FX Drawbacks
From D20advanced
Some drawbacks are FX drawbacks, meaning they apply to a particular FX rather than necessarily to the character. You can think of FX drawbacks as the reverse of FX feats: minor limits on the FX. An FX can have a total value in drawbacks equal to 1 point less than its total cost (so the FX must cost at least 1 character point, regardless of how many drawbacks it has).
FX drawbacks decrease the actual cost and value of a FX. This is important for things like Array and Variable structures, which are limited by the number of character points they have to allocate. So an FX with 20 points worth of FX (including modifications from extras and flaws), an FX feat, and a –2 point FX drawback has a total cost of 19 points (20 + 1 – 2), meaning, among other things, it fits “inside” a 20-point Array or Container.
 Rule of Thumb: A good rule of thumb for deciding whether a particular limitation on an FX should suffer a flaw or only a drawback is to look at how often the limitation will come into play. If a limitation cuts the utility to power of an FX by half, then it qualifies as a flaw. If it hampers an FX by less than that, it probably only qualifies for a drawback.
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Drawback Value
A drawback’s power point value is based on two things: its frequency (how often the drawback affects your character) and its intensity (how seriously the drawback affects your character). The more frequent and intense the drawback, the more points it’s worth. Drawbacks generally range in value from 1 character point for something that comes up rarely and has little effect to 5 character points for a drawback that comes up all the time and seriously weakens the character.
Frequency
Drawbacks have three levels of frequency: uncommon, common, and very common. Uncommon drawbacks show up about a quarter of the time, every four adventures or so. Common drawbacks show up about half the time, and very common drawbacks show up three-quarters of the time or more.
Each level has a frequency check associated with it, which is a simple d20 roll with no modifiers against a DC (15, 10, or 5). A GM who wants to randomly check a drawback makes a frequency check to see if it shows up in the adventure. Otherwise, the GM can simply choose to bring a drawback into play based on its frequency.
Note that frequency represents how often the drawback comes up during the game, not necessarily how common it is in the campaign setting. Even if glowing meteors are extraordinarily rare in the setting, if they show up every other adventure, they’re still common in frequency.
Intensity
The intensity of a drawback measures how much impact it has on the character. There are three levels of intensity: minor, moderate, and major. Minor drawbacks have a slight impact or are not difficult to overcome. Moderate drawbacks impose some limits, but can be overcome about half of the time. Major drawbacks impose serious limits and are quite difficult to overcome.
| TABLE 5.13: DRAWBACK VALUE | |
| Value | Frequency: How Often Does The Drawback Come Up? |
| +0 | Uncommon (every few adventures. DC 15) |
| +1 | Common (every other adventure, DC 10) |
| +2 | Very Common (once per adventure, DC 5) |
| Value | Intensity: How Seriously Does The Drawback Affect You? |
| +1 | Minor: DC 5 to overcome, less capable than the character, or slight limitation. |
| +2 | Moderate: DC 10 to overcome, as capable as character, or modest limitation |
| +3 | Major: DC 15 to overcome, more capable than the character, or major limitation |
 Option: Drawbacks as Complications
As introduced in Chapter I: The Basics, Drawbacks don't necessarily need to grant a character additional character points. Instead of granting a character additional character points, you can instead choose to treat drawbacks like complications, which will grant the character bonus Hero Dice instead. If you choose this option, ignore the frequency value for drawbacks: calculate a drawback's value only according to its intensity. When the drawback comes up in play, up to once per encounter, the drawback provides grants the character a number of bonus Hero Dice equal to the drawback's intensity. In this way, while the character is at a disadvantage during an encounter which exploits his or her drawbacks, but gains a little extra edge in the form of additional Hero Dice for the fight. If you use this option, you also have the choice of only granting those bonus Hero Dice for the length of the encounter itself (that is, they are lost at the end of the encounter if not used). In this way, the bonus applies only to the encounter in which the drawback arises, and does not carry through to other encounters later in the session. This is another option you can use to customize your game. |
