A few weeks ago, I had a conversation online with a guy named Sam about including mechanics for character flaws in 4th Edition D&D. He had played several other systems that included character flaws, like GURPS and World of Darkness, and wanted to include the idea in his 4E game. His “mechanic” at the time was that his character has a short temper and throws away his weapon on any attack roll resulting in a natural 1. As you can guess, this didn’t go over entirely well with the rest of his group and he wanted advice on how to make it work. Several other people involved in the conversation took the long way around telling him not to do it and just roleplay the temper in non-mechanical ways that wouldn’t affect the overall efficiency of the group. I wholeheartedly disagreed. I sent him this message, which I now offer to you all as an option to mechanically deal with character flaws in a way that is both compelling (pardon the upcoming pun) and appropriate for the game.
Dear Sam,
Don’t listen to Scott and Jared. You can absolutely have a mechanic for character flaws in 4th Edition D&D – your only problem is that you’re trying to lead with the stick, not the carrot. Let’s hop off the WotC train for just a moment, and go peek at the Dresden Files RPG for a second. There’s a mechanic in that game called a Compel. A Compel is a weak spot in your character. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a character trait, it just needs to be some handle your DM can tempt you with or jerk you around by. A short temper, rampant curiosity or even an easily kidnapped family member all make good Compels. If you follow a Compel, thus getting you and your group into a little more trouble, you get a Fate point which is used to modify die rolls and stuff. Without getting into specifics, the game is written such that you may need a couple more Fate points than what you’re normally allotted for the main story. The Compels, then, provide a personal risk/reward option for you to get that extra help, though possibly at a cost.
This is the concept I think you want to model for D&D. Your character’s flaw should be something you turn to when the chips are down in a sort of Faustian bargain, not a mechanic that does nothing but get in your way. So you seem to want to play a character with anger issues and you like the idea of throwing away your weapon mid-combat. Alright. Sit down with your DM and propose this idea: if you throw away your weapon as part of taking your second wind, you can spend two healing surges. You’re lowering your damage output and burning through your surges faster, so it’s a risk, but you are getting the immediate healing you need and so your party has some time to mechanically to deal with your decision – it’s not just a hosing. Your character flaw is not only a resource management option now, but it’s also probably not going to tick off your fellow players. Heck, they may even encourage you to do it! Your flaw contributes to both your character and the game rather than detracting from it. If you don’t like that option, then maybe throwing your main weapon away on a roll of 1 causes your secondary weapon to gain the high crit property. I don’t like that one as much, but it’s a thought.
If you like that idea, here’s a few more character flaws you might like to attribute to your character. I would strongly advise against having more than one, though.
Delusion of Invincibility
If you spend an Action Point when at least 5 squares away from your nearest ally, you gain a +2 bonus to your next d20 roll. You also gain vulnerable 5 all until the start of your next turn.
Lecherousness
(Daily) You gain a +2 bonus to your next Diplomacy or Bluff check against one NPC to whom you could be attracted. If you fail the check, you also lose a healing surge.
Butterfingers
(Daily) Trigger: You miss with a Daily power that carries the Weapon keyword and is not Reliable. Effect: Your weapon is Pushed 3 squares in a random direction. You regain use of that power at the end of the encounter.
Masochist
You take a permanent -2 to Diplomacy. Whenever you deal damage to yourself, you gain temporary HP equal to your Con modifier.
Ryven Cedrylle was introduced to 2nd edition D&D by his father at age 8 and has been hooked ever since. When not out somewhere with his nerd-loving wife, he spends an inordinate amount of time staring at small objects - primarily beakers, stars, books about religion and virtual gaming miniatures.
Great idea! I’ll certainly be looking at introducing a mechanic like this in my games. Thanks!
Good thoughts! I do very much like this approach to flaws. World of Darkness does include this, in a sense, when it touches on Vices. You get rewarded temporarily for giving in to your Vice. Also reminds me of Instincts from the Mouse Guard RPG.
I think I like. It certainly fits with 4e’s ‘you have these powers’ core. I was thinking that one could sorta do the reverse of the ‘if you play against your alignment, we’ll dock you XP’ and grant an XP bonus for this sort of play.
But D&D doesn’t use XP that way anymore, so I like you’re way better.
Nice! I’m fortunate that my fellow players take my flaw in stride (I get easily obsessed with mechanical things, which can cause me to lose whole turns in combat) without getting mad at me for “breaking” the flow of battle. I guess the trade-off of being able to fix just about anything makes up for it!
Next take on flaws. Like Dan says, D&D doesn’t use XP that way anymore, and I think that’s a good thing. It’s awkward to have someone who manages to level up one combat before the rest of the party. Using in game rewards are a far better format.
I can see this becoming a regualr part of any game I’m involved in.
Told something similar on the wizard site just a few days ago.
I said: Flaw should be chosen and should give the character a good reason to use them. I would go for a flaw power when you act out the flaw should be something that tempts the player to use the flaw by getting something good back (an action point, an healing surge, a special perk whatever)
http://community.wizards.com/dungeonsanddragons/blog/2010/03/12/random_thoughts:_character_flaws
Glad you guys like it! Several of my home campaign players are using this to solid effect. I find it amusing just how little conceptual distance there really is between a 4E Power and a Trait, Aspect or whatever else you might like from a multitude of ‘indie’ games.
The Masochist one is hilarious, especially if you have a weapon that deals 1d4 damage and you have a low strength modifier.
“The stabssss…. they feel so goooood….”
But good advice overall.