Okay, we continue on with some more Disadvantages to make your character more interesting and, more importantly, get extra points to buy cool powers. Because that's what it's all about, right?
So, the first one we have here is Psychological Limitation. Along with Hunted, this is probably the most common Disadvantage, since it provides lots of ways to define your character's personality. Generally, these are psychological quirks that cause a strong reaction in the character, often fear or hatred. Points vary depending on how common the limitation kicks in, and how serious it is. Uncommon situations (once in a while things) are worth 5 points; Common ones are worth 10, and Very Common Psych Lims are worth 15. Now, if you have a very strong reaction and you take irrational actions as a result of being triggered, you get an additional 5 points. If you become completely useless due to retreat or collapse when the trigger happens, you get 10 more points. However, you can make an EGO roll (9 + EGO/5 or less) to minimize the effect (lowering the effect down one level). That's your character using their willpower to overcome the triggering situation.
Psych Lims should be significant to be worth points; being afraid of ants is not going to get you any points; neither is hating rap music (although it should be). No, this is for the big things. Examples given are Code vs. Killing (common, total commitment) which is worth 10 + 10 = 20 points; Claustrophobia (uncommon, irrational) for 5 + 5 = 10 points; and Overconfidence (Very common, irrational) for 15 + 5 = 20 points. You can, of course, make these more or less intense if you want to.
Next up is Public Identity. The Fantastic Four have this; their identities are not even remotely secret; everyone on the planet knows that Reed Richards is Mr. Fantastic, and so on. Some villains (such as Doctor Doom) can have this as well. Basically, the character is always 'on call', so the authorities, villains, and paparazzi can easily find them whenever they want. This Disadvantage is worth 10 points.
The counter to that is, of course, Secret Identity. Most superheroes do have this, since it allows them to live a normal life, hold down a job, have friends, etc. This can require significant efforts to keep that secret. And it's worth 15 points.
Next is Susceptibility. This is where you take damage from objects and effects that would otherwise be harmless. Can you say 'Kryptonite', boys and girls? I knew you could. The more common the object of the susceptibility is, the more points it's worth, and the more it hurts, the more points you get. Like Psych Lims, the categories are Uncommon, Common, and Very Common, with the same point values. The base effect is 1D6 damage per phase; 2D6 is worth an additional 5 points, 3D6 is worth +10. And the damage is both STUN and BODY, so a Susceptibility can be lethal if exposure is lengthy. For example, vampires are Susceptible to sunlight, taking 2D6 damage per phase in full sunlight. This is worth 15 (very common) + 5 (2D6 damage) = 20 points.
Finally on this page, we have Unlucky. This is the opposite of the Luck skill; bad things happen to you without warning or explanation. Like Luck, you roll 1D6 for every 5 points in this Disad, with a maximum of 3D6 for 15 points. Every 1 on the roll is one level of Unluck. For example, a single 1 might mean you slip in combat, or one of your minor gadgets (like your IR Vision goggles) malfunctions. It can also affect you out of combat; you're stuck in traffic, an annoying news reporter shows up just as you were about to go on a date, etc.
2 level of Unluck could mean someone gets between you and the bad guy, blocking your shot when you almost had him down. Or people that would normally give you information are suddenly unavailable, or close-mouthed. Or your Blaster Gauntlets just broke down.
3 levels of Unluck means you should have stayed in bed this morning. Another enemy shows up in the middle of a fight, for example, or your boss is demanding your presence while the Ravager is picking up a school bus to throw it at you. If your DNPC is scheduled to show up in this session, she might be on the bus...
Anyway, that's it for this page. Tomorrow we wrap up Disadvantages, and with that we'll have all the Character Creation section done...except for building some sample characters. Until then!
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