Advantages and Drawbacks

These represent interesting bonuses and flaws that your characters may have. The XP cost or refund for taking these in character generation is listed next to each entry.

By default, new characters do not have any XP to spend on Advantages unless they have gained it through taking Drawbacks. However, the UN Peacekeepers do start with a small amount of bonus XP which can be spent on these accordingly.  A character can have at most 7 XP worth of advantages and 7 XP of drawbacks at character creation.

Advantages can be gained and lost through play - where advantages are lost, no points will be refunded.

Advantages

  • Your character can learn Proficiencies associated with their Aversion, though they will remain non-favoured.

  • Your character is in charge of a small outpost. This advantage must be taken with the Base Commander role.

    This advantage grants the authority to govern a base, but also requires one of the character’s downtime actions each period to be spent managing the base.

  • A wealthy backer pays your character’s living costs but occasionally asks for things in return. This means that your character will not be required to spend 2 energy to cover the cost of basic necessities at the beginning of downtime.

    Cannot be taken by Hive members. If taken by a Morganite, this advantage covers only the 2-energy requirement but does not prevent the character paying extra for reputation.

  • Your character is famous, so their reputation is treated as one higher when dealing with factions and faction sub-groups, provided they already have at least one level of reputation with them.

  • Once per downtime, prior to submission, you may ask the Ref team whether your character’s plan for a given action seems reasonable.

  • Your character may review the list of contracts that have been negotiated at any time they have access to a terminal, without needing to make a check.

    Requires that they have DECENTRALISATION as a favoured ideology, or the Contract Law proficiency.

  • There is no evidence of your character’s past on the datalinks. 

    Requires that PROBE is either their Belief or their Aversion.

  • Your character has regular contact with a high-ranking individual within their faction and is on good terms with them.

    Your character also gains a level of reputation with that individual’s sub-group.

  • Your character has a piece of equipment or device that came from Earth, and which cannot currently be produced using the planet's industrial capacity.

    This advantage can only be taken at character creation.

  • Your character is one of the original crew of the Unity and they were born on Earth.

    They gain an extra level of reputation with a faction group of your choice, an extra Proficiency from two of their favoured ideologies and start with a Toll.

    This advantage can only be taken at character creation.

  • Gain an Energy Proficiency. This provides 2 energy goods at the beginning of each session.

    This does not refresh between session and downtime.

  • It costs one fewer XP for your character to learn a proficiency from outside of their ideologies. 

  • Gain a Nutrients Proficiency. This provides 2 nutrient goods at the beginning of each session.

    This does not refresh between session and downtime.

  • Gain a second Belief but also a second Aversion.

    Cannot be taken in combination with other advantages or drawbacks which generate additional Beliefs or Aversions.

  • Your character has a large number of acquaintances. Once per downtime, prior to submission, you may suggest to the Refs an NPC who may be able to help with an action your character is undertaking.

    This person is likely to want something in return in the future.

  • Your character is easy to underestimate in battle, reducing their chances of taking damage. Damage is assigned to them last in a given battle scene.

    Cannot be taken with the Bullet Magnet drawback.

  • Once per session, your character may redraw a skill card.

  • Your character gains a level of reputation with a sub-group from their faction.

  • Your character walks with the fungus and is less likely to disturb native life when travelling outside of a base.

  • You may buy a card for a Proficiency your character already has.

    This advantage can be taken multiple times, including for the same Proficiency, subject to the standard cap on cards for a single Proficiency not exceeding the number of different Proficiencies known from that ideology.

  • Your character must be traumatised twice to go from Shaken to gaining a new toll. 

  • Your character gains a Minerals Proficiency.  This provides 2 mineral goods at the beginning of each session.

    This does not refresh between session and downtime.

  • Your character gains 3 levels of reputation with a sub-group within their faction, but loses 1 level with three other sub-groups within their faction. 

    This advantage can only be taken at character creation.

  • Your character must be damaged twice to go from injured to dying.

  • You may buy an extra Proficiency within one of your character’s favoured ideologies.

    This advantage can be taken multiple times.

  • Your character gains a Breakthrough from the Build, Conquer, Discover, or Explore Technology Paths at random at the start of each session.

  • Your character starts the first session with a small selection of resources determined by the Refs, which have been recovered from a small supply pod found near your character’s resident base.

    These resources are provided only once and do not refresh.

    Can only be taken once and only at character generation.

  • Your character gains a Proficiency from outside of their favoured ideologies.

    This may only be purchased at character creation.

  • Your character hears whispers in their dreams.

    They sometimes learn things.

Drawbacks

  • Your character is addicted to something. This could be a rare kind of food, a drug or something else - however alcohol is excluded from this for policy reasons.

    Your character must spend one energy each downtime period as a result of needing to feed their habit; if they do not this will cause a level of Stress.

  • Your character feels a deep unease whenever not within a base or dome.

    Any checks they make while not in a base count all +0 cards as -2.

  • Your character has lost a level of reputation with one of their faction sub-groups.

    Cannot be taken in combination with any advantage or drawback which grants favour with that sub-group.

  • In combat, your character’s chance of taking damage is increased - damage will be assigned to your character first before being distributed to others.

    Cannot be taken with the Low Profile advantage.

  • Whenever your character fails a check, they automatically botch.

    This includes when they are participating in a group check.

  • Your character has done something terrible that would lead their faction to execute or exile them if discovered.

    Can only be taken at character generation, the Refs will work with you to determine what your character did.

  • Your character is devoted to serving their superior and will follow their orders and requests without question. Failure to do so will cause a level of Stress.

    Cannot be taken by Hive characters as devotion is already expected of them.

  • Your character has more difficulty gaining reputation than they otherwise might due to their tendency to bore people.

  • It costs your character an additional XP to learn extra copies of proficiencies that they already hold

  • Your character’s faction ideology does not match the core ideology of their faction.

    This drawback may lead to suspicion being cast upon them by their faction, and potential for dangerous situations.

    For Hive members, this is a 2 point disadvantage.

  • Your character has one fewer health levels than standard. When injured from damage, your character goes straight from healthy to bleeding out.

  • Your character has a strong dislike of a particular ideology. They  gain a second Aversion and have to take an action against that ideology every session, either against a group in their faction or against a faction that has that ideology as their dominant one. Failure to do so causes stress.

    Cannot be taken in combination with other advantages or drawbacks which generate additional Aversions.

  • Your character has no Energy income and must pay a unit of energy in interest every session until their debt is paid off, in addition to the energy spent to cover basic necessities. 

    Cannot be taken by Hive members.

  • Your character is known for a negative reason, and their reputation is treated as negative when dealing with factions and faction sub-groups that they have not earned at least one level of reputation with.

  • Your character is using a fake identity, posing as a member of a different sub-group within their faction, to avoid the attention of those who are hunting for them.

    Cannot be taken in combination with the ‘Nemesis’ drawback or the ‘Celebrity’ advantage.

  • A high-ranking individual within your character’s faction knows who your character is and does not like them.

    Lose 2 levels of reputation with that individual’s group. 

  • Your character has been the unwitting subject of psychological conditioning, leading to a series of triggers and commands being buried in their subconscious without their knowledge. These are periodically refreshed.

    Must be taken in agreement with the Refs, this drawback is not suitable for all characters.

  • Allowing another character to build a facility or piece of infrastructure in your base causes you to gain a level of stress.

    May only be taken in conjunction with the Base Commander Advantage.

  • A powerful individual is out to get your character, or otherwise looking to bring them down. 

    Cannot be taken in combination with the ‘In Hiding’ drawback or ‘Datalink Files Deleted’ advantage.

  • Whenever your character travels outside of a base, they seem to attract hostile native lifeforms.

  • When your character fails a skilled check they gain a level of stress

  • Your character starts with a Toll.

  • Your character’s DNA is unusual, and means that cloning technology does not work on them.

    If you character is rendered unplayable through death, then this is permanent and you will need to make a new character.

  • Once per session, on a successful check, the Refs may remove one positive card drawn and force you to re-check without it.

  • All unfavoured ideologies count as Aversions for the purpose of buying proficiencies, meaning your character is unable to gain proficiencies from them. 

  • Up to once per session and once per downtime, the Refs may add a sabotage card to one of your character’s checks.

  • Your character begins the game with one fewer proficiencies.

    Can only be taken at character creation. Cannot be taken in combination with any advantages or drawbacks which grant additional proficiencies.

  • Trauma immediately gives your character a toll if you do not receive immediate counselling. 

    Cannot be taken by Believers.