Cost: 2-4

Availability: Anyone

Your character is acclimated to a particular region of Creation and suffers penalties in other climates. If the character’s climate sensitivity is triggered, the character suffers a -1 internal penalty on all actions, and the difficulty of all Survival and Resistance rolls increases by one.

The cost of this Flaw is dependent on how vulnerable the character is to different climates. For two points, the character suffers only in an extreme environment that is the antithesis of his preferred climate (such as a Northerner in the hot desert or a Southerner in the frozen tundra). For three points, the character is uncomfortable in any environment other than his preferred one, including even temperate zones (such as Northerner in any non-cold environment or a Southerner outside of the desert). For four points, the character is limited to one specific geographic region and cannot even endure areas that are climatically similar but not identical. Most often this is due to environmental conditions of which the character might not even be aware until he tries to leave (such as a Southeastern jungle dweller who sickens when not regularly exposed to the pollen of the indigenous trees or a Westerner from the Neck who cannot stomach water that tastes different from the well in his village).

The Storyteller should veto any form of climate sensitivity that would apply only if the character were to enter an area the story is unlikely to compel him to go. Likewise, a character who has access to Charms or other magic that negates penalties for harsh climates should not be permitted to take this Flaw.

Scroll of Heroes, p66

Cost: 1-5

Availability: Anyone

Your character harbors a dark secret that would be disastrous if the wrong person learned it. The exact nature of this secret is left to the player’s discretion, subject to Storyteller approval. The value of a dark secret is rated from one to five points, with a one-point secret being a minor one that will trigger a limited amount of public humiliation or opprobrium. A three-point secret represents serious social consequences, such as a past criminal history or bastardy. A five-point secret represents the most serious possible consequences, such as treasonous conduct or illegal dealings with the Fair Folk, Deathlords or Yozis. Such secrets likely deserve the death penalty in the character’s culture.

A character with a dark secret also automatically gains an Intimacy toward keeping the secret that can never be lost while the character still has this Flaw, but that is automatically lost if the secret is revealed. If that occurs, the character either gains a number of appropriate, Storyteller-chosen Flaws that would flow naturally from the revelation or loses a number of appropriate, Storyteller-chosen Background dots or Merits or some combination of the two. For example, the revelation that a trusted Guild member has been embezzling might result in the loss of Backing and Resources or the acquisition of the Enemy or Wanted Flaws.

The number of dots worth of Backgrounds or Merits lost or Flaws gained is equal to twice the value of this Flaw. A Celestial Exalt may not count his Exalted status as a Dark Secret unless the character has specific Backgrounds or Merits that are likely to be lost upon exposure as an Anathema. For example, a character with Backing, Command, Followers or Resources whose Anathema status is revealed might quickly be forced on the run and lose those Backgrounds as a result.

Scroll of Heroes, p68

Cost: 4

Availability: Any Exalt except Night Caste Solars, Day Caste Abyssals, and Scourge Caste Infernals

Your character finds it difficult to hide her Exalted nature. The character has only one Essence pool equal to the sum of what would normally be her Personal and Peripheral pools. All of the character’s Essence is considered Peripheral for purposes of anima displays.

Scroll of Heroes, p72

Cost: 1-8

Availability: Anyone

Your character has sworn some oath or accepted some taboo in exchange for power. Many priests and holy men swear oaths as signs of their devotion to their deities, and the deities in question bless their followers with magically conferred benefits as long as that oath remains fulfilled. The severity of the oath’s requirements is directly proportional to the number of points gained.

Minor Oath (1 pt.): An oath that barely restricts the character at all—never accept food from a red-headed person, never use bladed weapons, pray to your god once per day.

Moderate Oath (3 pts.): An oath that impedes the character, but not in any life-threatening way—no sex outside of marriage, never eat pork, pray several times per day at specific intervals, never start a fight.

Major Oath (5 pts.): An oath that interferes with the character’s life in a major way—never cut your hair, remain completely celibate, never use any weapons, spend at least one hour of every day in meditation, strict vegetarianism.

Legendary Oath (8 pts.): An oath that severely limits the character’s lifestyle—never bathe, embrace total pacifism, reject all forms of physical pleasure, never consume food or drink other than rice and water, spend at least six hours every day in meditation.

Unlike most Flaws, a player who imposes an oath on her character must specifically note what traits the bonus points gained were used to acquire, like so: Complete celibacy, Major (5 pts), +1 Conviction, 1-pt. Priest. If the character ever violates the oath, he loses the benefits associated with the oath until he has made suitable atonement. This atonement will generally take a number of months of contrition and penitence equal to the Flaw rating, as well as a sacrifice with a Resources cost of the Flaw rating or some other suitable, Storyteller-chosen form of repentance. In addition, at the Storyteller’s discretion, violations of major or legendary oaths may also result in divine punishment of some sort, such as the infliction of a Flaw or curse of some kind under which the character must labor until he has received forgiveness.

A character may have multiple oaths (but never more than one legendary oath). While multiple oaths may stack, if the character has more than one oath that interferes with the same general area of life (combat, dietary restrictions, sex, prayer, etc.), each oath after the first suffers a cumulative -1 reduction in value. For example, a character who has sworn never to start a fight and to fight only barehanded would gain five points for the major oath but only two points instead of three for the moderate oath. The Storyteller should not allow the player to select multiple oaths if one embraces the other. For example, it would be inappropriate for a character to swear a moderate oath to never start a fight when he has already sworn a legendary oath of total pacifism. Likewise, the player should not be allowed to stack an oath to never eat shellfish on top of an oath of strict vegetarianism.

Scroll of Heroes, p72