'The Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects'

Skirmisher Publishing LLC has released an exciting new sourcebook called The Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects, which is devoted to a concept the company introduced in its wildly popular and irreverent Nuisances. Following is the Introduction to that book, examples of some of the Defects that appear in it, and samples of some of artist and co-author William T. Thrasher's great illustrations.

Even as characters can have Feats that give them particular aptitudes and enhance their various skills and capabilities, so too can they suffer from Defects that negatively affect their ability to function. Following is a description of what Defects are and some of the ways they can be used to make games more fun, unpredictable, and, in some cases, more realistic. 

Characters can acquire Defects — whether temporarily or permanently — during the course of the game in a number of different ways, including the results of curses and side effects of double-edged magic items. There is no limit to the number of Defects a character can have. Most Defects can be taken only once, but a number have effects that stack (e.g., Fugly) or that can be applied to different factors (e.g., Severe Allergy, Phobia), as noted in the individual descriptions. 

Sometimes, at the DM’s option, a particular Defect can be attributed to all the members of a race, tribe, or other grouping (e.g., the members of a particular subspecies of Dwarf might suffer from the Defect Magic Item Jinx). 

Players can also opt to willingly give their characters Defects (e.g., in the interests of roleplaying and character development), either when their character is created or upon attaining a new level. Those who do so are entitled to take bonus Feats in exchange. While there is no limit to the number of Defects a character can have, there are some limitations on the number of offsetting bonus Feats a character can acquire, as follows: 

* The number of offsetting bonus Feats must always be fewer than the regular number of Feats a character is entitled to (i.e., those that are acquired initially and every third level, and not including bonus feats acquired as a benefit of a class or race). The exception to this is if the character has one regular Feat, in which case he can still also have one offsetting Feat. 

* Offsetting Feats can only be acquired at levels other than those at which the character receives a regular level-based feat (althought the Defects could be acquired sooner). The exception to this is when the character is 1st level. 

* In all cases a character must meet the prerequisites of an offsetting bonus Feat in order to take it. 

A number of different types of Defects are presented in this book, and they include General, Item Creation, Metagame (which can affect things outside the game), and Metamagic. Metamagic Defects in particular can profoundly affect the spells used by characters and have a dramatic influence on game play. Some of these allow as many as two or even three offsetting Feats (although the rate at which these can be taken is still subject to the afore-mentioned provisions). Several Defects are also labeled as being intended for use in Modern or Sci-Fi role-playing games. 

If a character manages to free himself of a particular Defect after taking it in exchange for a Feat, (e.g., if a Fat character loses weight), he will subsequently lose a Feat as well, either the one he took in exchange for it or one of the DM’s choosing. 

Characters can, however, attempt various measures to temporarily offset or reduce the effects of various Defects. For example, the DM might rule that a character with Allergies might be able to halve their effects with herbal potions that cost 25 gp apiece and have effects that last an hour. Likewise, the DM might decide that the effect of the same Defect might be neutralized for the duration of an encounter if any “cure” spell is cast specifically for this purpose. 

Effects of passive Defects (i.e., those that have ongoing effects that do not usually need to be adjudicated) typically have effects equal in power to Feats. For example, the Feat Lightning Reflexes affects Reflex saves by +2 and the Defect Sluggish Reflexes affects them by -2. Effects of active Defects, however, which may only come up infrequently and which players may not be as quick to emphasize, often have detrimental effects somewhat greater in power than the benefits typically bestowed by Feats. Regardless of the effects of a Defect, however, one should not be the sole factor that ends up actually getting a character killed. 

Unlike Feats, however, players cannot necessarily be expected to remember their Defects at inopportune times. This often pleasurable task must fall to the DM, and it is recommended that he keep a list of various characters’ Defects handy, and refer to it periodically, so as not to miss any easy or appropriate opportunities to apply them. Ideally, any given player’s Defects surface and have some impact — if only a comical one — at least once in each game session. 

Bot Hater [General] (Sci-Fi) A character with this Defect is mistrustful of robots and robotic technology, no matter how useful. 
Detriment: A Bot Hater must make a DC 15 Will save when interacting with a robot. On a failed save, the character must vandalize, sabotage, verbally abuse, or otherwise interfere with the robot in question. Additionally, the character suffers a –2 penalty on all rolls made to build, repair, or socially interact with robots. 

Chew Materials [General] A character with this Defect absentmindedly gnaws on his spell components, often ruining or even devouring them. 
Prerequisite: Spellcaster level 1. 
Detriment: Because a character inclined to Chew Materials is often surprised to discover his material components damaged or missing, he suffers a 10% chance of spell failure, he must replace the component in question for any spell that fails as a result of this Defect before he can attempt to cast it again. 

Curse Magnet [Metamagic] Baleful magic is unnaturally drawn to characters with this Defect. 
Prerequisite: Characters with spell resistance cannot be Curse Magnets. 
Detriment: Anytime a spell, spell like ability, or magic effect with the death, evil, or fear descriptors is cast from or directed at a target within 30 feet of a Curse Magnet, there is a 25% chance it will effect the Curse Magnet instead of the intended target. If the spell, ability, or effect in question would not normally directly harm the Curse Magnet (e.g., animate corpse, protection from good, wail of the banshee, etc.) the Curse Magnet takes 1 point of nonlethal damage per spell level or caster level (whichever is higher). Spellcasters with this Defect are at risk of being affected by their own spells. 

Excess Beard [General] A character with this Defect has a beard so long, bushy, and unkempt it makes a tempting target for your enemies. 
Prerequisite: A beard. 
Detriment: Whenever a character with this Defect enters a square within reach of a hostile opponent, or a hostile opponent ends its movement in a square adjacent to this character, the character’s Excess Beard immediately provokes an attack of opportunity. This attack of opportunity can only be used to initiate a grapple. Additionally, the Excess Beard grants a +2 bonus to anyone attempting to grapple the character. This character refuses to just shave or trim his beard. 

We very much hope you like what you see here and check out The Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects for yourself! Keep your eye on this space for a number of additional examples of Defects, including Faulty Implants, Narcissist, Obese, Too Cute, and Xenophile.