Flaws

Physical

13th Generation (2pt. Flaw)
Your sire was one of the 12th generation, long thought unable to sire. The fact that you rose from the dead may even have come as a shock to him, and it certainly concerns any elders who put stock in a prophecy (in other words, most of them). You may be a clanless Caitiff or may carry your sire's clan, but you are likely seen as something less than proper among the High Clans. Thirtheenth-generation vampires must at least take the Cannot Embrace Flaw, but almost all suffer from Weak Blood.

Addiction (3pt. Flaw)
You suffer from an addiction to a substance, which must now be present in the blood you drink. It can be alcohol, a plant extract or simply adrenaline. This substance always impairs you in some fashion (see "Drugs and Poisons" in the side bar for particulars).

Blind (6pt. Flaw)
You cannot see. Characters can compensate for the loss of vision by becoming more sensitive to other sensory input, but visual cues and images are lost to them. Actions involving hand-eye coordination are very difficult to perform, especially under stressful conditions. Difficulties of all the Dexterity-based rolls increase by two. Vampiress with Auspex 2 (Soulsight) are still able to use this ability, though the information is interpreted via other senses.

Bloodrot (3pt. Flaw)
You are afflicted with an insidious form of decay that blackens your skin and veins with mold as it slowly devours your unliving flesh. You may not have an Appearance rating higher than 1 and you suffer three dice of unsoakable lethal damage upon arising each night at dusk. Although your disease is not contagious, your mildewed visage makes other Cainites uneasy and inflicts the same Social penalties as Leprosy in civilized company unless you take great pains to cover yourself. This Flaw is worth only one point to Nosferatu and other monstrous vampires.

Child (4pt. Flaw)
You were a small child (between five and 10 years old) at the time of your Embrace, leaving your Physical Attributes underdeveloped and making it difficult to interact with some aspects of mortal society. You may not have more than two dots in Strength or Stamina, except when raising Physical Attributes with blood points, and the difficulties of all die rolls when attempting to direct or lead mortal adults increases by two. This Flaw also includes the effects of the Short Flaw, so no character can have both.

Deaf (4pt. Flaw)
You cannot hear. While you may ignore some applications of Dominate, you may not hear warnings, and you have great difficulty in normal communication. The difficulties of any Alertness rolls that involve hearing increase by three.

Elderly (4pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
God did not call you into service until late your life. Although your mind and faith are strong, your body is frail. Still, you bring experience to the Inquisition, which means that you never question the wisdom of His choice, even though you lack the ability to stand side by side with your more active brethren. All difficulties on physical rolls increasse by one, and if you ever botch such a roll, you must immediately roll the appropriate Attribute at difficulty 6. If that roll botches, you lose a dot from that Attribute. Dropping to zero in a Physical Attribute may cripple or kill at the Storyteller's discretion.

Face of the Beast (2pt. Flaw)
The Beast Within emerges in times of hunger or stress, twisting your visage into a monstrous caricature of human form. Your Appearance rating can never exceed your current blood pool. In addition, you must roll Self-Control (difficulty 6) whenever you are subject to stress. This is in addition to any checks for frenzy. If you fail, your Appearance drops to zero for the rest of the scene. Characters with this Flaw who follow Instinct automatically assume their bestial visage if provoked, as do those who actually succumb to frenzy.

Flesh of the Corpse (5pt. Flaw)
Your flesh does not fully regenerate itself once it is damaged. While you are able to heal yourself to the point of regaining full functionality, your skin still retains the cuts, tears and wounds you have incurred. Depending on the nature of the damage, this Flaw will make social dealings exceedingly difficult.

Infested (4 or 7pt. Flaw)
Foul creatures live on or inside you; possibilities include worms, maggots, lice, ticks, mosquitos or something stranger, like bloodsucking fungus. Alternately, a cloud of buzzing flies or other insects perpetually follows you around. Truly wretched souls may even suffer both versions of this Flaw for seven points, with flying insects crawling in and out of their orifaces at inopportune moments. If you play host to hemovores, roll one die when you awaken at dusk. Divide the result by 3, rounding up, and subtract that many blood points from your pool. This blood loss cannot drive you into torpor; the worst that can happen is that you awaken in hunger frenzy. In addition, the constant itching makes you irritable, adding +1 to the difficulty of all Self-Control rolls. If you trail clouds of flies, the insects subtract one die from most Social rolls. Additionally, their constant buzzing announces your presence, adding +2 to the difficulty of all Stealth attempts.

Lame (3pt. Flaw)
Your legs are damaged, which prevents you from running or walking easily. You are forced to walk with a cane or possibly leg braces, and you have a pronounced limp to your stride. Your walking speed is one-quarter that of a normal humna, and running is impossible.

Leper (2 or 3pt. Flaw)
Before you were Embraced, you suffered from leprosy or a skin disease that might be easily confused with leprosy. Your Appearance may be no higher than 2, and your flesh is marred by rashes, pale patches, festering sores, scars and so on. Your skin disease, whatever it actually is, is obvious to any who look upon you. Mortal authorites refuse you entry to any city, and you are treated with fear and revulsion. You may be compelled to dress in a specific manner and even carry castanets or other devices to announce your coming. In the three-point version, your condition is still contagious. Althought it cannot have any further effects on your unliving form, you may transmit it to those upon whom you feed. This Flaw is worth only one point to Nosferatu, and then only if your disease is contagious.

Mask of Everyman (3pt. Flaw or 2pt. Merit)
You have no face to call your own. Every sunset you awaken with a new visage, an amalgamation drawn from memory and imagination. Your attractiveness and outward sex remain constant, but your apparent ethnicity and features are utterly protean. You can use Malleable Visage and a looking glass or other reflective surface to reconstruct your true face from memory, but this requires at least three successes at difficulty 8 to make you recognizeable and five successes for a flawless copy. Characters must have at least one dot of Vicissitude to purchase this Trait. Although this Trait is normally a Flaw for vampires concerned with maintaining recognition and reputation, it may be a Merit for fiends on the run from vengeful sires or witch hunters.

Monstrous (3pt. Flaw)
Your physical form was twisted during the Embrace, and it now reflects the Beast that rages inside you. Characters with the Flaw appear to be savage or disgusting monsters, and they have Appearance ratings of 0. Nosferatu may not take this Flaw ass it is already their clan weakness.

Mute (4pt. Flaw)
You cannot speak. You may communicate with the Storyteller and describe your actions, but you cannot talk to player or Storyteller characters unless everyone concerned uses Linguistics dots to purchase a commonly understood sign language or you write down what you wish to say.

Permanent Wound (3pt. Flaw)
You suffered injuries during your Embrace that your transformation somehow failed to repair. At the beginning of each night, you rise from sleep at the Wounded health level, although you may not heal this nagging damage by spending blood points.

Plague Bearer (3pt. Flaw)
Your blood is infected with plague or some equally virulent disease. You might not show symptoms or suffer its ravages, but you can transmit it to all your victims. Even worse, you cannot rid yourself of the disease by purging your blood. Alchemy or thaumaturgy may offer a curse, as may the healing arts of the vanishing Salubri. If your condition is known, you might be forbidden access to many cities or restricted to feeding from lepers and other diseased wretches. Cainites who drink your blood must check for infection normally, although they may cure themselves by purging.

Poor Digestion (5pt. Flaw)
Generations of royal inbreeding and minimal activity in life have left you inform in undeath… Your frail constitution has greater difficulty drawing nourishment from human or animal blood, requiring you to drink two blood points for every one added to your blood pool. Cainite blood still affords full nourishment, which may well lead you to the forbidden hunger of the Amaranth.

Ragged Bite (2pt. Flaw)
Unlike most other Cainites, you lack the ability to lick the wounds of your feeding closed. Instead, you leave raw puncture wounds in the flesh of your prey. These wounds also have a one-in-five chance of becoming diseased. The Storyteller determines the precise nature of the infection.

Short (1pt. Flaw)
You are well below average height - four feet tall or less. You have difficulty reaching or manipulating objects designed for normal adult size, and your running speed is one-half that of a normally proportioned human.

Slow Healing (3pt. Flaw)
You have difficulty healing wounds. It requires two blood points to heal one health level of normal damage, and you heal one health level of normal damage, and you heal one health level of aggravated damage every five days (plus the usual five blood points and Willpower expenditure).

Smell of the Grave (1pt. Flaw)
You exude an odor of dampness and newly turned earth, which no amount of scents or perfumes will cover. Mortals in your immediate presence become uncomfortable, so the difficulties of most Social rolls to affect mortals increase by one. Characters on the Road of Humanity with this Flaw subtract one from their aura rating (so a +1 becomes a 0, a -1 becomes a -2, etc.).

Stench (2pt. Flaw)
Even for a society skeptical of bathing, you stink. No one willingly stands downwind of you, and even Nosferatu find you revolting. You lose two dice from most Social and Stealth rolls unless you are standing several yards downwind of your target. In addition, anyone within a yard of you must reflexively roll Stamina at difficulty 6 (or 8 for individuals with a heightened sense of small). Those who fail lose one die from all actions due to overwhelming nausea until they withdraw from your immediate presence.

Unblinking Vigil (1pt. Flaw)
Your eyes do not close - ever. Perhaps you stared too deeply into the Abyss or fleshcrafted away your eyelids for better alertness. Your quirk probably makes astute observers uncomfortable (+1 to the difficulty of friendly social interactions with anyone whose player makes a successful Perception + Alertness roll at difficulty 8 to notice).

Visage of Death (2pt. Flaw)
You bear the stamp of death on your face and pallor, revealing the truth of your undead state for all to see. You cannot mimic the "flush of life" that other cainites may evince, and your corpselike mien adds one to the difficulty of all Social rolls not based on Intimidation. Cappadocians may not purchase this Flaw.

Weak Lungs (2pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
God gives all inquisitors their own burdens to bear. Yours is a deformity of the lungs, meaning that you become winded easily. Increase the difficulties of all substained physical activity (running, prolonged combat, climbing, etc) by one.

Mental

Amnesia (2pt. Flaw)
You are unable to remember anything about your past, yourself or your family, though your past might well come back to haunt you. Your origins and the circumstances behind your amnesia are for the Storyteller to determine, and she is encouraged to make it as interesting as possible.

Atrophied Heart (4pt. Flaw)
You have grown cold and aloof, emotionally detached from the ever-changing world around you. You certainly understand good and evil as philosophical concepts, but morality is no longer something you feel with any passion. As a result, you add 2 to the difficulty of any degeneration check and pay double the usual experience to raise Compassion/Conviction or Road. True Brujah may not purchase this Flaw.

Deep Sleeper (1pt. Flaw)
When you sleep, it is very difficult for you to awaken. The difficulty of any die roll to awaken during the day increases by two.

Degenerate (Variable Cost Flaw)
You have already begun your descent into the jaws of the Beast. Reduce your starting Road rating by one dot per point awarded by this Flaw. Characters may not begin play with a lower Road rating than their Conscience/Conviction.

Deranged (2pt. Flaw)
Either a pre-existing condition or trauma of damnation has sown madness in you. You begin play with a serious derangement that dogs you in your undying existence (see the side bar for a list of possible afflictions). It is possible for you to get over this madness in play (a long and arduous task). Malkavians may take this Flaw to represent an additional derangement beyond the one endemic to their blood.

Enraptured by Beauty (3pt. Flaw)
Your preternatural senses and aesthetics find beauty supernaturally enthralling. Whenever you encounter music, art or even a pretty face that appeals to your tastes, you fall into trancelike reverie until the object leaves your senses or the scene ends. You may not even break away to defend yourself, though an attack permits a new roll to resist. Characters with this Flaw may avoid or break free of rapture with a Self-Control or Instinct roll (difficulty 6). Toreador may not purchase this Flaw.

Fierce Bigot (2pt. Flaw)
You hold particular hatred or disdain for a specific class or community of mortals, most likely the common rabble of serfs and servants. You make all frenzy checks at +2 difficulty around such individuals and always attack them first if you do succumb to frenzy.

Flesh Eater (4pt. Flaw)
It is not enough for you to draw nourishment from the blood of mortals - you believe you must also consume your victim's heart, liver and other blood-rich tissue. Of course, this will necessitate the deaths of all your victims (unless you are extremely creative), which might lead to numerous problems with the herd and with your own conscience (and road). Characters with this Flaw must additionally purchase the Eat Food Merit.

Moon Mad (2pt. Flaw)
Your temper waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon. Under the crescent moon, difficulties to avoid frenzy increase by one. This difficulty modifier rises to two under a half or gibbous moon, and three under a full moon. There is no difficulty modifier during the new moon.

Nightmares (1pt. Flaw)
you experience horrendous nightmares every time you sleep, and memories of them haunt you during your waking hours. Upon awakening, you must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 7) or lose a die on all actions for that night. A botched Willpower roll indicates that, even when awake, you still believe that you are locked in a nightmare.

Noble Arrogance (1pt. Flaw)
You have never known an existence other than privilege and wealth, either in life or undeath. You fervently believe in your innate superiority over mere mortals and the riffraff of the Low Clans, perhaps too much. You cannot believe that your inferiors could ever pose a real threat. As such, you are prone to underestimating adversaries of lesser station and your haughty bearing adds 2 to the difficulty of all Social rolls to interact with those you perceive as beneath you. Characters must have at least two dots of Status to purchase this Flaw.

Poor Taste (1pt. Flaw)
Your aesthetic runs counter to that of society, or perhaps you really are simply a tasteless cretin with pretensions of class. In either case, you add 1 to the difficulty of Social rolls involving mainstream artists or critics. Intimidation rolls suffer also with this penalty — you are graceless even at the art of fear.

Prey Exclusion (1pt. Flaw)
You refuse to hunt a certain class of prey. You might refuse to feed upon peasants, women, priests or poets. If you accidentally feed upon such an individual, you automatically frenzy and must make a roll to prevent a Road loss (difficulty 7). Witnessing other Cainites feeding on the object of your exclusion might also provoke a frenzy, at the Storyteller's discretion. Ventrue may take this Flaw to represent an additional, self-imposed prey limitation beyond that imposed by their clan weakness.

Religious Prohibition (2 or 4pt. Flaw)
You have retained your faith through the Embrace, and you suffer because your beleifs prohibit drinking the blood you need to survive. You may have lived as a believer in Islam or Judaism (both of which explicitly ban blood-drinking) or even as one of the strictly vegetarian Cathar perfecti. As even animal blood is a forbidden substance to you, your conscience pricks whenever you feed. In the two-point version of this Flaw, you voluntarily restrict your feeding to animals or blood that has been drained by a ritual butcher. At four points, you refuse to feed unless it is an immediate necessity (blood pool is three or less), and even then, you may fall victim to depression and self-loathing for several nights after the forbidden act. Most vampires with Flaw are on the Road of Heaven, and they might also have the Outspoken Pagan/Heretic Flaw.

Selective Thirst (4pt. Flaw)
Your aristocratic palette prefers the taste of a particular “vintage” of mortal blood, even to the point of spurning all other flavors. You may favor the delicate nectar of youthful virgins, the robust draught of the Norse or the touch of piety in a priest’s veins. Whatever your tastes, you may drink only from mortals who meet your criteria. All other blood tastes foul and rancid to you, and you will immediately vomit it like mortal food even in the throes of frenzy. Even your exacting sensibilities find Cainite blood sweet to the taste, no matter its source. Ventrue may not purchase this Flaw.

Sickened by the Flesh (2pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
You are easily sickened by the sight of base flesh and all things to do with it. Whenever you witness a gory scene of battle, obvious signs of the corrupted flesh of the enemy or an overt display of carnal lust, you must roll Willpowwr (difficulty 6). If the roll fails, you are overcome with nausea for the next few minutes. While tihs doesn't mean you spend the time vomiting (unless the roll botches) it does mean that all difficulties increase by one during that time.

Suicidal Beast (6pt. Flaw)
Some part of your withered soul recognizes your damnation. Perhaps your Beast repents its hunger, or your self-destructive impulse overrides its instincts. Whenever you are in a position to check for Rotschreck, roll Courage as normal. However, failure does not lead to the Red Fear. Instead you seek out the source of danger and embrace destruction - seizing a torch by the flames or dashing into the sunlight. It is possible for characters with this Flaw to develop "normal" survival instincts in play, but never easy.

Territorial (2pt. Flaw)
You are extremely territorial, staking out a particular area as your domain and reacting aggressively to tresspassers. If another vampire enters your territory uninvited, you must make a frenzy roll. If you fail, you immediately attack the interloper and continue attacking until the intruder is dead or has left your hunting grounds. You are reluctant to leave your domain except in desperate circumstances. It is possible (but not common) to take this Flaw without taking the Domain Background, in which case your absolute claim to territory is not at all recognized by other vampires.

Vengeful (2pt. Flaw)
You have a score to settle, incurred either during your mortals days or after the Embrace. You are obsessed with taking your revenge on an individual or group, and it is your overriding priority in any situation in which you encounter the object of your revenge. You may temporarily resist your need for vengeance by spending a Willpower point.

Wanderlust (4pt. Flaw)
Like Caine himself, you are cursed to wander the Earth, never finding succor or rest until God Himself grants it to you. You may only sleep three consecutive days in the same one-mile area. If you surpass this limit, each successive day leads to cumulative halving of all dice pools (to a minimum score of 1 in any pool). You do not suffer this agitation in torpor. Gangrel of the Anda bloodline cannot purchase this Flaw.

Worship Obsession (1pt. to 4pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
God has laid a heavy burden upon you. You sense that he demands an unusually harsh regimen of worship from you. It might be regular prayer at predetermined times, as practiced by monastic brothers (1pt. Flaw). Two points might mean that you have to stop and pray with every obvious sinner you meet. A 3-point Flaw might mean that you have to give up all worldly goods of your own whenever you receive them, whereas a 4-point Flaw might demand self mortification or flagellation each evening, to drive all the impurities from your corrupted flesh. Failure to perform your chosen worship costs you two points of Conviction for each day you miss, and missing more than two consecutive days requires a roll to avoid losing Piety.

Social

Apostate (2pt. Flaw)
You have publicly recanted one of the vampiric roads in order to step onto your current one. Changing roads is not uncommon in the early years unlife, but you have done so in an especially spectacular way - perhaps accusing your former faith of being false or ridiculously former teachers. You carry the stigma of a traitor among your former fellow travelers, while your new co-religionists still wonder if you are truly committed to their faith. You must work twice as hard to receive half the recognition of others.

Blasphemous Tongue (3pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
Although your faith is strong and your hatred of heresy as great as anyone's, you cannot help but talk about God and his servants in an irreverent way. It's not that you are rude or insulting to Him, just that you don't treat your faith with the gravity that the Church demands. You suffer a +2 difficulty on all Social rolls with other members of the Church, and can expect your tongue to earn you censure from the Inquisition sooner rather than later.

Blood Hunted (2 or 4pt. Flaw)
You have been made the target of a blood hunt. Should you return to your home city, you risk immediate destruction. For two points, this Flaw only applies to your home city. For four, the hunt extends anywhere your prince has allies. Hunts of such magnitude are only called against the most heinous criminals among the Damned.

Botched Presentation (2pt. Flaw)
When you were presented to the prince of the city, you breached protocol or embarassed yourself in some spectacular fashion. Your error may have been forgiven - or not, depending on other Flaws - but you are convinced that Her Majesty hates you. You must roll Willpower (difficulty 7) to stand in front of the prince or her designated representative without running, sniveing or otherwise acting like a fool.

Dark Secret (1pt. Flaw)
You have some sort of secret that, if uncovered be of immense embarassment to you and would make you a pariah in the local Cainite community. This could be anything from having murdered an elder to being a secret member of the Cainite Heresy.

Disgrace to the Blood (2pt. Flaw)
You were Embraced into the nobility of a High Clan. You were given power and prestige befitting your birthright — and you failed. You are now considered among the rabble of the Low Clans, when you are considered at all. You may eventually return to grace, but redemption won’t be easy. You must work twice as hard to atone for your prior failure. Obviously, you may not begin play with any Status.

Enemy (1 to 5pt. Flaw)
You have an enemy, or perhaps a group of enemies, who seek to harm you. The power of the enemy depends upon how many points the player wishes to spend. (Five points indicate the wrath of a Methusulah, arch-magus or other potent supernatural foe.)

Former Cat's-Paw (2pt. Flaw)
You have done dirty work for an important Cainite in the past - maybe an elder or even a prince. However, insead of granting you favor, your patron now sees you as a liability to her interests. For the moment, your former employer is content to keep you quiet with veiled threats. If you continue to make a nuisance of yoruself, however, she will use more drastic measures to silence you.

Hunted (4pt. Flaw)
You are pursued by a fanatical witch-hunter who believes (perhaps correctly) that you are a danger to humanity. All those with whom you associate, be they mortal or Cainite, may be hunted as well. The hunter may or may not be a part of the Shadow Inquisition.

Infamous Sire (1pt. Flaw)
Your sire was, and perhaps still is, distrusted and disliked by many of the local Cainites. As a result, you are distrusted and disliked as well. The stigma follows you even if you repudiate your sire. One cannot escape one's blood.

Mistaken Identity (1pt. Flaw)
You look similar to descriptions of another vampire, which causes cases of mistaken identity. This can prompt numerous awkward or even dangerous situations, especially if your "twin" has a terrible reputation or is wanted for some crime.

Oathbreaker (4pt. Flaw)
You are a known defector. You turned traitor to your former liege and you still have much to prove before you are accepted by the Cainites you have defected to. Elders, ancillae, and even neonates treat you with distrust and even hostility, and your reputation might even sully those whom you regularly associate with.

Outspoken Pagan Heretic (4pt. Flaw)
You are either not a Christian at all, or you are a follower of one of the heresies declared anathema by the Church, such as the Cathars or Bogomils. Although Jews, Muslims and pagans are no strangers to Europe, they are subject to various forms of oppression and social stigma in a culture that is unabashedly Christian. Many non-Christians carry on (and even thrive) by doingt heir very best nto to antagonisze the Christian community in any way. They practice their rites in private, find economic and social niches where they are tolerated or appreciated, and they watch for signs of bubbling hate or resentment. Not so, you. Either because of past "offenses" or current behavior, you are permanently branded a heathen - somewhere between unsavoury and evil in the eyes of the Christian majority. You regularly face discrimination, accusations and even outright persecution. Even among the undying, you carry a black mark, especially among Christian followers of the Road of Heaven.

Prestigious Rival (1 to 5pt. Flaw)
Your success has earned you the enmity of another noble Cainite. Your rival may outright hate you for some real or imagined grievance or simply enjoy the challenge of bringing you low. Treat this adversary as an Enemy (Dark Ages: Vampire p. 306), save that she has equal status among the Damned and never moves against you openly. As such, you cannot strike her directly without risking the wrath of your prince. This Flaw is worth a number of points equal to the Status rating of the character purchasing it. Characters without Status may not purchase this Flaw.

Reformed Heretic (3pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
Many monastic and clerical orders have experimented with variations on Christianity, which are tolerated until such a time as a Papal Bull declares them to be heresy. You followed such a path some years ago, prior to joining the Inquisition. You were granted the chance to repent and confess your sins when your chosen faith was declared heresy, and you accepted. While you are redeemed in the eyes of the Church, many individuals, if they learn of your history, will regard you with suspicion and possibly even hatred. Should your history be revealed to other inquisitors, members of the Church or even the laity, it is up to the Storyteller to determine how they react to you, but the response should be difficult to deal with.

Scapegoat (4pt. Flaw)
Whenever anything goes wrong, you are the first suspect. Actual guilt is irrelevant; you are the local Cainite whipping boy and everyone knows it. You cannot ever gain the Status background unless you somehow change your reputation - and that will be a Herculean feat. Even if you move to another city, your tainted reputation follows you.

Sire's Resentment (1pt. Flaw)
Your sire dislikes you and wishes you ill. Given the smallest opportunity, she actively seeks to do you harm. Your sire's allies also work against you, and many elders may resent you.

Uncouth (1pt. Flaw)
Even for a peasant or foreigner, you have extremely poor manners and an equally tarnished reputation. Depending on your Charisma, other lower-class individuals may spit as you pass or laugh at your bawdy humor, but aristocrats and Cainites of the High Clans are not amused. When interacting with your betters, you cannot have more dice in a Social pool than twice your Status Background. The Storyteller may waive this limit if crudeness serves your intent (such as Intimidation attempts). This Flaw should be roleplayed constantly.

Village Idiot (3pt. Flaw)
You were regarded as a fool in life or have acquired that unfortunate reputation in unlife. Either way, no one takes you seriously. At the very least, you suffer a +2 difficulty on most Expression and Leadership rolls, and this penalty may apply to other Social rolls as decided by the Storyteller. It is possible to lose this Flaw in play, but it isn't easy. Even if you come up with a brilliant plan, most people dismiss it - and you - on general principle, or assume that you stole the idea from someone else.

Supernatural

Animate Shadow (3pt. Flaw)
Your shadow has a bizarre unlife of its own, reaching out with claws to grasp the shadows of those around you in a parody of feeding or billowing to a demonic mien when frenzy threatens to overtake you. Some Lasombra believe this curse afflicts only those who delve too deeply into the mysticism of the Abyss; others attribute it to infernal pacts, the wrath of God or a shameful lack of self-control. Regardless, you lose two dice from all Social rolls with other Lasombra who know of your problem. This Flaw occasionally manifests among vampires who do not belong to the Clan of Shadows, but such accursed individuals invariably disappear under mysterious circumstances, perhaps swallowed by their own alien darkness.

Beast in the Mirror (1 or 2pt. Flaw)
Whenever you stare into a reflective surface, you see your Beast leering back at you. If this horror is visible to you alone, this Flaw is worth only one point. If mirrors betray your monstrous nature to everyone, this Flaw is worth two points. even at the one-point intensity, magi and other gifted souls may occasionally glimpse your true nature for a moment. Even ordinary mortals can sense there is something faintly wrong with you, adding +1 to the difficlty of most Social rolls if they have ever seen your reflection.

Blood Madness (2 or 4pt. Flaw)
The curse that the infernal Baali bloodline laid upon the Assamite warrior caste has fallen on your head, and you are plagued with an unending hunger for the blood of other Cainites. Whenever you taste Cainite blood, you must make a Self-Control roll (difficulty 8) or you fall into a hunger frenzy in which you will do anything to gorge upon as much blood as physically possible. If you follow a road that teaches Instinct, you are instantly lost to this frenzy. No roll is possible, and the Flaw is worth four points. You often find yourself thinking of other Cainites - even Children of Haqim - as potential vessels rather than equals. This Flaw is mainly found among the Assamite warrior caste. It is much rarer among sorcerers and viziers, only affecting those who have partaken of warrior vitae or who spend the majority of their time associating with warriors. It is almost (but not wholly) unknown among the other clans.

Bound to the Earth (4pt. Flaw)
You feel a deep mystical connection with the earth and must rest amid two or more handfuls of soil from a place of personal significance. The dirt may come from your homeland or your empty grave, as befits your attachment. Every day of rest that you forgo such contact cumulatively halves all dice pools until all actions use a single die. This Flaw occasionally manifests among blood sorcerers as a result of botched magic, tying a vampire to a grave he violated for a ritual component or the tainted soil of Kupala’s domain. Tzimisce may not purchase this Flaw.

Can't Cross Running Water (4pt. Flaw)
You cannot cross running water without suffering physical pain and riling up the Beast. In order to cross any body of water that is two feet wide or more and not completely stagnant, you must roll Courage (difficulty 6-8, depending ont he size of the body of water). Failure means you refuse to cross, while a botch throws you into Rotschreck. Success allows you to cross, but not without pain. You take one level of unsoakable bashing damage per turn of the crossing. If you actually wade into the water instead of using a bridge, the damage is aggravated.

Cannot Embrace (2pt. Flaw)
Either due to your high generation or because of some other factor, you cannot pass on the Curse of Caine to another. No matter how much of your vitae you feed to a freshly drained mortal, she does not rise as one of the undying. It's altogether possible for a character not to know that she can't Embrace until the moment of truth, when a potential childe lies dead at her feet. This Flaw is common among the 12th generation. In fact, until recently, most thought that no 12th generation vampire could sire. You can still create ghouls and blood oaths as normal.

Cast No Reflection (1pt. Flaw)
You actually cast no reflection. This can have a very detrimental effect trying to pass as a human. Vampires of Clan Lasombra automatically have this Flaw at no point benefit (and you may be mistaken for one of them if you possess it).

Cursed (1 to 5pt. Flaw)
You are the recipient of a supernatural curse. The strength and pervasiveness of the curse depends upon how many points you wish to incur. Examples follow:

• If you pass on a secret you were entrusted with, your betrayal will come back to harm you in some way. (1pt.)
• You stutter uncontrollably when you try to describe what you have seen or heard. (2pts.)
• You are doomed to make enemies of those whom you most love or admire. (4pts.)
• Every one of your accomplishments or triumphs will eventually become soiled or fail in some way. (5pts.)

Any other supernatural Flaw (and many of the others) can be used as a curse as well. The manner in which you can lift the curse are up to the storyteller, but they generally involve making amends to the one you have offended.

Dark Fate (5pt. Flaw)
You are doomed to experience Final Death or, worse, suffer eternal agony. No matter what you do, you cannot avoid this terrible fate. At some point during the chronicle, your Dark Fate will come upon you. Even more ghastly is the fact that you occasionally have visions of this fate, and the malaise these images inspire requires an expenditure of a temporary Willpower point to avoid, or else you lose a die from all of your actions for the remainder of the night. It is up to the Storyteller to determine the exact nature of this fate and when it will occur.

Darksight (2pt. Merit or Flaw)
At will, you may invert the meaning of light and dark to your eyes. This requires a turn of concentration and a successful Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 7). With Darksight active, you may view pitch-black darkness as though it were brightly and uniformly lit, while torches cast a radiance that obscures perception in the manner that darkness interferes with normal senses. The significance of colors likewise inverts, lending a surreal hue to the world without interfering with your ability to separate hues. All penalties for partial darkness instead apply to weak illumination, and the absolute emptiness of sunlight and similarly bright radiance blinds you (and burns you, in the case of sunlight). The Merit does not allow you to see through mystical shadows, such as those produced by Obtenebration. As a Flaw, your Darksight is permanent; you will never again view the universe through any semblance of human vision.

Demon-hounded (1 to 4pt. Flaw)
A demon from below has taken a special interest in you. It appears to you occasionally, using threats, bribes or honeyed words to win you to its cause. Sometimes it just asks you to perform innocuous favors. Sometimes it asks you to become its eternal servant. Sometimes it offers favors or information without any apparent catch. In any case, it is not your interests it serves, but those of its diabolical masters. For some reason, the demon sees you as an especially useful tool for ensnaring the mortal souls it craves, and although it may occasionally provide you with a short-term benefit, you are disposable to it. At some point in the chronicle, it is likely to try to dispose of you in some decidedly uncomfortable fashion. The details of the demon and its personality are largely up to the Storyteller, but the point level determines some generalities. A minor demon (1pt. Flaw) may be an annoying imp, incapable of doing anything more than distracting you, thieving small items and pleadingf or souls. Its plans are unimpressive, but they can be frustrating. A greater creature (4pt. Flaw) is your physical equal, and it can concoct horribly devious plans to make you its slave.

Ecstatic (2pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
Sometimes, your joy in the touch of the Holy Ghost utterly overwhemls you and you speak in tongues, have ecstatic fits or start prophesying incomprehensibly. Every time you use a Blessing or the Holy Arts and score more than three successes, you must roll Willpower (difficulty 6) or giv in to ecstatic behavior. You may spend a Willpower point to delay the effect by one scene, if you wish.

Eerie Presence (2pt. Flaw)
Mortals have an unconscious awareness of your undead nature, which makes them anxious and ill at east in your presence. Because of this, difficulties of all die rolls relating to social interaction with mortals are increased by two.

False Amaranth (3pt. Flaw)
Your halo always shows the blackened marks of Amaranth, even if you have never committed diablerie. Perhaps your sire was a habitual diablerist, or perhaps in the throes of frenzy, you alsomot committed the foul act yourself. Assamites of the warrior caste cannot take this flaw.

Geasa (1 to 5pt. Flaw)
A powerful magical being — a mage, a fae noble or perhaps an ancient blood sorcerer — has placed you under a pact as binding as the blood oath. Rather than commanding your adoration, your geasa compels you to fulfill or avoid certain actions lest some calamity befall you. The severity of the consequence and the ease of keeping the terms of the pact determine the rating of the Flaw. At one point, you must not feed on the members of a particular noble family or else wear the marks of your treachery as boils on your immortal face. For five points, you must remain within a remote forest or the sun will find you wherever you sleep no matter how deep or darkened your lair. As always, the Storyteller has the final say on any Geasa, including the unlikely possibility of its removal. Players should work closely with the Storyteller to develop Geasa that create story hooks rather than being obscure quirks chosen for a couple extra bonus points.

God's Judgement (2pt. to 5pt. Flaw) - Inquisitor Only
You have sinned against the Lord sometime in the past, and as a punishment upon you he has barred you from receiving some of his Blesings. A 2-point flaw bars you from gaining Orisons; a 3-point flaw from a particular form of Endowment or path of the Holy Art; 4-points ban you from gaining any Endowments; and 5 points ban you frmo gaining Blessings entirely. These are NOT cumulative. You suffer the penalty for the appropriate level only. That is, a character with the 4 point version of this Flaw may learn Orisons and the Holy art, but not Endowments.

Grip of the Damned (4pt. Flaw)
There is no ecstasy in your Embrace - only terror and pain. Mortals upon whom you feed struggle and shriek all the while as you attempt to feed, requiring you to grapple with them for as long as you wish to take their blood. Depending on the vampire's road and rating, this may cause a degeneration roll, at the discretion of the Storyteller.

Hand of Hades (5pt. Flaw)
You exude the spiritual blight of death. Insects die if they fly too near you, while most small plants shrivel and die within a foot of your presence. Even large trees take on blight in the places you touch. Larger animals, including humans, suffer one level of lethal damage for every hour they spend in close proximity to you. Such damage has no outward sign, manifesting as inexplicable weakness. This nepenthe also sets mortals and even vampires ill at ease, adding 1 to the difficulty of all Social rolls not involving Intimidation. Unlike the Flaw Touch of Frost (Dark Ages: Vampire p. 309), you really do leave a swath of desiccated grass and leaves as you pass. Cappadocians may take this Flaw in place of their normal clan curse, in which case they receive only two points and suffer their usual social difficulties, but may vainly show a “flush of life” if they so desire. Cappadocians who take this Flaw in addition to their clan curse receive the usual number of bonus points and cumulatively sum their Social penalties, adding +2 to the difficulty of all Social rolls not involving Intimidation.

Harbinger of the Abyss (5pt. Flaw)
You are a conduit to the ultimate darkness that lies Beyond. Lights dim in your presence and shadows rustle at the edge of vision in dire anticipation of your blasphemy. Small fires extinguish when you draw close and the chill of the Void is in your touch. Your player must roll your Obtenebration rating against the soak difficulty of any mundane flame within two yards of you. This roll is reflexive and mandatory, and success extinguishes the flame. This dimming is in addition to suffering the effects of Touch of Frost and Eerie Presence (Dark Ages: Vampire pp. 308–9). The Flaw conveys one benefit: Your unnatural radiance reduces the difficulty of all Intimidation rolls by 3, to a minimum difficulty of 4. Characters must have at least one dot of Obtenebration to purchase this Flaw.

Haunted (3pt. Flaw)
You are haunted by an angry and tormented spirit, most likely the ghost of one of your first victims. This spirit actively attempts to hinder you, especially when feeding, and it does its utmost to vent its anguish upon you and anyone in your presence. The Storyteller determines the exact nature of the spirit, its powers and whether or not it can eventually be laid to rest.

Initiate to the Road (1pt. Flaw)
You are a newcomer to your chosen road of enlightenment and have yet to face your first moment of truth upon it. Although you understand the road's tenets and teachings on an intellectual level, you haven't put them to the test against the Beast, so you cannot claim the mantle of a true adherent. This may be the result of having only been recently Embraced or having just changed roads, in which case the Apostate Flaw may be appropriate. You do not have the aura tied to your road, and you face a +1 difficulty penalty in resisting frenzy and Rotschreck, but you do have an easier time changing roads if you wish to do so.

Killed by Staking (2 or 5pt. Flaw)
Like vampires of legend, a wooden stake through your heart can destroy you outright. This Flaw is worth two points if a stake must be carved from a specific type of wood, such as ash or rowan to inflict Final Death. If any wooden stake can kill you, this Flaw is worth five points. Vampires with this Flaw do not know of their vulnerability (obviously).

Light-Sensitive (5pt. Flaw)
You are even more sensitive to sunlight than other vampires are. Sunlight causes double normal damage, and the light of the moon can cause lethal damage in a manner similar to the sun, though it must shine directly upon your skin. Followers of Set and Lasombra, who are already light-sensitive due to clan weakness, may take this Flaw to represent especially acute sensitivity. They double the augmented damage that the sun causes to a member of their clan.

Mystical Aura (2pt. Flaw)
You radiate unnatural power. Perhaps you were a magus in life, unwisely fed from one of the Fair Folk or studied the twisted sorcery of the Tremere. All attempts to sense magic on and around you are at -2 difficulty. Your halo always shows the shimmer of magic use to Soulsight and similar powers, provided that the observer at least one success. Assamites of the sorcerer caste cannot take this Flaw.

Potent Aura (3pt. Merit or Flaw)
The power of your own personality and outlook is such that it reaches out and affects others with disturbing ease. Others, be they mortals or vampires, get a powerful first impression of you that colors many of their interactions with you. Your road aura is significantly more powerful than that of other vampires of your outlook. This trait is a Merit if your starting Road trait is 5 or more, and a Flaw is it is 4 or less. Your aura modifier is as follows:

Road Rating	Aura Modifier
10	-3 difficulty
9-8	-2 difficulty
7-6	-1 difficulty
5	no modifier
4-3	+1 difficulty
2	+2 difficulty
1	+3 difficulty

Repulsed by Garlic (1pt. Flaw)
You cannot abide garlic, and the smallest whiff of its scent drives you from a room unless you make a successful Willpower roll (difficulty based on the strength of the odor).

Repulsive to Animals (2pt. Flaw)
With this Flaw, every natural animal you encounter is automatically and severely upset by her presence. This is much more severe than the unease that almost all Cainites cause in animals: Creatures panic and flee, and some rare few attack. You cannot calm the creatures down with Animal Ken. It requires either use of Animalism or a taste of vampire blood (which makes the creature a ghoul) to settle the beast down.

Restricted Diet (2pt. Flaw)
Unlike other Cainites, you derive no nourishment from the stale blood of animals. Only the blood of mortals and other vampires can sustain your unlife. This Flaw eventually manifests in most vampires as they age, a prelude to the cannibalistic Thirst of Caine.

Soul Eater (4pt. Flaw)
Your Beast hungers for more than blood. Whenever you feed, you steal one Willpower point from your victim for every three blood points taken. Unfortunately, your parasitic soul cannot replenish itself by any other means. You cannot regain Willpower by fulfilling your Nature, resting or any other natural method. Worse still, you must spend one Willpower point each night upon awakening or lose a dot of permanent Willpower. If your permanent Willpower ever drops to zero, you suffer from Final Death, your body crumbling away to ash as your parasitic soul feeds upon itself. Characters with this Flaw do not have to spend Willpower in torpor.

Thirst of Caine (7pt. Flaw)
By age or some infirmity of your own blood, you derive no nourishment from the blood of animals or mortals. Though you do not immediately vomit such a meal, living blood tastes bland and provides no benefit. Only the vitae of other Cainites can sustain you. The sole advantage to such hunger is that you find no allure in human blood and thus no longer perceive humans as food. As such, the sight, scent or taste of human blood will never drive you into frenzy. If you are not extremely careful, however, your thirst will inevitably lead you to blood oaths and the forbidden draught of the Amaranth.

Touch of Frost (1pt. Flaw)
Plants wither as you approach and die at your touch. Your touch leaches heat from living beings, as though you are made of ice. As you walk through a forest or across a field, you do not leave a huge swath of death, however. Instead, you leave behind small patches of dead leaves and withered or rotting foliage. Someone tracking you through the wilderness gains a -2 difficulty bonus to do so because of these marks.

Uncanny (1 to 5pt. Flaw)
The very opposite of Arcane, you are too strange or disturbing to forget. You may have distinguishing features or a mystical aura, but the effect is the same: Anyone trying to locate you through Investigation receives one extra die per point invested in this Flaw. Fortunately, Uncanny does not interfere with active Stealth attemtps. However, you always stand out from a crowd and cannot hide through anonymity. Even characters with Obfuscate must contend with their noticeable mien, although extra successes on Obfuscate rolls can temporarily cancel Uncanny dice on a one-for-one basis.

Weak Aura (2pt. Merit or Flaw)
Your personality and outlook have relatively little unintentional effect on others. You may well be a master of Presence and other forms of manipulation, but that is all planned. Your road aura is very weak, nanifesting only if you are a true exemplar or reprobate of your belief system. Your aura modifier is as follows:

Road Rating	Aura Modifier
10-9	-1 difficulty
8-3	no modifier
2-1	+1 difficulty

Weak Blood (5pt. Flaw)
Your blood carries only a fraction of the power that is the unholy legacy of Caine. You may be a member of the despised 13th generation, a Caitiff or suffering from some other affliction, but your vitae does a poor job of powering your unliving form. All blood point costs are doubled (e.g. using blood-related Disciplines or healing damage), and you can never learn a Discipline above four dots. It also takes six drinks for a thrall to become oathbound to you, and you are incapable of creating ghouls or progeny. You cannot take the Cannot Embrace Flaw, which is already incorporated into Weak Blood.