Chapter 3: Advantages & Drawbacks

This is something that the marvel game lacked, until now. This helps flesh out your character into an actual person, gives them personality. Lets you think of a character in the form of people instead of just powers. In the D.C. Heroes game you build your characters using Hero points Advantages take them Drawbacks give them. In Marvel there wasn't a way to convert that kind of reward. I know what your thinking. Why in the world would I CHOOSE to have a fatal Vulnerability. Answer a LOT of Karma. Instead of Hero Points you spend and gain KARMA. This is only available to new characters, or if you have a nice judge s/he may allow you to adjust your old character with this system. WARNING: once you are done making/adjusting your character you may NOT do it again. A judge may choose a vulnerbility later in the game if the situation calls for it (ie. the gamers are being bad), but you will NOT gain Karma for it.

• Area Knowledgement (-20): A character with this advantage has a through knowledge of the terrain and landmarks of a specified area. This Area must be specified when the advantage is purchased and may be no larger than city-sized. This may be purchased more than once.
  
  
• Attractive (-15): A Character with this advantage gains a +1cs to any Persuassion attempt made against the opposite sex
  
  
• Connoisseur(-5):A Character with this advantage has appreciation and knowledge of life's finer things. A connoisseur can appraise any item through a successful Intuition Check.Any attempt to persuade another character recieves a +1cs if the character has had an opportunity to exercise his/her Ability (wining and dining subject, engaging in clever conversation)
  
  
• Genius (-25):A character with this advantage may build things that is not of this world/time (teleporters, time machines, force fields). without this advantage these things cannot be built.
  
  
• Gift of Gab (-20): A character with this advantage is a master of verbal interplay. When ever such a character successfully talks to a person he gets a +2cs
  
  
• Headquarters(-10 or -20): A character with this advantage begins his/her Career with a serviceable headquarters. The Character must choose the extent of the headquarters at time of purchase: confined or Expansive.
  A Confined Headquarters is a small (approximately 400 sq Feet or less) building, apartment, or rented space. A secret room in the Character's apartment is a confined HQ. This costs 10 Karma
  Expansive HQ is a well hidden, vast (1500+ sq Ft) Complex located in an isolated difficult ot reach area> The batcave would be an expansive HQ. these costs 15 Karma.
  
  
• Insta Change(-5): A Character with this power can switch into costume instantly as apposed to spending 2 rounds changing clothes.
  
  
• Intensive Training (-20): A charcter with this advantage has spent a lot of time training and as such gains discounts when raising abilities and powers. When raising abilities instead of each point costing 10 times the current rank and 400 for cresting into a new rank (TY to GD), a character with this advantage spends 6 times the current rank and 300 for cresting. When raising power ranks it costs 15 times the current and 400 for cresting. The character with this talent must actually spend time training.
  
  
• Iron Nerves (-20): A character with this advantage is unusually resiliant to fear and fear based attacks as well as intimidation attempts made against him. this character recieves +2cs to such situations.
  
  
• Lightning Reflexes (-20): A character with this advanatage possesses lightning quick reflexes and reaction times. Possesion of this advantage allows a character to add +1 to any initiative roll. This Character also gets a +2cs to avoid blindsiding.
  
  
• Luck (-15): A character with this advantage is unusually lucky. Once per adventure, the character may invoke this advantage to gain a +3cs to his roll or -3cs to opponents roll.
  
  
• Popularity (-20): A character with this advantage is very respected among the citizenry and media. A character with popularity recieves +2cs on any Persuassion roll within reason. Aliens just landing don't know your character and Lex Luthor and the Kingpin wouldn't be impressed.
  
  
• Scholar (-10each): This character has devoted a great deal of time to academic study of a particular subject. A scholarly character may recall extensive information on teh subject at will and recieves a +2cs to that subject. A charcter may posses more than one scholarly skill, but no more than one per subject.
  
  
• Sharp Eye (-15): A character with this advantage has a keen eye for detail and is exceptionally perceptive. A sharp eyed character gains a +1cs for Intuition checks.

• Age (+15): A character with this drawback is an unusual age for adventuring, being either very young (under 18) or very old (over 50). Very Old characters must subtract 2 from their initiative scores. Young characters are limited through the need to attend school, a concern of adults, and being unable to e nter some areas.
  
  
• Authority Figure (+15): A character with this Drawback, often the ruler of a small country, is responsible for the welfare of a large group of people and usually adventures to advance or defend his peoples economical/political status. this character feels (not always wrongly) that should he be injured or killed, his people would plummet into anarchy. As such an authority figure will avoid any conflict that might seriously hurt him.
  
  
• Dark Secret (+25): A character with a Dark secret harbors some deep secret that must be protected at all costs. the Character secret must be specified when the drawback is adopted. A dark secret is of such Magnitude, that should it be made known publicly, it would effectively destroy the super hero career.
  
  
• Exile (+10 or +15): A character in Exile has been ostracized from his native civilization and forced to remain in the locale where he acts as a hero, engaging in NO social interaction with the homeland. The native civilization can be anything from a foreign country to another planet or dimension. A character who voulantarily placed himself into exile recieves 10, while a character exiled against his will recieves 15
  
  
• Guilt (+50): A character with this drawbacks is plagued by some past failure. Such a character must forfeit 5 karma at the begining of each week of game play. Failure to do this results in a -1cs to all actions.
  
  
• Innocent (+10): A Character who is Innocent is exeptionally Naive about society and the wiles of mankind. An Innocent character believes in the inherent good of all creatures and assumes everyone else does too. An innocent character recieves a-1cs against Character interaction and manipulative mental powers.
  
  
• Irrational Attraction (+5/25/50): This is the most complicated one of them all but also a fun one. Characters with this drawback are unusually attracted to certain objects, Materials, animals, or forms of expression. A character must specify the subject of the attraction. The Character will go out of his way to find the source of this attracton and satisfy his desires. If the attraction is an object the character will not be able to act in its presence.
  
  Irrational attractions come in three severity: Minor, Serious, Catastrophic. the Degree of the attraction must be specified at the time of creation. Associated with Degree is a resistance number. Whenever exposed to the object of the attraction, the character must roll greater than or equal to resistance number to overcome the attraction.
  
  If the roll was successful, the character overcomes the attraction until reexposed at a later time. Otherwise the charcter succombs to the attraction and must allow the source to occupy his undivided attention, although the hero may attempt to overcome the attraction next turn.
  
  Degree---------------Resistance#------------------Karma Bonus
  Minor --------------------15-------------------------------5
  Serious -------------------25------------------------------25
  Catastrophic--------------50------------------------------50
  
  
  
• Irrational Fear (+5/25/50): A character with this drawback has an unreasoning fear of something (heights, confinement, guns, spiders, etc) Irrational Fear works the same as Irrational attraction. If you roll below the resistance number, you succumb to the fear and are forced to flee teh area. If unable to flee, the character dives under a table, curls into a ball puts his thumb in his mouth, and makes no other action that turn. The same chart and numbers in the above chart.
  
  
• Married (+25): Being married can be bad for superheroes as their spouse are always being used as hostages. Anytime a villian finds a heroes identity their spouse becomes hostage material. When a character adopts this drawback they must provide name, stats, job, interest,etc. of the spouse.
  
  
• Mistrust (+50): A charcter with this drawback is often mistaken for a bad guy by cops and other heroes. Law Enforcement officers and NPCs will automatically be hostile to this character and Cops will always try to arrest this charcter.
  
  
• Physical Restriction (+5/25/50): A character with this drawback has some form of physical handicap. A blind character will treat everything as if it were invisible, and a wheelchair bound character can only move one area or less.
  
  Severity-------------Example--------------------------Bonus
  Minor ---------------no taste or smell, trick knee-------------5
  Serious -------------Hemophilia, Wheelchair----------------25
  Catastrophic---------Blind,Mute, Missing a limb----------50
  
  
  
• Psychological Instability (+5/25/50): A character with this drawback is mentally unstable and subject to mood swings, violent outbreaks, or even schizophrenia, normally triggered by a failure to deal with the real world. Whenever a psychologically unstable character fails two psyche rolls (not necessarilly in a row), he will break down and suffer the consequences of the instability. Most instabilities, especially Minor and Serious, result in kpartial or total inactivity. Catastrophic consequences however, may result in violent outbreaks, usually towards teammates or innocents.
  
  Severity-------------Effect--------------------Bonus
  Minor ---------------- Memory lapse ---------------5
  Serious --------------Depression -----------------25
  Catastrophic --------- Catatonic schizoprenia ---50
  
  
  
• Public Identity (+5): A character with this drawback has taken no steps to protect his alter ego. Possible effects might include large groups of people gathering outside the hero's house, Villains using loved ones as hostages, or the government trying ot get the hero to pay for damage done during a battle.
  
  
• Rage (+5/25/50): A character with this drawback occassionally breaks into an uncontrollable fury, often accidentally killing or seriously wounding opponents. The player with this draw back must decide the degree of the rage. Whenever a character with rage rolls a number equal or less than (when added together) than their rage number, he breaks into a rage, and continues attacking the opponent until he is dead or the enraged character is restrained. A character may attempt to regain composure by rolling doubles.
  
  Degree--------------Rage#-------Bonus
  Minor ------------------2---------------5
  Serious ----------------3--------------25
  Catastrophic -----------4--------------50
  
  Examlpe with a serious rage number of 3 anytime you roll in battle a 01, 02, 10, 11, or you go nuts.
  
  
• Secret Identity (+10): A character with this drawback leads a dual life. Possession of this drawback assumes a dramatic negative effect on the heroes heroic and personal life if the identity is discovered. If the identity is discovered the hero automaticaly loses 50 karma. You do not get these back if you kill the guy who learned. (I know you were thinking it.)
  
  
• Strange Appearance (+30): A character with this drawback is so strange looking that people tend to fear them. All unimportant NPCs gain a -1cs against intimidation attacks. This character will tend to frighten normal people all the time and often cause a riot.
  
  
• Traumatic Flashback (+60): A character with this drawback is periodicaly subjected to reliving a particularly distressing past event. the character must specify what triggers the flashback. Acceptable answers are the mention of a name, a word, a smell, a song, etc. Whenever exposed th the condition the character must roll a 25 or better on 2d10. If you fail you are too absorbed in you memories to do anything. you must roll every turn you are subjected to the condition. If you pass the roll you may act normally.
  
  
• Uncertainty (+15) A character with this drawback is often unsure of his abilities in combat. When the fates of innocents or the defeat of the villian relies soley on the character, he may choke. Once per adventure (usually at a tense or climatic point) the character automatically loses the initiative to all other characters and must go last that turn. Often uncertain characters have killed someone with their powers.
  
  
• Unluck (+25): A character wiht this drawback is unusually misfortunate. At the begining of each game session the judge must roll 1d10, when the unlucky character has made a number of action rolls equal to that number the character automatically recieves a -2cs.
  
  
• Attack Vulnerability (+variable): An attack vulnerabilty causes a character to suffer extreme danger from a particular attack form (ie. Iceman against fire attacks) A character wiht an attack vulnerability suffers a -cs penalty. The player may chose the degree of the vulnerability
  
  Column Shifts----------Bonus
  -1------------------------------15
  -2------------------------------25
  -3------------------------------45
  -4------------------------------65
  
  
  
• Fatal Vulnerablity (+ variable): A fatal vulnerability causes a character to lose one endurance rank per turn spent in the presence of whatever it is your vulnerable too. Characters heal normally. Further when the drawback is chosen you must label it Rare (kryptonite) for 75 karma or common (iron, water) for 150 karma. Also add the range of the vulnerability.
  
  Range in areas-------------Bonus
  5---------------------------------+20
  4---------------------------------+10
  3-----------------------------------0
  2-------------------------------10
  1------------------------------ -20
  Touch-------------------------50
  
  
• Loss Vulnerability (variable): A Loss vulnerabilty causes a character to temporarily lose ranks of a power or ability. All ranks drop to Feeble
  
  Vulnerabity Effect-----------------------Bonus
  Physical & Mental abilities------------------50 per group
  All Powers-----------------------------------100
  All Skills-------------------------------------100
  All Powers, skills and Abilities------------350