Advantages and Disadvantages
Buying Advantages and Disadvantages During Character Creation
The only restriction on the number of advantages and disadvantages you canchoose during character creation is the number of adventure points (AP) you can invest in advantages or receive from taking disadvantages, as follows.
- Each hero can spend a maximum of 80 AP for advantages during hero creation. Similarly, each hero can receive a maximum of 80 AP from disadvantages during hero creation.
- Be sure to include any advantages and disadvantages you receive automatically for your character’s race. You can find the total number of points already spent for a character of each race in its description.
- Usually, you can pick each advantage or disadvantage only once. Exceptions are stated where they occur.
Buying Advantages and Disadvantages During the Game
Unlike special abilities, you usually cannot choose advantages and disadvantages after the game has started. To be a spellcaster, a hero must be born that way. Similarly, a rather plain-looking hero will not suddenly develop Good Looks just because the player collects enough AP to buy the advantage. The GM has the final say whether or not you can buy an advantage during play. The same applies to disadvantages that you might wish to buy off. In any case, you need the necessary amount of AP.
Tiered Advantages and Disadvantages
Some advantages and disadvantages have levels. If you purchase one of these, you must also choose a level and pay the appropriate amount. A character that receives a tiered advantage or disadvantage due to race can purchase a higher level during character creation, but must pay the AP difference between the two levels.
Offsetting Bonuses and Penalties
The bonuses for different advantages are cumulative, as are penalties for different disadvantages. Bonuses and penalties for the same skill or attribute offset each other. Exceptions to this rule appear in the description for the advantage or disadvantage.
Applications of Advantages and Disadvantages
Some advantages and disadvantages apply only to certain applications for a skill, meaning the bonus or penalty applies only for checks using that application. The advantage or disadvantage has no effect on other applications for that skill (see page 186).
Exclusive Advantages and Disadvantages
There are some advantages and disadvantages that you cannot freely choose for your hero—only members of certain races can have them. Such advantages and disadvantages are marked with an asterisk (*). Other limitations are listed under Prerequisites (for instance, some can only be taken by heroes from certain cultures or professions). You can choose or receive an exclusive advantage or disadvantage only if it is an automatic or suggested advantage or disadvantage for the hero’s race, culture, or profession.
Magical and Blessed Advantages and Disadvantages
Some advantages and disadvantages require the advantage Spellcaster or Blessed. If you choose the advantage Spellcaster or Blessed, you can take other advantages and disadvantages that require Spellcaster or Blessed, but you cannot pay or receive more than 50 AP for them during character creation. This means that a magical hero that spends 25 AP for the advantage Spellcaster can then buy further magical advantages for up to 50 more AP (adhering to the maximum of 80 AP for advantages and disadvantages, of course).
Adjusting Costs
Some advantages and disadvantages are only truly beneficial or restrictive in certain campaigns. A fear of the sea is only a problem for a hero if oceans figure prominently in your game. If your campaign is set in the desert, fear of the sea does not have much effect and thus is worth no AP. The GM has the final say as to whether the AP value of an advantage or disadvantage is justified in the campaign, and should adjust costs as appropriate.
Format of Advantages and Disadvantages
We present advantages and disadvantages in the following manner.
Name: the name of the advantage or disadvantage.
Description: Here we describe the advantage or disadvantage.
Rules: Here we present the rules covering the advantage or disadvantage.
Range: Some advantages are effective only within a certain distance or range.
Actions: Some advantages and disadvantages take time to achieve their full effect. If it mentions no time, then the advantage is permanently in effect; you do not have to activate it.
Prerequisites: Lists any prerequisites or conditions for the advantage or disadvantage. Some advantages and disadvantages do not combine in a logical way. For example, a hero with Pleasant Smelling cannot also have Bad Smell, and a character with an Aptitude in a skill cannot be Incompetent with the same skill. In addition, we mention restrictions you must consider when taking the advantage or disadvantage.
AP Value: The number of adventure points (AP) that you pay or receive. You buy advantages with AP, while disadvantages give you more AP to spend.