Character Flaws

Flaws are like the flip side of feats. Whereas a feat enables a character to be better than normal at performing a task (or even to do something that normal characters can’t), a flaw restricts a character’s capabilities or imposes a penalty of some sort.

A player may select up to two flaws when creating a character. After 1st level, a character cannot take on additional flaws unless the DM specifically allows it (for examples of times when doing this might be appropriate, see Character Traits). Each flaw a player selects entitles his character to a bonus feat. In other words, when you create a character, if you select two flaws, you can also take two bonus feats beyond those your character would be normally entitled to.

Unlike traits, flaws are entirely negative in their impact on a character’s capabilities.

Behind the Curtain: Creating Flaws

You can create new flaws, but be careful: Flaws can unbalance your game. When creating flaws, keep a few issues in mind:

A flaw must have a numeric effect on a character’s specific capabilities. Flaws with primarily roleplaying or story effects have unpredictable effects on game balance.
Flaws are generally bigger in magnitude than feats. That’s because players always choose flaws that have the least impact on their characters, while taking feats that have the most. For example, while a feat affecting skills grants a +2 bonus on two skills, its counterpart flaw might impose a –⁠4 penalty on two skills.
A flaw must have a meaningful effect regardless of character class or role. That way, a player can’t reduce the flaw’s importance through multiclassing. For instance, a flaw that only affects spellcasters might seem reasonable—but for nonspellcaster characters, the flaw likely proves meaningless. Even if you restrict the selection of such feats to characters of specific classes, a player can easily select a spellcasting class at 1st level, choose two flaws that apply to spellcasters, gain the bonus feats, multiclass into a nonspellcasting class at 2nd level and thereafter proceed as a primarily nonspellcasting character. The player has sacrificed a level to gain two bonus feats, a tradeoff that appeals to some players.
Similarly, a flaw that penalizes a character’s Charisma-based skill checks only has a significant impact on the party spokesperson⁠—the quiet fighter or barbarian likely won’t feel any impact from the penalties.

Flaw Descriptions

Each of the flaws described here has a specific game effect. Some flaws can only be taken by a character who meets a special requirement or prerequisite.

Aligned Devotion

Your healing powers are only effective for those whose alignment closely matches yours.

Prerequisite: Ability to spontaneously cast cure spells.

Effect: Your spells of the healing subschool have reduced effect on those who do not share your alignment. Those that have exactly the same alignment as you gain full benefit from your healing. Those with an alignment within one step of yours are cured half the normal amount of hit points from your healing spells. Characters with alignments more than one step different from yours gain no benefit from your healing at all. Your cure spells still deal full damage to undead.

Arcane Fatigue

Conjuring magical energies is especially draining for you.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.

Effect: Whenever you successfully cast an arcane spell you must immediately make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + spell level). If you fail you become fatigued. If you are fatigued as a result of this flaw, it has no further effect until that condition is removed.

Arcane Parasites

Thousands of unseen parasites within your flesh draw upon the arcane power held within every spell you cast.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.

Effect: Every arcane spell you cast has the DC to resist it lowered by 1. These parasites cannot be removed by any mortal means, even by a miracle or wish.

Arcane Performer

You depend upon your performance ability to aid in the casting of spells.

Prerequisites: Perform 1 rank, ability to cast arcane spells without preparation.

Effect: In order to cast any spell, you must succeed at a Perform check (DC 10 + spell level). If you fail, you lose the spell.

Beastly

You have more in common with beasts than you do with your own race.

Prerequisite: Wild empathy.

Effect: You are vulnerable to the following list of spells that affect animals, as well as those which affect your own creature type: animal trance, calm animals, charm animal, dominate animal, hide from animals, and hold animal. Additionally, you suffer a –⁠2 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks except Disguise, Handle Animal, and Use Magic Device. Anyone observing your mannerisms that possesses the wild empathy class ability can recognize this flaw immediately.

Bestial Instinct

You prefer to meet your foes so close that you can smell their blood.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠2 penalty to hit while using anything other than unarmed strikes or natural weapons.

Blind Rage

Your ability to distinguish between friend and foe is limited once you enter a rage.

Prerequisite: Rage ability.

Effect: You may not end your rage voluntarily. Once you enter a rage, you continue to rage for the entire duration. While in a rage, you must attack a creature every round if able. You can charge or move in order to attack a foe rather than stay still to attack a friend. If there are no other creatures in sight, you attack the nearest breakable object. You may attempt a DC 15 Will save once per round on your turn in order to stop attacking an ally. If foes become visible, you may immediately switch targets and engage them.

Brash

You move about without careful consideration or foes.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠6 penalty to your Armor Class against attacks of opportunity.

Chivalrous Courtesy

You despise raising your hand against creatures of the opposite gender.

Prerequisite: Good or lawful alignment.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on attack rolls to hit a creature you can tell is of the opposite gender.

City Slicker

Although interested in the natural world, you suffer from a lack of experience in the wilds.

Prerequisite: Survival as a class skill.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on all Handle Animal, Knowledge (nature), and Survival checks.

Claustrophobia

You are uncomfortable in enclosed spaces.

Effect: You become shaken while in any space where you are within 10 feet of a wall or other solid surface on 2 or more sides, or if the ceiling is less than 10 feet above your head. (Such as while walking down a 20-foot-wide corridor or while you are in any room with a 10-foot-high ceiling.) Spells and effects that remove fear do not remove this condition.

Code of Arms

Trained to kill only other armed warriors, you hesitate when attacking unarmed opponents.

Prerequisite: Good or lawful alignment.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on attack rolls made against an enemy not armed with a melee weapon. If the enemy uses a natural attack against you, you may then attack it without penalty.

Cold-Blooded

You were raised in the arctic and cannot tolerate heat.

Effect: You automatically fail all Fortitude saves made to overcome the effects of high temperatures. Fire-based effects deal an additional 2 points of fire damage to you.

Coward

In dangerous circumstances, you are likely to run away.

Effect: You automatically fail all saves against fear effects. An ability that makes you immune to fear (such as becoming a 3rd-level paladin) instead grants you a saving throw, but at a –⁠4 penalty on the save.

Divine Gestures

Your religious rites require elaborate gestures that cause you difficulty when casting divine spells while wearing armor or using a shield.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast divine spells.

Effect: You suffer a spell failure chance (due to armor, shields, or anything else which causes arcane spell failure) when casting divine spells, just as if they were arcane spells.

Domain Devotion

You are limited to accessing only one of your deity’s domains.

Prerequisite: Access to domains.

Effect: You choose and have access to only one of your deity’s domains. You may gain prestige domains (additional domain access in v3.5) from a prestige class as usual.

Exhausting Rage

You rage so powerfully that you become exhausted once you calm down.

Prerequisite: Rage ability.

Effect: When you end your rage, you become exhausted (instead of fatigued) for the duration of the encounter. If you gain the ability to rage tirelessly, as a 17th-level barbarian, you are instead fatigued after a rage.

Feeble

You are unathletic and uncoordinated.

Effect: You take a –⁠2 penalty on Strength-, Dexterity-, and Constitution-based ability checks and skill checks.

Foe Specialist

Your training is so specialized that you have difficulty tracking, predicting, or otherwise interacting with those foes you have not studied in great detail.

Prerequisite: Favored enemy.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠1 penalty on attack rolls, Bluff, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks made against creatures of any kind that isn’t one of your favored enemies.

Fool

Your excessively lighthearted nature grates on your companions.

Prerequisite: Bardic music.

Effect: You lose the inspire courage, inspire competence, inspire greatness, and inspire heroics bardic music abilities.

Forlorn

You lack the ability to summon a creature to do your bidding.

Prerequisite: Ability to call a familiar.

Effect: You lose the ability to call a familiar. See also: Loner.

Forlorn of Men

You are uncomfortable in the presence of humanoids.

Effect: you become shaken if there is more than one humanoid within 30 feet of you, including members of your adventuring party or other friends. Spells and effects that remove fear do not remove this condition.

Frail

You are thin and weak of frame.

Effect: Subtract 1 from the number of hit points you gain at each level. This flaw can reduce the number of hit points you gain to 0 (but not below).

Special: You must have a Constitution of 4 or higher to take this flaw.

Frivolous Performer

Having focused your time on practicing and performing, you have gathered little useful information in your travels.

Prerequisite: Bardic knowledge.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠10 penalty on all bardic knowledge checks. This penalty does not apply if the relevant knowledge involves the Perform skill in which you have the most ranks. For example, if you have the most ranks in Perform (wind instrument), you may use bardic knowledge without penalty to identify famous wind instruments, to remember facts about famous wind instrument players, or to identify places that make quality wind instruments.

Gullible

You believe what you see, and you trust others more than you should.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠2 penalty on saving throws made to resist enchantment and illusion spells and effects. You also suffer a –⁠4 penalty on Sense Motive checks.

Hatred

You are engulfed by a deep hatred of your chosen foes and you become insensibly enraged in their presence.

Prerequisite: Favored enemy.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, and skill checks whenever you are not engaged in melee combat with a favored enemy and a favored enemy is close enough that you could engage it.

Haunted

You are unable to prevent the occurrence of strange noises in your immediate vicinity.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells.

Effect: Spontaneous noises sometimes arise in your immediate vicinity. These noises are completely out of your control and cannot be used to communicate or distract other creatures. These sounds cease when you are unconscious, petrified, asleep, or dead. You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on all Listen and Move Silently skill checks.

Honorable Challenge

You only cross arms with foes who willingly engage you.

Prerequisite: Lawful alignment.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on attack rolls against creatures that have not explicitly challenged you or made an attack against you. For the purposes of this flaw, an attack against you includes any action that would end an invisibility spell.

Honor of the Duel

You strongly believe in one-on-one combat to decide a fight.

Prerequisite: Good or lawful alignment.

Effect: You must make a Will save (DC 10 + your level) to attack a creature in a square threatened by one of its other foes. A successful save allows you to attack such a creature, albeit with a –⁠2 penalty on your attack rolls. A failed save prohibits you from attacking that creature.

Hot-Blooded

You were raised in the desert and cannot tolerate cold.

Effect: You automatically fail all Fortitude saves made to overcome the effects of low temperatures. Cold-based effects deal and additional 2 points of damage to you.

Inattentive

You are particularly unaware of your surroundings.

Effect: You take a –⁠4 penalty on Listen checks and Spot checks.

Individualist

You are committed to a path that requires complete independence from others.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠2 penalty on all attack rolls made using weapons that you have not personally crafted. In addition, the armor check penalty of any suit of armor you wear that you did not craft increases by +1.

Living Faith

Your religious practices give you no special powers over the dead.

Prerequisite: Ability to turn or rebuke undead.

Effect: You lose the ability to turn or rebuke undead. This does not extend to any other creatures a domain might grant you the ability to turn or rebuke, such as earth elementals for a cleric with the Air domain.

Loner

You do not have the ability to summon a familiar or gain an animal companion.

Prerequisite: Ability to summon a familiar or animal companion.

Effect: You lose the ability to summon a familiar or gain an animal companion. You never gain the ability to gain a special companion, whether through animal companion, summon familiar, or some other class ability or feat. Possessing multiple classes that would grant you an animal companion or familiar does not negate the effects of this flaw.

Loudmouth

You are a loud, obnoxious, boisterous, and compulsive talker.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on all Diplomacy and Move Silently checks.

Love of Nature

You do not wish harm upon any natural creature.

Effect: You must succeed at a DC 12 Will save before you can attack any creature with the animal, plant, or vermin type, or lose your action. Note that animals, plants, and vermin may attack you without penalty.

Magical Overload

You have difficulty controlling your most powerful magic, being more comfortable with more familiar, lower-level spells.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells.

Effect: You must use one spell slot of your highest spell level to cast or prepare a spell of a lower level. This spell slot may be used to cast or prepare any spell of any level lower than your highest level, effectively causing you to lose one of your highest-level spell slots to gain one of a lower level. For example, a 6th-level sorcerer would lose the ability to cast one 3rd-level spell per day, but would gain the ability to cast one additional 0, 1st-, or 2nd-level spell instead. This flaw always affects your highest spell level and changes the spell level it affects as you gain levels.

Material Devotion

You are restricted to using magical objects created with your deity’s domains in mind.

Prerequisites: Access to domains.

Effect: You may only use spell-trigger items (wands and staffs) that cast spells on your domain spell lists. Other spell-trigger items fail in your hands.

Meager Fortitude

You are sickly and weak of stomach.

Effect: You take a –⁠3 penalty on Fortitude saves.

Metal Intolerance

You are allergic to metals.

Effect: You suffer an additional point of damage when struck by metal weapons. The natural attacks of inevitables, iron golems, and other creatures composed of metal also deal this additional damage.

Methodical Magical Methods

Your spellcasting methods require a rigid posture that makes you vulnerable to your foes while casting.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells.

Effect: You are considered flat-footed with an effective Dexterity of 0 (–⁠5 to AC) on any round in which you cast a spell. You may not cast spells defensively.

Meticulous Performer

You get lost in your performances.

Prerequisite: Bardic music.

Effect: Initiating or maintaining any bardic music ability is a full-round action.

Mounted Warrior

You only feel comfortable fighting from the saddle.

Prerequisite: Ride 1 rank.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠2 penalty on attack rolls made while not riding a mount.

Murky-Eyed

Your vision is obscured.

Effect: In combat, every time you attack an opponent that has concealment, roll your miss chance twice. If either or both results indicate that you miss, your attack fails.

No Time for Book Learning

You put no faith in the written word.

Effect: You are illiterate. You can never learn to read any language, and you suffer a –⁠2 penalty on all Knowledge checks except Knowledge (nature).

Noncombatant

You are relatively inept at melee combat.

Effect: You take a -2 penalty on all melee attack rolls.

Pathetic

You are weaker in an attribute than you should be.

Effect: Reduce one of your ability scores by 2.

Special: You cannot take this flaw if the total of your ability modifiers is 8 or higher.

Phantom Sparks

Your body occasionally emits bursts of bright colored light.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells.

Effect: You spontaneously emit bursts of colored light. These lights are completely out of your control and cannot be used as a light source. They only cease when you are unconscious, petrified, asleep, or dead. You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on all Hide and Spot skill checks.

Ponderous Spellcaster

Your spells take additional time to cast.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells.

Effect: The casting time of all your spells are doubled. Spells that normally require a single action to cast require a fullround action to cast instead. Spells that normally require a free (swift or immediate) action to cast now require a standard action to cast instead.

Poor Reflexes

You often zig when you should have zagged.

Effect: You take a –⁠3 penalty on Reflex saves.

Pride of Arms

You take great pride in knowing how to use weapons specifically designed for war. You consider all other weapons beneath your station and have allowed your training in them to atrophy.

Prerequisite: Proficiency in all martial weapons.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on all attack rolls made with exotic weapons, simple weapons, unarmed attacks, and touch attacks.

Quick Burning Rage

Your rages don’t last very long.

Prerequisite: Rage ability.

Effect: Your rage only lasts for a number of rounds equal to your newly improved Constitution modifier.

Restricted Sorcery

Your magical powers manifest within a limited realm of effects.

Prerequisite: Ability to cast spells without preparation.

Effect: Choose two schools of magic to be your restricted schools. When you select spells to learn, you may not choose spells from these two restricted schools. In addition, you may not use wands or scrolls that cast spells from these restricted schools. You may not choose divination as one of your restricted schools.

Shaky

You are relatively poor at ranged combat.

Effect: You take a –⁠2 penalty on all ranged attack rolls.

Short of Breath

You have limited stamina and you easily become exhausted by physical tasks.

Prerequisite: Constitution 13 or lower.

Effect: Whenever you make a Strength check, a Constitution check to continue running, or use the skills Climb, Jump, or Swim, you must make a Fortitude save at the same DC as the skill or ability check. If you fail this save, you become fatigued.

Normal: Doing something else that would normally cause fatigue exhausts an already fatigued character. An exhausted character suffers no further penalty by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.

Slow

You move exceptionally slowly.

Effect: Your base land speed is halved (round down to the nearest 5-foot interval).

Special: You must have a base land speed of at least 10 feet to take this flaw.

Slow to Anger

It takes you longer to get worked up.

Prerequisite: Rage ability.

Effect: Entering a rage requires a full-round action.

Solitary Paragon

You prefer to fight alone.

Effect: You gain no benefit from flanking a foe and instead suffer a –⁠4 penalty on attack rolls made against a foe you flank.

Superstitious

You fear magic, and avoid it when possible.

Prerequisite: Inability to cast spells.

Effect: Whenever you see an item, effect, or location obviously created by magic (whether by spell or by some other means), you become frightened. The frightened condition lasts until you can no longer see the obviously magic item, effect, or location.

Terrain Specialist

You were trained to use your abilities in only one type of environment and are uncomfortable and less competent in all others.

Prerequisites: Track, wild empathy.

Effect: Choose one terrain type (aquatic, desert, forest, hills, marsh, mountain, or plains). That is your home terrain, in which you are most comfortable. In all other terrains you suffer a –⁠2 penalty on all wild empathy checks, as well as on Search or Survival checks made to track. You may only use your camouflage and hide in plain sight abilities in your chosen terrain.

Test Subject

You had an unscrupulous master who used you to hone his magical talents.

Effect: Choose three of the following schools: conjuration, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation. Your saving throws made against spells and spell-like abilities from these schools suffer a –⁠2 penalty.

Trivial Performer

Your performance is lighthearted and has limited effect on others.

Prerequisite: Bardic music.

Effect: The save DC against your fascinate, suggestion, and mass suggestion abilities is half normal (round down). If you use the inspire courage, inspire greatness, or inspire heroics bardic music abilities, their benefits end as soon as you stop performing (rather than lasting for an additional 5 rounds).

Uncontrollable Rage

You have no ability to control your rage.

Prerequisite: Rage ability.

Effect: You cannot enter a rage voluntarily. If during the previous round something dealt you damage, grappled, or immobilized you, or you failed a saving throw against a spell, you may enter a rage; if you do not wish to enter a rage after such an event, you must succeed at a DC 15 Will save or enter a rage involuntarily. You cannot enter a rage more times per day than you are normally entitled to.

Unreactive

You are slow to react to danger.

Effect: You take a –⁠6 penalty on initiative checks.

Vulnerable

You are not good at defending yourself.

Effect: You take a –⁠1 penalty to Armor Class.

Warrior of the Phalanx

Trained to fight in a group, you have difficulties when fighting alone.

Effect: You suffer a –⁠4 penalty on attack rolls you make when not adjacent to an ally.

Weak Will

You are highly suggestible and easily duped.

Effect: You take a –⁠3 penalty on Will saves.

Weapon Bound

You are attuned to your deity’s weapon and no other.

Prerequisite: Devotion to a specific deity.

Effect: You lose proficiency with all weapons except the favored weapon of your deity. This flaw does not grant you proficiency with that weapon.

Wild

Accustomed only to a free life in the wild, you panic when captured or restrained.

Prerequisite: Survival 1 rank.

Effect: Whenever you are entangled, pinned, or bound, you immediately become panicked. Your fear is alleviated 1 round after you are free of all bonds. Spells and effects that remove fear do not prevent this effect.