Backwoods

2 points

The character is Rokgani, but is from a very remote part of the Empire (the exception being Unicorn and Mantis characters who may actually be from outside the Empire). The character has little to no knowledge of the workings of the Empire and suffers a +5 to his TN for Diplomacy and Ettiquette rolls. Also, the character and his ancestors are so little-known that his Glory starts off at .5 (Minor Clan characters would start at 0). However, spending so much time away from society has made the character more in tune with nature, allowing him a free raise on Animal Husbandry, Herbalism, and Horsemanship rolls.

Hemophilia

4 points

The character's blood does not clot properly. Any wound, no matter how small, can be deadly. When wounded, the character loses a number of wounds every minute equal to the number of full and partial Wound levels he has suffered. If the wound is well bandaged (Medecine/Intelligence roll, TN 20), the bleeding can be stopped enough to halt this loss.

Inept

2 points

The character is exceptionally bad at some skill. This skill costs twice the normal cost in EP or CP to raise to each new rank. Also, whenever the character uses this skill, his rank in it is considered to be one lower than it actually is (A character with 0 ranks in this skill will always have a total result of 1). This disadvantage is negated if the skill is ever raised to 4 by normal means -- through purchase of ranks with EP. This disadvantage cannot be taken for any of the character's starting skills.

Paranoid

5 points

The character is constantly expecting trouble to come his way. As a result, he is much more likely to encounter it. Roll and keep 1 die less on all social rolls. All Honor and Glory awards are halved. When the character has reason to believe that some sort of secret plot is occuring (GM's discretion; expect to never be still in Scorpion or Crane lands), he must make a Willpower roll at TN 20 to avoid chasing after it, no matter the consequences and no matter who he insults in the process. Once the player is convinced there is something afoot, it is almost impossible to convince him otherwise. He ignores any evidence or testimony that would prove him wrong unless he makes an Awareness check at TN 35. All of these penalties apply whether or not there is an actual plot of any sort.