GURPS - Compendium 1..

Low Self-Image
-10 points
You lack self-confidence and underrate your abilities to a
degree that actually interferes with your performance. You are at
an additional -3 to all skill rolls in situations where you
believe the odds are against you, when success requires a bit of
luck, or when you believe that others expect you to fail (GM's
option). For example, if you're a mechanic, and you're working to
repair an engine in your shop, your skill roll will be normal... but if
you were trying to make the same repairs on the road, in the
rain, with only a portable tool kit and some enemy hot on your
trail, your Low Self-image would give you a -3 to your skill
roll, in addition to any other situational modifiers that may apply.
Lunacy
-10 points
The moon has a dramatic and inconvenient effect on your
personality. During the full moon you are extremely emotional
and volatile (-2 to all Will Rolls), but on nights of the new moon
you are very passive (you have the Laziness disadvantage).
While the moon is waxing you are more pleasant and focused
on your goals and duties, but while it is waning you are more
apathetic and a little touchy. This disadvantage must be roleplayed,
over and above the game mechanical penalties attached.
Manic-Depressive
-20 points
Your moods are on a see-saw - you bounce back and forth
between bubbling enthusiasm and morose withdrawal. At the
beginning of each play session, roll one die. On a 1-3, you are in
your manic phase; a 4-6 indicates depression. Every five hours of
game-time thereafter, roll 3d. A 10 or less indicates that you
begin a mood swing. Over the next hour, you will shift from
your current phase into its opposite. You will remain in the new
phase for at least five hours (after which you again roll 3d).
In the Manic phase, you suffer from Overconfidence (see p.
B34). You will be friendly, outgoing and excited about whatever it
is you're doing. In the Depressive phase, the Overconfidence
is replaced with Absent-Mindedness (p. B30) and Laziness (p.
B34). You will not be interested in doing anything other than
lying in bed, sitting in a dark room and moping, or other,
equally exciting pastimes. If your companions force you to do
something, you will be at a -5 on all skills.
A mood swing may also be caused by an emergency; in that
case, the switch is immediate. On a roll of 10 or less on 3d, you
change phases. This can be good (an emergency jars you into
action) or bad (a problem triggers depression and you become
worthless).
Nightmares
-5 points
You are tormented each night by horrible nightmares. These
dreams come to you every time you sleep, and they haunt you
while you're awake. Sometimes they're so harrowing they
actually affect your efficiency during waking hours. A character
with this disadvantage must make a roll vs. Will every
morning upon awakening. If this roll is critically failed, the
character is at -1 to all skill and perception rolls for the rest of
the day.
Some of the nightmares are so vivid they're indistinguishable
from reality. This means that the GM can actually roleplay a
nightmare. The nightmare starts out like a normal scenario, and
steadily becomes more horrible. The PC should only gradually
come to suspect he's dreaming. Such dreams can have a dramatic
effect on the victim's waking activities, such as temporary
Phobias or Compulsive Behaviors, or even a psychosomatic loss of
Hit Points or a penalty to some attribute.
If the other players are involved in roleplaying the nightmare,
they're completely unaffected by anything that occurs in the
dream (although if the nightmare takes a long time to play out,
the GM may wish to reward the other players with a bonus character
point as a token of appreciation for their time - maybe two
character points if they roleplayed the dream-situation particularly
well). It's the GM's option whether to let the other players
know in advance that the nightmare scenario is a dream. Either
way can lead to unique and fascinating roleplaying.
No Sense of Humor
-10 points
You never get any jokes - you think everyone is earnestly
serious at all times. Likewise, you never joke, and you are
earnestly serious at all times. Others react at -2 to you in any situation
where this disadvantage becomes evident.
Non-Iconographic
-10 points
Your brain is incapable of processing abstract images or
symbols. Graphical computer interfaces, maps, heraldic devices
and even magical runes are completely meaningless to you. You
may not learn Cartography, Heraldry, Rune-Lore or any other
skill that involves the interpretation of patterns or symbols. You
also cannot use any computer interface except for text interfaces or
full, environmental virtual reality. Finally, since you cannot
comprehend magical symbols, you cannot normally learn magic
except through oral tradition.
This is not the same as Illiteracy: ordinary linear text can be
read normally by Literate individuals with this disadvantage.
Like Dyslexia, this is a structural shortcoming of your brain,
and cannot normally be bought off.
Nosy
-1 point
Nosy characters are very curious, poking their noses into corners
and everyone's business.
Obdurate
-10 points
You actually dislike novelty, and usually ignore it. You react
at -3 to new things; roll vs. IQ-3 to bother to investigate something
new.
Oblivious
-3 points
You have a hard time "figuring out" the behavior of others.
You tend to be out of touch in social situations - a classic
"nerd." You have a -1 penalty when using (or resisting) Fast-
Talk or any social skill.
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