Mental Merits and Flaws

Subject: Mental Merits and Flaws Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:26 pm

Mental Merit

Common Sense - 1PT Merit
You have a significant amount of practical, everyday wisdom. Whenever the character is about to act in a way contrary to common sense, the Storyteller can make suggestions or warnings about the implications of said action This is a very useful Merit to give to beginning players unfamiliar with the game.

Concentration - 1PT Merit
You have the ability to focus your mind and shut out any distractions or annoyances. Characters with this Merit are unaffected by any penalties stemming from distracting circumstances (e.g., loud noises, strong lights, hanging upside down).

Code of Honor - 2PT Merit
You have a personal code of ethics to which you adhere. The specifics of this code must be worked out with the Storyteller prior to play, and the character must follow it strictly. Characters with this Merit gain two additional dice to all Willpower or Virtue rolls when acting in accordance with their code (e.g., defending the helpless) or when attempting to avoid situations that might force them to violate their code.

Time Sense - 1PT Merit
You have an innate sense of time and are able to estimate the passage of time accurately without using a watch or other mechanical device.

Fast Learner - 5PT Merit
You learn very quickly, and pick up on new things faster than most. You gain one extra experience point at the conclusion of each story (not each game session).

Higher Purpose 1PT Merit
Everyone has "reason to live," but you have a special commitment to your existence. Your chosen goal drives and directs you in everything. You do not concern yourself with petty matters and casual concerns, because your higher purpose is everything. Though you may sometimes be herded along by this aim and find yourself forced to behave in ways contrary to the needs of personal survival, it can also grant you great inner strength. You gain two extra dice on any roll that has something to do with your particular goal.
You will need to decide what your higher purpose is; make sure you talk it over with the Storyteller first. (You cannot take both this Merit and the Flaw Driving Goal.)

Dual Nature - 2PT Merit
You have two distinct yet compatible Natures, both of which influence your personality. You may regain Willpower using both Natures. You may still choose a Demeanor, one as different from your Natures as you like. This Merit is not the same as having multiple personalities (which is a Derangement).

Berserker - 2PT Merit
You can direct the Beast better than most, and can frenzy at will (thus ignoring wound penalties). However, you must still pay the consequences of your actions in frenzy, and your chance of unwillingly entering frenzy is unaffected.

Eidetic Memory - 2PT Merit
You remember, with perfect detail, things seen and heard. Documents, photographs, conversations, etc., can be committed to memory with only minor concentration. Under stressful conditions involving numerous distractions, you must make a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6) to summon enough concentration to
absorb what your senses detect.

Light Sleeper - 2PT Merit
You can awaken instantly at any sign of trouble or danger, and do so without any sleepiness or hesitation. You may ignore rules regarding how Humanity/Path restricts the number of dice available during the day.

Natural Linguist - 2PT Merit
You have a flair for languages. You may add three dice to any dice pool involving written or spoken languages.

Jack-Of-All-Trades - 5 PT Merit
You have a large pool of miscellaneous skills and knowledge obtained through your extensive travels, the jobs you've held or just all-around know how. You automatically have one dot in all Skill and Knowledge Dice Pools. This is an illusory level, used only to simulate a wide range of abilities. If the character trains or spends experience in the Skill or Knowledge, he must pay the point cost for the first level a "second time" before raising the Skill or Knowledge to 2.

Calm Heart - 3PT Merit
You are naturally calm and do not easily fly off the handle. You receive two extra dice when attempting to resist a frenzy. Brujah may not take this Trait.

Iron Will - 3PT Merit
When you are determined and your mind is set, nothing can thwart you from your goals. When you are affected by a Dominate power, you may spend a point of Willpower to shake off the effects. In addition, you receive three extra dice to resist the effects of any mind-altering magic, spell or Thaumaturgy path. This Merit does not affect Presence or other powers dealing with the emotions.

Compassionate - 4PT Merit
You have the moral character of the Brujah of old, the proud warrior-poets who did what they did because their hearts called to them. If you ever fail a Conscience (but not Conviction) roll, you may spend a point of willpower and attempt the roll again, at a difficulty of 1 higher than the last. If you succeed on this roll, it counts as if you succeeded on the first. You may do this only once per Conscience roll; you must accept the results of the re-roll. If you botch this second roll, you lose one permanent point of willpower in addition to any consequences of the failed Consciences roll.

Self-Confidence - 5PT Merit
When you spend a point of Willpower to gain an automatic success, your self-confidence may allow you to gain the benefit of that expenditure without actually losing the Willpower point. When you declare that you are using a point of Willpower and roll for successes, you do not lose the point of Willpower unless you fail. This will also prevent you from botching, but only if you declare that you are spending the Willpower point before you roll. This Merit may only be used when you need confidence in your abilities in order to succeed. You can use it only when the difficult of your roll is 6 or higher. You may spend Willpower at other times; however, if the difficult is 5 or less, this Merit will not help you.

Coldly Logical - 1PT Merit
While some might refer to you as a "cold fish," you have a knack for separating factual reporting from emotional or hysterical coloration. You may or may not be emotional yourself, but you can see clearly when others are clouding the facts with their feelings ( -1 difficulty on all Sense Deception and related rolls).

Useful Knowledge - 1PT Merit
You have expertise in a specific field that makes your conversation intriguing to an older Kindred. So long as your knowledge holds the other vampire's attention, he has a vested interest in keeping you around. Then again, once he's pumped you for every iota of information you possess, that patronage may suddenly vanish. (Note: This Merit should he played like a 1-dot Mentor with a specific interest. However, unlike a Mentor, Useful Knowledge does not imply a permanent relationship.)

Precocious - 3PT Merit
You learn quickly. The time for you to pick up a particular Ability (or Abilities, at Storyteller discretion) is cut in half, as is the experience cost.

Mental Flaws

Compulsion - 1PT Flaw
You have a compulsion of some sort, which can cause you a number of different problems. Your compulsion may be for cleanliness, perfection, bragging, stealing, gambling, exaggeration or just talking too much. A compulsion can be temporarily avoided at the cost of a Willpower point, but it is in effect at all other times.

Intolerance/Hatred - (1-3)PT Flaw
You have an unreasoning dislike of a certain thing. You may loathe a species of animal, a class of person, a situation or just about anything else, and you constantly pursue opportunities to harm the hated object or to gain power over it. If you are merely intolerant (the 1 -point version of this Flaw), the difficulties of all your dice rolls involving the subject are increased by two. If you hold actual hatred (worth 3 points), you must make a frenzy roll whenever confronted with the subject of your hate. *Note that some things are just too trivial to be angered by-intolerance of Chinese cooking or hatred of red-haired Sicilian cobblers will have little effect on most chronicles. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what you can pick to dislike or hate.

Deep Sleeper - 1PT Flaw
When you sleep, it is very difficult for you to awaken. The difficulty of any die roll to awaken during the day is increased by two.

Nightmares - 1PT Flaw
You experience horrendous nightmares every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours. Upon awakening, you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) or lose a die on all actions for that night. A botched Willpower roll indicates that, even when awake, you still believe that you are locked in a nightmare.

Phobia - 2PT Flaw
You have a overpowering fear of something. Spiders, snakes, crowds and heights are examples of common phobias. 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.

Prey Exclusion - 1PT Flaw
You refuse to hunt a certain class of prey. You might refuse to feed upon drug dealers, or policemen, or accountants, or rich people-if you accidentally feed upon such an individual, you automatically frenzy and must make a roll to prevent Humanity loss (difficulty 7). Witnessing other Kindred feeding on the object of your exclusion might also provoke a frenzy, at the Storyteller's discretion. Ventrue, owing to the limitations imposed on their feeding by their clan weakness, may not take this Flaw.

Overconfident - 1PT Flaw
You have an exaggerated and unshakable opinion of your own worth and capabilities-you never hesitate to trust your abilities, even in situations in which you risk defeat. Because your abilities may not be enough, such overconfidence can be very dangerous. When you do fail, you quickly find someone or something else to blame. If you are convincing enough, you can infect others with your overconfidence.

Low Self-Image - 2PT Flaw
You lack self-confidence and don't believe in yourself. You have two fewer dice in situations in which you don't expect to succeed (at the Storyteller's discretion, though the penalty might be limited to one die if you help her by pointing out times when this Flaw might affect you). At the Storyteller's option, you may be required to make Willpower rolls to do things that require self-confidence, or even to use a Willpower point when others would not be obliged to do so.

Shy - 1PT Flaw
You are distinctly ill at ease when dealing with people and try to avoid social situations whenever possible. Difficulties for all rolls involving social interaction with strangers are increased by two. If the character become the center of attention in a large group, difficulties are increased by three.

Soft-Hearted - 1PT Flaw
You cannot stand to watch others suffer. You avoid any situation that involves causing someone physical or emotional pain, unless you make a Willpower roll (difficulty . You must have a Humanity rating of 7 or above to take this Flaw.

Speech Impediment - 1PT Flaw
You have a stammer or other speech impediment that hampers verbal communication. The difficulties of all die rolls involving verbal communication are increased by two. You must Role-play this Flaw whenever possible.

Short Fuse - 2PT Flaw
You are easily angered. Difficulties to avoid frenzy are two greater. Brujah cannot take this Flaw, as they already suffer from a similar malady.

Territorial - 2PT Flaw
You are extremely territorial, staking out a particular area as your hunting ground and reacting aggressively to trespassers. If another vampire enters your territory uninvited, you must make a frenzy roll. If you fail, you immediately attack the interloper and continue attacking until the intruder is dead or has left your hunting grounds. You are reluctant to leave your territory except in desperate circumstances.

Vengeful - 2PT Flaw
You have a score to settle, incurred either during your mortal days or after the Ernbrace. You are obsessed with taking your revenge on an individual or group, and it is your overriding priority in any situation where you encounter the object of your revenge. You may temporarily resist your need for vengeance by spending a Willpower point.

Driving Goal - 3PT Flaw
You have a personal goal, which sometimes compels and directs you in startling ways. The goal is always limitless in depth, and you can never truly achieve. It could be to overthrow the Church or achieve total enlightenment. Because you must work toward your goal throughout the chronicle (though you can avoid it for short periods by spending Willpower), it will get you into trouble and may jeopardize other actions. Choose your goal carefully, as it will direct and focus of everything your character does.

Amnesia - 2PT Flaw
You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself or your family, though your past might well come back to haunt you. Your origins and the circumstances behind your amnesia are for the Storyteller to determine, and she is encouraged to make it as interesting as possible.

Lunacy - 2PT Flaw
You are affected by the phases of the moon, increasing your chances to frenzy. Under the crescent moon, difficulty to avoid frenzy increase by one. Under the half or gibbous moon, difficulties rise by two. When the moon is full, difficulties increase by three.

Confused - 2PT Flaw
You are often confused, and the world seems to be a very distorted and twisted place. Sometimes you are simply unable to make sense of things. You need to role-play this behavior all the time to a small degree, but your confusion becomes especially strong whenever stimuli surround you (such as when a number of different people talk all at once, or you enter a cavern with an overpowering stench). You may spend Willpower to override the effects of your confusion, but only temporarily.

Weak-Willed - 3PT Flaw
You are highly susceptible to Dominate and intimidation by others; Dominate attempts automatically affect you unless the Discipline wielder is of higher generation, and your difficulties to resist Social abilities such as Intimidation or Leadership as well as mind-altering spells or magic, are increased by two. Your Willpower Trait may never rise above 4.

Absent-Minded - 3PT Flaw
This Flaw may not be taken with the Merit Concentration. Though you do not forget such things as Knowledge and Skills, you do forget such things as names, titles and the last time you fed. In order to remember anything more than your own name or the location of your haven, you need to make a Wits roll or, as a last resort, spend a Willpower point.

Conspicuous Consumption - 4PT Flaw
It is not enough for you to draw nourishment from the blood of mortals-you believe you must also consume your victim's heart, liver and other blood-rich tissue. Of course, this will necessitate the deaths of all of your victims (unless you are extremely creative), which might lead to numerous problems with the Masquerade and maintaining Humanity. Characters with this Flaw must additionally purchase the Eat Food Merit.

Lazy - 1PT Flaw
You are simply lazy. You do not like to do anything that requires a lot of effort on your part. You prefer to let others do the hard work. You like to lie around and, by vampiric standards, you are certainly a coffin potato.

Impatient - 1PT Flaw
You have no patience for standing around and waiting. You want to do things NOW, and the Devil take the hindmost. Every time you are forced to wait around instead of acting, a Self-Control roll is required to see if you go haring off on your own instead.

Stereotypes - 2PT Flaw
You buy heavily into all of the vampire legendry you've read and heard. You wear a cape, speak with an accent and otherwise act in a cartoonish fashion. Such behavior is embarrassing in the extreme too other Kindred, who are likely to ostracize or mock you (+2 difficulty to Social rolls with other vampires who don't share your habits). Also, you stand out to hunters, and run the risk of violating the Masquerade every time you take to the streets.

Victim of the Masquerade - 2PT Flaw
The Camarilla's propaganda machine did too good a job on you. Even after your Embrace you refused to believe you were a vampire. You remain convinced that there is some logical explanation for your condition, and spend as much time as you can searching for it. You also have problems feeding, and may insist on trying to eat regular food. None of these habits makes you particularly pleasant company for other Kindred. This Flaw must be role-played at all times.

Guilt-Wracked - 4PT Flaw
You simply cannot come to grips with the fact that you must drink blood to survive. You suffer horrible guilt over each time you feed (roll Conscience, difficulty 7, or else frenzy every time you feed) and try to avoid doing so as much as possible. This means that you rarely have much blood in your system, leaving you vulnerable to both attacks and hunger-based frenzies.

Uncontrollable - 5PT Flaw
Rage and passion constantly war in the soul of a volatile Brujah. Perhaps you were ill tempered before the embrace, or perhaps your Brujah liege awakened some latent fury. In any case, even more so than your clanmates, you are prone to frenzy. Difficulties to resist frenzy are always 10 for this character. Prepare for a shore, hellish ride.

Thirst for Innocence - 2PT Flaw
The sight of innocence-of any sort-arouses in you a terrible bloodlust. Roll Self-Control, or else frenzy and attack the source of your hunger.

Unconvinced - 1PT Flaw
You fail to see the need for the Masquerade, and have gone on record as saying so. Taking your stand has made you suspect in the eyes of your elders, and may have attracted the Sabbat's attention as well.

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