to 3-point Mental Drawback

You want certain things and are prepared to go to great lengths to acquire them. You may be motivated by love of money, lust for sensual satisfaction, hunger for power, or desire for glory. Fame, fortune or influ- ence, you want them badly enough to do almost any thing, limited only by any sense of caution or morality

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you may have - and in some cases, not even by that. A Covetous character will usually refrain from breaking his own moral code or the laws of the land in the pur- suit of his goals, but if a golden opportunity presents itself, the temptation may be just too great.

There are four types of covetousness, based on what the character wants: Greed (money and wealth), Lechery (sexually attractive people), Ambition (power and influence), and Glory Seeker (fame and renown). It is possible to Covet two or more of those things, but each additional source of desire adds a flat 1 point to the value of the Drawback.

This Drawback has three levels of severity, worth 1, 2 and 3 points respectively. The first level is relatively mild. You know what you want, and you will spend a great deal of time and effort to attain your goals, but you won't break your own rules nor those of society to do so. Your desire will otherwise dominate your life, however: most of your actions should be directed towards achieving your objective, directly or indirectly. An Ambitious Rosicrucian, for example will seek to advance his standing in the order in every way he can, from redoubling his studies to master new Arts to brownosing among the higher hierarchy.

The second level is stronger - presented with enough temptation, you may act even if it goes against your better judgment or morality. You may resist if the action you contemplate is truly wrong and reprehensi- ble - stealing credit for a heroic deed performed by a friend, for example - but resisting will require a Simple Willpower Test, at a penalty of -1 to -3 if the temptation and possible rewards are great.

The third level is strongest, a desire so strong that it will often overwhelm any compunctions or scruples you may have. When presented with temptation, you can only avoid acting by passing a Difficult Willpower Test, with penalties ranging from -1 to -5 depending on the size of the "prize." For a high enough reward, the character will turn on friend or loved ones, and even betray his cause or principles.

Cowardly

1- to 3-point Mental Drawback

You are easily scared and intimidated. Furthermore, you are very reluctant to take any risks; putting your neck on the line always strikes you as incredibly fool- hardy. Note that this does not mean that a Cowardly character will not fight if necessary; such a character will usually try to stack the odds in his favor before resorting to violence, but would have no compunction (except as determined by other Drawbacks) to attack others. A coward can hide his Drawback from others very easily, as long as he is not involved in a situation that is clearly dangerous; then his limitations may become apparent.

ty, worth 1, 2 and 3 points respectively. The level of the Drawback also acts as a modifier to any Willpower Test or Task to resist fear, intimidation or bullying. So, for example a character with the second level of Cowardly will have a -2 penalty to any Fear Test (see p.00).

At first level, the character will avoid taking unnec- essary risks, but will fight when cornered (or when he thinks he has the upper hand). Simple Willpower Tests are necessary to avoid fleeing or surrendering when confronted by what the character considers to be supe- rior foes, or to take even small chances, like con- fronting one's boss to ask for a raise, complain about some problem, etc.

The second level of this drawback is stronger. The character needs to pass a Simple Willpower Test to fight back even when he thinks the odds are in his favor, and needs to pass a Difficult Willpower Test to avoid fleeing dangerous situations.

The last level is the worst, requiring Difficult Willpower Tests to get involved in confrontations or risky situations even when the character has good chances of succeeding. Truly dangerous or heroic acts are simply impossible; the character will never know- ingly or willingly endanger himself, and may actually even betray his friends if he thinks he will save himself in the process.

Cruel

1 - or 3-point Drawback

You enjoy making some people suffer. The truly evil will derive satisfaction from anybody's pain, while some people are perfectly normal and nice most of the time, but when angered or given offense, will make their enemies pay - and will love doing it. This Drawback has two levels or degrees of intensity. The second level is best restricted to villains, as it indicates a serious mental problem that may make most charac- ters unsuitable for the typical campaign. As always, the Chronicler decides.

Level 1: You would never hurt a friend or loved one.