Mutation Drawbacks

Drawbacks

Table: Drawbacks

d%	Drawback	MP Value
01–05	Ability Decay	4
06–10	Blood Hunger	1
11–15	Brittle Bones	4
16–20	Combat Fear	4
21–25	Cybernetic Dependency	6
26–30	Festering Sores	2
31–35	Frailty	3
36–40	Heat/Cold Susceptibility	1
41–45	Lethargy	2
46–50	Light Sensitivity	1
51–55	Lost Arm	3
56–60	Mindslave	2
61–65	Neutrad Dependency	5
66–70	Pheromone Repulsion	1
71–75	Poisonous Blood	6
76–80	Rapid Aging	2
81–85	Reduced Speed	3
86–90	Thin Skin	5
91–95	Ultraviolet Allergy	3
96–100	Weak Immune System	1

ABILITY DECAY

Your body or mind suffers from some marked deformity or deterioration.

MP Value: 4.

Drawback: One of your ability scores (your choice) permanently decreases by 2. You cannot apply this drawback to an ability score of 5 or less.

Special: You may take this drawback multiple times. Its effects stack.

BLOOD HUNGER

You crave the taste of blood. Moreover, you need to drink blood to survive.

MP Value: 4

Drawback: You must drain a pint of blood from a living creature once every 24 hours. Doing so is an attack action, and you can only drain blood from a willing, helpless, or dying (but not dead) creature. The bitten creature takes normal damage from the bite attack plus an extra 1d6 points of damage from the blood loss.

If you go 24 hours without consuming blood, you take 1d4 points of Constitution damage. Drinking a pint of blood cures the ability damage caused by blood deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability damage caused by blood deprivation cannot be restored through natural healing.

Special: You must have a natural bite attack to take this drawback.

BRITTLE BONES

Your bones weaken such that you can no longer withstand hard or sudden impacts.

MP Value: 4.

Drawbacks: Your massive damage threshold decreases by 3. In addition, you take an additional 1d6 points of damage from a fall.

Special: You cannot take this drawback if you have the Skeletal Reinforcement mutation.

COMBAT FEAR

Due to a chemical imbalance in your brain, you are gripped by an inexplicable fear whenever you face a dangerous or frightening situation.

MP Value: 4.

Drawback: After initiative is rolled but before you take your first action in combat, make a Will saving throw (DC 15). If you fail the Will save, you are shaken for the rest of the encounter, taking a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. If the save succeeds, you overcome your moment of fear and negate the ill effects.

FESTERING SORES

Your skin is covered with painful, festering sores.

MP Value: 2.

Drawback: The festering sores are more aggravating than harmful, but they make it especially hard to wear armor. When you wear any type of armor, decrease the armor’s maximum Dexterity bonus by –2 and increase its armor penalty by +4.

FRAILTY

Your body is particularly vulnerable to the ravages of poison, disease, radiation, and other ailments. You also have trouble stabilizing when severely wounded.

MP Value: 3.

Drawback: You take a –2 penalty on all Fortitude saves, including saves made to stabilize at negative hit points.

Special: You cannot take this mutation if you have the Great Fortitude feat.

HEAT/COLD SUSCEPTIBILITY

Your body does not react well to particularly hot or cold temperatures.

MP Value: 1.

Drawback: You take double damage from prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold.

LETHARGY

Thanks to slow electrical impulses along your central nervous system, you have trouble reacting quickly to danger.

MP Value: 2.

Drawback: You take a –2 penalty on all Reflex saves.

Special: You cannot take this mutation if you have the Lightning Reflexes feat.

LIGHT SENSITIVITY

Your eyes cannot adjust to bright light.

MP Value: 1.

Drawbacks: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight) blinds you for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, you take a –1 penalty on attack rolls, Search checks, and Spot checks as long as you remainin the affected area.

LOST ARM

One of your arms withers or gets eaten away, leaving behind a stump.

MP Value: 3.

Drawback: You lose one arm of your choice. You cannot effectively wield weapons that require two hands. In addition, you take a –2 penalty on Climb checks, Swim checks, and grapple checks.

Special: You can replace your lost arm with a cybernetic replacement arm, assuming such technology is available and you can afford it.

MINDSLAVE

You have certain mental deficiencies that make it harder to resist mind-influencing effects.

MP Value: 2.

Drawback: You take a –2 penalty on all Will saves.

Special: You cannot take this mutation if you have the Iron Will feat.

NEUTRAD DEPENDENCY

You rely on a medical compound called neutrad to survive.

MP Value: 6.

Drawback: If you go 24 hours without taking a dose of neutrad you must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 1 point of Strength damage and 1 point of Constitution damage. Taking a dose of neutrad cures the ability damage caused by neutrad deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability damage caused by neutrad deprivation cannot be restored through natural healing.

Special: This drawback can be taken only in Progress Level 6 or higher campaigns (when neutrad is available).

PHEROMONE REPULSION

You release pheromones that other creatures find repulsive.

MP Value: 1.

Drawbacks: You take a –4 penalty on all Diplomacy and Handle Animal checks made against creatures within 30 feet of you.

Special: You cannot take this drawback if you have the Pheromone Attraction mutation.

POISONOUS BLOOD

Your blood is poisonous to your own body. You must take regular doses of antitox to resist the poison’s effects.

MP Value: 6.

Drawback: If you go 24 hours without taking a dose of antitox you must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 1d4 points of Constitution damage. Taking a dose of antitox cures the ability damage caused by antitox deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability damage caused by antitox deprivation cannot be restored through natural healing.

Special: This drawback can be taken only in Progress Level 6 or higher campaigns (when antitox is available).

RAPID AGING

You age at an increased rate due to the strain your mutations place on your cells. You appear many years older than your actual age.

MP Value: 2.

Drawback: Double your actual age to get your effective age. Your effective age determines your ability score penalties. You do not gain any of the benefits of aging (increased mental ability scores).

REDUCED SPEED

You are unable to move as quickly as normal due to various mutations and deformities.

MP Value: 3.

Drawback: Reduce your speed by 5 feet. This speed decrease also applies to any natural burrow, climb, fly, or swim speed you might have.

Special: You may take this drawback multiple times. Its effects stack.

THIN SKIN

You are more susceptible to harm.

MP Value: 5.

Drawback: You take 1 additional point of damage each time you are wounded.

WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM

Your body has difficult preventing infections from entering its system, and thus it is prone to sickness and disease.

MP Value: 1.

Drawback: You take a –2 penalty on all Fortitude saves against poison, disease, and radiation sickness.

Special: You cannot take this drawback if you have the Ultra Immune System feat.

ULTRAVIOLET ALLERGY

Ultraviolet light burns your flesh and causes it to ignite.

MP Value: 3.

Drawback: Ultraviolet light (including direct sunlight) burns you for 2d6 points of fire damage per round and causes any light, flammable clothing you are wearing to ignite.