you just flat out fucked over a lot of people while in a position of power. Either way, people know who you are, and not for the right reasons. You have a hard time keeping a low profile and if you’re recognized, bad things will follow.

You are a child. At most you are 12, but no older. People treat you differently because of your age, and your starting strength and stamina are limited to 3. You are expected to roleplay as such.

You are deaf. You cannot hear anything. It is assumed that you’re able to read lips to communicate, with the complications that would ensue. The difficulties of Alertness rolls are increased by 3.

You’re the guy who always misses the battle, or gets eaten by the victorious monster afterward. You have a 50% chance of being knocked out for 1d10 minutes any time you do not successfully soak any damage taken to your head.

Your blood does not clot normally. Your blood does not clot normally. Your Injuries are treated as being two levels of Severity higher for the purposes of Stabilizing them and for degradation. This means that even a Minor Injury requires stabilization, and will degrade if left unattended. Injuries are not considered a higher level for calculating Wound Level.

You cannot speak. you may communicate with the referee and describe your actions, but cannot talk to player or referee characters unless everyone concerned uses linguistics dots to purchase a commonly understood sign language or you write down what you wish to say.

You no longer have your first Wound Level. Your new first Wound Level has a -1 Wound Penalty, and you become unconscious at level 6 instead of level 7.

Though most Highrollers inevitably die during the games, you are fated to suffer a particularly horrible demise. It is unlikely you will survive more than a year in the Games. Whether the character is aware of this is up to the player.

The Storyteller can declare any single roll of yours a Botch once per session. Any Willpower you spent on the roll is not refunded. You may not have Luck or Charmed Existence.

You never learned how to read or write. Any actions requiring reading or writing are impossible to preform. A Storyteller may not describe what any writing says to you.

Because of your illiteracy, many of your skills are limited. Your starting level in Academics, Computer, Linguistics, Management or Science must be 0. Any other starting Knowledge Attributes cannot be higher then 2.

You will be unable to make use the backgrounds Database or Library, but may take them at character creation. Any rolls for Study Point Generators are made with an increased difficulty of 2.

This trait may be removed by learning how to read. If you have the Mentor trait, your mentor can teach you how to read. You do not receive a +2 difficulty penalty on this check.

You can also teach yourself how to read in a downtime. To do so you must roll Intelligence +Willpower. The difficulty of this is dependent on your Intelligence.

• 1 Dots- Difficulty 8
• 2 Dots- Difficulty 6
• 3 Dots or higher- Difficulty 4

You may also use a Gift to remove this trait, or buy a single point in Academics at double the normal cost.

You have not established yourself in society. The reason why is up to the player. Perhaps you were raised by wolves, grown in a cloning vat, ended up in this dimension by mistake, or maybe even raised Amish! The possibilities, both mundane and fantastical, are endless.

You do not have citizenship in any country, and you have no official identity or license of any sort. You might not even speak a relevant language as your one “given” language (perhaps you only speak an obscure alien dialect, Latin, or some other useless language). You begin each game with 1d10 x10 in cash, max.

You are restricted from the following traits at character creation: Alias, Arsenal, Citizenship, Contacts, Fame, Laboratory, Resources, and Status.

Due to your lack of paperwork you automatically receive the effects of Cipher at a rating of 5. This positive effect disappears if you are gifted any of the restricted traits listed above (representing your character getting entered into the system).

You are extremely weak willed. Perhaps you’ve always dropped your news year resolutions after a few days or you easily give in to peer pressure. Either way you are highly susceptible to mind-affecting and social manipulation. All difficulties to resist such effects are increased by 2. Additionally your Willpower trait may never raise above 5.

You cannot see. Characters can compensate for the loss of vision by becoming more sensitive to other sensory input, but visual cues and images are lost to them. Any actions involving hand-eye coordination are have difficultly 9 to succeed. Difficulties of all Dexterity-based rolls are increased by 2. You also suffer -4 dice to all actions which call for sight. Furthermore, when shooting blind, you may not add your successes to your damage dice pool.

You can hardly move without assistance, such as a pair of crutches or a wheelchair. You and the storyteller should take care to roleplay this Flaw correctly, no matter how difficult it makes things. The background for why your character is disabled should be integrated into your backstory. A character may not take this Flaw along with the Merit Double-Jointed.