This section describes all of the Weaknesses in the game. They are listed alphabetically. Remember that the Director has a responsibility to make sure that Weaknesses actually have an effect on the game. A Weakness that never comes into play is not a Weakness.
Amnesia: The character does not remember his past. How much he has lost or whether he will ever regain his memory is up to the player and the Director. This gives them both significant freedom to alter the character’s understanding of himself to best suit the campaign’s story, though the Director should do this with the interests of the player in mind.
Annoying Voice: This Weakness is a metagame Weakness and thus requires Director permission.
The voice acting in fighting games (especially after dubbing for localization) often leaves much to be desired. Secondary heroes and comedic sidekicks often have loud, nasal, or silly voices. The character with this Weakness has one of these voices.
Because of the character’s ridiculous voice, the hypothetical “players” mock the character. The character loses 1 Glory point every session of play and has a -1 penalty on all his interaction skill checks.
Bad Reputation: The character has a bad reputation that may or may not be accurate. Regardless of whether or not it is accurate, people treat the character accordingly and expect him to behave in a certain way. This may mean, for example, that people expect him to be a delinquent who is always
up to no good. The reputation is established enough that it will be difficult for someone who does not know the character to see past it.
Code: A Code is similar to the Vow Weakness or (somewhat less so) the Obsession or Fanatic Weaknesses. The player must describe the strict dictates of the character’s Code (with the Director’s approval) and abide by them always. Common codes would include the samurai’s code of bushido or a more generic code to always fight honorably.
The effects of failing to abide by a character’s Code are up to the Director, but should be suitably severe.
A character may live by a code and not take this Weakness; this version of a code is a way of living that is strongly tied to a character’s self-identity.
Curse: A character who is cursed has been afflicted by some supernatural force either in his own past or the past of his family. This can manifest in any number of ways and it may or may not yield concrete game effects. The player should come up with the story of the Curse and then work with the Director to determine its actual effects. A curse that has major effects need not see those effects turn up in the game very often, while a relatively minor curse may have a consistent permanent (albeit lesser) effect on the character.
Dangerous Job: A character with the Dangerous Job Weakness has an employer who places him in hostile situations frequently. This usually means combat, but it can also refer to other life-threatening situations. The player and Director must work out the details of the character’s employer. The game effects of this should be manifest in the kinds of stories the character participates in. The Director should make sure the character has to occasionally do things he would
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rather not do, get thrown into dangerous situations, and be involved in frequent fights, usually (but not solely) of the Thug Thrashing variety. This Weakness often contributes significantly to establishing an entire character concept. The job must be a genuine liability to the character, not just an excuse for comparatively easy extra Glory during stories.
Dark Side: Usually, this Weakness would only be taken by a heroic character (though the Director might permit a villainous character to have a “really, really Dark Side”). Despite the character’s noble nature, he possesses an evil side that he may or may not be aware of. Under the right circumstance, always at critical moments, his Dark Side may come to the fore, causing the character to do destructive or reprehensible things. The character also may or may not be aware of what he has done during the dark time.
The Director may choose to develop some sort of sliding scale for the character’s loss of control, informing the player that circumstances have pushed the character another step closer to losing control, thereby allowing the character the chance to act in such a way as to regain it, or he may just impose it on the character when dramatically appropriate. The control and/or elimination of the Dark Side is often a driving motive for the character.
Dependence: The character with this Weakness is dependent on something else to survive. This could be a dependency or addiction to a substance, but in this case, it would need to be a profoundly deep addiction and/or a very dangerous substance to qualify (e.g., a character who smokes does not qualify for this Weakness in most cases). The Dependence might instead be to something else for a non-human character. An amphibious being may
need water. An ancient spirit may need to meditate in its sacred grove. The effects of failing to meet the Dependence should be decided on by the Director and the player.
Doomed: This character is doomed to some ignoble or dark fate, such as dying at the most important point in his life, failing to ever achieve his life’s purpose, or even being responsible for the world’s destruction. This will probably have an effect on the character’s self-perception as made manifest through role-playing. Furthermore, the Director can impose more severe hindrances on the character before awarding a Story Point, especially if the Director furthers the character’s doom. Whether the doom actually comes to pass during the course of the campaign should be up to the Director (with input from the player).
Dull Personality: For whatever reason, the character fails to make a positive impression on others. He may be boring, dull, lack social skills, or be unintentionally annoying. As a result, the character suffers a –1 on all interaction skill checks.
Duty Bound: A character with this Weakness is obligated to serve someone or something else. This may be a particular person, such as an elder family member, an organization such as a school or corporation, or even an ideal embodied in a philosophy or religion. The duty should be understood as more than just a job; the character has a psychological attachment to the idea of doing well in the performance of his duty. The Director should create situations that cause conflict between the character’s duty and other options that may be easier, better, or more desirable. The Director should impose consequences if the character fails to live up to his duty, especially by choice.
Fanatic: A character with this Weakness must define
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what he is a Fanatic about. This should be something fairly significant. It also should not fall under the purview of Obsession or Vow. Fanaticism usually relates to an ideal, philosophical or religious system, or lifestyle. The player and Director must work together to define the typical behaviors of the Fanatic. The Director should assign penalties or other consequences if the character fails to act according to his fanaticism. The player can inconvenience his character on account of his fanaticism by choice in order to earn a Story Point.
From a role-playing perspective, such a character will also be annoyingly one-tracked in his thought and often talk or think of little else.
Fearsome Appearance: This Weakness represents an unusual appearance that can be broadly defined as anything that is definitely not normal and usually will provoke a negative reaction. It can be a monstrous appearance (which may or may not also be Ugly) or a supernatural quality that simply makes other people uncomfortable. A character with this Weakness suffers a –4 on Lost in the Crowd skill checks. Furthermore, the character also suffers a -1 penalty on all interaction skill checks. On the other hand, the strange nature of the character’s appearance is worth a +1 bonus on interaction skill checks if the character is trying to frighten or intimidate someone. If applicable, these bonuses and penalties stack with the Ugly Weakness.
Fragile Self-Image: This character is usually overconfident in his actions, but this actually masks a severe lack of confidence. If the character ever loses a significant fight (defined by the Director according to the specific character), he loses 10 Glory points immediately and subsequently suffers a -1 penalty on all skill checks until he wins a significant fight (as defined by the Director).
Glass Jaw: This dangerous Weakness is a tough
thing for a fighter to live with. The character has a -2 Stun Threshold.
Haunted: Characters who are Haunted can be tormented in one of two ways. The haunting might be literal, in which case, the character will have frequent interaction with frightening, bothersome, or malevolent spirits. The other form of the Haunted Weakness is the torment the character feels over the events of one’s past; in this case, the player needs to describe what happened that now gives the character frequent nightmares, bouts of depression, and lack of confidence about his choice of actions. Either version of this Weakness may lead to penalties on skill checks and/or a misperception of reality on the part of the character.
Honorable: Honorable characters abide by a simple, specific form of code related to their general way of life and how they treat others. In combat, an Honorable character will not strike an opponent who has been Stunned or Knocked Down. As a slightly beneficial side effect of this Weakness, people who know of the character’s honor may treat the character with respect. On the other hand, villains will exploit this Weakness.
Hunted: A character who is Hunted needs to define who is hunting him and why. This Weakness should not usually be defined as another specific Fighter (which is usually a Rivalry instead). However, the hunter should have the resources to send lots of troops at the Hunted character. The Director should feel free to send mobs of Thug-level opponents at the character during each story. Ideally, this Weakness should be worked into the story rather than serve as a distraction from it. The Director should keep this in mind when choosing opponents for the character. Also, like the Dangerous Job
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Weakness, being Hunted is supposed to be a liability, not a persistent low-level opportunity to earn extra Glory beyond the other characters.
Obsession: This Weakness does not represent a character’s ideological stance (that is covered by the Fanatic Weakness), but rather his obsession with a specific item, person, plan, or idea. The player must clearly define the object of his Obsession. Though it is possible that the Fanatic Weakness might be understood in a heroic (if overzealous) light, Obsessions are often darker psychological territory.
From a role-playing perspective, this Obsession usually dominates the character’s mind, so that he cannot easily concentrate on anything else. This results in a -1 penalty on all skill checks except those related to the Obsession (Director’s discretion). The player can inconvenience his character on account of his Obsession by choice in order to earn a Story Point.
Phobia: The character suffers a profound, irrational fear of something. The choice of Phobia needs to be common enough (as deemed by the Director) that the character has a reasonable chance of encountering it during his adventures. When exposed to the presence of the Phobia object, the character must either flee or else become paralyzed by fear. If the player willingly exposes his character to the object of his Phobia, the Director can award a Story Point.
Physical Handicap: The character with this Weakness has a significant Physical Handicap. This is an uncommon Weakness for a fighting game character. The Director must approve the handicap.
Examples include missing arms, legs, or eyes, or perhaps strong asthma or a lasting, debilitating illness. The Physical Handicap is generally not
considered to have any effect on combat (the character is assumed to have trained to compensate), but the Director can impose whatever limitations seem appropriate outside of combat (e.g., a character with one leg moves slowly during a chase, a character with asthma cannot do prolonged physical activity, a blind character cannot read, etc.) Poorly Drawn: This Weakness is a metagame Weakness and thus requires Director permission. It represents a poor visual concept on the part of the hypothetical character artists who “draw” the character for the “game” that is the campaign. The players are bored by the character’s appearance and do not connect with him. As such, all Special moves and Combos performed by the character are worth -1 Glory point.
Ritual: A character with this Weakness has either a need to be recognized for his exploits wherever he goes or a ritual or series of rituals that he absolutely must adhere to in order to function in day-to-day life. The player should define the exact nature of the Ritual; this could be a calling card left behind by the character at a scene, a catch phrase that has to be spoken aloud, a move that has to be used to finish an opponent, or a routine that must be followed before entering combat. The character’s Ritual must be performed or satisfied in all cases; he cannot be convinced to not perform it. This might provide a tactical weakness in combat, ruin an undercover action or disguise, or delay a character’s plans.
Should the Ritual be violated in some way, the Director should impose penalties on the character until he atones appropriately.
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reciprocated in this situation. The Director is free to threaten, kidnap, or otherwise endanger the Significant Other during stories. This Weakness can easily be combined with the Quirk In Love. The player should not be able to easily ignore or blow off his Significant Other without real consequences for his character.
Style Weakness: The character’s martial arts style is not well suited to facing opponents using certain techniques or his style is predictable. One example of this is the supposed weakness of traditional Western Boxing to kick attacks. This Weakness has combat effects and thus requires the Director’s permission. When facing an opponent with Style Weakness, a combatant may make a DL 8 Stance Evaluation roll. In addition to the normal benefits of the roll, if it succeeds, all attacks against the character with Style Weakness do +1 damage.
Thick: This Weakness is only available to characters who also have the Unintelligent Weakness. This character is just plain stupid. He is not creative in his thoughts, cannot understand detailed plans, and gets a –3 on any skill check that would involve intelligence or education (Director’s discretion). This replaces the –2 penalty of Unintelligent.
Ugly: This Weakness represents the worst appearance possible. Such characters are hideous to behold. In fighting games, this can sometimes be quite graphic. It is rare among females in the genre.
The effect of this Weakness is a -3 penalty on all interaction skill checks when dealing with a member of the opposite sex. On the other hand, being disgusting to behold is worth a +1 bonus on interaction skill checks if the character is trying to frighten or intimidate someone. Characters with this Weakness cannot acquire any positive appearance Qualities and female characters with this Weakness cannot acquire the Buxom Quality,
regardless of the condition of their figure. A character with this Weakness must also have the Unattractive Weakness, though the Ugly penalties supercede the Unattractive penalties.
Unattractive: Some characters just don’t have a lot going for them in the looks department. This appearance Weakness yields a -1 penalty on interaction skill checks when the character is dealing with the opposite sex.
Unintelligent: This character is significantly less intelligent and/or less educated than most people.
As such, he gets a –2 on any skill check that would involve intelligence or education (Director’s discretion).
Unlucky: Some characters display an extraordinary amount of bad luck in their lives. This is often manifested in scenes that are intended to be more comic relief than plot development. In fact, this Quality works best in a campaign that highlights comedic storylines more often than the gritty serious ones that are the default presumption of most campaigns. The Director may thus choose to disallow this Quality if it fails to match the tone of the game or of a particular character (as even serious campaigns often have one or more comedic characters).
This Weakness allows the Director (not the player) to force the player to re-roll up to three skill checks during the course of a session, with no Story Point reward. Furthermore, when the character with this Weakness chooses to inconvenience himself for a Story Point reward, far more extreme, implausible, and unpleasant events can (and should) happen.
Finally, during a story, this character will also have general bad luck at the Director’s discretion. This
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should usually just be used for humorous effect. If the Director wishes to allow this Quality to have combat effects, then some or all of the character’s three skill re-rolls for the session can also be used against the character in combat to re-roll any roll.
Vow: This Weakness represents a vow or series of vows that the character has taken which are likely to affect his behavior on a fairly regular basis. It can represent the religious rules of a monk, a stout warrior’s vow of purity, or an evil desire for vengeance. The nature of the Vow should not be so obscure that its application in the game is barely seen. The character is committed to the Vow, but this does not necessarily mean that the character is always completely comfortable with it, and the character can still be subject to temptation.
Because of this Weakness, the character will be inhibited in his actions in some way and will be tempted with some regularity during his adventures.
If the character ends up breaking his vow, he will have a -3 penalty on all his die rolls until a journey of repentance is taken (a special story or series of scenes designed at the Director’s discretion).
Warped: This Weakness can cover a number of different afflictions. A Warped character may be physically or mentally Warped. Thus, this Weakness covers any physical deformity or insanity the character may be burdened with. In any case, such afflictions will be difficult to conceal and hard to live with, though the exact details are up to the Director to decide. Physical afflictions will often have a negative effect on social interactions, while mental afflictions may control or limit character actions.