COMPLICATIONS
Complications are essentially setbacks players choose for their characteres in
advance. Comic books are full of personal complications, and players are
encouraged to come up with some for their characteres. When a complication
causes a significant setback for a character, it’s worth a character point award.
Possible complications, and their uses in adventures, include:
• Accident:
You cause or suffer some sort of accident. Perhaps a stray
blast damages a building or hurts an innocent bystander, your fire
powers set off sprinkler systems, or you cause volatile chemicals to
explode. The GM decides the effects of an accident, but they should
be troublesome. Accidents can lead to further complications; perhaps
the character develops a guilt-complex, obsession, or phobia involving the
accident.
• Addiction:
You need something, whether for physical or psychological
reasons. You’ll go out of your way to satisfy your addiction, and
being unable to satisfy it may lead to a temporary weakness drawback
(see Temporary Drawbacks as Complications, page 126).
When your addiction causes you a setback, that’s a complication.
• Enemy:
You have an enemy, or enemies, trying to do you harm. The
GM can have your enemy show up to cause you trouble, and adventures
involving your enemy tend to be more complicated for you; even
personal grudge-matches, if the enmity goes both ways. When havingan enemy causes a particular problem for you (such as your enemy
abducting a loved on), you get a Conviction.
• Fame:
You’re a public figure, known almost everywhere you go,
hounded by the media, swamped by fans and well-wishers, and similar
problems.
• Hatred:
You have an irrational hatred of something, leading you to
actively oppose the object of your dislike in some way, no matter the
consequences.
• Honor:
You have a strong personal code of honor. Generally this
means you won’t take unfair advantage of opponents or use trickery,
but you can define the exact terms of your code with the GM. Honor
is only a complication when it puts you in a bind or on the horns of a
moral dilemma.
• Obsession:
You’re obsessed with a particular subject and pursue it
to the exclusion of all else, which can create some complications.
• Phobia:
You’re irrationally afraid of something. When confronted
with it you have to fight to control your fear, causing you to hesitate
or act irrationally (and earning a Conviction).
• Prejudice:
You are part of a minority group subject to the prejudices
of others. Some Gamemasters and gaming groups may prefer
not to deal with issues of prejudice in their games, in which case
the GM is free to ban this complication.
• Reputation:
You have a bad reputation, affecting what others
think of you (whether you deserve it or not). Having someone adopt
a bad attitude toward you because of your reputation is a complication.
• Responsibility:
You have various demands on your time and
attention. Responsibilities include family obligations, professional
duties, and similar things. Failing to live up to your responsibilities
can mean loss of relationships, employment, and other problems.
• Rivalry:
You feel a strong sense of competition with a person or
group and have to do your best to outdo your rival at every opportunity.
• Secret:
You have something potentially damaging or embarrassing
you’re hiding from the world. The most common secret for Mutants
& Masterminds characteres is their true identity. Occasionally, something
(or someone) may threaten to reveal your secret.
• Temper:
Certain things just set you off. When you lose your temper
you lash out at whatever provoked you.
You get a Conviction for each encounter where a complication comes into
play. The GM decides when a particular complication comes up, although
you can offer suggestions on suitable opportunities.
You should choose one or two regular complications for your character,
and feel free to suggest others to the Gamemaster during play. The GM
decides what complications are appropriate and can overrule any particular
complication, depending on the needs of the story. Keep in mind the
adventure needs to have room for all the characteres’ complications, so individual
ones can only come up so often.
Nature
All intelligent creatures make moral choices, to live according to their
better nature or to give in to immoral impulses. Many walk a difficult
line between the two. Each character in True20 has a particular nature,
which is made up of a virtue and a vice.
During character creation, select a virtue and a vice to decide your
character’s nature. A list of examples is given below, but you can
make up your own virtues and vices with the Narrator’s permission.
The key is to give your hero one good quality (virtue) and one bad
quality (vice).
Virtues
Courageous, Free-Spirited, Bold, Generous, Gregarious, Hopeful,
Daring, Thoughtful, Compassionate, Industrious, Honest, Fair, Kind,
Determined.
Academic
An Academic character seeks knowledge for personal improvement or the betterment of mankind. Its opposite is Power Hungry.
Austere
An Austere character is an ascetic who practices self-denial as a measure of personal and spiritual self-discipline. Typically, an Austere agent declines anything that gives him pleasure or may be considered indulgent. Its opposite is Addictive.
Faithful
The Agent who attends worship services, studies holy texts and tries to live in accordance with the tenets of his religion may be counted among the Faithful. Its opposite is Zealous.
Greater Good
This trait belongs to those that are willing to do for others, with disregard to personal imposition. These are the type to hold the door against a million carnivorous zombies, who volunteer to accept a demon into their
Virtues and Vicesown body, or who are willing to miss out on a few minutes of a day off to fetch coffee. Their outlook is that virtue and sacrifice is its own reward. Its opposite is Egotistic.
Just
These individuals trust in the justice systems of men and are willing to do whatever it takes to see that the law remains the law. They believe in fair treatment for all under the law, no matter what their degree of guilt or innocence. Its opposite is Vengeful.
Patriotic
A character placing their love of their homeland above everything else in their life possesses the Patriotic Virtue. Its opposite is Jingoism.
Vices
The following is a list of suitable vices for Agents of Oblivion characteres.
Addicted
Addicted characters have some sort of harmful emotional or physical habit that they need to indulge often. This may range from the typical “noir” addictions of mild drinking and smoking, to the more dysfunctional and dangerous distractions of the 21st century. Its opposite is Austere.
Egotistic
If it’s not for them, they don’t want anything to do with it. Egotistic characters must constantly be reminded, by themselves and others, that they’re Big Number One and aren’t often willing to do something for altruistic reasons. The opposite of Egotistic is Greater Good.
Jingoistic
Jingoistic individuals display a fanatical patriotism with regards to their own country and outright
1 5Chapter One: agents of oblivion
hostility towards others. They have opinions and aren’t afraid to back them up. Jingoistic characters are often prepared to come to blows with someone who might threaten their way of life. The opposite of Jingoism is Patriotism.
Power Hungry
If a character is Power Hungry, they’re prone to turning any scrap of knowledge or talent they might have towards personal gain, for the ultimate purpose of gaining MORE knowledge and ability. This is the Vice for those eldritch scholars who always have to translate “just one more work of forbidden knowledge” because they’re convinced they’ll figure everything out and for martial artists constantly pushing themselves to the edge of human endurance. Its opposite is Academic.
Vengeful
Vengeful characters perceive any slight to them or their loved ones as a personal challenge. They must strike back as hard as they can, but as Shakespeare teaches, revenge is cyclical and blood for blood is never enough. It’s not enough for a Vengeful character to kill the henchman who killed his girlfriend; they have to slash and torture their way to the top. The opposite of Vengeful is Just.
Zealous
There are those who take their faith too far. When Faith becomes intolerance, it transforms into Zeal. Refusing to speak to members of opposing religions, crusading and generally presuming to know the will of the Higher Power is hubris and prideful. Its opposite is Faithful.
Vices
Cowardly, Hidebound, Fearful, Miserly, Cynical, Impulsive, Selfish, Lazy,
Capricious, Petty, Arrogant, Stubborn, Manipulative, Insensitive
