Accursed

Cost: Variable Supernatural Drawback
Note: This is HIGHLY restricted and should be cleared with staff before CharGen


The character has been afflicted by a powerful curse, one that may haunt her until the end of her days. The actual elements of the curse, and how difficult it is to remove it, determine the point value of this Drawback. This Drawback is not meant to be removed by a simple application of Magic or other Gifted powers. For the most part, it is the result of a misdeed the character committed in the past, and atonement for the misdeed is a major step (but may not be the only one) needed to remove the curse.

A curse of this magnitude is only possible for the worst crimes and injuries. The staff and the player may have to work together in deciding the origins of the curse, or the player may craft it herself and submit it for approval. In either case this will need to be very very significant to the character and will require an exceptional application.

Depending on its severity, a curse can be worth anywhere between 1 and 10 points. A 10-point curse would be a terrible thing, something that would utterly ruin any chance of the character leading a normal or happy life, or which might kill the victim at any moment. Some rules of thumb to determine the power of the curse are given below. As usual, the staff are the final judges as to what is and is not appropriate for the game.

  • A major inconvenience or annoyance is worth 1 point. For example, the character seems to attract flies, fleas and vermin; milk sours quickly in the presence of the victim; little accidents plague the accursed one.
  • Something more dramatic and harmful would be worth 2 to 3 points. For example, people tend to be distrustful and angry at the character for no apparent reason (-2 to -3 on all attempts to influence people), or the character can never accumulate a lot of money without losing it (this would preclude any Resource level above 0). Alternatively, people around the character are plagued by small accidents and annoying incidents. In this case, personal involvement is as important as that of physical proximity. A close friend of the victim suffers from the effects of the curse regardless of how far away she is. By the same token, all the people sharing a subway car with the accursed person also suffer from it.
  • Severe or life-threatening curses will be worth 4 to 5 points. For example, every day, an accident, mishap or random occurrence will endanger the character’s life — a car skips a red light when the character is crossing the street, a gang shootout breaks out in front of her, or a similar dangerous chance event occurs. If the character is alert, she might survive the mishap without injury, but every day, she has to live with the knowledge that sometime, somewhere, something dangerous and terrible is going to happen.

The difficulty in getting rid of a curse may add 1 to 5 points to its value.

  • If undoing or atoning for a past misdeed is the only requisite, no additional points are awarded.
  • If the misdeed is not known, add 1 point, as the character must spend time finding out why she was cursed.
  • If the undoing process is extremely complex, or involves illegal activities (in some cases, killing the one who cursed the character is necessary), add 2 to 3 points.
  • If a long quest culminating in a difficult magical ceremony, divine intervention, or a similar extraordinary factor is necessary to remove the curse, add 4 to 5 points.
  • And some curses cannot be removed by any means. This adds 6 points to the value of the curse, but no measure will be effective in eliminating it.
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