Advantages & Disadvantages

[Mindshred]

Advantages

Blackmail [Social] (X)
You have a bundle of incriminating documents, letters, and testimony that will ruin someone if they're exposed to the public .

• Choose one NPC that you have met. You gain incriminating evidence that you can use to blackmail her. The blackmailed character immediately becomes hostile toward you, but so long as you do not reveal the blackmail to the public, she will not act against you. Once per session, you may contact the blackmailed character and ask them to assist you with political, financial, legal, magical, or criminal favors, depending upon their capabilities, without having to turn over the blackmail. The favors in question can be risky, but if they are worse in nature than the original blackmail, the blackmailed character may refuse, at the GM's discretion.
  
  Alternatively, you may call in a single favor of particularly impressive scope, which requires that you turn over all the incriminating evidence to the blackmailed character. After the favor is complete, the blackmailed character is no longer obligated to perform any favors for you (and is most likely still hostile toward you).

Clear Thinker [Mental] (X)
You have a sharp mind and are difficult to deceive and manipulate.

• When you are subjected to a Social Skill Roll, your Conviction is increased by +5.

Combat Reflexes [Social] (X)
You are capable of reacting quickly to your surroundings in combat.

• At the start of Dramatic Time, you may swap Initiatives with one character immediately above or below you on the Initiative order. At the start of the second or later rounds of combat, if you are not Stunned or Paralyzed, you may add your Reflexes Attribute to your Initiative. This addition is cumulative; as Dramatic Time continues, your Initiative steadily climbs higher.

Famous [Social] (X)
You are famous for having performed a great deed or having defeated an evil spirit (regardless of whether you actually did so). Word of your great act has spread far and wide, and as a result, you are something of a minor celebrity.

• Everyone you meet automatically knows your name and whatever deed you are famous for (even if they don't know any of the details). The default mood of NPCs you encounter is Friendly (though your actions may change that for better or worse). If you would gain the Infamous disadvantage, you instead lose this advantage.

Guardian Spirit [Spiritual] (X)
You are protected by a friendly spirit.

• You occasionally catch glimpses of the friendly spirit watching over you. When you would be killed, the spirit sacrifices its life to save your own. You survive the remainder of the scene, unconscious but otherwise safe. Anyone attempting to deal further harm to you or to restore you to consciousness during this time realizes that you are protected by a spiritual force. After being saved in this manner, this Advantage is lost.

Hatamoto [Social] (X)
You are a direct servant of your daimyo.

• Your Social Status is set to "Hatamoto." You are a direct servant of your daimyo, and as such, you are more important than most other samurai. You have the right to seek an audience with your daimyo to discuss issues that concern you, and your daimyo will seriously consider your opinion (though she may ultimately disagree or choose a different course of action). You can command other samurai of your Clan who have lower Social Standing, and they are obligated to obey you, unless your orders directly conflict with those given to them by their lords.
  
  Additionally, you may ignore any duel challenges from samurai of lower Social Status without suffering any negative consequences.

Over It [Social] (X)
You have placed a failed obligation behind you, and neither of you spend much time thinking of the other.

• Choose one of your Spurned Obligations and erase it. You no longer suffer any penalties from that Obligation being Spurned.

Personal Code [Mental] (X)
You live by a personal code that allows you to justify reprehensible acts that other samurai would consider dishonorable. Your devotion to this code is so great that few can question your honor, even as you perform acts that make them uncomfortable.

• When you would become Dishonorable, you may spend 3 Ki Points to remain Honorable. Until the end of the scene, acts similar to the one that would have made you Dishonorable are not considered to be dishonorable acts for you.

Prodigy [Mental] (X)
Intense training and considerable natural skill have combined to make you truly talented in a particular field.

• Choose one Skill. When you make a Skill Roll using that Skill, your dice explode on 9s and 10s (instead of just 10s).

Wary [Social] (X)
You have learned to foster a healthy amount of paranoia at all times. While this might not give you much time to relax, it does ensure that you're never caught off guard.

• You can act normally on Surprise rounds, even if you would normally be Surprised.

[Mindshred]

Disadvantages


Antisocial [Social] (X)
You dislike spending time with other people. When you do end up having to speak with others, it leaves you drained and exhausted.

• Each time you are involved in a conversation lasting longer than one minute, you lose 1 Ki Point upon the conclusion of that conversation.

Babysitter [Social] (X)
You are responsible for a small child. It might be your own child, a niece or nephew, or an orphan that you've adopted. Regardless, you are stuck with them and repeatedly fail at your attempts to get others to watch them.

• You have a small child for whom you are responsible. The child accompanies you at all times, and your attempts to have others watch over them repeatedly end in failure, resulting in the child falling back under your care. The child is prone to saying awkward things at the wrong moment, following you into dangerous situations, and generally getting you into mildly frustrating situations. If you abandon the child or they perish, you are judged poorly for your failure and become Dishonorable. In addition, you suffer a permanent +5 increase on the TNs of any Social Skill Rolls made with humans (and possibly some nonhumans, as determined by the GM). This Disadvantage is lost when the child officially becomes an adult.

Bad Vision [Physical] (X)
You have exceptionally poor vision.

• Your Notice is reduced by -10. If you make a Ranged attack or use a Skill that relies heavily upon vision (such as Investigation to search a room or Tactics to read a map of enemy fortifications), your first kept dice must be the lowest die in your dice pool. If you gain this disadvantage a second time, it instead becomes the Blind disadvantage.

Blackmailed [Social] (X)
You have done something reprehensible, and someone has found out about it. In order to prevent dishonor and ruin from falling upon your house and lord, you must do whatever the blackmailer asks of you.

• An NPC has incriminating evidence about something you've done. Up to once per session, the blackmailer may contact you and demand that you accomplish some task for her. If you do so, your secret remains safe... for now. If you refuse, the blackmailer releases the information, bringing shame and dishonor to yourself and those close to you. At the very least, this is enough to cause you to become Dishonorable and one or more of your loved ones to commit seppuku to cleanse their shame, and most likely, you are cast out of your Clan (if not outright arrested and executed), depending upon the nature of your reprehensible acts.

Blind [Physical] (X)
You are blind. This is a significant disability that impacts almost every moment of your waking life.

• Your Notice is reduced by -15, and if you take the Move Action, it is considered to be a Standard Action (instead of a Simple Action). If you make an attack, your first two kept dice must be the lowest dice in your dice pool. If you use a Skill that relies upon vision, it automatically fails (and may gain up to two Failure Margins, at the GM's discretion). You cannot gain the Blinded Condition (because you are already blind), but you count as Blinded for all mechanical effects.

Braggart [Mental] (X)
You find it necessary to remind others of your accomplishments at every opportunity.

• Your Social Skill Rolls have their TNs increased by +5. If you brag openly about your accomplishments (whether real or imagined) during a conversation, this penalty is waived for that conversation. During combat, if you do not spend your first turn doing nothing but loudly announcing your name and your accomplishments to your opponents, the mental anguish of fighting someone who might not recognize you or your latest deeds causes you suffer a +5 TN penalty to your Attack Rolls during that battle.

Dishonored [Social] (X)
You (or one of your family members) have so thoroughly dishonored your name that no act of redemption can redeem it.

• You are Dishonorable and cannot become Honorable (no matter what).

Driven [Mental] (X)
You have latched onto a certain goal and have a compulsive need to see it finished, no matter the cost. All other concerns are distractions.

• When you gain this Disadvantage, choose a goal. Unless you are acting in a way that directly furthers that goal (i.e., completing your current action will bring you one step closer to the goal's completion), your dice do not explode.

Gaijin [Social] (X)
You are a foreigner in an isolated and xenophobic land.

• Your Social Status is set to "Gaijin." You largely exist outside of Nagakugo's social system, and as a result, you lack even the basic, rudimentary legal rights afforded to peasants. Your appearance attracts stares and whispers wherever you go; when you walk into a room, unless you are wearing a disguise that completely obscures your features, everyone automatically notices your presence (even if they weren't paying attention at the time).
  
  In addition, your mastery of the local language is, at best, passable, lacking much of the nuance and subtlety of a native speaker. When you make a Social Skill Roll, your dice cannot explode.

Greedy [Mental] (X)
While most samurai care little for wealth, you are the exception. You care too much about material wealth, and there is little you would not do in order to fill your coffers.

• When another character attempts to influence your thoughts or behavior by offering you money, wealth, or valuable items, your Conviction is reduced by 10.

Ignored [Social] (X)
Nobody seems to pay all that much attention to your great deeds. No matter what you accomplish, no matter how amazing or world-changing it might be, people will still react with a general sense of ambivalence... or worse yet, they will assume that someone else was actually responsible.

• No matter what great deeds you accomplish or powerful enemies you slay, people will always be ambivalent towards your success (even as they shower your companions with praise). Whenever you gain Glory, the amount of gained Glory is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Infamous [Social] (X)
You are infamous for having performed a terrible act or murdering a great hero (regardless of whether or not you actually did so). Word of your terrible deed has spread far and wide, and your name is widely reviled across all of Nagakugo.

• Everyone you meet automatically knows your name and whatever deed you are infamous for (even if they don't know any of the details). The default mood of NPCs you encounter is Unfriendly (though your actions may change that for better or worse). You cannot gain the Famous advantage.

Lame [Physical] (X)
Whether due to injury, weakness, birth defect, or some other cause, one of your legs is less than functional.

• You move at roughly half the speed of a normal person, and you treat the Move Action as a Standard Action (rather than a Simple Action). If you suffer 20 or more points of damage from a single source (before adjusting for Armor), you lose your balance and are knocked Prone.

Lecherous [Mental] (X)
You care overly much about carnal pleasures and find it difficult to resist the temptations of others.

• When another character attempts to influence your thoughts or behavior by offering you some form of carnal pleasure, your Conviction is reduced by 10.

Nemesis [Social] (X)
Someone out there is determined to ruin your life.

• You have an adversary that wants to ruin your life. You may either choose the identity of this person yourself or leave it up to the GM to decide. While your adversary does eventually want to see you dead, they first want to ruin everything you love in the world. This might involve bringing financial ruin to your parents, poisoning a beloved pet, running your favorite tea house out of business, slandering your good name in court, spreading untrue rumors about you, marrying your love interests off to other people, terrorizing your friends, and just about anything else that makes sense for the character. Only when you're at your lowest point will your nemesis finally seek to end your suffering.

One-Armed [Physical] (X)
You are missing an arm (or, alternatively, one of your arms is useless and limp). This makes many seemingly easy and mundane tasks difficult for you to accomplish.

• You cannot wield two-handed weapons or carry items that would require the use of both arms. If you attempt a task that is possible to accomplish one-handed but is usually done using both hands, your TNs increase by +10 unless you take four times the usual amount of time to perform the task.

Peasant [Social] (X)
Whether you were born a peasant or are a samurai who failed your gempukku, you've found yourself living as a member of the peasant class. You might be a trained warrior (an ashigaru), a merchant, or a craftsman, but no matter your skill or talents, most samurai treat you like a piece of equipment... perhaps a very valuable piece of equipment, but equipment nevertheless.

• Your Social Status is set to "Peasant." You have few legal rights and can be punished for just about anything (including speaking out of turn). Your hard work is rarely appreciated by samurai, and any glory you earn reflects more upon your lords than yourself.

Possessed [Spiritual] (X)
You have been possessed by a spirit with inimical goals. This spirit might be a disgruntled ancestor, a vengeful ghost, or even a devious fox with far-reaching (and terrifying) desires.

• The first time each session you are reduced to below half your normal Ki Points, you must attempt a TN 25 Lore: Spirits (Willpower) Skill Roll. On a failure, the spirit possessing you assumes control of your body until your Ki Points are restored to half your normal total or higher. The goals of the spirit vary depending upon its personality or nature, but they most likely run contrary to your own desires and wishes (and perhaps even good taste). You may or may not remain aware of what happens while the spirit possessing you is in control, at the desire of the possessing spirit.
  
  The player should work with the GM to develop a personality and set of goals for the spirit possessing them. This way, the player may continue to play their character even after the possessing spirit has assumed control of them (though the GM is welcome to step in to ensure that the spirit acts in accordance with its personality and goals).

Rival [Social] (X)
You have a rival who constantly attempts to show you up and make you look foolish.

• You have a rival that wants to embarrass you. You may either choose the identity of this person yourself or leave it up to the GM to decide. The rival isn't interested in seeing you dead or your life ruined, but they do want to show you up at every opportunity. The nature of this rivalry depends upon your strengths; a swordsman might find themselves with a rival who is obsessed with proving their own skills to be better, resulting in frequent duels and boasts about their superior skills, while a courtier might have a rival who seeks to block their agendas in court and make them look foolish in front of their lord.
  
  If you attempt to seriously harm, kill, or otherwise ruin your rival's life, this disadvantage automatically becomes the Nemesis disadvantage as you escalate things.

Rumormonger [Mental] (X)
You are a consummate gossip and find it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to keep a secret. In fact, the more important or scandalous a secret might be, the more likely you are to tell someone about it.

• Any information you learn quickly becomes public information. Rumors generally spread about as quickly as a normal person can travel at full speed without resting, so it may take a short while for particularly distant people to hear the rumors you spread... but they will hear them, eventually.

Scheming Spouse [Social] (X)
Your spouse is actually a spy for another Clan (most likely the Clan they belonged to prior to your marriage).

• Your spouse is secretly loyal to another Clan. In addition to spying upon your Clan and relaying sensitive information back to their true master, they also embezzle money from any businesses you operate, sabotage the efforts of your Clan in court and the battlefield, and otherwise work against your superiors. You do not yet know that your spouse is a spy, but should their true loyalties become known, ignorance will not save you from execution.

Violent [Mental] (X)
You have a short temper and find it difficult to remain calm, especially in stressful situations.

• Your Social Skill Rolls have their TNs increased by +5. If you are shouting, bullying, intimidating, or otherwise acting in a loud or violent manner, this penalty is waived for that conversation. During combat, you must succeed on a TN 20 Tactics (Willpower) Skill Roll to flee, retreat, or otherwise disengage from combat; on a failure, you must not only remain in combat, but must head toward active fighting if you are not directly engaged with an opponent.

Weakened Soul [Spiritual] (X)
Your soul has been weakened by some great trial, possibly from being brought back from the dead (or perhaps as a result of having brought back someone else). As a result, you find it difficult to achieve any sort of unity with the universe.

• In order to gain any benefit from spending Ki Points, you must spend one additional Ki Point for no effect. Thus, if you wished to spend Ki Points to negate 10 damage, you would have to spend 3 Ki Points instead of the usual 2.
  
  Additionally, if you are killed, you cannot be brought back from the dead, and anyone that attempts to bring you back suffers XkX damage, ignoring Armor, at the conclusion of their attempt, where X is equal to 10 minus their Spirit. Even if they survive, the ritual still fails.

Wounded [Physical] (X)
You have suffered a serious wound. Despite the best efforts of those who treated it, the wound did not heal properly and now causes you constant pain.

• Your uppermost Health Rank is always considered to be depleted and lacking Health.