Advantages

Academic Training (Magician) (*): Your hero spent his youth at a magicians’ academy, where he received comprehensive training in the art of magic and related fields. This means that during hero creation, he can advance all Lore Talents at half price (up to and including TP 10) and must pay only half the activation costs. This discount does not apply to advancement after the game has begun. Upon graduating from the academy, the hero has a magician’s seal tattooed onto the palm of his hand. This seal increases the hero’s SO by 1 (after hero creation is finished). Only heroes who have already taken the Spellcaster Advantage may take this Advantage. The advancement bonuses for Academic Training and Aptitude are not cumulative; thus, a hero may use the benefits of Academic Training in a certain Talent area prior to the beginning of game play, while he can draw on the benefits of an Aptitude afterwards. The 1-point bonus for a single Talent as described in the entry on Aptitude still applies.

Academic Training (Warrior) (*): Your hero spent his youth at a warriors’ academy where he received comprehensive training in the arts of war. This means that during hero creation, he can advance all Combat Talents at half price (up to and including TP 10) and must pay only half the activation costs. This discount does not apply to advancement after the game has begun. Upon graduating from the academy, the hero is presented with a warrior’s diploma that allows him to use any weapon, to participate in all tournaments, and to embark on an officer’s career in many armies and guard units. This warrior’s diploma increases the hero’s SO by 1 (after hero creation is finished). The advancement bonuses for Academic Training and Aptitude are not cumulative; thus, a hero may use the benefits of Academic Training in a certain Talent area prior to the beginning of game play, while he can draw on the benefits of an Aptitude afterwards. The 1-point bonus for a single Talent as described in the entry on Aptitude still applies.

Aptitude for [Talent of Choice]: Your hero receives an additional point of TP for his chosen Talent prior to the beginning of play. In addition, the selected Talent may be advanced more easily in the future: it always uses the next easier (i.e., left) column on the Advancement Cost Table. GP cost depends on the selected Talent: Aptitude for a Social, Nature, Lore, or Artisan Talent: 6 GP Aptitude for a Physical Talent: 12 GP Aptitude for a Combat Talent of Advancement Category C: 9 GP Aptitude for a Combat Talent of Advancement Category D: 12 GP Aptitude for a Combat Talent of Advancement Category E: 15 GP This Advantage can be taken only once by a hero. It cannot be combined with Aptitude for [Talent Group of Choice] in the same category, nor can it be used in conjunction with an Inaptitude for the same Talent Group. Aptitude for a single language or script is not possible. The advancement bonuses for Academic Training (see page 59) and Aptitude are not cumulative; thus, a hero may use the benefits of Academic Training in a certain Talent area prior to the beginning of game play, while he can draw on the benefits of an Aptitude afterward. The 1-point bonus for a single Talent as described still applies.

Aptitude for [Talent Group of Choice]: Your hero shows special aptitude for an entire Talent Group, such as all Combat Talents, Physical Talents, or Lore talents. When advancing a Talent from his chosen Talent Group, the hero always uses the next easiest (i.e., left) column on the Advancement Cost Table. GP cost depends on the selected Talent Group: Aptitude for Social, Nature, Lore, or Artisan Talents: 20 GP Aptitude for Physical Talents: 40 GP Aptitude for Combat Talents: 50 GP This Advantage can be taken only once by a hero. It cannot be combined with Aptitude for [Talent of Choice] in the same category, nor can it be used in conjunction with Inaptitude for the same Talent Group. For Aptitude with languages and scripts, see Language Instinct. The advancement bonuses for Academic Training (see page 59) and Aptitude are not cumulative; thus, a hero may use the benefits of Academic Training in a certain Talent area prior to the beginning of game play, while he can draw on the benefits of an Aptitude afterward.

Astral Power: For each 2 GP spent, your hero receives 1 additional Astral Point; you cannot gain more than 5 ASPs in this way. Only heroes who have already taken the Spellcaster Advantage may take this Advantage.

Astral Regeneration: Your hero regenerates 1d6+2 ASP per phase of rest; Intuition Rolls to retrieve lost Astral Points and for rituals to increase your ASP total receive a Difficulty Decrease of 2 points. Only heroes who have already taken the Spellcaster Advantage may take this Advantage. It cannot be taken together with the Astral Block Disadvantage.

Balance: Your hero receives a Difficulty Decrease of 3 points on all acrobatics, athletics, and body control Tests, and a Difficulty Decrease of 2 points on all AG Tests as long as these Tests involve balancing, mid-air turns, or regaining one’s footing on trembling ground. Also, he can deduct 20% (round up) from the damage point total for all falling damage (after figuring in the body control Test).

Bardic Voice: Your hero has a beautiful voice and an innate feeling for music. All of his singing Tests receive a Difficulty Decrease of 5 points, while all other Tests on Social Talents that involve the active use of the voice receive a Difficulty Decrease of 2 points. This Advantage has no effect on Tests related to elfsongs.

Connections (SO of acquaintance in GP): Your hero has a good friend whom he can ask for help if necessary. The type of help the hero can expect (and how often) depends on the character and profession of the connection and is subject to your Highlord’s discretion. Each acquaintance costs you a number of GP equal to her SO, and must remain within +/–5 points of your own SO, with a maximum SO of 15 for your connection. You may take this Advantage more than once.

Contortionist (25 GP): Some people have flexible joints, enabling them to do amazing things with their bodies such as creeping into tight spaces or wriggling out of chains. Contortionists receive a bonus of 1 point on the following Talents: acrobatics, bind/escape (when used for escaping), body control, dance, hide, juggling, and sneak. They advance these Talents as if they were one Advancement Category easier. Combat actions that are concerned with evading or wriggling are also easier. Additionally, this Advantage gives your hero one bonus point on Wrestling Parries and allows him to advance Wrestling as if it were one category easier. To take the Contortionist Advantage, your hero needs an AG of at least 14; your hero’s ST maximum drops by 4 points when you take this Advantage. This Advantage may not be taken together with the Outstanding Attribute: Strength Advantage.

Danger Sense (15 GP, Gift): This Gift can warn your hero of impending danger; he becomes very hard to surprise. This Advantage does not allow a hero to see the future. When your hero is in a situation of constant danger (such as combat), its usefulness is somewhat limited. Danger Sense may warn of an ambush, however, or may speed reaction time in a surprise situation; see page 98. Tests against Danger Sense should always be rolled secretly by the Highlord. If the Test succeeds, she informs the player that he has some inkling of imminent doom but does not know details. This Gift’s starting value is 3; Tests are rolled against CL/IN/IN.

Direction Sense (3 GP): All orientation Tests (and all survival Tests used for finding your way) receive a Difficulty Decrease of 5 points. Direction Sense is limited to the hero’s native terrain type—this may be a large but uniform area such as the Khôm Desert, the northern steppes, or the Rashtul Wall, but not a city (this would be better represented as Area Knowledge, an Advantage you will find in Swords and Heroes). Direction Sense may not be combined with the Mental Compass Advantage.

Dwarfnose (12 GP, Gift): Your hero has developed a supernatural instinct for detecting hidden corridors, secret doors, or hidden cavities within stone structures (natural and man- or dwarf-made). As long as TP is below 7, the Highlord may roll Dwarfnose Tests in secret. If the Test succeeds, the player receives a hint to the location of the room or feature in question. The player is not given information about size or type, however, let alone ways of entering it. When a hero’s TP reaches 7 or above, Dwarfnose Tests can be rolled at the player’s request, but these cost him 1d6 EP. This Gift’s starting value is 3; Tests are rolled against DE/IN/IN.

Enduring (1 GP each): For each GP spent, your hero receives 1 additional Endurance Point; you cannot gain more than 5 Endurance Points in this way. A hero who spends at least 3 GP on this Advantage tires more slowly, i.e., his Exhaustion Threshold is CN +1 points instead of CN points; a hero who spends at least 5 GP on this Advantage raises his Exhaustion Threshold to CN +2.

Equipment Advantage (1 GP per 10 ducats): Each GP of Equipment Advantage provides your hero with additional ducats to spend on equipment (but not to keep beyond hero creation). A more advanced version of this Advantage is the Special Item Advantage (see page 62); both Advantages can be combined. Good-Looking (5 GP): A good-looking hero is particularly attractive to others because of his face, body, or grace of movement. All Tests on Social Talents and all other Talent Tests that are rolled against Charisma receive a Difficulty Decrease of at least 1 point each. Cross-racial effects (even the best-looking dwarf might fail to get the attention of an elf) is at the discretion of the Highlord. This Advantage cannot be combined with the Unattractive or Ugly Disadvantages.

Good Memory: Your hero may roll additional CL Tests to get information if and when the situation warrants (Highlord’s decision). Also, languages and spells may be advanced at 75% of their standard costs (round up).

Hard to Enspell: A hero with this Advantage has an innate resistance against magic. This is not only a boon, but may also be a curse, for it affects harmful spells as well as beneficial ones. All Domination, Healing, and Transformation spells cast at the hero receive a Difficulty Increase of 3 points. This applies to all spells from other fields of magic that result in domination or transformation. This Difficulty Increase is cumulative with all other modifiers, for instance Resistance to Magic (if applicable). Only spells directly centered on the hero are affected by Hard to Enspell; area effect spells or the indirect effects of spells are not changed. This Advantage may be chosen only by heroes who are not able to cast spells themselves (i.e., have not taken the Spellcaster Advantage). Of the spells mentioned in the Core Rules, the following are affected by this Advantage: attributio, balm of healing, be my friend, clarum purum, horriphobus, move as the lightning, mutander salother, paralyze, see true and pure, sleep of a thousand sheep, spiritus armoricus, thunderbolt, unseen.

Heat Resistance (*): Creatures who are resistant to heat do not suffer damage from high temperatures as long as the temperature does not exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit. They incur only increased Endurance loss in such conditions if they exert themselves. This Advantage does not protect against spells based on heat or fire.

High Resistance to Magic: Your hero is more resistant to harmful magic. Each point of RM improvement costs 3 GP; you may gain a maximum of 3 additional points by taking this Advantage several times.

Immunity to Poison: Your hero is extremely resilient against one particular type of poison (e.g., snake poison, mineral poison, plant-based poison, and so on). When rolling Resistance Tests against this type of poison, a hero’s CN is treated as if it were 15 points higher. This Advantage does not help against poisons from groups not specified. You cannot combine Immunity to Poison with Resistance to Poison. Your Highlord must approve the type of poison you select.

Inner Clock: A hero with this Advantage is able to ascertain the correct time of day within a span of 15 minutes, even without being able to see the sky, when just woken from sleep or unconsciousness, or when in dark dungeons for many days.

Language Instinct: Your hero treats all living languages as if they belonged to the language family of his mother tongue. “Living languages” in this context means that the hero must learn the language from a native speaker.

Left-Handed: Left-handed people have a few minor advantages in combat. During the first 5 Combat Rounds, their enemies receive a negative modifier of 1 point to their Parry. Left-handed persons may learn Special Abilities applying to left-handed or two-handed fighting at 75% of their original cost (round up). Some weapons and objects may be unusable for left-handed persons because they were designed with right-handed bearers in mind.

Low-Light Vision: In bad lighting conditions, your hero receives only half the negative modifiers to AT, PA, and Ranged Attack Values, as well as perception Tests (always rounded in his favor). More details on these negative modifiers are on page 106.

Luck (20 GP): A hero with the proverbial lucky charm may repeat any single die roll (an AT, a PA, a damage roll, a Talent test, and so on) once, for a maximum of up to three different rerolls per day (the actual number is determined secretly by the Highlord by rolling 1d3-1 at the time the player requests his first reroll). The more advantageous of the two rolls (from the hero’s point of view) always counts. A hero may even force enemies to reroll in combat or call for a second damage roll.

Lucky Gambler: In any game of chance, an IN Test usually determines whether Phex is on your hero’s side (and whether the hero is able to interpret the god’s hints). If your hero has the Lucky Gambler Advantage, these rolls receive a Difficulty Decrease of 7 points. Success means that the hero has better chances of drawing a card, succeeding on a die roll, and so on.

Mental Compass: Your hero always knows where north is. He receives a Difficulty Decrease of 7 points on orientation Tests (and on survival Tests used for finding his way). At sea or in the desert, the Difficulty Decrease may be as much as 14 points (Highlord’s discretion). Mental Compass cannot be combined with the Direction Sense Advantage.

Noble Birth: Your hero is the offspring of a noble family. He is heir to an appropriate title and is exempt from standard judicial procedure in some situations. He does not stand to inherit his parents’ holdings, however, since he has older siblings in line before him or his family no longer has any claim to the fief. The title due him, for example, is noble or baron (or a regional equivalent). To be the offspring of a noble, you need Social Standing of at least 8; to be the offspring of a baron, you need Social Standing of at least 10. If you are of Noble Birth, the cost for the Special Item Advantage is reduced to 3 GP (originally 7).

Outstanding Attribute: Your hero may begin play with an Attribute Value of 15 (before bonuses resulting from race, culture, or profession are applied). You may choose this Advantage more than once; applying it to different Attributes costs 8 GP each time. If you apply it to the same Attribute several times, starting value and maximum value are increased by 1 point for the second and each subsequent Advantage taken. Each additional increase is accompanied by an increase in GP cost: to improve an Attribute from 15 to 16 costs 10 GP, from 16 to 17 costs 12 GP, and so on (i.e., GP cost goes up 2 points per each 1-point advancement). You may continue increasing Attributes as long as your GP account holds out. Consider a player who spends 14 GP to buy his hero ST 14. If he wants to begin play with ST 16, the cost is 18 GP (8 to raise his score from 14 to 15, and another 10 for the leap from 15 to 16). If our human were a Thorwalian, the racial bonus (ST +1) is applied after this Advantages is taken, thus giving the hero ST 17. You may not increase an Attribute that will be lowered due to race or culture.

Rapid Healing: A hero with this Advantage regenerates 1d6+2 VP per period of rest; CN rolls to regain lost VP receive a Difficulty Decrease of 2 points. This Advantage cannot be combined with the Slow Regeneration Disadvantage. Resistance to Age (*): Your hero is immune to the effects of old age (within his natural age span). This may either mean that from a certain point in time onwards, his aging process slows down remarkably, or that he does not have to suffer the usual frailties of old age (both physical and mental ones). This Advantage is usually reserved for only a few races, such as elves—a human who happens to be resistant to age should have a very good reason for this “miracle.” (Besides, the church of Praios might take interest in a hero who seems not to age, for something like this surely involves black magic.)

Resistance to Disease: Your hero has an extremely healthy immune system. When rolling Resistance Tests against diseases, his CN is treated as if it were 7 points higher. Resistance to Disease may not be combined with the Prone to Illness Disadvantage.

Resistance to Poison: Your hero is strangely immune to one particular type of poison (e.g., snake poison, mineral poison, plant-based poison, and so on). When rolling Resistance Tests against the chosen type of poison, his CN is treated as if it were 7 points higher. This Advantage does not help against poisons from groups not specified. You cannot combine Resistance to Poison with Immunity to Poison. Your Highlord must approve the type of poison you select.

Social Chameleon: A hero with this Advantage gets along astonishingly well in unfamiliar social environments and suffers only minor negative modifiers to his Social Talents if he moves within an unfamiliar culture or unfamiliar surroundings. When choosing the Connections Advantage (q.v.), he pays only 75% of the connections’ SO in GP and may choose from within a range of SO +/–7 (but still cannot transcend the maximum of SO 15).

Special Item: A Special Item is a piece of equipment or a special condition that would usually be too expensive or inaccessible for your hero at the beginning of his career. The nature of this item should fit the hero’s profession (e.g., a horse for a warrior). The profession description tells you which special item would be appropriate. If the profession description says, “none,” then your hero cannot take this Advantage. Magical items are out of the question; your hero must win these through adventuring.

Spellcaster (*): Your hero has been trained in the ways of magic, enabling him to cast spells (varying by profession or culture). He gains (CO + IN + CH) /2 ASP (round up) plus 12 ASP (and perhaps more depending on culture and profession). More information on spellcasting heroes is found in the description of the magician profession (see p. 52), the lea-elf culture (see p. 49), and the chapter on magic (p. 130). Only heroes who take this Advantage can gain the Advantages of Academic Training (Magician), Astral Power, Astral Regeneration, and the Astral Block Disadvantage.

Toughness: Normally, a hero whose VI drops below 0 falls into a coma, with 1d6 x CN Combat Rounds separating him from death. Should his VI fall below zero until it equals his negative Constitution, the hero is irrevocably dead. A hero with the Toughness Advantage is allowed to multiply CN by 1.5 (round up) when making these calculations. More information appears on page 101.

Vigor: For each 3 Generation Points spent, your hero receives 1 additional VP. Only 5 additional points are possible in this way.

Disadvantages

Arrogance: This is a Negative Attribute (mentioned on p. 64). Arrogance causes a hero to take a highbrow approach toward others, demeaning them and showing little faith in their capabilities. Whether this is because of class arrogance or some kind of exaggerated code of honor is up to you. Arrogance should affect Tests on Social Talents.

Astral Block: Your hero regenerates only 1d6 – 1 ASP per period of rest; Intuition Rolls to retrieve lost Astral Points and for rituals to increase your ASP total receive a Difficulty Increase of 2 points. Only heroes who take the Spellcaster Advantage may take this Disadvantage. It cannot be taken together with the Astral Regeneration Advantage.

Bad Hearing: Your hero’s hearing ability is impaired. While he is still able to perceive loud sounds, he can no longer hear whispering. All perceptions Tests that rely on hearing receive a Difficulty Increase of 5 points. Also, communicating in a language he knows only slightly becomes harder (with the exact effects at the Highlord’s discretion).

Claustrophobia: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero feels severe uneasiness when having to enter narrow corridors, low-ceilinged rooms, and similar structures; advise Highlord as to appropriate penalties. Some possible game effects are listed in the summary entry “Negative Attributes” (p.64).

Code of Conduct: Your hero must have at least three firm rules of conduct governing his life and his actions, to which he adheres even in the face of utmost adversity. Should the hero ever break with these principles (for instance, to save his life), he should suffer restrictions to his actions for a period of time depending on the severity of the action (at the Highlord’s discretion). Typical Codes of Conduct are religious codices or the code of a noble knight.

Color-Blind: Your hero can perceive only shades of gray; this may cause Difficulty Increases to various Tests (Highlord’s decision depending on the situation). This also incurs a negative modifier of 4 points to all Ranged Tests at long range (more than 50 paces). This modifier does not apply when other penalties due to bad visibility (fog, darkness) are already in effect.

Curiosity: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero feels a compulsion to take an immediate look at anything that seems to be even remotely interesting, regardless of any risks. Curiosity is a typical example of a Negative Attribute that does not actually disadvantage a hero, but rather forces certain patterns of action upon him.

Elven Worldview: Elves are not entirely of this world, something that most elves would freely admit. They regard most things, creatures, and actions in this world with a peculiar view as to how everything might be related. They also have a somewhat detached view of outsiders, due to their longevity. On the downside, this means that elves need to learn much more about connections and relations—or at least, apparent connections and relations—before they feel ready to act upon them. They must spend an additional 50% Adventure Points (plus all other modifications that might apply) if they want to improve Talents, Gifts, or Spells, or want to learn Special Abilities. Thus, an improvement that would normally cost 4 points will cost 6 points for an elf. The exceptions to this are Talents in which elves are granted bonus points due to their race (body control, dance, perception, sneak, survival, paint/draw, play instrument, and sing), Elfsongs, and three pre-selected elven heritage spells (if using the elven professions, you have to choose the spells listed therein). These increased costs do not apply during hero creation and thus have no influence on the expenditure of Talent GP or Spell GP.

Fear of [smt]: This is a catch-all entry for a number of Negative Attributes. They require the hero to react in an exaggerated manner in certain situations or encounters. Such fear might quickly turn into panic, preventing a hero from taking sensible actions. A hero’s phobias are usually determined by culture and origin, but sometimes also by key experiences in his life. Whatever phobia you choose, it can qualify for the GP cost bonus only if it has the potential to actually impede your hero in play and to go beyond the normal urge for self-preservation. For instance, Fear of Albino Lions is far too specific to be valid, while Fear of Highly Aggressive Poisonous Snakes is not a Disadvantage at all, since most sensible creatures are afraid of highly poisonous snakes. Phobias that can be triggered rather frequently (such Fear of Spiders or Fear of Fire) gain you 3 GP per 2 points in this Negative Attribute, while those that are triggered less often net you only 1 GP per point in the Negative Attribute. Some phobias (e.g., Fear of the Dark or Fear of the Sea) have special consequences or effects and have entries of their own.

Greed: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero’s greed for riches and treasure sometimes lets your hero behave irrationally. This Disadvantage applies not only to gold or treasure, but also magical artifacts, potions, or anything else that may be of value. See Negative Attributes for possible game effects.

Inaptitude for [Talent]: Your hero is remarkably poor at one particular Talent. This means that he must invest more Adventure Points when advancing the chosen Talent; costs are calculated according to the next column to the right on the Advancement Cost Table (i.e., the more expensive one). This Disadvantage can be taken only once per hero, and it must be applied to one of the Basic Talents (see p. 75). A hero with this Disadvantage may not take Inaptitude for [Talent Group of Choice] using the same group that the chosen Talent is from. Generation Points gained depend on the Talent chosen, as follows.

Combat Talents, Social Talents, Nature Talents, Lore Talents, or Artisan Talents, as well as the Physical Talents of carouse, dance, hide, sing, and swim: –4 GP All other Physical Talents except those listed above: –8 GP A hero may not advance a Talent during hero creation for which he has an Inaptitude. Any Inaptitude must be approved by the Highlord.

Inaptitude for [Talent Group]: Your hero is remarkably poor at one particular Talent Group (i.e., Combat Talents, Physical Talents, Nature Talents, Social Talents, Lore Talents, Languages/Scripts, or Artisan Talents). This means that he must invest more Adventure Points when advancing the chosen Talent; costs are calculated according to the next column to the right on the Advancement Cost Table (i.e., the more expensive one). This Disadvantage can be taken only once per hero. A hero with this Disadvantage may not take Inaptitude for [Talent of Choice] using a Talent from the chosen Talent Group. Generation Points gained depend on the Talent Group chosen: Languages/Scripts: –5 GP Social Talents, Nature Talents, Lore Talents, and Artisan Talents: –10 GP Combat Talents: –15 GP

Physical Talents: A hero may not advance any Talent during hero creation for which he has an Inaptitude. Any Inaptitude must be approved by the Highlord.

Lame: Your hero is stricken with a lame leg, a fractured knee, or something similar. He loses 2 points of Agility (this applies to his Agility maximum) as well as 1 point of SD (although this cannot fall below 1). Additionally, he loses 1 point of Base AT and 2 points of Base PA. This physical impediment cannot be corrected later in the game, not even by the best of prosthetics or magic.

Low Attribute: One Attribute, which was assigned only 8 points while spending Generation Points, is now lowered to 7. Improving this Attribute later in the game costs twice the usual points. The chosen Attribute may not be one for which the hero will gain a class or culture bonus. This Disadvantage can be chosen more than once, but only if applied to different Attributes. Low Resistance to Magic (–3 GP each): Your hero is more susceptible to the influences of magic than others. His Resistance to Magic may not be lowered by more than 3 points by taking this Disadvantage more than once, nor may it drop below zero. Night-Blind (–10 GP): All of your hero’s negative modifiers due to bad lighting conditions are doubled. The negative modifiers due to complete darkness are unaffected (see p. 106).

Negative Attribute: Negative Attributes represent all those small and not-so-small differences between reality and the hero’s view of life. Since reality is usually the stronger of the two, heroes sometimes suffer from phobias or compulsions that are governed by the subconscious and cannot be controlled by the hero (as opposed to Code of Conduct, for example, which the hero must observe willingly). Typical Negative Attributes are Arrogance, Claustrophobia, Curiosity, Fear of Heights, Fear of [Insects, Spiders, Reptiles, Rodents, Fire, Water, and others], Fear of Open Spaces, Fear of the Dark, Fear of the Dead, Fear of the Sea, Greed, Pathological Cleanliness, Prejudice, Superstition, Vanity, Vengefulness, and Violent Temper.

Obligations: Your hero has entered into a special obligation with a social, arcane, or religious group. He may not (and should not want to) violate these obligations. This is similar to the Code of Conduct Disadvantage (see p. 62), except that an obligation is much more serious and confers stronger penalties for violation (even if involuntary or unknowing). The Disadvantage often implies that your hero must take commands from the group to which he is committed, and that he often travels in their employ or at least under their orders, which may limit his freedom of choice during adventures.

One-Eyed: Your hero has lost an eye during his life or has lost the ability to see with this eye. He incurs a negative modifier of 4 points on all Thrown Weapons Tests and all Missile Weapons Tests at targets of less than 10 paces distant. This physical impediment cannot be corrected later in the game, whether by magic or any other means.

Pathological Cleanliness: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero feels extremely uneasy whenever he or something (or someone) in his surroundings is dirty. He will have trouble concentrating on anything except cleaning up at the first possible opportunity.

Prejudice: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero has preconceived opinions about a certain group (members of a certain race or culture, one of the sexes, or certain ethnic groups). He will not back away from these opinions, even if challenged or presented with contrary evidence. Just like the Curiosity Disadvantage, this is a Negative Attribute that does not disadvantage a hero with die rolls, but forces certain patterns of action upon him. See Negative Attributes for possible game effects.

Prone to Illness: Your hero is susceptible to diseases of all kinds. When rolling Resistance Tests against disease, his CN is treated as if it were 5 points lower. Prone to Illness may not be combined with the Resistance to Disease Advantage.

Rage: Your hero falls into a blood rage (which the Thorwalians call Wealrage) whenever a certain event occurs. In most cases, this event is his own spontaneous anger (such as a successful Violent Temper Test), serious injury (failure of a Willpower Test after suffering heavy damage), or consumption of certain substances. Once in a rage, your hero employs his most dangerous weapon (including magic) against his most hated enemy—or the nearest person, if no enemy is in sight. His CO, AT, and HP are increased by 5 points. Parry becomes impossible, and the hero does not feel pain while raging. The rage lasts until the hero runs out of Endurance (losing 2 EP per combat action) and passes out. Thorwalians receive 18 GP instead of 15 when taking this Disadvantage.

Slow Regeneration: Your hero regenerates only 1d6 – 1 VP per period of rest; CN Rolls to retrieve lost Vitality Points receive a Difficulty Increase of 2 points. It cannot be taken together with the Rapid Healing Advantage.

Superstition: This is a Negative Attribute. Superstitions usually refer to items or circumstances that produce bad luck or misfortune as believed by the hero. If you take this Disadvantage, you must specify the exact nature of your superstition. Some superstitions are grounded in reality.

Ugly: This is the more severe version of the Unattractive Disadvantage. Everything described for Unattractive also applies for Ugly, except that the Difficulty Increase is 5 points instead of 2. Also, an Ugly hero will find it very hard to blend in with a crowd, since others are more likely to remember his face. Ugly may not be combined with Unattractive or with the Good-Looking Advantage.

Unattractive: This is the opposite of the Good-Looking Advantage (see p. 61). Your hero’s appearance is unattractive, even repulsive when compared to his species’ norm, leading to consequences in the reactions of his fellow men (or dwarfs or elves). All Social Talent Tests, as well as all Talents Tests involving interaction with others (those using CH as their basis) receive a Difficulty Increase of 2 points. The exceptions to this are Tests meant to intimidate someone else. The Highlord decides whether this Disadvantage works cross-species, and whether those accustomed to the hero’s presence become immune to its effects. The stronger form of this Disadvantage is called Ugly. These two Disadvantages may not be taken by the same player. Unattractive may not be combined with the Good-Looking Advantage.

Vanity: This is a Negative Attribute. A vain hero tries to look his very best and tries to be as impressive as possible at all times. This makes him easy to manipulate, since his ego might force him to go beyond reasonable behavior.

Vengefulness: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero will always want revenge whenever he feels slighted, and doesn’t think about the consequences or weighing means against measures. While Violent Temper calls for immediate action, Vengefulness allows for careful planning and execution of the scheme of revenge.

Vertigo: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero panics whenever he is in a situation where he might fall from a great height. In extreme situations, he might feel the “tug of the deep,” imagining that the abyss were about to devour him. See Negative Attributes for possible game effects.

Violent Temper: This is a Negative Attribute. Your hero has a tendency to overreact whenever he feels slighted in any way. This may lead to situations that will endanger him (and probably his comrades as well).