Weaknesses are special vulnerabilities, or drawbacks to being a superhero. Life as a superhero isn’t all fun and games! You need a steady job to pay for your analyst. Superheroes get to have some really great problems. Who do you know in the real world who’s allergic to fire?
Affects Another Ability/Power: The use of one or more powers reduces or otherwise adversely affects another of the character’s abilities or powers.
Attracts Attacks: When using one or more powers, certain attacks get bonuses to hit the character. Using a psychic attack form, for example, may allow other psychic attacks a better chance of hitting the character.
Bad Luck: Things happen around the character, in ways which are detrimental to the character. The character might have a 13% chance each Turn of something bad happening.
Blind: The character cannot see.
Conviction: The character has a conviction which cannot be broken. Sometimes this takes the form of an oath. The conviction can be against killing, fighting, using sharp weapons, using guns, using any weapon except a specific one, using electronics, or any thing/action/set of actions.
Deaf: The character cannot hear.
Drug Required: The character must take a pill, liquid, or injection regularly. The character might be diabetic, and have to have a shot of insulin regularly.
Fainting Spells: The character has problems staying conscious. The player might have to make a saving throw every Turn or the character faints. If power related, use of a power may cause the character to faint.
Focus: A focus--a wand, musical instrument, another person, another specific person, or just about anything--is required to use the power(s).
Fugue States: See Insanity. Perhaps the character enters a fugue state if the powers are used too often.
Immunological Deficiency: The character has a greater chance of getting sick, and sicknesses affect the character more.
Increased Cost: One or more of the character’s powers use EP that heals per hour (while awake) rather than per round. It/they may also or instead use more EP than normal-- twice EP, three times, or more.
Induced Reaction: The character’s presence causes other people to react in a certain way. Maybe other sentients must save vs. half willpower or dislike the character intensely, or perhaps all reptiles attack the character if possible.
Limited Use: A duration power can only be used for a certain amount of time-- the character can at maximum remain invisible for, say, three minutes. After that time the character might either lose use of the power for a period, fall unconscious, lose a certain number of DP or EP per round, or anything else. Single shot powers (like Cosmic Ray) might only be able to be used a certain number of times in a certain period of time--3 times per hour, for instance.
Loss of Use of Legs: The character has lost use of both legs.
Lost Aspect: One or more normal uses of a power are unusable by the character. A character with Fire Coat might not be able to fly, for example.
Low Self-Control: The character cannot control impulses very well, or cannot control some possible action.
Manic-Depressive: See Insanity. If power related, the power might set off the switch between manic and depressive.
Monomania: The character has one goal in life, and lets nothing get in the way of that goal.
Mute: The character cannot speak.
No Effect: One or more power(s) are useless against a common thing. The character’s Cosmic Rays might be blocked by normal glass, for instance.
Non human Form: The character’s only form(s) are completely non human.
Non-Linear Logic: The character simply cannot think in a way that any sane individual would consider logical.
Permanent Change: A power (such as Fire Coat or Ice Coat) is always partially in effect. This may be at a level too low to use more than 1 EP/hour, but it will be enough to cause problems.
Phobia: See Insanity. A character with Ice Coat, for example, could have a phobia about fire or heat.
Reaction Formation: The character dislikes powers so much that there is a reduced chance of success, or a chance of failure, every time the power is used. In some way the character has reacted against the power(s).
Restricted Change: The character cannot change to the form that has powers (see Optional Transformation, under Optional Rules) except under certain conditions--speaking a word, pressing a button, etc.
Restricted Healing: EP and/or DP and/or VP only heal under certain conditions, or when certain conditions aren’t present. For example, a character might never heal EP or DP in sunlight. Another character might never heal EP, DP, or VP unless in direct contact with ultraviolet light.
Restricted Recharge: EP used for the power(s) only returns under certain conditions. The character may require sunlight in order to regain EP used for the power Plant Control.
Restricted Use: The power(s) can only be used under certain conditions. Perhaps the powers were given to the character in order to fight a specific evil, and unless that evil or minions of that evil are around, the character cannot use the power(s).
Slow Death: Use of one or more powers causes the character to die slowly, possibly through aggravation of a disease or aging.
Slow Healing: The character heals EP and/or DP at a much slower rate than normal.
Slow Reaction Time: It takes a while for the character to act, or the character hesitates often. Because of this, the character might have a penalty on surprise rolls, and an increased Q cost to reduce Performance Times.
Split Personality: See Insanity. The character might have personalities that don’t know about the powers, or personalities that refuse to use them, or personalities that are meek, overbearing, etc.
Tires Easily: The character uses up EP at a greater rate than usual, and/or may use up EP that heals back sleeping when using powers.
Uncontrolled Effect: A power or some powers do not always work the way the character intends them to. Maybe the blast doesn’t always go off, or the character can’t choose accurately which power is going to be used.
Uncontrolled Use: The character has little or no control over when the power(s) are used. The character’s Fire Coat may be activated once every round in combat on a 1 in 6 chance, for example, or whenever the character is startled.
Vulnerability: The character is more vulnerable to certain things than normal. Fire might do double damage, or a certain common substance that hurts no one else hurts this character. An electrical hero might take damage merely from touching water.
Wrong Choice: The character often ignores correct data and logic and deliberately does what is obviously not the correct thing to do under the circumstances.
Be Original: The player should, in conjunction with the Editor, create a weakness or handicap. Once created, the Editor should write a general description here for future reference.