Copyright (c) 1996 by Michael Hopcroft Nosebleeds Physical Disad -5 points Whenever you become sexually aroused (GM's discretion) there is a chance your nose will start bleeding spontaneously. Make a HT roll (maximum 14-). If you miss, blood starts coming out of one or both nostrils. It is not enough to do HT damage, but it is embarassing. Anyone who sees this reacts negatively. Characters of your own sex react at -1 (you obviously lack self-control), and characters of the opposite sex react at -2 (Eek! Pervert!). Characters who are in the process of forming a romantic relationship should consider buying off this disadvantage. (Although it's a notorious anime joke, nosebleeds from arousal actually do happen, especially in real-life Japan. And yes, it's really embarassing.) Androgynous Physical Disad -? points Casual observers have great difficulty telling which gender you are. You could easily pass for both, or you are of one gender but look a lot like the other. In situations where gender recognition and gender roles are important, this leads to interesting complications. This disad goes will with Attractive or better Appearance bonuses; you can find yourself being sexually or romantically pursued by characters of BOTH sexes. To determine your gender for certain would require an examination of some sort. A quick feel in the chest or crotch should do the trick -- but is EXTREMELY rude, especially when tried on a total stranger! If you are actually TRYING to pass yourself off as the other gender, take +2 bonuses to your Disguise and Acting skills. Gender-Switching Physical Disad - variable points Your gender occasionally (or frequently) changes back and forth bewteen male and female. This could be due to magical curses, genetic quirks, or weird technological experiments. In any event, you will occasionally transform from a person of one gender to a person of the other. Choose a base gender for the original character. Whenever you change, you are "anatomicaly correct" for your new gender. Questions such as fertility are best left to those twisted enough to want to know. To quote Takahashi-sama, "I don't think about those things -- and neither should you!" It is possible for some physical abilities to change due to the switch. Mental skills and disads do NOT change when genders are switched. The point value of the disadvantage depends on when or how often you switch genders, and is best determined in discussion with the GM. If only a single circumstance causes the switch, but it is present frequently, that's worth more points than a single cause that happens rarely. If you can change genders AT WILL, it's worth less. And if you just switch genders at random, the disad value depends on how frequently the switch takes place. Races with three or more genders might have individuals with this disad. If ALL members of a race can change gender, things could get mighty interesting on their planet.... (Note: I think there's a rule in ALIENS that covers this....) Lover's Distraction II Mental Disad -? points This functions like the disad in the Compendium, but has a few differences that merit special treatment. In this form of the disadvantage, the presence of your love causes your behavior to change even when you're not in combat. This can create general motionless distraction as in the combat version, but in some cases it causes the character to lose touch with reality and start doing things they would not do otherwise. All tasks involving conscious effort are at -4 in the presence of the loved one unless a Will roll is made during the first encounter of the session. This includes almost all skill use, the use of all super powers, and all use of magic, spells, and psionics. It's also somewhat harder to "snap out of" this form of the disadvantage than its combat counterpart. Even once the loved one departs, the character is likely to remain pleasantly unconnected to reality for quite some time. Anyone who takes this advantage should be encouraged to roleplay it to the fullest: the comic effect can be well worth all the effort put in. Lover's Indecision Mental disad -? points You have a great deal of trouble with an important decision in your romantic life. If you love someone, you have a hard time trying to tell them so. If there are two people pursuing you romantically, you just can't choose between them. And if you are seemingly rejected by a loved one (even temporarily) it becomes an emotional crisis. This is another disad that is best role-played with no die rolling involved at all. If it comes right down to having to make a decision, the character must make a Will roll. Otherwise he's lost in an emotional tangle and unable to speak or think clearly. OPH: Compulsive Incompetence Social disad -5 points You are really, really BAD at some skill or ability, but you insist upon doing it anyway. The skill this disad is purchased for is set at the lowest default as per the Incompetence disad in the Compendium. The problem is that you just can't believe you're THAT BAD at it, so you gamely keep on trying. For example, if you are an Incompetent cook you still insist upon cooking, at every opportunity that presents itself. If you fail your Cooking roll (and you almost certainly will), everyone eating your cooking (including you!) must make a HT roll at -4 or suffer digestive distress. Even if nothing happens, the cooking won't taste very good and people will be reluctant to eat more of it. But if a circumstance comes up where cooking is needed, you will need to make a Will roll to NOT head into the kitchen and start creating. Compulsive Incompetence can be applied to other skills as well, but further applications are best left to the imagination. A person who is compulsively incompetent at a skill where failure is dangerous (such as Demolitions, Pickpocketing and most combat skills) or humilating (such as Seduction or Sex Appeal) might have a disad worth -10.