Disadvantages

List of Disadvantages

A "disadvantage" is a problem or imperfection that renders you less capable than your attributes, advantages, and skills would indicate. In addition to the traits in this chapter, this includes anything with a negative point cost in Chapter 1: low Status, below-average Wealth, etc. You are probably wondering, "Why would I want to give my character disadvantages?" There are two good reasons:

1. Each disadvantage has a negative cost in character points. Thus, disadvantages give you extra character points, which let you improve your character in other ways. But note that disadvantages limit you in proportion to their cost. Be sure to read the disadvantage description in full to know what you are getting into!
2. An imperfection or two makes your character more interesting and realistic, and adds to the fun of roleplaying!

Restrictions on Disadvantages

Your GM might wish to "cap" the extra points you can gain from disadvantages; see Disadvantage Limit. This limit applies to the total points you can get from all traits with negative point costs from character creation (reduced attributes, low Status, etc.) or the list of disadvantages. Mandatory disadvantages assigned by the GM don't count against this limit.

Most GMs will want to enforce two additional restrictions:

Negated Disadvantages

You cannot take a disadvantage that one of your advantages would mitigate or negate! For instance, if you have Acute Hearing, you cannot take Hard of Hearing. Contradictory disadvantages, such as Curious and Incurious, are also mutually exclusive. The GM has the final say as to which traits are compatible.

Villain Disadvantages

Some disadvantages – Sadism, for instance – are not at all suitable for a "hero," and the GM is free to forbid them to PCs. But they are often found in the more fiendish villains of adventure fiction, so they are included in the interest of good NPC creation.

Types of Disadvantages

Like advantages, disadvantages are classified according to how they work in play and who can have them.

Mental disadvantages originate from your mind or soul. They stay with you if your mind ends up in a new body. This category includes the vast majority of "magical," "psionic," and "spiritual" traits. Mental disadvantages are marked .

Physical disadvantages are associated with your body. You can escape them by moving to a new body! If another mind occupies your body, the new owner gains your physical disadvantages.

You can acquire a physical disadvantage during play, most likely due to accident or combat. In this case, you immediately suffer the bad effects of the disadvantage. Unlike starting disadvantages, however, physical handicaps acquired in play do not "give back" points with which to buy abilities – they just lower your point value!

Example: If you start out blind, you start with an extra 50 points...but if an explosion blinds you during the game, you're just blind and that's that. Reduce your point total by 50 points to reflect your new disadvantage. You should not keep the same point total and take 50 points of compensating advantages!

Physical disadvantages are marked .

Social disadvantages are associated with your identity. Should it become important to know whether they go with mind or body, the GM's word is final. Note that this category includes below-average Status, Wealth, and so forth. Social disadvantages are marked .

The GM is the final judge of which category a disadvantage belongs in. It is possible to interpret certain disadvantages in more than one way!

Exotic disadvantages are forbidden to normal humans. Nonhumans may acquire such traits from their racial template, but they still need the GM's permission to take additional exotic disadvantages. Exotic disadvantages are marked .

Supernatural disadvantages are the result of divine intervention, magic, psionics, etc. With the GM's permission, anyone might be cursed in this way – but only if supernatural powers exist in the game world. Supernatural disadvantages are marked .

Mundane disadvantages are everything else. They are inborn, acquired, or self-imposed handicaps that anyone might have. Mundane disadvantages are not marked in any special way. Assume that a disadvantage with neither nor is available to anyone.

Self-Control for Mental Disadvantages

Many mental disadvantages do not affect you constantly – you may attempt to control your urges. An asterisk (*) appears next to the point cost of any disadvantage that offers a chance to resist. For each disadvantage like this, you must choose a self-control number: the number you must roll on 3d to avoid giving in. This modifies point value as follows:

You resist quite rarely (roll of 6 or less): 2 × listed cost.

You resist fairly often (roll of 9 or less): 1.5 × listed cost.

You resist quite often (roll of 12 or less): listed cost.

You resist almost all the time (roll of 15 or less): 0.5 × listed cost.

Drop all fractions (e.g., -22.5 points becomes -22 points).

The "default" self-control number is 12: you must roll 12 or less on 3d to avoid giving in to your problem. This lets you use disadvantage costs as written. Choose a self-control number of 15 if you wish to have a tendency toward a disadvantage instead of a full-blown case. A self-control number of 9 will regularly limit your options. A self-control number of 6 can be crippling (especially with genuine psychiatric problems).

Note your self-control number in parentheses after the name of the disadvantage on your character sheet. For instance, if you can resist Berserk on a roll of 9 or less, write this as "Berserk (9)."

Self-Control Rolls

In circumstances that are likely to trigger your problem, you may opt to roll 3d against your self-control number to see whether your disadvantage actually affects you. If you roll less than or equal to this number, you resist your disadvantage – this time. Otherwise, you suffer the listed effects. This is called a self-control roll. Like all success rolls, self-control rolls are subject to modifiers.

Exceptionally mild or severe stimuli can give bonuses or penalties. Drugs and afflictions can make you more or less likely to give in. Other disadvantages can make you irritable, reducing your odds of resisting. See the disadvantage descriptions for details.

Example: Your self-control number is 15, but you are in a highly stressful situation that gives -5 to your self-control roll. You must roll 10 or less to resist your disadvantage.

You never have to try a self-control roll – you can always give in willingly, and it is good roleplaying to do so. However, there will be times when you really need to resist your urges, and that is what the roll is for. Be aware that if you attempt self-control rolls too often, the GM may penalize you for bad roleplaying by awarding you fewer earned points.

Optionally, the GM may permit you to use one unspent character point to "buy" an automatic success on a self-control roll. Points spent this way are gone for good, but there will be times when staying on the straight and narrow is worth the sacrifice. In this case, the GM should not penalize you for bad roleplaying, because you are penalizing yourself!

Note that high Will helps you make Fright Checks and resist supernatural emotion control, but it does not improve self-control rolls – not even for disadvantages with effects identical to these things. Mental disadvantages represent an aspect of your personality that you cannot simply will (or reason) away. This is part of what makes them disadvantages!

"Buying Off" Disadvantages

You may use bonus points to "buy off" many disadvantages – whether you started with them or acquired them in play. This costs as many points as the disadvantage originally gave you. If the GM permits, you may buy off leveled disadvantages one level at a time. Likewise, you can buy off those with self-control numbers gradually, by raising the self-control number. In both cases, the point cost is the difference between your former level and your current one. For more on buying off disadvantages, see Character Development.

Disadvantages for Heroes

Two kinds of disadvantages are particularly suitable for heroic PCs. Roleplayed well, they might limit the character's choices, but they should make the player's experience more fun.

"Good" Disadvantages

It might seem strange that virtues such as Truthfulness and Sense of Duty are listed as "disadvantages." In the real world, we regard such traits as advantages! Their disadvantage value in GURPS comes from the fact that these virtues limit your freedom of action. For instance, someone with Truthfulness will have trouble lying, even for a good cause; therefore, within the framework of the game, he has a disadvantage. This has one very worthwhile benefit: if you want to create a wholly heroic character, you don't have to take any "character flaws" at all. You can get points by choosing only those disadvantages that are actually virtuous!

Tragic Flaws

Many of the greatest heroes of history and literature had a "tragic flaw." Alcoholism, great ugliness, bad temper, compulsive behavior, and even drug addiction – all are found in the heroes of fact and fiction. So don't assume that your heroes have to be perfect ... try giving them significant problems to overcome.

Secret Disadvantages

You may give your character a disadvantage unknown both to him and to you. Choose a point value and tell the GM. The GM will select a disadvantage and give you its value plus an additional -5 points (e.g., Unluckiness, normally worth -10 points, gives -15 points as a secret disadvantage) ... but he will not give you any hints as to what it is! When your disadvantage finally becomes obvious in the course of play (GM's decision), you must buy off the extra -5 points as soon as possible.

The GM must pick a secret disadvantage carefully. It should be something that you could believably not know about. If it is a mental disadvantage, the conditions that trigger it should never have arisen (Berserk, Bloodlust, Combat Paralysis, the less-common Phobias, and Split Personality all work well here). Most physical disadvantages are too obvious – although something like Hemophilia might go unnoticed. You can only list one secret disadvantage on your character sheet, but this might represent more than one trait. The GM is free to select multiple, related disadvantages worth the appropriate number of points.