You do not have to take any Merits or Flaws, and your Storyteller may choose to limit certain ones or forbid them entirely. However, a few well chosen Merits and Flaws can round out a character, defining why he specializes in a particular Ability or giving him notable powers. You may start by selecting up to five Traits’ worth of Flaws for your

character; you gain additional freebie Traits equal to the value of the chosen Flaws. Merits, on the other hand, cost freebie Traits to acquire. If you wish (and if your Storyteller approves), you may take more than five Traits’ worth

of Flaws to represent a particularly disturbed or crippled character, but you cannot gain more than five freebie Traits regardless of the total number of Flaws taken.

 

In some cases, the Storyteller may restrict the purchase of Merits

and Flaws - or ban their use outright - so be sure to ask first. Merits and Flaws are unusual advantages and disadvantages that go a long way toward creating a three-dimensional character. Many of them will be familiar because they have always been available to supernatural creatures, but there are some new ones specifically for mortal characters. Players can only choose Merits and Flaws at character creation, and those chosen should fit in with the concept of the character. Over the course of a chronicle, and with the Storyteller’s approval, a character may develop a Merit or overcome a Flaw due to something monumental that happens in a story. To do so costs double the Merit or Flaw’s normal cost in Experience Traits.

 

Aptitudes

These Merits and Flaws deal with your abilities and natural talents.

 

Ability Aptitude (1 Trait Merit)

You have a natural affinity for a particular non combat-related Ability.

 

Ambidextrous (1 Trait Merit)

You are skilled at using both hands at once and suffer no penalties regardless of which you use. You can fight with two weapons, simply risking one additional Trait with each attack (normally, someone attacking with two weapons would risk one additional Trait for his primary hand and two additional Traits for his “off” hand). This does not grant additional attacks. Furthermore, you suffer no penalties when performing tasks with either hand, unlike other people who must risk an additional Trait to perform tasks with their “off’ hand. You are two Traits up on all tests directly related to that Ability.

 

Pitiable (1 Trait Merit)

There is something about you that causes others to take care of you as if you were a child. Some Natures will not be affected by this Merit, and some Demeanors may pretend they are not. You need to decide what it is about you that attracts such pity, and how you feel about it. When someone has challenged you with intent to do you harm, you are one

Trait up in your own defense.

 

Silver Tongue (1 Trait Merit)

You possess a talent for getting people to accept what you want them to believe. For a single Trait, you are two Traits up on all tests when someone is trying to determine if you are lying. This Merit does not work against supernatural “lie detectors”, such as vampiric Aura Perception or the Gift:Truth of Gaia.

 

Daredevil (3 Trait Merit)

You are good at taking risks, and you aren’t too bad at surviving them, either. You are one Trait up on any challenge in which you try something particularly dangerous. This Merit only applies to combat if you are obviously outmatched, but wade in anyway.

 

Natural Linguist (3 Trait Merit)

You possess a miraculous ability to understand and use languages. For each Trait of Linguistics you possess, you know learn two languages. Many sorcerers find such very useful in the course of their studies, especially as uncommon or rare texts are usually not translated. 

 

Jack-of-All-Trades (5 Trait Merit)

You have a large pool of miscellaneous talents, skills and knowledge obtained through your extensive travels, the jobs you’ve held or too much time spent watching public television. You may invoke Abilities which you do not normally possess, though you must risk an additional Trait to do so. For instance, you could expend a Mental Trait to try to pick a lock with Security, even if you don’t possess that Ability; you still need to make any associated tests (such as a further challenge to actually pick the lock) normally. Of course, you may choose to expend a Willpower Trait to attempt an unknown Ability, as usual. 

 

Illiterate (1 Trait Flaw)

You can neither read nor write. This is especially appropriate for sorcerers who come from poor countries or from tribal backgrounds. Western sorcerers will be especially hampered by this Flaw.

 

Ritual Dependent (2 Trait Flaw)

You have a natural affinity for operating within a formal or ritual context. Unfortunately, this makes you ill-suited to cast spells on the spur of the moment. All applications of sorcery require some form of ceremony appropriate to your magical heritage. While you must perform these spells as if they were rituals of equivalent level, you also only need to pay for them at normal ritual cost.

 

Inept (5 Trait Flaw)

You are not attuned to your natural aptitudes. You start the game with no Ability Traits or Influences. Furthermore, you cannot raise any Ability or Influence above one level until you’ve overcome this Flaw.

 

 

 

Awareness

These Merits and Flaws deal with your physical perceptions.

 

Acute Sense (1 Trait Merit)

One of your senses is particularly keen. You are two Traits up on any  related perception tests involving one sense (vision, hearing, touch, taste or smell).

 

Hard of Hearing (1 Trait Flaw)

Your hearing is defective. You are two Traits down on any hearing-

 

Impaired Sight (1 Trait Flaw)

You are severely nearsighted or farsighted, and you require corrective lenses. Without them, you are one Trait down on sight-related challenges. You may not take this Flaw and the Merit: Acute Sense (Sight). related challenges. You may not take the Merit: Acute Sense (Hearing).

 

One Eye (2 Trait Flaw)

You are missing one eye, determined randomly or chosen. You have no peripheral vision on your blind side, and are two Traits down on any test requiring depth perception. You may choose to cover one eye while you are playing. 

 

Weak Sense (2 Trait Flaw)

One of your senses is defective, though not totally absent. In all challenges relating to this sense, you are automatically down two Traits. Such damage is not correctable; rather, you suffer from an incurable deficiency. This could be something like severe astigmatism, tinnitus or thick scar tissue from an old injury. Obviously, you may not have a sense

that is both acute and weak. 

 

Deaf (3 Trait Flaw)

You cannot hear sound. You must relent on all challenges related to hearing. You should get your Storyteller’s approval before choosing this Flaw,  as it can be difficult to roleplay.

 

Blind (6 Trait Flaw)

You have no vision whatsoever, and must relent on sight-related challenges. You should roleplay this Flaw to the best of your ability, but take care not to risk anyone’s safety doing so (including your own).

 

 

 

Mental

 

Common Sense (1 Trait Merit)

You possess a certain amount of everyday wisdom and practicality. Whenever you are about to do something contrary to better judgment, a  Narrator can alert you to your potential mistake. This Merit is an excellent choice for players new to the World of Darkness.

 

Concentration (1 Trait Merit)

You find it easy to avoid distractions. In any situation where your attention needs to be focused, you gain a free retest on any attempt to maintain your concentration.

 

Time Sense (1 Trait Merit)

You are always aware of the time, even when you’ve been sleeping or underground. You can estimate the current time to a minute or two and follow  the calendar in your head with exacting precision. Furthermore, you resist anypowers that disorient your time sense (such as the changeling Art of Chronos)  with two additional Traits.

 

Eidetic Memory (2 Trait Merit)

You are up two Traits on all memory-related challenges, as you can remember anything you see or hear with perfect clarity. Although supernatural befuddlement can still cloud your memory, you’re likely to become quite suspicious if someone draws attention to your clouded mind, simply because  you’re used to remembering everything clearly. At any time, you may ask a Narrator for information regarding something you wish to recall, and the Narrator is obligated to inform you appropriately (you may be required to make a Simple Test for complex or lengthy dissertations).

 

Iron Will (4 Trait Merit)

Once your mind is made up, nothing (short of a sledgehammer) can change it. You are highly resistant to powers that attempt to control your mind, such as the sorcery Praxis of Mind Bending or the vampiric Discipline of Dominate. Subtle illusions, emotional effects and mental trauma will still occur, as will any surface probing. Whenever magical means are used to control your mind, you may expend a Trait of Willpower to automatically resist. The Storyteller may deem that a particularly powerful foe, such as an elder vampire or spirit, requires you expend Willpower to retest only, not resist. If you do not have any remaining Willpower Traits, or if you are unaware of the attempt and thus unable to actively resist, you are still two Traits up in the challenge.

 

Fragile Will (1 Trait Flaw)

You possess less Willpower than most, finding it hard to maintain your self-control and composure. For a single Trait, you start with only one Willpower Trait (rather than two) during character creation. A character with this Flaw may not have either of the Merits: Iron Will or Quiet Heart. 

 

Confused (2 Trait Flaw)

You are often confused, and the world seems to be a very disoriented and twisted place. Sometimes you are simply unable to make sense of things. You need to roleplay this behavior all the time to a small degree, but your confusion becomes especially strong whenever you are surround by excessive stimuli (such as a number of people all talking at once, or the noise in a loud nightclub). You are two Traits down on all challenges in suchsituations. You may spend a Willpower Trait to override the effects of your confusion, but  only for a scene.

 

Absent-Minded (3 Trait Flaw)

Though you don’t forget things like your Abilities, you do forget names, addresses and whether you turned the iron off. In order to remember anything other than your own name, address and phone number during stressful situations, you must win a Static Mental Challenge (the Storyteller will determine the difficulty) or spend a Willpower Trait. 

 

 

Physical

 

Double-Jointed (1 Trait Merit)

You are unusually flexible. You are one Trait up on all Physical Challenges when flexibility comes into play.

 

Light Sleeper (2 Trait Merit)

You can awaken instantly at any sign of trouble or danger, and you do so without any sleepiness or hesitation. While most mortals are two Traits down  on all tests for a turn after awakening, you wake up automatically at anything amiss and suffer no penalties for drowsiness. You get by quite well on four hours of sleep per night, a significant advantage when you must run a ritual long into the night and go to school the next day.

 

Poisonous Blood (3 Trait Merit, 3 Trait Flaw)

If you take this as a Merit, for whatever reason, your blood is poisonous to vampires. Although you suffer injury normally when a vampire drinks your  blood, the vampire gains no nourishment from the fluid, and he suffers oneHealth Level of damage for each Trait of blood he consumes. Unfortunately,  vampires cannot tell that your blood is poisonous until it is ingested, so this  does not protect you from initial attack, but it does mean that vampires are unlikely to feed on you again later. If you take this as a Flaw, your blood is poisonous to everyone, except yourself. Getting medical treatment is a difficult proposition, surgery is often out of the question, and you certainly can’t donate when the bloodmobile’s in town. In addition, this may make things difficult if you must shed your blood during a ritual or offer some to the spirits (who may see a toxic offering as a gross insult).

 

Increased Pain Tolerance (3 Trait Merit)

Whether due to extensive training or just naturally thick skin, you are more resistant to the effects of damage than others. Treat all wound penalties as if you were one Health Level less injured than you actually are. A character with this Merit may not also take the Flaw: Low Pain Threshold. 

 

Huge Size (4 Trait Merit)

You are abnormally large, possibly as much as seven feet tall or over three hundred pounds. You have one extra Health Level, allowing you to suffer  more harm before you become incapacitated. Represent this Merit by wearing bulky clothes and heavy boots if you are not actually of huge size.

 

Long-Lived (4 Trait Merit)

This simply indicates a vastly extended life span. You are able to live 10 times the normal mortal life span. You will continue to age, albeit more slowly than other mortals. You also enjoy an enhanced resistance to disease, but cancer, AIDS or catastrophe can still kill you. Needless to say, such a life span can give you plenty of opportunities to make equally long-lived (or immortal) friends and foes. Detail how you got so lucky with your Storyteller. 

 

Deep Sleeper (1 Trait Flaw)

When you sleep, it is very difficult to awaken you. If you are awakened unexpectedly, you are disoriented, leaving you two Traits down for all challenges during the following hour. Furthermore, the Storyteller may require you to make a Simple Test to wake up in the first place when danger or mishap threatens. 

 

Allergic (1-4 Trait Flaw)

You have an adverse reaction to some substance that normally does not bother most people. This could be pollen, animals, certain metals (like nickel), drugs (such as aspirin), or even stranger things. At one Trait, it the reaction can be controlled with over-the-counter medicine and is fairly common (allergies to cats or ragweed, symptoms of sneezing or upset stomach). Two Traits gives you something more irritating, resulting in a rash or violent sneezing bouts and putting you at a one- Trait disadvantage; you may need to be treated with prescription medicine, which could make you groggy. Three Traits means a more unusual allergy, or a serious reaction that causes you great discomfort and leaves you at a two-Trait disadvantage if you’re challenged in the middle of a reaction (allergic to penicillin; asthmatic reaction). A four-Trait allergy means either a rare substance for allergies, or a common allergy with a life-threatening reaction if not treated (certain drugs, the pollen of a rare plant; breathing difficulties, swelling, bleeding). Such a reaction causes you to suffer up to two Health Levels of damage. You must detail with the Storyteller what you’re allergic to and what reaction it causes.

 

Disfigured (2 Trait Flaw)

A hideous disfigurement makes you ugly and easy to remember. You may never have any Alluring, Gorgeous or Seductive Social Traits. If your true appearance is visible, you are two Traits down on any Social Challenge (except Intimidation) that you initiate.

 

Aging (3 Trait Flaw)

You’re not as young as you once were, and you’re beginning to feel the weight you years. You automatically lose one of your Physical Traits, and your maximum Physical Traits are one less than other mortals. You may take Flaw once per decade above 40 years of age. This Flaw will take some effort to  roleplay, so think carefully before choosing it.