FrivYeti/PCEMandF

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Merits And Flaws

The following lists of Merits and Flaws refer primarily to Scroll of Heroes, but will also reference certain other books as necessary.

Merits

Retained Merits

The following Merits are retained as per Scroll of Heroes, with no modifications.

• Mutations: As a rule, all positive mutations are allowed, within discretion. Size-based mutations provide their extra health levels as per FrivYeti/SizeRevision, but do not provide additional dots of Strength or Stamina (or remove them). Instead, they modify required levels of Strength and Stamina. Players should note that, as a rule, being more than one size removed from Average will make life excessively difficult.
• Fleet of Foot
• Pain Tolerance
• Selective Conception
• Eidetic Memory
• Esoteric Craft
• Experienced
• Heirloom - The object purchased with Heirloom has a maximum Resources value of 5.
• Brutal Attack
• Quick Draw
• Sorcery Focus (But I don't recommend it)
• Terrestrial Bloodline

Modified Merits

The following Merits are retained as per Scroll of Heroes, with the modifications listed.

• Improved Resistance: Only immunity to specific poisons or diseases is allowed.
• Omnidexterity: This Merit costs 2 pts regardless of who is taking it.
• Strong Lungs: This Merit costs 2 pts regardless of who is taking it.
• Legendary Attribute: Instead of its usual effect, this Merit costs 6 points for anyone and provides a bonus phantom die on all rolls for that Attribute. It requires the Attribute to be at 4 or higher. It may only be purchased once.
• Innocuous: This Merit costs a flat 2 pts. It applies a -1 external penalty to rolls to remember details about the character (often increasing the difficulty of said rolls from 0 to 1). It also requires that the character have exactly Appearance 2.
• Extra Favored Ability: Lunars may purchase this Merit up to two times.
• Jack of All Trades: This Merit can be purchased by Exalts for 2 pts.
• Prodigy: This Merit costs 3 pts. It provides a bonus phantom die only for rolls of a single Ability. It may only be purchased once, and may not be purchased if the character has Legendary Attribute.
• Driving Passion: This Merits provides only one bonus die to rolls. In addition, the character must always spend Willpower and gain Limit to resist taking actions that would further her Motivation. If a character completes her Motivation, she may spend 1 XP to have Driving Passion apply to a new Motivation.
• Paragon of Virtue: This Merit costs only 2 pts.
• True Love: This Merit costs only 3 pts.
• Danger Sense: At 3 pts, this Merit allows a character to apply half her DV against unexpected attacks. For 5 pts, it also adds three dice to Join Battle rolls immediately after unexpected attacks.
• Lucid Dreamer: This Merit costs 2 pts.
• Prophetic Dreams: This Merit functions as per Alternative Divination (Oneiromancy), and costs 2 pts.
• Luck: This Merit costs 2, 4, or 6 pts. Sidereals do not get it at reduced cost.
• Priest: Only the 1-pt version of this Merit is available. Those who want miracles can purchase godly Allies or Mentors.
• Special Senses: All of these become Mutations, as follows: Weather Sense (Pox), Thermal Sight (Affliction), Echo Location (Affliction), Vibration Sense (Affliction or Blight), Essence Sight (Abomination), Spirit Sight (Abomination). Telepathy is not allowed.
• Taint's Warning: This power costs 3 pts, and does not cause anima flaring. Abyssals and Infernals pay 2 pts.
• Daredevil: This Merit does not function on opposed rolls.

Added Merits

The following Merits are new, or added from another source.

• Favored Attribute (1 pt): This Merit can only be purchased during character creation, and requires the character to sacrifice two of her Favored Abilities. It allows her to purchase a Favored Attribute, which functions as a Lunar's. This counts as two Favored Abilities for the purposes of the maximum number that a character may have.

Removed Merits

The following Merits from Scroll of Heroes are not allowed, and reasoning is given.

• Ambidexterity: This Merit compensates for a restriction that is not generally applied by me, and thus is unneeded.
• Double-Jointed: This Merit should be one or more Specialties.
• Strong Back: This is an extremely expensive Specialty.
• Born To Rule: This Merit should be a Specialty.
• Carouser: This Merit should be a Specialty.
• Enchanting Features: This Merit should be "Appearance".
• Acute Sense: This Merit should be an Awareness specialty.
• Common Sense: This Merit is already deployed by the Storyteller, and is thus unneeded.
• Internal Compass: This Merit should be a Survival Specialty.
• Linguistic Genius: The modified rules for languages render this Merit unnecessary.
• Cache: This Merit compensates for a weakness that has never been applied by me, and thus is unneeded.
• Favor: This Merit is covered by the Connections Background.
• Heir Apparent: I hate Merits that let you buy more Merits later. No.
• Hidden Manse: We use Oedanol's Codex, and thus this Merit is unneeded.
• Favored Weapon: Do not want.
• Improved Join Battle: This is an Awareness specialty.
• Alternative Divination: This Merit is not required; all of the Level 0 effects are acceptable ways of using Astrology based on a character's region of origin. The only exception is Oneiromancy, which is rolled into Lucid Dreamer.
• Awakened Essence: This Merit is overwritten by FrivYeti/MortalEssence.
• Tactical Instincts: This Merit will be overwritten due to mass combat rules.
• Legendary Breeding: This Merit is overwritten by Breeding 6 as a Background.
• Past Lives: This Merit is overwritten by the Savant Background.
• Root of the Perfected Lotus: This Merit is overwritten by FrivYeti/MortalEssence.
• Signature Style: This Merit makes Baby Jesus cry.

Flaws

Retained Flaws

• Amputee
• Climate Sensitive
• Mute
• Sterile
• Child
• Disfigured
• Enemy

Modified Flaws

• Sickly: This Flaw also halves the effect of magical healing or disease removal (rounding up).
• Sun-Seared: Wearing heavy clothing and covering up reduces the character's level of Sun-Seared by one degree.
• Barbarian: This Flaw functions as in First Edition - a one-die penalty to most Lore and Socialize rolls to understand culture, and a requirement of Lore 2 in order to be literate. It is a 1-pt Flaw.
• Obligation: This Flaw is not a once-only effect. Instead, it determines how often and how dangerous obligations are. At 1 pt, roll a die each story - a 1 or 2 means that the character must perform a task that will cause irritation or aggravation. Each dot raises the number that triggers Obligations by 2, or else creates a chance of the task being actively dangerous (and potentially lethal) by 2. For example, a character with Obligation 3 (Frequency 2, Danger 1) must roll each story - a result of 1 or 2 means a potentially lethal task, a result of 3 or 4 means an annoying or simply time-taking one, and a result of 5 or above means no task is required.

Removed Flaws

• Diminished Attributes - You can take Experienced instead.
• Dark Secret - I dislike time bomb flaws.