W

Wanted by Local Law Enforcement Agency [HW]

Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Mildly punish , Occasionally (-8): 0 Points
Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Mildly punish, Frequently (-11): 5 Points
Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Mildly punish, Very Frequently (-14): 10 Points
Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Harshly punish, Occasionally (-8): 5 Points
Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Harshly punish, Frequently (-11): 10 Points
Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Limited geographic area, Harshly punish, Very Frequently (-14): 15 Points

The local law is after you. It may be a minor matter, involving a mild punishment; such as a minor offence comitted by the character, or perhaps the character is just wanted for questioning. Alternatively, the character could be wanted for a major crime, involving a harsh punishment is caught.

Not only a good disadvantge for over the edge vigilante, but entire plots can be generated revoling around a hero hunted for a crime he didn't commit.

Wants His/Her Life Back [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points

A character who Wants (His/Her) Life Back is somehow incapable of living a normal, everyday life. The reasons for this are up to the player, but possibilities include a widespread belief that the character's secret identity is dead, the character is being pursued by a nefarious agency bent on killing/imprisoning/otherwise exploting the character, or the character is now monstrous in form.

Regardless of the reason, the character wishes things were the way it once was, and will actively strive to, if not recreate his old life, at least try to live as if nothing had happened. The character must make an Ego roll in order to not attempt to do this.

Wants To Find A Way To Rid Himself Of His Powers [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit, for whatever reason, hates his superpowers. He wants to become normal again, and will do almost anything to achieve this. (The character may have other Psych Limits which put boundaries around what the character will and will not do in pursuit of this goal.) The character doesn't necessarily dislike using his powers when necessary, but will never do so for anything other than serious reasons.

When given a chance to rid himself of his powers, or even if given a lead on how to do so, the character will take it. At Common, Strong the character must make a successful Ego roll in order to pass up such a chance. At Common, Total he will only pass up such a chance in the most extreme of circumstances.

Wants To Humiliate (Other Character) [Ps]

Uncommon, Moderate: 5 Points
Uncommon, Strong: 10 Points

A character with this Psych Limit has it in for another character. He wants to show the character up in the most humiliating way possible. The reasons for this urge are up to the player.

The character seeks to show everyone else that the other character is an incompetent buffoon, or isn't worthy of public acclaim, etc. And to do so he seeks out embarassing information, seeks to put the character in embarassing situations, etc. Whenever given a chance to humiliate the other character, he will take it.

At Uncommon, Moderate the character can suppress his urge to humiliate the other character when necessary. At Uncommon, Strong he cannot do so without first making a successful Ego roll.

Wants To Make The World A Better Place [Ps]

Common, Moderate: 10 Points
Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

This Psych Limit is a variation on Visionary. A character who Wants To Make The World A Better Place directs his actions toward improving conditions around the world. Social changes, environmental changes... whatever it takes.

The character will take what actions are necessary in order to make improvements. The character may have other Psych Limits which will control how far the character will go to achieve this goal.

What, precisely, will make the world better is up to the player, and will differ from character to character. For instance, it could be argued that both Ghandi and Hitler had this Psych Limit: Ghandi wanted to make the world a better place by fostering understanding and peace, while Hitler wanted to make the world a better place by removing the "undesirables" from the human population.

Before I go on, and before someone tries to use the last paragraph as "proof" that I am an anti-semite or a racist, let me state that I personally believe Hitler was a fucking nutball who deserves to be where he is: in one of the deepest pits of Hell. I stand by my point, however.

The Strength and Frequency of the Psych Limit determines how and when he will pursue his goal of world improvement. At Common, Moderate the character will take all opportunities he can except when necessary not to. At Common, Strong he will do so unless he makes an Ego roll. At Common, Total, he will never pass up a chance to improve the world except under the most dire of circumstances.

Wants To Save Humanity From Itself [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit feels that the human race is surely headed for disaster unless something is done. What precisely needs to be done, and how far the character will go in pursuit of this goal is determined by the player and by the character's other Psych Limits.

Typically, the character believes that he knows better than anyone else what is good for the "common man"; anyone who disagrees is either misguided or ignorant of the facts. Generally, the character believes that anyone who still disagrees with the character's goal after the "real situations" have been explained is being willfully obstinate.

Usually, the character will fixate on one of the "problems" of modern society: war, pollution, overpopulation, hunger, disease, lack of morals, lack of education, racism, etc, and focus his efforts on this cause.

The character will take any opportunities he is offered to pursue his goal. At Common, Strong the character must make a successful Ego roll in order to force himself not to do so. At Common, Total the character cannot force himself not to pursue his goal except under the most dire of circumstances.

Watched by Local Law Enforcement Agency [HW]

Less powerful, Non-combat influence, limited to a cetain geographic area, Watching, Occasionally (-8): 3 Points
Less powerful, Non-combat influence, limited to a cetain geographic area, Watching, Frequently (-11): 5 Points
Less powerful, Non-combat influence, limited to a cetain geographic area, Watching, Very Frequently (-14): 8 Points

The character, for some reason, is monitored by a local law enforcement agency. The character may be a viglante, operating without local sanction via tacit approval, but watched by the local law enforcement for the first time he steps over the line. The character me actually be a member of the local law enforcement agency, and is watched by his superior (as any law agent would be).

Wierd Biochemistry Requires Special Medical Care [Ph]

Infrequent, Greatly: 10 Points

A character with this Physical Limit cannot be helped by standard medical care. Something in their makeup means that they require something else. Note that this doesn't mean that all standard medical procedures are useless when applied to the character, but rather than the character's chemical makeup makes common medications useless, or even dangerous for the character.

Depending on the character's concept, the character may merely need medical supplements to be healed. Other character concepts may require special equipment, strange chemicals, and difficult procedures for medical care to work.

Anyone attempting to use a medical skill to heal the character suffers a -6 penalty to their roll.

Wierdness Magnet [Ph]

Infrequent, Greatly: 10 Points

With this Physical Limit, strange things happen to and around the character. This is not a truly threatening disadvantage, but it is a continuous nuisance. The character constantly finds himself dealing with odd circumstances and (relatively) odd people. New Agers and Psychics tend to encounter the character with incredibly frequency. FBI Agents searching for the truth bump into him on a daily basis.

The reasons for the character having this disadvantage are up to the player.

Wildly Exaggerates [Ps]

Common, Moderate: 10 Points
Very Common, Moderate: 15 Points

A character who Wildly Exaggerates will stretch, but not quite break, the truth. He expands on details, improves them slightly, and presents the final product as the truth. Depending on the character the exaggerations will be obvious or subtle. In either case, the character does not mean harm by his exaggerations; he simply cannot help doing it.

In most cases, the character will exaggerate his or her own capabilities or experiences. Other times, the exaggerations will be descriptive (for example, he will speak of "hundreds of goons, all carrying guns" when in truth it was six of them).

At Common, Moderate the character only exaggerates in times of stress or when trying to impress someone. At Very Common, Moderate he exaggerates at almost every moment. When necessary, he can control this urge.

Will Never Abandon His Subordinates [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit believes in the military philosophy of "never leaving a man behind", when those men are under his command. He accompanies his men into dangerous situations and if they are injured gets them out again. In addition, he watches out for the welfare of his men in other situations: if they are arrested, he bails them out and arranges legal representation. If they get into a bar fight, he watches their backs.

At Common, Strong the character will only abandon a subordinate if he makes an Ego roll. At Common, Total he won't except in the most dire of circumstances.

Will Never Admit (Secret About Himself) [Ps]

Uncommon, Total: 15 Points

A character with this Psych Limit holds some secret about himself so tightly that he will never, under any circumstance, admit it to others. Even if caught in the secret, he won't admit it, but rather will contrive some hastily-constructed explanation. He actively hides the secret, and will sometimes take odd steps to "throw people off the scent" of the secret. (An obvious example would be a homosexual man marrying and having children in order to hide the fact that he prefers sexual relations with men.)

The character may have other Psych Limits which determine the limits of how far he will go to avoid letting anyone know his secret.

Will Never Break His Word [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

A character who will Never Break His Word does just that: once he has given his word to someone, he never backs out of it if he can help it. This is not the same thing as not being able to lie, or being honest. This simply means that the character considers it wrong to break a promise, and will do his utmost to fulfill one, even if doing so puts him in danger or otherwise carries a high price.

This does not mean that the character cannot be dishonest or even lie. However, once his word is given, he keeps it come hell or high water.

If the character ever unintentionally breaks a promise, or for some reason tries to keep it but is prevented by circumstance, the character becomes guilt-ridden and feels a need to make it up to the character to whom the promise was initially made.

At Common, Strong the character must make an Ego roll in order to break a promise intentionally, or to stop trying to make up for a failed promise, and even then will only do so if circumstances force his hand. At Common, Total he cannot avoid acting in the above-described manner, and would rather die than break his given word.

Will Not Harm (Specific Opponent) [Ps]

Uncommon, Strong: 10 Points
Uncommon, Total: 15 Points

This character has some connection with a specific opponent (for heroes, this means a villain; for villains, this could be either a rival villain or a hero) that causes the character to avoid harming the other person. He will not necessarily stand idly by and let the opponent act unopposed, but he cannot bring himself to cause physical, mental, or emotional harm to the other person.

At Uncommon, Strong the character can override this prohibition if he makes an Ego roll. At Uncommon, Total he is unable to except in the most dire of circumstances.

Will Not Kill [Ps]

Common, Total: 20 Points

Functionally, this Psych Limit is almost identical to Code vs. Killing. A person who Will Not Kill has personal convictions against the use of deadly force, and will never resort to such measures except under the most direst of circumstances (usually, those circumstances must be "kill or the planet dies").

However, unlike a person with Code vs. Killing, a person who Will Not Kill doesn't try to actively dictate his beliefs to his companions. He won't like other people using killing attacks, but he also won't interpose himself between them and a target either.

Will Not Refuse A Mission [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points

This Psych Limit is a stronger version of Sense Of Duty. The character will never refuse to take on any mission given him by his superiors, regardless of its nature. No matter how menial, dangerous, suicidal, revolting, annoying, time consuming, costly, misthought, or boring the mission is, this character will see it through to the best of his abilities.

It is possible that the character will have other Psych Limits which alter the character's attitudes about the mission (such as a character with a Code vs. Killing being ordered to assassinate someone). In this case, the character will attempt to think around a solution which makes both his Psych Limit and his superiors happy (such as helping the assassination target go into hiding).

In order to force himself to not act in this manner, the character must make a successful Ego roll. Even then, he will only consider not fulfilling the mission if they conflict one of his other Psych Limits.

Will Not Strike Hand-To-Hand Blows [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

For whatever reason, a character with this Psych Limit refuses to strike another being with his hands or with a hand-held weapon. He is not necessarily against combat (although that may be); he simply (and for whatever reason) cannot bring himself or refuses to strike another person in hand-to-hand combat. The character would have no problem with using a ranged weapon.

At Common, Strong the character can force himself to strike another person in Hand-to-Hand combat if he makes an Ego roll; at Common, Total he will only do so in the direst of emergency.

Will Not Surrender [Ps]

Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit will absolutely not give up unless killed or rendered unconscious. He will keep fighting, keep trying to escape, keep trying to rescue endangered civilians, etc., until he can no longer physical make the attempt (and even then, he will keep trying if not prevented from doing so or unable to do so). No matter how injured he is, or how much potential danger he is putting himself in, he will not give up. Ever.

Will Only Fight In Self-Defense [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit will only fight to protect himself or those in his care. He will only use reciprocal force (meaning, he only uses as much force as he is attacked with), and will encourage others to either not start fighting or to cease fighting once it has begun.

In order to start a fight himself, a character with this limit at Common, Strong must make an Ego roll. Common, Total means that the character would never do this except under the direst of situations.

Will Sacrifice Himself For (Other Person) [Ps]

Common, Total: 20 Points

A character with this Psych Limit is so dedicated to another person that they would die to protect them. The other person's welfare is the character's primary concern, and the character will take whatever steps are necessary to provide for and protect the object of his dedication. The character will only not do so in the most dire of circumstances.

Will Try Anything Once [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points

This Psych Limit is very simple to understand. The character is willing to do just about anything once. Eating strange (and possibly dangerous) things, going to strange (and possibly dangerous) places, and doing strange (and possibly dangerous) things are all part of this character's every day life.

The character may freely decide that he doesn't like something once he's tried it, or even decide that he likes something and then later change his mind. But if he's never done something, he is willing to.

The character may have other Psych Limits which conflict with his willingness to try new things. In this case, the character is free to refuse to do something. For example, a character who has both Acrophobia (the fear of heights) and Will Try Anything Once can freely refuse to go skydiving, even if he never has gone and a friend suggests it to him.

Otherwise, the character cannot refuse to do something new unless he makes a successful Ego roll. Even then, such a roll should only be made if the activity is something that is blatantly life-threatening (like playing Russian roulette).

Wiseguy [Ps]

Uncommon, Moderate: 5 Points
Uncommon, Strong: 10 Points
Uncommon, Total: 15 Points
Common, Moderate: 10 Points
Common, Strong: 15 Points
Common, Total: 20 Points
Very Common, Moderate: 15 Points
Very Common, Strong: 20 Points
Very Common, Total: 25 Points

A character with this Psych Limit tends to make witty or sarcastic comments at totally inappropriate moments. It is not that he isn't sensitive to the seriousness of a situation, or that he doesn't respect the circumstances. Humorous remarks are simply how he deals with stress.

At Uncommon, Moderate the character only does this at very stressful times, and can stop doing so if he needs to. At Uncommon, Strong he must make an Ego roll to do so, and at Uncommon, Total he cannot do so at all, since the most dire of circumstances only makes him joke that much more.

At Common, Moderate, the character has a hard time not making witty remarks during any sort of stressful or confrontational moments, but can stop doing so if he needs to. At Common, Strong he must make an Ego roll to do so, and at Common, Total cannot stop himself even if his life is on the line.

At Very Common, Moderate, the character is constantly making wisecracks, but can stop when needed. Very Common, Strong requires an Ego roll to stop, while Very Common, Total means the character just cannot stop making comments.

Surprisingly, this Psych Limit works best with characters who also take Pessimist, Depressive, or Fatalistic.

Womanizer [Ps]

Common, Moderate: 10 Points

This Psych Limit is only appropriate for male characters. A Womanizer enjoys being with man women (not necessarily at the same time), with no intention of actually committing to any of them. He may well make promises to them, but will never keep a promise of marriage (or even monogamy).

This is not to say that he is a cruel, uncaring bastard. The character may well love every woman he dallies with... but a dalliance is all she will ever be to him because sooner or later he will find someone else. In addition, he may treat his "current fling" as if she were a work of art to be cherished: showering her with gifts and flowers, taking her to dine at the finest restaurants, etc.

The character can suppress his "natural urges" when necessary.

Worrier [Ps]

Common, Strong: 15 Points

A very simple Psych Limit to explain. Putting it simply, a Worrier worries about everything. Whether his car is going to need to be fixed, whether his wife loves him, whether his kids are doing drugs, whether he's going to lose his job over a mistake he made. He doesn't worry about improbable of unlikely events, only those that might have unpleasant consequences.

The character must make an Ego roll in order to stop worrying about a particular matter; however, inevitably this lack of worry is temporary. The character always eventually begins worrying again.

Worried About The Effects His Powers Have On Other People [Ps]

Common, Moderate: 10 Points

This Psych Limit is only appropriate for characters who have particularly hazardous or insidious superpowers. It is most effective with characters whose powers are based around mental, poisonous, or radioactive concepts.

The thought that his powers might be accidentally harming others nags at this character. He is careful of how and when he uses his abilities, and hesitates before using them in what he considers to be an indiscriminate fashion.