Quirks:
A quirk is a minor, eccentric trait that marks a character's first steps towards madness. A GM can assign quirks to characters based on events surrounding the incident of their failed HF saves. In some games, it might be appropriate for the players to pick them out to allow them some freedom in picking hindrances that fit their characters.
Alternatively, the players or GM can roll on the random table provided along with the brief overview of the available quirks. A quirk's defining trait is that it applies only under specific circumstances or it has a constant effect that does not pose a life-threatening risk to a character.
You may become an extravagant spender as your mind decays and you learn that life has no meaning. While that attitude makes it difficult to save money for expensive magical items, it does not pose a direct threat to your health. The quirks that do incur penalties on your actions, especially actions in combat, apply only to specific creatures or other conditions.
General Notes on Phobias: Many of the quirks given here are phobias (an overpowering fear) against specific types of creatures and obstacles. You can easily change phobias so that they apply to different creature types to add further variation to the list of quirks.
Arrogance (Narcissism):
The narcissist is self-centered and convinced of his superiority over others in most, if not all, areas. Narcissists believe that they are smarter, stronger, better looking and more charismatic than anyone around them (or at least in possession of very good promise). When they encounter people who are obviously superior to them, they experience unease. They also experience unease when faced with evidence of their own inadequacies or shortcomings. When confronted by such evidence, their psychology takes a number of defense strategies. Areas where they obviously lack superiority will be ignored and rationalized with excuses and followed up with emphasis on the narcissist’s more impressive characteristics. Excuses are the narcissist biggest defense against failure or evidence of inferiority. This mindset causes the narcissist to be overly sensitive to criticism, but unlike the histrionic who is depressed and demoralized by critics, the narcissist is angered and offended by them, often becoming confrontational or aggressively competitive. The people narcissist like best are those who reaffirm their egocentric beliefs. Yes-men and suck-ups are their favorite people. Second to them, narcissists tend to like weak, stupid, ugly people, since they further accentuate the narcissist’s prowess. The narcissist thinks only of himself, making it difficult for him to understand or relate to others.
This also leads to a pattern of behavior that involves berating those who are under him to bolster his self-esteem and provide a psychological bulwark against the things he can’t deny. Narcissists in positions of authority often play favorites with their subordinates, rewarding those who suck-up the best. They usually take actions in social situations to make people aware of their superiority. Quickly volunteering mundane information in an attempt to showcase their intelligence, bragging about battles and past glory, strutting and spouting brazen speech, all are typical narcissistic behaviors. These people also relish moments of true glory and any sort of compliment or award goes directly to their head.
Mild: The most modest form of this personality has a very healthy sense of self worth. They are somewhat self-centered and have difficulty when trying to understand other’s feelings. Their friends see them as a little arrogant and perhaps vain. They are success oriented and work diligently to improve their skills in a wide range of areas. They also tend to spend a good deal of time tending to their appearance.
Moderate: These believe that they are better than most people. This may affect them in many ways, but they know that they are smarter, better, more capable and deserving of special treatment. They may be fiercely competitive. They may be highly judgmental and condescending towards those that show their subordinate status. Those who are moderately narcissistic are very sensitive to criticism and will often strike out at those who are too critical of them. They greatly prefer the company of admirers and are quite disdainful of those who are ‘lesser’ than them. Their inflated egos often cause minor problems in their lives and sometimes cause major problems. These people also have such a strong focus on success that it can lead to depression if their goals are not met.
Severe: The extreme narcissist surrounds himself only with admirers and will not tolerate the company of those who doubt his superiority. He is openly abusive, condescending, and disdainful of those who are ‘lesser’ than he is. He constantly berates others to bolster his self-esteem and pontificates endlessly. This personality feeds on envy. He also secretly harbors a great deal of envy for anyone who is superior. He vigorously seeks to rid his life of these superior people and, if possible, to gain their power base. Furthermore, he will only openly admit to the superiority of others under threat of dire consequences. Criticism and humiliation incense severe narcissists to the point of irrational rage.
Role-playing: The narcissist’s self-love can lead to envy, and jealousy of those who are superior. Since narcissists have difficulty understanding the feelings of others, they find it easy to neglect and abuse people, especially for personal gain, or if doing so makes them feel smarter than the other person. Narcissists also set unattainable goals and strive in vain to reach them.
Paladins are the most typical images of narcissistic characters, but any character could easily be overly focused on himself. A narcissistic cleric would believe no one is a more true-hearted follower of his deity than he is. Two such clerics might fight about the issue.
Narcissistic rogues and bards are also common, being a little too suave for their own good. Narcissistic fighters are often quite skilled, since those who can’t live up to their own boasts often get killed. A narcissistic mage would likely be quite smug and condescending, often deliberately speaking above the intelligence of those around him.
Severity Number of Traits
Severe 1d5 + 4
Moderate 1d2 +3
Mild 1-3
Minor 1-2
1. Exploitative: The character uses and exploits others for personal gain.
2. Grandiose: The character tends to behave in flamboyant, bombastic, attention getting ways.
3. Feels Unique: The character is overly proud of his perceived uniqueness.
4. Preoccupied With Success: The character is heavily focused on proving his superiority by succeeding in life.
5. Feels Entitled: The character believes he is more important than he actually is and behaves accordingly.
6. Seeks Admiration: The character desires and seeks out the admiration of others.
7. Unempahtic. The character’s focus on himself makes him unable to understand how others feel.
8. Envious: The character has a resentful desire for the possessions and achievements of others.
9. Hypersensitive to Criticism: The character’s pride is easily damaged by critical words.
BORDERLINE
Borderline people are at the mercy of emotions that rage out of control. They are highly unpredictable and random, suffering from drastic mood swings. This altering mood state can take them quickly from adoring to contemptuous, frolicking to fighting. Sometimes feeling emotionally empty inside, they occasionally suffer from depression. When in this depressed mood state they might become careless and self-destructive. Usually this means deliberately putting themselves in harm’s way or inflicting small wounds on themselves. They often seem fickle, moody, reckless, unpredictable, unreasonable, and volatile. The borderline’s point of view is one of randomness and change. The world looks hopelessly chaotic to them and they react accordingly, leading lives of stormy relationships and physical outbursts.
Mild: Mildly borderline individuals are spontaneous, a bit reckless, creative, and often think in nonlinear patterns. They are moody but functional. They are often quite empathetic; being skilled at feeling other’s emotional pain. When depression strikes the mildly borderline character they become reclusive, gloomy and careless about their personal well being.
Moderate: Moderately borderline characters have few long-term friends (since their behavior makes people want to avoid them), and suffer significant bouts of depression. During these times they may inflict damage upon themselves (usually no more than a few points). They are often alone for a long period of time when they are depressed and will not readily talk about their problems. When in a state of depression they do not practice their trade or class.
Severe: Severely Borderline people are the picture of madness. They never have a stable moment in their lives. They experience a constant shifting of mood that is very dramatic and disturbing to everyone around them. The severely borderline experience is akin to being helplessly adrift on a stormy sea of emotions. A severely borderline character might play the charming host at first and then suddenly fly into a murderous rage, only to be sorrowfully repentant for his deeds moments later.
Role-playing: The primary interpersonal effect these people have is to make others uneasy with their
unpredictable mood swings and erratic behavior. Their self-mutilation and bouts of gloomy depression are difficult for others to understand.
Chaotic people are most likely to be borderline. Lawfully aligned borderline characters often suffer from feeling of guilt and self-loathing for their erratic and unpredictable mood swings.
TABLE 2-6: BORDERLINE TRAITS
Severity Number of Traits
Severe 1d5 + 3
Moderate 1d2 +2
Mild 1-2
Minor 1
1. Impulsive: The character acts without thinking about consequences or options.
2. Mood Liability: The character suffers from rapidly altering emotions.
3. Irascible: The character is prone to angry outbursts.
4. Self-damaging Acts: The character deliberately engages in behavior that is likely to cause physical, emotional, or financial pain to himself.
5. Stormy Relations: The character’s relationships are always fraught with conflict.
6. Identity Disturbance: The character occasionally speaks and behaves like someone else, adopting their
mannerisms.
7. Boredom: Occasional listlessness strikes the character, causing him to sit aimlessly and dawdle.
8. Frantic Fear of Lost Relationships: The character has a great fear of loosing his close friendships.
Delusions (Paranoia): Paranoia skews their perception of the world, causing them to see schemes and danger where none exist. Their fears go well beyond just physical harm. In fact, a great deal of their concern is centered on insidious plans to get their money or usurp their power and influence. They worry about losing relationships, possessions, income, secrets, and opportunities. The bulk of their concern is caused by the certainty that someone, or maybe everyone, is out to get them in every way imaginable. Obtuse conspiracy theories make complete sense to paranoid people. They are always on guard for thieves and con men. A paranoid person might write his name on all his possessions lest they get stolen. If someone should happen to stop talking just as a paranoid person walks by, the paranoid person would automatically assume that they were talking about him. The paranoid person will discount, rationalize and ignore any evidence he encounters that conflicts with his fears. Becoming very rich, powerful or important will greatly compound the fears of paranoia, since the character now has much more to lose. Paranoid characters have an unreasoning fear of the world around them. Paranoid people go through life worrying about all sorts of villainous plots against them. The character sees plots and schemes everywhere; every action is meant to discredit, injure, or kill him. You see enemies behind every rock and tree. They lurk in the shadows, ready to leap forth and slay you. You see their influence in all of your failures, from mundane events to the grand, important plans you have made throughout your life. Your efforts have been in vain only because a shadowy cabal of enemies dogs your every step. Unfortunately, these enemies are phantoms conjured by your mind. You waste a tremendous amount of time and energy obsessing over foes that do not exist, often creating vast and intricate conspiracy theories to explain who torments them and why.
Game Rules: You believe that your misery and insecurity stem from external persecution and hostility.
Mild: The mildly paranoid individuals are merely cautious, careful, and pragmatic. They check and worry more than others, but not to a disturbing degree. Their contributions to future plans are always aimed at covering for unlikely eventualities. Advice from these people often takes the form of foreboding warnings. They tend to be suspicious of new acquaintances for no particular reason and sometimes never get past this initial opinion. These people usually don’t believe things that are impossible, only things that are highly unlikely.
Moderate: The moderately paranoid characters worry quite a bit and trust very few people or none at all. They believe that most people are out to get them for a whole litany of reasons. They are likely to believe conspiracy theories about all sorts of things. These people always assume an ulterior motive exists for the behavior of others and are always on guard against rare possibilities. The fears of the moderately paranoid stretch beyond the realistic and mingle with the bizarre. They might believe that everyone in a packed tavern is talking about them as they pass by or that the viceroy and his secret agents are after his family’s beef stew recipe. It is very difficult for a moderately paranoid person to trust anyone. Even their closest friends will receive only a guarded, superficial trust.
Severe: Extreme cases of paranoia experience pervasive, unjustified distrust of everyone. Paranoia bends their perceptions to the point of insanity. These people have no close friends since they can’t trust anyone. They frequently find evidence of others plotting against them and act on this misinformation. Severely paranoid people have a large number of delusional beliefs and take extreme measures to preempt the schemes of others. The plots that they can believe are completely impossible. Such a person might believe that everyone he knows is collectively conspiring against him. Severely paranoid people never trust anyone other than themselves.
Role-playing: Paranoid people will search their surroundings for signs of listening devises and actively seek out magic to protect them from scrying and mind reading. They will also highly value detect scrying, detect evil, alarm and other divinations and abjurations. Of course, the paranoid person will know that these magics are not completely reliable and can be fooled, blocked, or nullified by other magic. Thus the paranoid person can never find solace from his fear. Paranoia is best suited for rogues since their fears help keep them from being apprehended. On the other hand, it also impedes their earnings, since they are too fearful of getting caught to undertake any major heist. Mages, with their spells, are the most dangerous of paranoid people since their fears motivate them to spy on others. Paranoid fighters might seem cowardly, but they see themselves as merely cautious and wise.
Valuables, Power, and Influence: Everyone, even the lowliest of slaves has valuables, power and influence. A slave is valued for his ability to work. Furthermore, in any community, even the lowliest, there is some kind of barter system of valuables. In the case of the slaves it might be clothing, bed space, and food. Slaves would also put value on the easier work details. Among any group of people there are dynamics of interaction. An attractive loyal servant might have more influence with his master then the other slaves. A headstrong rebellious slave might have power and influence over the other slaves, since they might see him as a leader who could liberate them. On the other hand, they might see him as a troublemaker who worsens their lives by making the master angry. In this case he would still have power and influence among his peers, being able to bring the wrath of the master down on the lot of them with a simple action. If any of these characters were paranoid they would jealously guard any and all of their valuables, power and influence.
Combat: Characters that have moderate to severe paranoia are frequently distracted by the enemies they have created in your mind. In stressful situations, such as combat, you can set aside your delusions and take care of the task at hand, but in the absence of a direct threat you are distracted and flighty. Outside of combat, you suffer a -10% to all skill rolls and saves. In addition, you slowly build up suspicious feelings towards those around you. The slightest hint of suspicious behavior is enough to provoke a roll. In order to give an item you own to anyone else or cast a spell on them you must make a Will save (DC 20) to overcome your innate mistrust of others. You always demand an equal share of all treasure found. If you are shortchanged, you attempt to steal from your allies to ensure you gain your proper share. If an ally is in position to flank you with an opponent or another ally in combat, you must move to a "safer" position before taking any other action for fear of betrayal. You do not suffer this drawback when two foes flank you.
PARANOID TRAITS
Severity Number of Traits
Severe 1D6 + 3
Moderate 1D4 +2
Mild 1-2
Minor 1
1. Fears Others Will Take Advantage: The character worries about what others might do if they get the chance.
2. Mistrustful: The character finds it difficult to believe or rely on the words of others.
3. Suspicious: The character frequently suspects malicious agendas and devious motives.
4. Grudge-holding: The character has difficulty forgetting injustices of the past.
5. Unable to Confide: The character never trusts anyone enough to divulge personal secrets.
6. Touchy: The character makes paranoid associations between the things people say and the things he worries about.
7. Jealous: The character has an unfounded fear of losing the things he has, especially relationships.
HISTRIONIC
Histrionic characters are praise hungry, over-dramatic, self-centered and attention seeking. They behave as though they are constantly on stage; saying and doing what they believe is expected of them so they can gain approval from their audience. They tend to be overly expressive of emotion, crying uncontrollably over a sad story, screaming hysterically at a minor fright, or hugging people they just met. Histrionic people tend to be uncomfortable when they are not the center of attention. They feel as though they must meet everyone else’s expectations and will compromise their own values and integrity to do so. These people often become upset or angry when their friends do not attend to them or praise them. The speech of a histrionic person is often vague and characterized by hyperbole. There is often a smarmy fakery apparent in their interpersonal style.
Histrionic people play vastly different roles when they are around different people and are more busy being who others want them to be than being who they are.
Although both histrionic and borderline personalities experience powerful emotions, there are several differences between them. The extreme moods of histrionic people are less volatile than those of people with borderline personalities. Although the histrionic’s mood states are strong, they persist over a reasonable amount of time and are set off by somewhat relevant circumstances.
Furthermore, the borderline personalities are not superficial and thespian-like as the histrionic is. Lastly, Histrionics do not inflict damage upon themselves when depressed. Rather, they sulk and cry, seeking emotional support from others. Histrionic and dependent personalities are very similar. However, dependent people do not exhibit the same extremes of emotion that histrionic people do. Histrionic people are also more focused on themselves than dependent people are.
Mild: The mildest forms of histrionic personalities are simply warm, accommodating, polite, and sociable. They pick up well on social cues but people who know them often see them as fake and spineless. These people tend to lack strong opinions or convictions about major issues, unless doing so appeases a valued friend.
Moderate: The moderately histrionic characters experience strong moods and powerful emotions. They also lack a good ability to deal with their feelings. They are hypersensitive to criticism, often letting it depress their mood state. These people yearn for the approval of others and frequently seek words and signs of acceptance.
Severe: Severely histrionic characters are obsessed with a desire to be the focus of attention and are often overcome with gales of extreme emotions. They are very superficial and concerned with how others perceive them. These people often adopt mannerisms and attitudes of the people around them and rarely behave with consistency. These people’s lives are always in extreme disarray.
Role-playing: The most obvious traits of many histrionic characters are the over dramatic display of emotions and the seemingly smarmy interpersonal style they have. They seem a little too interested in what other people say and they laugh a little too loud at jokes people tell. Bards and rogues are probably the most typical histrionic characters. Histrionic wizards would likely have a repertoire
of illusion and enchantment spells and use them frequently
to get attention. Histrionic clerics are typically good
empathizes and are often well liked by the public. Histrionic
fighters might frequently engage in attention-getting
displays of weapon prowess and overreact to combat
situations.
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TABLE 2-8: HISTRIONIC TRAITS
Severity Number of Traits
Severe 1d4 +3
Moderate 1d2 +2
Mild 1-2
Minor 1
1. Praise-hungry: The character yearns for the positive
comments of others.
2. Seductive: the character seduces others in an attempt
to gain the attention he craves.
3. Over-dramatic: The character behaves with
exaggerated displays of emotion.
4. Shallow: The character seems superficial and
intellectually simple.
5. Self-centered: The character is more concerned with
himself than with others.
6. Impressionistic: The character sometimes behaves like
someone else would, copying their mannerisms and
interpersonal style.
7. Attention-seeking: The character seeks to be the focus
of attention, enjoying the spotlight.
Anxiety (Attachment Disorder):
Annihilation anxiety:
Along the developmental line of anxiety, annihilation anxiety is the most primitive. It is fundamentally fear of one’s existence ending through death, disappearance, fragmentation, going “crazy”, complete loss of self, etc. Most AD children carry a heavy loading of this anxiety. This is what makes their survival and emotional experience the overarching issues they are. In attempting to avoid or soothe their anxiety, AD children typically become hypervigilant and frequently visually check in with parents, by means of a quick glance, much as toddlers do. Avoiding their annihilation anxiety altogether, which is overwhelmingly intolerable in its own right, drives AD children’s need for control and practically everything else
APOTHEOSIS
Apotheosis is the growing belief that you are more than you really are, or that you are ascending towards godhood.
The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved.
(Mild): You believe that you are special, chosen for some future destiny. This fate may not have
revealed itself to you, yet, but it will, soon. All you need to do is to be ready. You need to gather all
the power you can to prepare yourself for your great destiny. You may believe that you are a minor power that has been sent to earth to learn mortal lessons, or that you are disassociated from your true ‘higher’ plane.
Megalomania: You believe that you should be granted all the power in the world, and will go to any
lengths to get it. Whether you wish to control your guild, a city, a country or merely to overthrow the
gods, you will not stop until your task is accomplished. You may try to obtain followers (or worshippers) and believe that you should be kept in a manner befitting a ‘god’ of your status. You will freely take what you want from those around you, unless you believe that a more powerful opponent stands before you (and only then will you be cautious)... Mortals are not your own kind - if they ever were. You are a heavenly being and the powers of the Aether elevate you above such mundane creatures. If the Great War results in the death of one, a thousand or a million mortals, so be it. They are merely insects in a war they cannot possibly understand. Mortal laws no longer apply to you.
5. Apotheosis Complex: You believe that you were
never mortal, that you were born of starstuff or that
you are a divine being or power of considerable
importance. The mortal races are of little, if any
importance to you. Destroying them when they do
not heed your word or cross your path causes you
no remorse. If you are a good power, you will not
mindlessly slaughter mortals, you may be ‘benevolent
yet powerful’ or ‘vengeful and filled with wrath’.
Phobias: