MERITS AND FLAWS
Merits and Flaws are optional Traits that a Storyteller may choose to include, or prohibit, in her chronicle. Properly used, Merits and Flaws help players create and individualize their characters. Merits are special abilities or advantages that are rare or unique in the general Kindred population, while Flaws are liabilities or disadvantages that pose challenges to a character's nightly existence. These Traits can provide player characters with added depth and personality, but Storytellers should be careful to ensure that any Traits chosen will not adversely influence the course of the chronicle or give one character an unfair advantage over the rest.
Merits and Flaws can be selected only during character creation and are purchased using freebie points. Each Merit has its own point cost, while each Flaw has a point value which adds to the amount of freebie points a player can spend during the creation process. A character may take as many Merits as the player can afford, but no character may have more than seven points' worth of Flaws (which would give a character a total of 22 freebie points to spend in other areas).
Merits and Flaws are divided into four categories: physical, mental, social and supernatural. The physical category describes Merits or Flaws that deal with a character's physical makeup or abilities, while the mental category addresses intellectual abilities or patterns of behavior. The social category comprises relationships and individual status in Kindred or mortal society, while supernatural Merits and Flaws concern the paranormal abilities of vampires and the way they interact with the physical world. Storytellers are encouraged to create their own Merits or Flaws, ones appropriate to their chronicles.
PHYSICAL
ACUTE SENSE (1-PT. MERIT)One of your senses is exceptionally sharp, be it sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. The difficulties for all tasks involving the use of this particular sense are reduces) by two. This Merit can be combined with the Discipline Auspex to produce superhuman sensory acuity.
AMBIDEXTROUS (1-PT. MERIT)You have a high degree of off-hand dexterity and can perform tasks with the "wrong" hand at no penalty. You must still use the rules for taking multiple actions, but will not suffer a difficulty penalty if, say, you use two weapons or are forced to use your off hand.
EAT FOOD (1-PT. MERIT)You have the capacity to eat food and even savor its taste. While you cannot derive any nourishment from eating regular foods, this ability will serve you well in maintaining the Masquerade. Of course, you can't digest what you eat, and there will be some point during the evening when you must force yourself to heave it back up.
CATLIKE BALANCE (1-PT. MERIT)You possess an innately perfect sense of balance. Characters with this Merit reduce difficulties of all balance-related rolls (e.g., Dexterity + Athletics to walk along a narrow ledge) by two.
BLUSH OF HEALTH (2-PT. MERIT)You look more hale and healthy in appearance than other vampires, allowing you to blend with human society much more easily. You still retain the color of a living mortal, and your skin feels only slightly cool to the touch.
ENCHANTING VOICE (2-PT. MERIT)There is something about your voice that others cannot ignore. When you command, they are cowed. When you seduce, they swoon. Whether thunderous, gentle, persuading or simply talking, your voice commands attention The difficulties of all die rolls involving the use of the voice to persuade, charm or command are reduced by two.
DAREDEVIL (3-PT. MERIT)You are good at taking risks, and even better at surviving them. When attempting exceptionally risky actions (such as leaping from one moving car to another), characters with this Merit add an additional three dice to their rolls, and negate a single botch die that may result from such a roll. Generally, such actions must be at least difficulty 8 and have the potential to inflict at least three health levels of damage if failed.
EFFICIENT DIGESTION (3-PT. MERIT)You are able to draw more than the usual amount of nourishment from blood. When feeding, you gain an additional point to your blood pool for every two points of blood you consume. This does not allow you to exceed your blood pool maximum.
HUGE SIZE (4-PT. MERIT)You are abnormally large in size, at least 6'10" and 300 pounds in weight. Aside from making you extremely noticeable in public, this extra mass bestows an additional Bruised health level. Characters with this Merit may also gain bonuses to push objects, open barred doors, avoid being knocked down, etc.
SMELL OF THE GRAVE (1-PT. FLAW)You exude an odor of dampness and newly turned earth, which no amount of scents or perfumes will cover. Mortals in your immediate presence become uncomfortable, so the difficulties of all Social rolls to affect mortals increase by one.
SHORT (1-PT. FLAW)You are well below average height — four and a half feet tall or less. You have difficulty reaching or manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, and your running speed is one-half that of a normally proportioned human.
HARD OF HEARING (1-PT. FLAW)Your hearing is defective. The difficulties of any die rolls involving the use of hearing are increased by two.
14TH GENERATION (2-PT. FLAW)You were created five or fewer years ago by a member of the 13th generation. Though you have 10 blood points in your body, only eight of them may be used to heal wounds, power Disciplines, raise Attributes, etc. Obviously, taking this Flaw precludes you from taking the Generation Background, and you may not start with Status, either. You are likely a clanless Caitiff, for your blood is probably too thin to pass down the distinguishing characteristics of a clan. Most 14th-generation vampires should also take the Thin Blood Flaw.
INFECTIOUS BITE (2-PT. FLAW)You lack the enzymes that allow most Kindred to seal the wounds caused by their feeding. You may not automatically lick the wounds of your feeding closed. In fact, your bites have a one in five chance of becoming infected and causing mortal victims to become seriously ill. The precise nature of the infection is determined by the Storyteller.
BAD SIGHT (1-OR 3-PT. FLAW)Your sight is defective. The difficulties of any die rolls involving the use of your eyesight are increased by two. As a one-point Flaw, this condition can be corrected with glasses or contacts; as a three-point Flaw, the condition is too severe to be corrected.
ONE-EYE (2-PT. FLAW)You have only one eye — which eye is missing is up to you, The difficulties of all Perception rolls involving eyesight are increased by two, and the difficulties of all die rolls requiring depth perception are increased by one (this includes ranged combat).
DISFIGURED (2-PT. FLAW)A hideous disfigurement makes your appearance disturbing and memorable. The difficulties of all die rolls relating to social interaction are increased by two. You may not have an Appearance rating greater than 2.
CHILD (3-PT. FLAW)You were a small child (between five and 10 years old) at the time of your Embrace, leaving your Physical Attributes underde¬veloped and making it difficult to interact with some aspects of mortal society. You may not have more than two dots in Strength or Stamina, except when raising Physical Attributes with blood points, and the difficulties of all die rolls when attempting to direct or lead mortal adults are increased by two. Characters with this Flaw must also purchase the Short Flaw.
DEFORMITY (3-PT. FLAW)You have some kind of deformity — a misshapen limb, hunchback, clubfoot, etc., which affects your physical abilities and interactions with others. A hunchback, for instance, would lower a character's Dexterity by two dots and increase the difficulty of die rolls relating to social skills by one. It is the responsibility of the Storyteller to determine the specific effects of the deformity chosen.
LAME (3-PT. FLAW)Your legs are damaged, which prevents you from running or walking easily. You are forced to walk with a cane or possibly leg braces, and have a pronounced limp to your stride. Your walking speed is one-quarter that of a normal human, and running is impossible.
MONSTROUS (3-PT. FLAW)Your physical form was twisted during the Embrace, and now reflects the Beast that rages inside you. Characters with this Flaw appear to be savage monsters and have Appearance ratings of zero. Even Nosferatu have difficulty interacting with such individuals.
PERMANENT WOUND (1-PT. FLAW)You suffered injuries during your Embrace which your transformation somehow failed to repair. At the beginning of each night, you rise from sleep at the Wounded health level, though this may be healed by spending blood points.
SLOW HEALING (3-PT. FLAW)You have difficulty healing wounds. It requires two blood points to heal one health level of normal damage, and you heal one health level of aggravated damage every five days (plus the usual five blood points and Willpower expenditure).
ADDICTION (3-PT.FLAW)You suffer from an addiction to a substance, which must now be present in the blood you drink. This can be alcohol, nicotine, hard drugs or simply adrenaline. This substance always impairs you in some fashion.
MUTE (4-PT. FLAW)You cannot speak. You may communicate with the Story-teller and describe your actions, but cannot talk to player or Storyteller characters unless, everyone concerned uses Linguistics dots in purchase a commonly understood sign language or you write down what you wish to say.
THIN BLOOD (4-PT. FLAW)Your blood is thin, weak and does not sustain you well. All blood point costs are doubled (e.g., using blood-related Disciplines or healing damage), and you are unable to create a blood bond. Furthermore, efforts to sire other vampires succeed only 20% of the time.
DISEASE CARRIER (4-PT. FLAW)Your blood carries a lethal and highly contagiouS disease. The disease can be anything from rabies to HIV, and Kindred who drink your blood have a 10 percent chance of becoming a carrier as well. You must spend an extra blood point each night on awakening, or you will begin manifesting symptoms of the disease (increased chance to frenzy for rabies, reduced soak rolls for HIV, etc).
DEAF (4-PT. FLAW)You cannot hear. While you may ignore some applications of Dominate, you may not listen to electronic or vocal media, and the difficulties of many Alertness rolls are increased by three.
FLESH OF THE CORPSE (5-PT. FLAW)Your flesh does not fully regenerate itself once it is damaged. While you are able to heal yourself to the point of regaining full functionality, your skin still retains the cuts, tears, bullet holes, etc., which you have incurred. Depending on the nature of the damage, this Flaw will make social dealings exceedingly difficult.
BLIND (6-PT. FLAW)You cannot see. Characters can compensate for the loss of vision by becoming more sensitive to other sensory input, but visual cues and images are lost to them. Actions involving hand-eye coordination are very difficult to perform, especially under stressful conditions. Difficulties of all Dexterity-based rolls are increased by two. Oddly, vampires with Level Two Auspex (Aura Perception) are still able to use this ability, thought the information is interpreted via the other senses.
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