These rules add Advantages and Disadvantages to your Open Adventure games. Advantages are special traits, qualities, or talents possessed by a character, while Disadvantages are their weaknesses, faults, or limitations. Adding Advantages and Disadvantages to your game is a great way to allow players to differentiate their characters. These traits provide character depth with direct game effects. Advantages and Disadvantages may also serve AS a rules framework for building advantages and disadvantages for new lineages, backgrounds, and cultures.
Character Creation #
It is up to the player to decide if they want their character to have any Advantages. During character creation, the player may select up to three Advantages for their character. The trade-off for gaining Advantages is Disadvantages. The more Advantages the player selects, the more Disadvantages they must add to the character AS well. The Starting Advantages table shows how many Disadvantages the player must select for their character.
| STARTING ADVANTAGES | |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
Advantage Examples #
The following are examples of Advantages.
Adorable #
You are just adorable. Something about your features just makes people love you when they see you. You may or may not have the Presence to back this up, meaning you might only Benefit from being adorable until they get to know you. If you haven’t done anything to lower a person’s opinion of you, you gain a Benefit to Action Scores for social Action Checks.
Box Seats #
You and your guests have access to luxurious seating in the local theater, amphitheater, or hippodrome. Perhaps you did a noble lord a favor at one point and this is how they repaid you, or maybe it’s an inherited Benefit. Whatever the reason, AS Long AS you do not abuse the privilege, you can make use of this Benefit at any time. In addition to being a fun way to pass your time, these seats are a great way to impress someone. Bringing a guest adds a Benefit to Action Scores for Action Checks that Benefit from making a good impression.
Contact: Criminal #
You know a guy. Maybe this is someone who can fence stolen or questionable goods, a person with a finger on the pulse of the underworld, or a buddy who is willing to do things respectable folks would never consider doing. This might be an old contact from your seedy past, someone you helped when they needed it most, or that one family member no one likes to talk about. Depending on the nature of the contact, they might be able to tell you about the activities of local criminals, get you an audience with the head of the thieves’ guild, or assist you in quietly unloading a cursed object.
Contact: Expert #
You are friends with a Scholar who is an expert in their field. Perhaps they are a professor at a prestigious college, a retired specialist, or a reclusive eccentric genius. Maybe you studied with this person at one time, ran errands for them AS a child, or are just an old friend. This expert is willing to share whatever expertise they have with you. With the right incentive, they are willing to tackle difficult puzzles related to their field, putting in extra time and effort to get you the answers you need.
Danger Sense #
Somehow, you just know when something bad is about to happen. Perhaps you have a guardian spirit that gives you a little push when needed, an innate sixth sense that picks up on subtle changes in the world around you, or a unique precognitive ability. This is most likely something you were born with, although an event such AS a possession or the side-effects of powerful magic might impart this ability upon you AS well. A character with Danger Sense gains a Benefit to Reaction Checks to instinctively notice impending danger.
Disposable Income #
You have a steady source of wealth you can use to cover mundane expenses. From gate taxes to drinks at the tavern to a theater ticket, you always have enough “walking around money” to cover the minor costs incurred during the adventure. The money is not enough to buy a Round for the entire tavern or to buy gear for an adventure, but if you need to pay for your dinner, catch a carriage across town, or tip a footman, you’ve got enough to cover it. The source of your wealth might be some sort of smart investment you or your parents made that continues to pay off AS the years go by, a small cache of treasure you draw on sparingly to cover basic expenses, or maybe a marketable talent, like smithing or performance, that you leverage in your free time to ensure you always have a few extra coins in your pocket.
Nobility #
You are a member of the noble class. Your parents are landed gentry with a seat at court and the ear of the local lady or lord. Depending on the game world, this might impart certain rights unavailable to characters from the lower classes. Examples include the right to own and wield martial weapons, the right to own property, and the right to demand respect of members of the lower classes. Note that nobility doesn’t grant you any of these. It just gives you the right to have them. In addition, you’re expected to uphold the honor of the family name and behave in a way appropriate for a person of your status. You might also have certain responsibilities, such AS the responsibility to stand beside your liege in battle during times of war.
Ordained #
You are an Ordained member of the clergy. You are trained and empowered to perform important rites and rituals, from births rites to marriages to funerals. You gain access to your religion’s holy buildings, and under certain circumstances you may be entitled to room and board. You have an easier time gaining access to certain religious experts and resources, such AS libraries. Members of your religion likely view you with respect, although you may attract the enmity of members of competing religions.
Ship Passage #
A close friend or member of your family owns a shipping company with a fleet of sailing ships. If there is a ship in port heading to where you’d like to go, or if you can give your friend enough notice, you and your companions can obtain free passage on one of their ships. You’ll have to sleep in the hold and you may be asked to work while aboard the vessel, but the crew welcomes you and you won’t pay a copper.
War Hero #
You conducted yourself with honor and courage in a well-known war or battle. You might have a recognizable injury, medal, tattoo, or other clearly identifiable trait that people recognize AS a sign of your valor. You have the respect of other warriors, even those of the opposing side. Don’t be surprised if barkeeps insist that your first drink is always on the house. You receive a Benefit to Action Scores when facing social Challenges where your Reputation is recognized by the NPCs with whom you are dealing.
Sample Disadvantages #
The following are examples of Disadvantages.
Blunt #
You tell it like it is, even when diplomacy or tact is in order. You aren’t inherently mean or uncaring, but you often find yourself inadvertently upsetting people with your straight-to-the-point approach to every topic. The primary outcome of this trait is you struggle to persuade people to your point of view. Apply a Drawback to the Difficulty Score for any Action Checks to persuade, charm, or convince others.
Clumsy #
You run into door frames, bump into furniture, and people tend to hide the fine glassware when they see you coming. When making Actions Checks that involve dancing, balancing, or performing other tasks where full-body Coordination, apply a Drawback to the Difficulty Score.
Criminal Record #
You were incarcerated for a serious crime, although it is up to you and the Adventure Guide to decide if you were guilty. Either way, you must carry this burden, and people immediately recognize you AS having been incarcerated. Whether you have a distinctive tattoo, a well-known Reputation, or a memorable face, people always seem to know about your past. For some individuals this won’t matter, but for many it automatically makes them suspicious of you. Some establishments won’t serve you, merchants keep a close eye on you when you walk by their stalls, and parents shoo their children inside when you’re seen on the street.
Distracted #
Your attention span is shorter than a Halfling toddler. You find it difficult to stay focused on even simple tasks, and you tend to lose interest in Long conversations shortly after they’ve started. You tend to hop from interest to interest, and unfortunately this means you often miss details. Whenever you are called upon to an Action Check to notice details, add a Drawback to the Difficulty Score.
Excommunicated #
You were once an Ordained member of the clergy, but you’ve been stripped of your title. Perhaps you committed an unforgivable sin, were caught performing a heretical act, or maybe you simply made an enemy of a powerful religious leader. Those who know about your fall from grace, especially if they are followers of your old religion, will have nothing to do with you. The most zealous followers might even feel the religious leaders were too soft on you and will seek to mete out punishment on their own.
Familial Debt #
When a close family member passed away, an obscure law transferred their debts to you. The amount owed is enormous, and there is no chance you’ll ever pay it off. The best you can hope for is to continue to make small payments to the holder of the debt. If you fail to do so, you could easily find yourself forced into servitude or locked up in a debtor’s prison. Each time you earn money or acquire treasures on your adventures, you must send 10% of your income to the person who holds the debt. Failure to do so may lead to additional fines, legal troubles, or even a bounty on your head.
Persona Non Grata #
You didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand, but unfortunately one thing led to another and now you are barred from ever returning to an important settlement in the land where your adventures take place. If you ever try to enter the place from which you were exiled, you will, at best, be picked up by the guards and escorted to the border, or at worst, imprisoned. The source of your troubles might be a single powerful person, or you might have done something that turned the entire populace against you. Either way, anytime you must enter the area from which you are barred, you will need to use stealth and disguise, and always keep a low profile.
Romantic Rival #
You and an NPC both fell in love with the same person. Although this person has not chosen either of you yet, the battle to win their affections is fierce. The rivalry probably won’t lead to violence, but your rival will go out of their way to do things that will make you look bad in the eyes of the person you both love. They are constantly plotting your social downfall, and thinking up new ways to sabotage whatever goals you set.
Slow #
You are slower than the average person. Perhaps you were born with one leg shorter than the other or maybe you just aren’t a fast mover. This is rather frustrating for your companions during Long journeys, but the times it really causes you grief is in high tension and combat situations. Changing your position during combat, such AS moving from Reach to Across the Room, requires your character to use a Major Action. If you only use a Minor Action for your movement, add a Drawback to the Difficulty Scores for any Action Checks you make on that Turn.
Creating Advantages and Disadvantages #
The traits of a well-designed Advantage or Disadvantage depend AS much on the style of your game AS on the rules. This is especially true when it comes to determining if an Advantage is too powerful or a Disadvantage is too debilitating. There are, however, a few common ways of building Advantages and Disadvantages.
Benefits and Drawbacks #
One of the simplest ways to build an Advantage or Disadvantage is to have it apply a Benefit or Drawback to a certain type, class, or style of Action.
The trick to designing this sort of Advantage or Disadvantage is finding the sweet spot between Benefits and Drawbacks that are too broad or too narrow. Too narrow of an Effect isn’t beneficial enough to make it worth the Disadvantages the player must to acquire it, while too narrow of a Disadvantage doesn’t balance out the power of an Advantage.
The best Benefits and Drawbacks have about AS broad an Effect AS a Specialization. For instance, an Advantage called Master of Melee Weapons that provides a Benefit to Action Scores when using any melee weapon is a bit too powerful, but Master of the Long Blade, where the character gets a Benefit to Action Scores when using weapons like a longsword, work far better. (See Creating New Specializations on page XX).
Also, the modifier doesn’t have to apply to using objects. It might apply to a group of people (nobles, farmers, merchants), a general type of Action (balancing, hunting, making people laugh), or a situation (on your next Attack Action after taking a Wound, whenever it is raining, when traveling underground).
Memberships or Titles #
This type of Advantage allows a character to begin the game with a membership or title they’d normally have to earn over the course of their Adventures. Examples include nobility, a guild membership, membership in an elite organization, or religious ordination.
Memberships and titles can work AS Disadvantages AS well. Examples include being a member of a disgraced family, having a criminal record, or getting dishonorably discharged from a military organization.
Ownership #
Ownership allows the character to start the game possessing something they would normally need to acquire over the course of their adventures. Ideally, this is not something the character takes on their adventure, since any Advantage easily lost through bad luck, poor choices, or an unfortunate roll of the dice are avoided by most players.
Good options for ownership Advantages include property, a free lifestyle, or a means of transport between Adventures. Ideally, these not only Benefit the character, but also add to the game in a practical way, usually by eliminating some aspects of the game the players don’t really enjoy. For example, a means of easily getting from one place to another is a fantastic Advantage if the players in your game don’t enjoy playing travel Encounters.
Ownership Disadvantages are a little trickier to come up with, but it’s not impossible. Examples include a debt the character must continually pay interest on with no good way to pay it off, a person they must care for, or a piece of property they are honor bound to protect against regular attacks by bandits or monsters.
Rights and Restrictions #
A rights Advantage gives a character a special right not available to other players. For instance, the character might have the right to access the Queen’s Library and the wealth of knowledge it contains, or perhaps they are allowed to make use of the Royal Blacksmith’s services.
Alternatively, a loss of rights or a restriction on the character can serve AS an interesting Disadvantage. The character may be banned from entering a certain important town, ever joining a particular guild, or using martial weapons and armor. Oaths, codes, and duties also make great Disadvantages. They apply a restriction, but they often come from a place of honor rather than shame or dishonor.
Allies and Opponents #
Allies and opponents are NPCs that can help or hinder the character during their adventures. Allies will do the character small favors, stand up for the character when the chips are down, or at the very least, serve AS a valuable source of information.
Typically, characters are expected to reciprocate when an ally provides Aid. This might be a payment, a favor, or at least a willingness to stand ready to help the ally in the future. Professional contacts, old friends, and extended family are all examples of allies. Keep in mind that an ally is not a servant or a Follower. They will help the character out, but only to a point, and AS noted above, giving the ally something in return is an important part of keeping them happy.
Opponents are NPCs who actively work against the character. They are not necessarily violent, but they would love to see the character fail. They will go out of their way to hinder the character, possibly even taking on personal risk or cost to do so. An opponent might be a professional rival, someone the character wronged, or an NPC deeply opposed to the character’s values or ideals.
Opponents should not be confused with the NPC Antagonists characters are expected to overcome during an Adventure. The evil Dark Lord is likely out to kill the character and must be defeated for the sake of the world. They are a true Antagonist. An opponent is just that frustrating guy at work that always throws you under the bus when things go wrong and who goes out of his way to make your life difficult.
Powers and Weaknesses #
The last common way to build an Advantage or Disadvantage is to give the character an innate power or weakness. This might be supernatural (magic sense) or mundane (literate). For powers, the character may need to make an Action Check to use it successfully, especially if it is relatively powerful.
Weaknesses might also be supernatural (cursed) or mundane (slow). Some weaknesses require the character to make an Action Check to attempt something other characters can do automatically. In other cases, a weakness may require the character to exert more effort or take more time than other characters trying to perform the same task.
The Importance of the Story #
The description for an Advantage or Disadvantage should include more than just a game Effect. Describing the source, origin, and roleplaying impacts of the Advantage or Disadvantage make them far more Versatile and interesting than a simple “add a Benefit to your Action Score.” A well thought out and richly written description will tell a tale the player can weave into their character’s story. This story will add more to your game than the game Effect ever could.
The examples found here are relatively non-specific, since they are intended to work with any game setting, but if you are creating Advantages and Disadvantages for a specific campaign, incorporate elements of the world and its legends. This will tie the character stories to the story of the setting and help players feel like their characters are an active part of the world.