"I'm not crazy!  You're the one who's crazy!"
New Mental Disadvantages for GURPS  
by Joe Weinmunson and Jeannette Foret          

GURPS gives plenty of real-life mental disadvantages for the average PC, but 
doesn't provide much grisly detail for severe mental disorders.  Of the 
disadvantages listed here, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the only one 
really suitable for PCs, unless you' re playing GURPS Serial Killers.  Lots of 
people get PTSD--anything from childhood abuse to initial combat experience to 
a badly failed fright check can inspire it.
Psychopathia and Sociopathia are a different matter.  They represent our 
current and imperfect understanding of why a few people, mostly young men, 
gain personal and sexual satisfaction from the suffering and death of another 
human being.  The disadvantages are best used when the GM wants to give a 
horrific but realistic adversary to investigating PCs. 


Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome                  -40 points
PTSD works as a combination of disadvantages, but the pattern is distinctive 
enough to think of them as a group.  A friend of mine studied psych for a 
while before she began roleplaying with us, and she also suffered from the 
disorder.  Here's how we worked it up:

Chronic Depression                              -10 points
I believe this is described on the GURPSnet FTP site.  If the trauma occurred 
recently, the 25(?)-point version might be more appropriate.

Flashbacks                                      -10 points
These are usually triggered by association with the initial trauma.  Some very 
severe cases would have the disad at the -15 pt. level.

OPH: Edgy                                       -5 points
PTSD sufferers are often difficult to get along with.  They tend to be very 
high-strung and twitchy.

Severe Shyness                                  -10 points
This is actually a bit of a misnomer.  I chose this disadvantage to represent 
the minus to social skills the victims have.  While some are actually shy, 
many are simply so disconnected from their environments they find it difficult 
to relate to others.

Nightmares                                      -5 points
I don't remember whether or not this is in 3rd Edition Revised, but I know 
I've seen it in some recent GURPS supplement.

This may seem like a lot of points, but I think it represents Post-Traumatic 
Stress Disorder pretty accurately; people who suffer from it have a very hard 
time of things, and it takes lots of therapy (and maybe psychiatric drugs) to 
overcome. 



Psychopathia                                    -40 points 
This is the disadvantage of the "organized" serial-killer--a seemingly 
well-adjusted, likable individual who plans grisly murders in obsessive 
detail.  Note that unless the psychopath has not yet begun to kill, they will 
have a -30 point Secret or a -30 point Enemy (National law enforcement, 9 or 
less) and a -4 Reputation (Serial Killer).  While they are not included in the 
above cost, psychopaths often have above-average IQ and Charisma; they are 
also frequently Overconfident and Intolerant of women.

Obsession: Death and Murder                     -15 points
Psychopaths show an unhealthy interest in death from an early age, often 
clandestinely killing neighborhood pets and animals.  As they mature, their 
private life begins to revolve around plans to kill and/or sexually assault 
others (usually, but not always, women). 

Sadism                                          -15 points
During these assaults, the psychopath revels in the victim's pain--other 
sexual release is frequently impossible.  He or she eventually gets joy from 
nothing but another person's suffering. 

-1 to all Social Skills.                         -5 points
Even in their everyday lives, psychopaths rarely function as well as others.  
Their dark fantasies intrude into passing thoughts sufficiently to give them 
a slight handicap when conversing with people.

Odious Personal Habit: Edgy                     -5 points
Despite the repeated claims that, "He seemed so normal!," the killer's 
neighbors often admit on further reflection that they always felt a bit 
nervous around him.  Co-workers especially remember instances of lost tempers 
quickly repressed. 



Sociopathia                                     -50 points
Sociopaths are more obviously insane than psychopaths, and if your world has 
mental institutions they've probably spent time in them.  They are usually 
"disorganized" by modern FBI terminology; their murders are spontaneous and 
not purposefully sadistic.  They usually have a low IQ and rarely have wealth 
or status.  Sociopaths have the same Secret or Enemy and Bad Reputation as 
psychopaths do. 

Delusion: Other people aren't real                   -15 points
This is the crux of the sociopath's problem--deep down, they have the 
solipsistic that nobody else is really there.  They walk in a world of shadows 
and illusions, completely self-centered.  This leads to the next disadvantage: 

Compulsive Behavior: Kill people who annoy me         -15 points
Since notions of right or wrong depend on being able to imagine yourself in 
another's place (and the other is not real), sociopaths feels no remorse about 
offhandedly harming others.  If ignored by a store clerk or snubbed in a bar, 
they are likely to kill the offender at the first opportunity. 

Odious Personal Habit: No regard for others             -15 points
Unlike psychopaths, sociopaths cannot effectively hide their disorder.  They 
are routinely grossly inconsiderate of everyone they come into contact with. 

-3 to all Social Skills                                 -15 points
The disorder prevents the character from functioning on a fundamental level.  
Concepts such as compassion and propriety are completely alien. 

High Pain Threshold                                     +10 points
A sociopath is so detached from his surroundings that he or she feels far less 
physical pain than most individuals. 



Copyright 1996 by Joe Weinmunson