On Drawbacks pt. 1 (From Anxious to Headstrong)

Drawbacks are alternative traits meant to hinder a character, rather than help them, in exchange for an additional trait.  All of my builds have drawbacks for the extra trait, but they can be switched around as desired.  Following are my meandering opinions on each one- hopefully it helps you make an informed decision.  As of this writing, on 11.14.16, there are fifty-two of them.

Part 1: Anxious, Attached, Avarice, Betrayed, Burned, Condescending, Cruelty, Dependent, Doubt, Empty Mask, Envy, Family Ties, Forgetful, Foul Brand, Guilty Fraud, Haunting Regret, Headstrong.

Part 2: Hedonistic, Infamous, Information Overload, Lonely, Loner, Lovesick, Magical Klutz, Mark Of Slavery, Meticulous, Misbegotten, Naive, Nervous, Oblivious, Occult Bargain, Overprotective, Power-Hungry, Pride.

Part 3: Provincial, Righteous Indignation, Secret Shame, Sentimental, Shadow-Scarred, Sheltered, Sleepy, Spooked, Superstitious, Tainted Spirit, Too Many Secrets, Umbral Unmasking, Unlearned, Vain, Vainglory, Warded Against Nature, Xenophobic, Zealous.

Anxious

After suffering terribly for not being tight-lipped enough as a child, such as when you accidentally exposed your family to enemy inquisitors, you developed a habit of being overly cautious with your words.

Effect: You take a –2 penalty on Diplomacy checks and must speak slowly due to the concentration required. Unless stated otherwise, you are assumed to not be speaking at a volume above a whisper.

This is a role-playing drawback.  I mean, really they're all role-playing drawbacks, but this one's just about only a role-playing drawback.  It means you, as your character, is meant to whisper and act nervous and probably stammery all the time, which as a person I feel like I'd find hella annoying after a couple sessions.  Aside from that, the Diplomacy penalty is negligible and the whispering in combat is mitigated by the "unless stated otherwise" modifier (which means unless you're willing to roleplay to the detriment of your party, it's barely even a drawback).

I don't really like this one, in flavor or in function- as I see it, it's either pointless or pointlessly annoying.

Attached

You have a strong emotional attachment to a person or object that you’re terrified of losing.

Effect: The GM chooses the object of your attachment. Whenever the object of your attachment is either threatened, in danger, or in someone else’s possession, you take a –1 penalty on Will saves and a –2 penalty on saves against fear effects. If the person or object to which you’re attached is ever lost, killed, or destroyed, exchange this drawback for the Doubt drawback.

This one's interesting but it's another neurosis drawback and I don't know if I like that the GM's determining your attachment.  Depends on the GM, I guess.  To me it feels sort of like making a character as an improv skit and asking the audience to suggest a protective obsession, then playing it for the thirty or forty sessions it takes to complete a campaign.  Also Doubt is a pretty tough one.

I don't think I'd want to use this drawback.

Avarice

Deep, compulsive greed gnaws at you.

Effect: Whenever monetary treasure is divided, you must end up with a greater share of that treasure than your companions or you’re wracked with feelings of jealousy and ill will. When treasure is divided, if you do not end up with at least 10% more treasure than any other individual companion does, you have a hard time being helpful to your allies. You become irritable, and can’t take the aid another action for the next week.

This one's more of a drawback for the other people you're playing with.  Now you have to be an asshole about treasure every time it gets divided up, making every post-battle conversation into an argument- if you don't roleplay this (or, honestly, any other drawback) then I'd say you don't really deserve the extra trait.  If you take this drawback and ignore it, though, the use of aid another is subjectively useful.  The kind of character this evokes sounds annoying to play with, regardless.

Really the only reasonable way I can think of to play this which I'd like is with the Hedge Magician trait and as a crafter who also is the party lootkeeper and distributer.  That way, you could quietly calculate an extra 10% cut for yourself and then funnel it back into the party in the form of whichever item creation feats your character's designed to use.

Betrayed

You were reported to a dangerous authority and narrowly escaped death. You second-guess your instincts constantly, leaving you never sure whether or not to trust someone and endangered if you encounter that group’s agents again.

Effect: You can roll twice and take the lower result on Sense Motive checks to get hunches. You cannot reroll this result, even if you have another ability that would normally allow you to do so.

Kind of a weak drawback, probably more role-playing than functional, depending on the campaign and how often your character tries to get hunches.  The hunch use of Sense Motive is as follows:

Hunch (DC 20): This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another's behavior that something is wrong, such as when you're talking to an impostor. Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy.

I've used it before a few times, but in my experience it's largely forgotten in lieu of all the other ways to discern honesty in Pathfinder (spells, class abilities, the more focused uses of Sense Motive).  It'd be kind of neat for an inquisitor, with their massive bonuses to Sense Motive and role-playing bent.  The flavor implies you never fully trust your party, though, which would be disruptive.  It also seems like the wording should be that you MUST roll twice and take the lower result.

Burned

You were badly burned once by volcanic ash, torch-wielding mobs, or some fiery accident, and the scars pain you terribly you whenever you are too near to fire.

Effect: You take a –1 penalty on saving throws against fire effects.

In addition, whenever you are adjacent to open flames or are on fire, you take a –1 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks until you spend an entire round away from fire. These penalties are not cumulative. (An instantaneous fire effect adjacent to you or affecting you causes this penalty to apply until 1 round after it is gone.)

I like this drawback, I think.  Fire damage is common, but not overwhelmingly common, and getting freaked out while on fire is a reasonable reaction.  The penalty is not so steep as to be crippling, and the roleplay aspect of it doesn't try to force your character to be something you didn't intend.

Condescending

Raised with the assurance that only those like you are truly worthy of respect, you have an off-putting way of demonstrating that you look down on those not of your race and ethnicity or nationality.

Effect: You take a –5 penalty on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks to improve other creatures' attitudes toward you.

I like this one too!  Being a condescending ass is fun if you can do it right, and it's just an attitude adjustment rather than a game-mechanic adjustment like Avarice or Anxious.  If I were to play this drawback, though, I'd make sure to act like a regular person in meta-game conversations to keep the people I'm playing with from getting mad at the dick character I'm playing.

Cruelty

You were rewarded as a child for flaunting your victory over others as completely as possible, and you discovered you enjoyed the feeling of rubbing your foes' faces in the dirt.

Effect: Whenever you are engaged in combat and there are dying or helpless foes within 30 feet, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls against foes who are neither dying nor helpless.

Cruelty isn't really an apt name for this one; I'd call it Sadism.  Being cruel is more of an opportunistic action- this is a compulsion to kill a nearby dying creature that's so strong it fucks up your concentration IN AN ACTIVE COMBAT.  This is a crazy drawback and I sort of like that they went that direction with a few of these.  It's very Zon-Kuthon and not for non-evil characters at all.

I like the flavor of it but a -2 for nearly every combat sucks, and it's almost never worth it to spend an action making a dying enemy into a dead one.

Dependent

You are dependent upon the acceptance of others.

Effect: Whenever you fail a Diplomacy check, you become shaken for 1 hour.

Dependent's harsh, but not overwhelming and it's kind of an interesting neurosis.  The Shaken condition reads as follows: "A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked."  This is a drawback that I'd say mainly belongs on primary face characters, as it creates steeper consequences for failure and a character roleplaying reason for success.

Doubt

You lack confidence in your abilities or confidence in the universe at large.

Effect: Whenever you fail a skill or ability check, you take a –4 penalty on that type of skill or ability check for the next hour.

This is a much harsher version of Dependent that potentially affects EVERYTHING and comes with the roleplaying flavor that your character's sort of an unnerved bitch.  If you can succeed at everything you try the first time, cool.  Skill rolls don't automatically fail on an natural 1, but ability rolls tend to be kind of high-stakes and crucial- STR checks to bust down doors, CHA checks to influence an enchanted or wild creature, INT checks to remember plot stuff, etc.  This is a drawback that nearly always makes a failure to affect the world into a guaranteed failure to affect the world, becoming more pronounced with how important your character's role is to the party.  I'd call it hardcore for the difficulty increase if it didn't directly translate into crippling failure anxiety.

Empty Mask

You have spent so long hiding your true identity to escape political enemies that you have lost much of your sense of self.

Effect: You take a –1 penalty on Will saving throws against compulsions. This penalty increases to –2 against foes who know your true identity.

This is a reasonable drawback!  The roleplaying aspect's not too goofy, falls in line with plot amnesia, the penalty's a little weak, but I like its implications.  It's the kind of drawback that'd have a good GM sending assassins after your character if you fuck up and act like your old self too much.

Envy

You grew up in or near an opulent, decadent culture that valued nothing more than showing up the material wealth or accomplishments of others, causing the seed of envy to be planted in your heart.

Effect: For each day you spend without stealing at least 10 gp worth of valuables or other wealth, attempt a DC 20 Will save. If you fail, you take a cumulative –1 penalty on Will and Reflex saving throws and concentration checks (up to a –5 penalty). If you succeed, the penalty is reset to 0.

"Sorry, I grew up in an opulent, decadent culture that valued nothing more than showing up the material wealth or accomplishments of others."  This one's a pretty reasonable drawback for a thief build or an opportunistic character.  It has some implications which are sort of interesting to me, even though petty theft is an overwhelmingly boring story arc for a character who could literally resurrect someone or transform into a dragon or whatever.  I like how it forces you to attempt a massive save for not criming, and if you fail (you almost certainly will) you actually get worse at the save until you can steal something or make the save.  It just seems kind of embarrassing after, say, fourth level to compulsively covet ten gold.

Family Ties

Your family is extremely important to you, and you feel disheartened when you can’t do what they ask.

Effect(s) When a family member makes a request of you, you must fulfill that request or take a –2 penalty on all Wisdom- and Charisma-based ability checks and skill checks until you either do what was requested or succeed at a DC 20 Will saving throw, which you can attempt once per day at the start of each day. You can’t take this drawback if you have no family. If you ever lose your family or lose contact with your family, exchange this drawback for the Doubt drawback.

This drawback seems strange and conspiratory to me- you're asking the GM to give you a bonus quest or quest condition based on a family you probably invented.  It makes more sense in one of those campaigns that starts because you're related to an NPC, but even there it's not like the campaign's asking you to invent things to do because it's already a campaign.  Additionally, if you fail whatever weird task you end up with permanent Doubt, which as previously noted is a way tougher drawback.  No, thanks.

Fey-Taken

As a child, you were whisked away by mischievous fey for a time. When you returned, you were ever after considered odd and distant. You long to return there, and find the mortal world dull and at times revolting, so you do not eat as you should and do not question strange visions.

Effect: You take a –2 penalty on saving throws against disease, illusions, and poison of all kinds, as well as against the spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities of fey.

Shit, this one's the harshest so far if not the harshest overall.  -2 against ALL diseases, ALL illusions, and ALL poisons, which include some pretty debilitating effects on a failed save and stay relevant for a character's entire career (Prismatic Spray's instant death beam is a poison effect, for example), meaning at least one of these could potentially come up in nearly every combat.  The fey thing's not as devastating, but it stacks, which means you're at a -4 disadvantage against an illusion created by a fairy or whatever.  Additionally, roleplayways you're like an asshole version of Luna Lovegood which sounds lame as shit.

Forgetful

You are easily distracted and prone to forgetting important things.

Effect: Whenever you leave a location you have been at for longer than 1 hour, you must attempt a DC 10 Wisdom check. If you fail, you leave behind one random mundane item (a purse of money counts as an item).

This one's kind of goofy- normally with stuff like this the GM rolls in secret, which means the GM needs a list of mundane items they they'll then have to strike off your list and keep in mind in case you ever decide you want to use a torch or rope or whatever.  You could probably circumvent it though by having a party member or familiar do a Perception check whenever you leave an area on account of your character being an asshole who leaves stuff places all the time.  You could also tie a string to your money, holy symbol, or bag of spellcasting reagents, since those are probably the most important mundane items you could leave behind.  Roleplayfully though, I don't know what kind of character you'd be making that they're a practiced spellcaster with a bunch of meticulously-purchased spellcasting materials but then they hang out in a gross dungeon for an hour and just set em down on a table and walk away forever.  A dumbass, I guess.

Foul Brand

You have the symbol of an evil deity burned into your flesh.

Effect: If the symbol is on your hand, you take a –1 penalty on Disable Device, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand checks. If the symbol is on your face, you take a –2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise checks.

This does not count as a holy symbol for the purposes of a divine focus for spellcasting.

This is a little surprisingly shortsighted- even though there are entire cultures built around worshiping evil deities (fucking Cheliax), your character with a spooky brand has a flat universal detriment for it, even if interacting with worshipers of that cult or whatever.  That said, I think this is a pretty good drawback- modular, a reasonable penalty, and noticeable, but also the type of thing that doesn't necessarily define your character.  I really don't want to keep mentioning Harry Potter characters, but this is your lightning scar if your lightning scar was gross and offputting to literally everyone and could also, if you wanted, just be on your hand instead.  Take this drawback and put it on one side of your head and then take the Birthmark faith trait and put it on the other side of your head and then it'll be like gods are fighting each other for the real estate on your face.

Guilt

You received something through trickery that you did not deserve, and your guilt for the misdeed distracts you from dangers around you.

Effect: You take a –4 penalty on Bluff checks against creatures with an attitude toward you of indifferent or better.

Another drawback wherein it either matters constantly because you're a rogue face and a feinter or it doesn't matter at all.  The roleplay aspect's not terrible, but it's a little weird to me to be a uncomfortably-guilty liar that still lies but poorly.  The flavor text is dumb, though- the effect doesn't look like the character's distracted so much as just shitty at being tricky.  It's also only indifferent or better, so feinting in combat and lying to enemies is still fair game.  Again, that means this character is so wracked with guilt that they get an extra trait out of it, but they're still willing to try to fuck with people who like them (otherwise this drawback does nothing).

Haunting Regret

When you were young, a relative with whom you had frequently quarreled passed away where his or her soul could not rest. Now, the unquiet spirit appears around you at inconvenient times, distracting you with regret for being unable to help.

Effect: You take a –2 penalty on saving throws against the distraction ability of swarms and mind-affecting effects and on concentration checks.

I like the roleplaying aspect because it sounds really funny to have some asshole ghost popping up in every combat like "JERRY.  JERRY, I DROWNED" and you're all "I FUCKING KNOW BEN, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING" and then the bees get in your mouth and it messes up your fireball and you're all "DAMMIT BEN GO BACK TO THE LAKE" and then a sorcerer dominates you because you're too mad at your dead cousin to defend your brain from sorcery.

That said, this is a tough penalty, and for a spellcaster is just about on par with Fey-Taken for how often it'd come up in combat.  I wouldn't take this drawback, but I would roleplay it for fun.

Headstrong

You feel compelled to correct every action and argument that contradicts your worldview.

Effect(s) Whenever you witness an action or hear an argument that contradicts your alignment, you must attempt to stop or correct that action or argument. If you either don’t try to stop it or fail in your attempt to stop it (as adjudicated by the GM), you are shaken for 1 hour.

It's the Steward Of Ignazio drawback!  This is another asshole psychological tic that (probably) forces you roleplayways into constant conflict with your companions and NPCs.  The flavor text implies that you're compelled to shout/punch at anything with which you disagree, while the effect text just has to do with your character's alignment, which is a lot more fluid.  It's another drawback that might be cute for roleplaying (probably not, though)