04a – Xeno-Flaws d20
| Point Value | Effect |
| 1 | Allergy: If the character is exposed to a fairly common substance (such as smoke from a fire, a particular food, sunlight, etc.), is Flat-footed until the substance is removed. |
| 1 | Cultural ‘Allergy”: The same as above, but there is some social situation that will provoke the Flat-footed effect (exposure to nudity, being disobeyed by an “inferior,” etc.) |
| 1 | Metabolic Difference: The character needs more life support (air, food, etc.) than “normal” and will begin to take Vitality damage, and then Wounds, after hours of malnutrition (example: the character must eat a meal every six hours or, every hour after the six are up, the character takes one stun that cannot be recovered except by eating. After the character is at 0-Vitality, he goes unconscious, he begins taking 1 wound every hour until death). |
| 1 | Minor Stigma: There is something that the character cannot do without performing the “proper rituals” before or after (perhaps, if the character kills someone, he or she must be “purified” at a temple, or maybe the character has an extremely strict code against lying, etc.). |
| 1 | Sense of Duty 1: The character feels compelled to take certain actions out of a love of code or perceived duty to something else. The character may, at times, do things he finds morally questionable in order to achieve a greater good. With “Sense of Duty” the character’s beliefs do not come into play very often. |
| 2 | Alien Outlook: The character’s psychology prevents him or her from interacting in a certain way (or several minor ways). Perhaps the character has absolutely no sense of humor – or an incredibly bizarre one – or the character is, by nature, so stubborn that charm and persuasion are impossible for the character to comprehend (on either side of the dice). Note that this should be a Compensation, not an Advantage. There are times when the Compensation may help the character, but it should not do so most of the time. |
| 2 | Atmospheric Incompatibility: The character must take regular medication or wear a breath filter when in “normal” (Human-type) atmospheres. If the character does not, he or she takes one Vitality every minute, and then one Wound every ten minutes until death. |
| 2 | Illiterate: A character can be considered “Illiterate’ for one of two reasons. The first is simply due to his inability to read. The other reason is if he did not speak the local language (an immigrant arriving in a new country, an explorer among natives, a space traveler on a strange planet, etc.) These people may be extremely intelligent and well-read people, but have difficulty exhibiting that in their new country. |
| 2 | Nutritional Requirements: The character must ingest (or breathe) an element not common to Human-norm foods (or air) and has physical problems (much like “Metabolic Difference,” only more severe) when the character cannot get this requirement. The character should be able to last a fairly long time without the element (a day or three, perhaps) but has a severe reaction when without it for long. |
| 2 | Sense of Duty 2: The character with the “Sense of Duty 2” Compensation believes very strongly in something and will attempt to persuade others of the rightness of his beliefs. His patriotism or loyalty to an ideal plays a role in his day-to-day life. |
| 2 | Vulnerable: Because of the character’s physiology (or perhaps, psychology) he or she has a severe weakness to one type of attack (example: the character takes extra damage from fire, electricity, impact, or etc. or opposed skill attempt, like Bluff or Interrogate). |
| 3 | Alien Understanding: Something makes the character “misunderstand” certain common situations. Perhaps he or she views persuasion as taunting or a common method of greeting as an attack. The character may “buy this off’ by learning about the culture. |
| 3 | Infection 1 (See Advantage Flaws) |
| 3 | Major Atmospheric Incompatibility: The character must wear an environment suit when in “Human” atmosphere or die of asphyxiation. The character requires special life support elements that may be fairly common but are not in Human atmosphere (or the character requires the exclusion of certain elements). |
| 3 | Major Vulnerability: The character will be seriously injured or die if exposed to a particular substance that may be rare, but does not normally have this effect (large amounts of salt water; a certain type of normally harmless radiation; an element usually found in Human food; etc.). The character takes a Wound every round he or she is “exposed” to the element until the element goes away. |
| 3 | Symbiosis 1: The character is bound symbiotically to another, drawing strength or energy from him. Symbiosis can be either physical or mental. For every 100 meters by which one character is separated from the other, both incurs a -1 penalty to either their physical Ability Score or their mental Ability Score rolls. If the character’s symbiote is killed, the character loses 1d6 points from the Attributes affected until he can convince another being to willingly bond with him (the bonding process should be simple – like sharing blood – but it must be done with willing participants). |
| 4 | Code of Honor: There is something that would so disgrace, dishonor, and/or embarrass the character that death would be a preferable alternative. It should be something that (hopefully) won’t come into play if the character can roleplay well (“losing a fight” is not really a good idea) and that the character may be able to “correct” immediately after it has occurred. Perhaps the character serves someone (either another character or a game master character) and, if that character is killed, he will suicide. Or, the character will never lie and, if he does lie by accident (by intent would break the code), suicide is the most likely option – unless atonement is possible. Again, this is such a lethal Compensation that the character should not be “forced” into suicide or death options should always present themselves. It should make the character more interesting and more challenging to roleplay – not just dead. |
| 4 | Kamikaze Code: There is something the character would more than willingly die to do. This may relate to another Compensation (such as “Pursued” or “Enemy”) or may just be some sort of strange outlook on life. Perhaps the character has a mortal enemy that he or she would gladly die to kill (or maybe even dishonor), or there might be a task the character wishes to accomplish before death and, once it is accomplished, the character has no will to live. This Compensation must be played with care. While it does not mean the character will automatically kill himself upon completion of “the mission,” the character might believe that he will (it might even be out of the character’s control). But, if this obsession is role-played interestingly over the course of several adventures, it can be “bought off’ at the climax of the action. |
| 4 | Lethal Vulnerability: The character has a violent reaction to a fairly uncommon substance that, when he or she is “exposed” to it, can kill the character. The substance should do at least 1d6 wounds every round the character is “exposed” to it until he or she is removed from the substance’s area of effect or until the character is “treated” (example: a severe allergy to a bee sting – only more so; a very severe physical vulnerability – like being hit on the head does extra wounds; etc.). |
| 4 | Symbiosis II: Rules are the same as “Symbiosis I,” save that the character is bound both mentally and physically to another, and will lose from both sets of Attributes if separated. |