d100 Additional Reasons the Wizard is More Than They Seem

Finding myself in the mood to write another d100 table, I went looking for inspiration amidst the accumulated heap of unfinished work in my drafts folder. I knew I had begun writing this sequel to one of my most popular post of 2016, but I had not remembered that apparently I’d abandoned it after already coming up with 99 entries. It seemed a shame not to pull the post out of mothballs and finish the dang thing.

It took a lot more work than coming up with a single new entry. By the time I finished my first editing pass I was down to about 70 that were worth keeping. None the less, the work is now done. Please enjoy it.

Thousands of tiny bird wings have been sewn all over the wizard’s body. Slits in their clothing allow the wings to poke out, and enable wizard to fly with the speed and precision of a small bird.
The wizard’s legs have been amputated beneath the knee, and fused to the backs of two Greyhound dogs. They control the dogs as extensions of themselves, and are able to move incredibly quickly on their eight dog legs. Also, if need be, they have two bite attacks.
The tail and stinger of a giant scorpion have been attached to the wizard’s spine, giving them a deadly poison attack each round.
A quick flex causes the wizard’s arms to pop into the form of a Hook Horror’s hooks. They gain two nasty melee attacks each round, the ability to climb at half their normal movement speed, and to grapple as if they had two more hit dice than they do.
After harvesting and ingesting the displacement glands from a Displacer Beast, the wizard now always appears to be about 3’ away from their actual position in space. This makes them nearly impossible to hit until the discrepancy is noticed. Even then, the effect is disorienting and grants them a significant bonus to their effective armor rating.
The wizard has enslaved the ghost of another wizard. This second wizard has a second repertoire of spells. Essentially, this allows the ‘master’ wizard to cast two spells each round. The enthralled wizard is not happy about their situation, and will gladly take advantage of any disruption to their magical bonds.
By making a habit of consuming the brains of other magic users, this wizard has made powerful improvements to every spell they know. Any spell they cast is more effective than it would be in the hands of other casters. As an example, if they were to cast Magic Missile, each one would deal d8 damage rather than d4. If they know Sleep, it can target twice as many hit dice worth of creatures as the base spell, and so on, and so forth.
A cleverly engineered Teleport error caused this wizard to become fused to a demon. Thanks to careful preparations they were able to gain control over the new, shared body. This has given them the ability to summon other demons from hell to aide them whenever they need. The demons perceive the wizard as one of their own, but could potentially be shown the truth.
By means of extra dimensional adhesive, this wizard has affixed the mind of a devil to themselves. This has granted them perfect legal knowledge, and the ability to trade souls for wishes. If you don’t read your contract carefully, you’ll find yourself giving the wizard your soul, and in the same line transferring your wish to them!
The problem with good creatures is that the foolish ones are allowed to survive. There’s a funny story behind how this wizard tricked an angel into fusing with them, but it has given them the ability to perform healing magics, fly at tremendous speeds, and speak in a voice which requires a saving throw versus cowering in terrified awe.
By offering to trade part of their soul with a curious elemental, this wizard has gained a strong alignment with a particular element: Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Earth, Acid, Gravity, Nature, or other! Any damage which might be caused by whatever they’re aligned with instead heals them.
Years taking their eyes out each night to soak in a distillation of god’s pain has given this wizard a gaze attack. Targets must make a saving throw or take 2d6 damage.
Regular injections of basilisk tears grant this wizard the ability to keep one target paralyzed at all times. There is no saving throw against this. The wizard may change who they wish to paralyze at the start of each round as a free action.
Drinking from an ancient bog has given this wizard a gaze attack which causes anyone they target to shrink to 50% of their current size. They can target the same person as many times as they want, reducing them by 50% each time.
During a misspent youth, this wizard gained the ability to deal sneak attack damage. It applies to their spells, and they’ve likely made a point of creating some sneaky spell variants to best take advantage of this.
This wizard served in the legions for years before turning to spellcraft. They have a martial prowess unusual to magic users. They attack as a fighter of their level.
Born to frontierspeople, this wizard is as at home in the wilderness as they are in a library or ivory tower. They know how to forage, build tools and shelters, hunt, track, and survive in harsh circumstances.
By trapping a Beholder’s ego in a jar (which is kept in a vault back home), they’ve turned it into a loyal servitor. It goes everywhere with them, and is completely loyal.
Having once been observed by a broken god, this wizard is able to bilocate. They can exist in two places at once, with each instance being fully real and fully capable. They must merge back together in order to sleep. If one of them falls asleep, the other vanishes to merge back with the sleeper no matter where they are.
An experiment gone terribly wrong has left this wizard mostly incorporeal. They’re still alive, and can even manipulate objects with their hands by flexing their wizardly will, but most touches pass right through them.
This wizard is the absolute best dancer in all the world. No one can out-dance them. No one.
Knowing when to be in the right place at the right time has enabled this wizard to collect a wealth of political contacts. If there’s anyone who doesn’t owe them a favor, then they probably owe a favor to someone who owes the wizard a favor.
For many years this wizard was involved in a romantic relationship with a druid. That ended a few years ago, but the wizard still has the friggin’ encyclopedic knowledge of natural flora and fauna they memorized in order to impress their partner.
Plants share a special relationship with this wizard. An erotic one. All of kingdom vegetabilis wants to fuck this wizard, and will do anything the wizard says will be pleasing. Trees will fall on the wizard’s foes, or vines will entangle them. Plant based poisons will not affect the wizard.
A calculated disdain for oral hygiene has imbued this wizard’s breath with power. Anyone who smells it experiences a hallucination of their worst fears.
Frequent abuse of form changing spells has allowed this wizard to merge themselves with stone or sand at will. Though they may still shape themselves into their human form, in actuality their body is composed of an intelligent muddy clay.
In addition to being a powerful wizard, this person is also a landed noble with all the rights and privileges granted by that social station.
On their travels among less magically aware peoples, the wizard has performed many spells, and convinces a lot of people that they are an avatar of God. These people obey the wizard’s every whim with religious fervor.
When broken off, this wizard’s fingers will form into little gremlin creatures that look just like the thumbs from Spy Kids. The fingers grow back eventually, but it’s obviously quite painful for the wizard to do this.
Whenever the wizard wishes, a ferocious house cat will leap out of the pocket of their robe. This is in all ways a real house cat, with no special abilities aside from being incredibly ill-tempered. The wizard is able to produces 20 cats in this manner each day. The cats never disappear, and must either be fed and cared for, or gotten rid of in some deliberate manner. The cats are only slightly friendlier towards the wizard.
At will this wizard can tumble apart into four fire breathing goblins. They may claim that they were always four goblins in a robe, but this is just a goblin lie. If even one goblin survives they can re-form into the wizard, but the fewer goblins remain the longer it takes to reform. All four goblins could do it instantaneously, while a solitary goblin will require several weeks.
The wizard’s experience of time is double normal speed. To them, the world appears to be moving very slowly. Because of this they’re able to take 2 actions each round, receive a +4 to their armor rating, and find most conversations painfully dull.
This wizard is living their life in reverse. Each day they wake up on the day before the last day they lived. When they greet someone they say “goodbye,” and when they depart they say “hello.” They don’t remember any past encounters they may have had with the party, but they do remember the future ones.
By pointing at a spot on the ground this wizard is able to make a fifteen foot deep pit appear there.
By performing a bras d’honneur, this wizard is able to cause clusters of spikes to shoot three feet up from the ground. They’re made of stone, and quite sharp.
By clapping their hands, this wizard is able to cause any two walls (or wall-like natural formations) to slam together with great speed and force. The furthest points on the walls must be less than twenty feet apart. Most of the time this action will cause significant structural damage.
Any recently dead creature within 30 feet of this wizard automatically rises as an undead servitor under the wizard’s will. This includes common animals, people, and monsters.
Long ago this wizard created ten permanent unseen servants. They’re with the wizard at all times, fetching tools, delivering messages, taking dictation, carrying explosives into the midst of the wizard’s enemies, and so on. If any are destroyed, they will reform under the next full moon.
Great sloshing boils grow on this wizard’s chest and arms. They’re itchy and unpleasant, but if punctured they burst into a cloud of poison gas to which the wizard is immune.
This wizard has no eyes, mouth, nose, ears, or hair. Their fingers are fused together, their skin is wet, and blue veins show through it. None of these features hinder them in any way, and grants them immunity to any harms which must be seen, smelt, heard, or breathed.
Rubbery meat and bones allow this wizard to bounce when they fall, taking no damage. Bludgeoning instruments also deal no damage, and will likely bounce out of the attacker’s hands. Slashing weapons only deal damage if they roll in the upper half of their range.
By soaking their hands each night in a lotion distilled from ghouls, the wizard has gained the ability to level drain anyone they touch.
By replacing their own canines with stolen vampire fangs, this wizard has gained a bite attack, and the ability to drain blood to restore their health.
Forbidden knowledge of the fourth wall allows this wizard to reach out of the game world to turn one rolled die to a result that is more beneficial to them each round.
“Hacked” access to the mind of God allows this wizard to temporarily cancel out a single line from one player’s character sheet.
Spreading out from the proper place of NPCs in the referee’s mind this wizard cant take control of the referee’s voice, and will encourage the players to revolt. Surely one of them would make a better referee than this weakling!?
Beneath their robe this wizard is almost entirely mechanical. Only a few organic parts remain: their heart, hands, head, etc. They probably move on tank treads hidden by the hem of their robe. They cannot be critically hit or sneak attacked due to their unusual metal anatomy.
This wizard has triple redundant anatomy. Three hearts, six lungs, three stomachs, and so on. Their hit points are likewise tripled.
This wizard is able to prickle up like a sea urchin if they need to. Big ol’ metal spikes sliding out of their pores. They’ll probably be less willing to do it when they’re wearing their favorite cozy robes, though.
By holding to a strict code of unusual sexual practices, this wizard has unlocked the ability to transform themselves into any animal at will.
Any weapon which strikes this wizard transforms itself into a harmless object. A sword that would pierce their body might poof into a length of rope, a flower, or a pillow. This works for fists as well, so if you don’t want your hand replaced with a teddy bear, it would not be advisable to punch them.
Strenuous vocal exercise allows this wizard to perfectly emulate any voice they hear.
Incredibly strenuous vocal exercise allows this wizard to speak in a voice so booming it constitutes a sonic attack. They can easily start an avalanche or rock slide where conditions are appropriate, break glass or crystal objects, etc.
This wizard has cultivated a commanding presence so intense that anyone who approaches within five feet of them must make a saving throw or be transformed into a servile gremlin. In this state they will obey all the wizard’s commands for 1 week, then transform back into themselves.
Any damage dealt by this wizard has a secondary polymorph effect. Anyone struck by the wizard’s staff, fireball, fist, etc, must make a saving throw or be transformed into some harmless critter.
A thick swarm of thorny bulbs orbits this wizard’s body. Any time the wizard is touched, or struck with a melee weapon, their attacker takes a small amount of damage.
Once per day this wizard can transform themselves into a tree. In this state they cannot move for one hour, after which they return to their natural shape fully rested with all their hit points and spells restored. It has completely replaced sleep for them.
By blinking their eyes in a very particular 10-blink pattern, this wizard is able to teleport back to the last place they slept. The ability functions only once per hour.
A quick tug of their beard causes a bubble of protection to surround this wizard. While the bubble is in place they cannot move, attack, or cast complex spells. They can speak or perform other simple actions.
By siphoning off a little of their own vitality (d4 hit points), this wizard is able to create a sort of temporary phylactery. If they die within the next 2 hours, their spirit will remain bound to their corpse. They can wait as long as they wish, then pop back into their bodies and return to life with half their maximum health restored.
This wizard is encased in crystal. Their body is immobile, but the crystal floats around wherever they want it to go. Anything they want to say appears as text scrolling across the crystal’s surface. The crystal protects them from most forms of attack.
In addition to their magical talents, this wizard has been afflicted with lycanthropy. Under moonlight they become a werewolf, or some similar creature like a werebear or wererat.
Somehow, one of this wizard’s ancestors was a mole. This allows them to burrow through the ground rapidly, digging tunnels through the earth at roughly half their normal movement speed.
This wizard has surgically split their brain in half so they can better work on two problems at once. Any saving throw against mental effects is made twice, and the wizard takes the better result.
Within 30’ of this wizard, magic does not function unless it is magic they themselves have cast.
A peculiar hand gesture allows this wizard to conjure and throw a sort of spectral lasso. If a character is caught by it, they’re automatically yanked rapidly towards the wizard, coming to a stop right beside them.
This Wizard is just straight up Darth Vader. Obscure it so the players don’t realize it right away, but they wear heavy black armor, they carry a magic sword, they’re able to perform feats of telekinesis at will, they probably have a familial relationship with one of the PCs.
A light shines within this wizard. It makes their skin glow faintly, and shines brilliantly from any opening into their body. They’re very visible in the dark, but have many ways of suddenly blinding their foes.
Replacing their bone marrow with some taken from living trolls enables this wizard to heal rapidly. Each round they regain d4 hit points, and even severed limbs and heads will eventually regrow. The only way to deal permanent damage to the wizard is with fire.
This wizard’s lower body has been replaced with eight octopus arms, with toothy mouths in place of suckers. In addition to giving them eight attacks each round (or one REALLY good grapple), this allows them to swim like the dickens.
By a process of rapid soul absorption, this wizard is able to return to full health and full spellcasting capacity whenever they kill someone.
Wherever this wizard goes, people hear theme music. It makes them seem crazy cool / intimidating to most folks.
This wizard understands all communication on an elemental level. Even if it is a secret language invented 10 minutes ago, they will understand it instantly upon hearing / seeing / feeling it.
Due to an awkwardly mis-worded Wish, this wizard lives each day of their life twice. The first time they live it normally, and the second time they live it with memories of the first time. You can model this either by simply running the wizard as if they’re aware of everything the players are going to say/do, or you might literally run any encounter with this wizard twice, one after the other. This does allow the players to also know what’s going on, but will probably be more fun.
While you were going to parties this wizard studied the boomerang. Anytime they cast a spell which is misses its target, or is saved against, that same spell will “return” d4 rounds later. When it does, it gets the same chance to affect its intended target that it had the first time.
Anyone who tells a lie or half truth in the presence of this wizard will immediately confess to it. There is no save. “No, I did not steal your gold. By the way, I’m lying.”
This wizard has 2d6 forms, each with a distinct body and a life of their own, which the wizard can switch between at will.
Anyone who touches the wizard must make a saving throw. On failure, they will be absorbed fully into the wizard’s body and remain trapped there until the wizard chooses to free them, or the wizard dies.
This wizard is infested with parasites. Anyone who gets within 10′ of the wizard becomes infected as well. The jumpy little creatures are able to leap great distances to find a new host. Those afflicted with the wizard’s parasites receive no saving throw against that wizard’s spells. They’re also easy to track if the wizard ever wishes to find them.
A failure to properly dot the i’s and cross the t’s in a contract with a minro devil has given this wizard a peculiar protection against any form of harm which does not directly lower their hit points. The wizard cannot take ability damage, nonlethal damage, negative levels, etc.
A snap of the fingers allows this wizard to conjure any animal they desire out of thin air. They may only conjure one creature at a time. The creatures are trained, intelligent, and loyal, but are otherwise regular animals for as long as they exist.
Anything seen or heard by this wizard is recorded, and can be replayed later via magical projections from their mouth and eyes.
This wizard is something of a celebrity for their works of popular entertainment. Perhaps they write a series of adventure novels, or act in funny plays, or have a morning talk show. Whatever it is, they’re often recognized and adulated wherever they go. People like them.
This wizard is a fairy. Perhaps they disguise themselves with illusions to look otherwise. Their true form is a tiny winged creature that’s able to dart about at incredible speeds, and is almost impossible to catch.
When this wizard laughs everyone laughs along with them, and must make a saving throw. Those who fail will continue laughing even after the wizard calms down. They’re able to make a new saving throw every minute, and the laughing fit continues until they succeed. This ability only works if the wizard is laughing sincerely. They can’t force it.
Moss grows across this wizard’s body, feeding photosynthesized nutrients into their body. So long as they stand in sunlight, they can cast their prepared spells without expending them.
This wizard is a major historical figure who faked their own death so no one would realize they were immortal.
This wizard has uncovered evidence that they will be a major historical figure. At some point in their future they will tumble backwards through time and live out the rest of their days in the distant past. If they are killed or prevented from doing so, the extant timeline will be undone.
An absolutely obscene amount of experimental surgery has allowed this wizard to craft detachable limbs for themselves. Their arms and legs can be taken off as easily as a coat, and they have a whole wardrobe of specialized options to replace them with.
Cybernetic implants for controlling an orbital laser have been installed in this wizard’s skull. The tech is janky and busted, so it takes awhile for the solar cells to recharge, but when they do it’s as simple as looking at what they want to melt, and blinking in a certain pattern.
A doomsday device will activate if this wizard is killed. Perhaps it’s a huge bomb, or a virus ready to release into the water supply. If it looks like they may be in mortal danger, the wizard will definitely mention this.
It is literally impossible to talk about this wizard without mentioning how sexy they are. For some reason they wasted a wish on this. They can be the greatest villain in the history of the world, but if anyone tries to say that they’ll find themselves saying: “They’re the greatest villain in the history of the world, but they do have a tuchus that just won’t quit.”
This wizard has planted seeds under their skin, which grow into little plants fed by a wizard’s blood. They can be plucked for all manner of alchemical, medicinal, and recreation purposes.
A gland inside this wizard’s bum secretes a white dropping, which the wizard uses to mark their territory. Other wizards become nauseated if they come within 50 feet of these droppings, and violently ill if they come within 30 feet. The lose potency only after several weeks.
Fundamental cosmic statutes require anyone dealing with this wizard to abide by a strict code of honor. No lying, no cheating, no underhanded combat maneuvers. Attempting to defy this mandate is like trying to defy gravity. You can learn to work within it, but you can’t ignore it.
This wizard’s eyes are able to look through solid surfaces with ease. For them it is as simple as focusing past the object, the way we might shift our focus between our own hand, and the horizon.
Flammable oil pours out of this wizard’s sleeves at will. It comes out quite fast, and will continue pouring for as long as they desire.
The longer this wizard stays in a given place, the [Colder / Hotter] it gets. They were raised in an incredibly [Cold / Hot] environment. One far outside the range humans generally consider habitable. They will be quite comfortable in the new temperature, but for most folks it will be intolerable.
Whenever this wizard tells someone to “Stop being naughty,” they must make a saving throw versus parallelization. If they fail, they will find themselves suddenly and completely restrained by BDSM gear that appears around them as if from nowhere. It leaves them with almost no range of movement at all, and quite possibly stuck in some provocative posture.
Whenever this wizard wishes to flee, they can reach into their pockets and pull out a fist full of valuable rubies to toss behind them. They are real, but the peculiar nature of this magic means they only come into existence when the wizard is trying to flee. If they reach into their pockets for any other reason the rubies will not be there.

d100 Secret Weaknesses

A table inspired by a recent session in which my players consulted a spymaster. They wanted to learn if the evil wizard they were about to confront had any weaknesses to exploit, and it seemed the sort of thing there ought to be a d100 table for. I’ve endeavored to represent a wide variety of weaknesses here: social, intellectual, physical, magical. Some may work for a given character better than others.

Insecure in their own conclusions. Tend to rely too much on the approval of those around them, and are afraid of doing anything that might be terribly unpopular.
Gambler. Can’t resist an interesting bet, and may find themselves in frequent financial distress because of it.
Maintains a predictable routine. Meals always at the same time, meets with contacts regularly, etc.
Often talks to themselves without realizing it, giving voice to thoughts they might not otherwise wish to express.
All their plans contain some intentional signature or tell. Perhaps all the spies who work for them use rhyming code names. Maybe they work the number 116 into all their plots.
In direct combat they rely overmuch on a predictable tactic. Something which works against foes who aren’t expecting it, but could easily be turned against them by a foe who is.
They ramble. Questions that give them something to pontificate over will distract them.
They’re a braggart. They’re prone to accidentally reveal secrets of which they are proud, and to gloat when they have the upper hand on their enemies.
Lazily sleeps the whole day away if they can get away with it. If not for others making them get up and do things, they’d never have accomplished anything with their lives.
They’re vain. They prize their own appearance, intellect, physical prowess, or artistic taste very highly. Whatever it is, they’re easily manipulated by flattering what they value about themselves.
Focuses entirely too much on tactics (the moves within a battle), and almost entirely neglects strategy (the moves outside a battle). A classic example of this would be the armchair general who spends all their time thinking about how to position their troops, but no time at all thinking about how to feed their troops.
They have a sickly family member (spouse, child, etc.) whose wellbeing they obsess over.
Burdened with a traumatic memory. Perhaps something experienced in childhood, or the severe chaos that results from oppression, war, famine, etc. They’ve developed some irrational behaviors to deal with this trauma, and anything which reminds them too starkly of what they’ve endured can prompt them to erratic action, or even stun them with flashbacks.
Unaddressed anger issues. Ridiculously small things will set them off, and they obsess over perceived insults. Easily aggravated into foolish action.
They’re loud like…all the time. It’s surprisingly easy to sneak up on them because their own talking, walking, hand drumming, and whistling drown out any sounds that might reveal a skulking foe.
The more people simultaneously observe them, the weaker they become. At least a couple dozen people are required to produce any noticeable effect. For obvious reasons, they avoid crowds.
Certain of their protections, powers, or abilities are tied to the specific plane of reality in which they exist most of the time. If they were shifted to a different plane, they’d be much weaker.
Their protections, powers, or abilities were granted to them because they performed a magic ritual. This ritual must be renewed on a regular schedule with exact timing. The window may be as long as a day, or as brief as a few seconds, but if it’s missed they lose everything the ritual gave them.
Some common thing is absolute poison to them. It’s a wonder they haven’t been killed by it before! Perhaps they’re weak to water, or human contact, or the common cold, or a light breeze.
Their protections, powers, or abilities are bound to the performance of a magic ritual. This ritual must be performed constantly, and so there is a secret location where their adherents do just that. Perhaps it is in the deepest sub level of their fortress, or in a secluded monastery half the world away.
Some protection, power, or ability which they purport to be intrinsic to themselves in some way is actually granted to them by some magical or technological item they wear.
A protection, power, or ability they have requires vast sums of money to be donated to a particular religious or magical organization each year. So much money that they must dedicate a lot–perhaps even most–of their effort to gathering it.
Singing harms them. Perhaps it is so unpleasant they are forced to flee from it, or perhaps it actually chips away at their hit points.
They suffer under a curse.
Weakened by the presence of of some particular mineral. Certainly a rare one, and perhaps even otherworldly or unique.
A prophecy specifies a particular weapon, or type of person that will kill them. They are terrified of this thing, and have gone to absurd lengths to keep all examples of it far away from themselves.
Prefers never to start fights, but rather to lure others into committing themselves, then counter-punching.
Relies on emulating the methods of a particular great master. Studying that master in depth would make it easy to predict their plans and actions.
Their powers, abilities, or protections suffer from some odd drawback. The boon and the drawback are not at all thematically connected. (Eg. If they can cast fireball at will, perhaps they go blind for 10 seconds after every use. Or if they’re immune to damage from cutting weapons, perhaps each sword blow deletes important information from their memory.)
Unwilling or unable to extend empathy to people. Human relationships are all calculus to them. They will always fail to account for loyalty both in how they assess their foes, and in how they treat their own people.
Easily bored. Important tasks are often left unfinished, or delegated to underlings who are less thorough, invested, and competent than they themselves would be.
They do not handle failure well. They’re used to easy success, and when they occasionally fail it sends them into crippling depression and indecision.
They’re a pedant, and an expert at lying to themselves. Every failure will be rationalized away as the fault of others. Hard evidence will be quietly ignored, and those who present it will be written off as ’emotional.’
Absolutely intransigent about the way things “should” be, and what they are “owed.” They’ll call it “integrity.” No matter how the situation changes they will never budge an inch.
Easily distracted by a good time. They’ll often be found drinking and partying when they ought to be working. Only an undeniable external pressure can get them to focus on their goals.
Irrationally beholden to a parent’s approval. Their parent may be alive and pushing them, or their parent may be dead and they’re obsessed with living up to an inflated memory.
Easily succumbs to sexual desire. Someone who fits their taste in partners will have an easy time getting close to them.
An old injury never healed properly. Somewhere on their body is a spot which, if struck, causes dramatic pain. They may even lose the use of some part of their body, and in extreme cases may be entirely debilitated for days at a time.
They are severely allergic to something. A food, a plant, an animal. Exposure might hinder them, or might kill them.
Hard of hearing. Perhaps deaf on one side.
Epileptic. A variety of things might trigger their seizures: flashing lights, loud noises, specific foods, stress, heat, lack of sleep, etc.
Their powers, abilities, or protections could be taken from them by a particular ritual. The ritual is very difficult to perform, or perhaps very difficult to learn.
They require a placid emotional state to be effective. They’ve worked hard to free themselves from any intense feeling, but they are not immune to it. If their passions are raised, they will lose much of their ability.
Their powers, abilities, or protections are dependent on belief. If the relevant people stop believing in them (either the masses, or simply a single relevant individual), then the abilities cease to function.
Certain sense data will activate a ‘glitch’ in their brain structure. Perhaps seeing a given color or shape, hearing a certain sound, or feeling a given texture is what does it.
If they are physically restrained, some of their power vanishes until they are freed.
They lack some skill which is almost universally common. Perhaps they cannot swim, or read, or drive a car.
They cannot actually control whatever it is that makes them a threat. If they are a great swordsperson, perhaps there is actual a skilled spirit which takes control of them at its whims. If they are a magician, perhaps their magic only comes to them in moments of extreme stress.
Another personality lives within their mind. They work hard to suppress it, but this other personality does NOT approve of what the dominant personality is doing.
They are bound by a strict code of honor which limits their actions. For example, they will never fight an unarmed foe.
Suffers from some acute, irrational fear. Cowers in terror from the dark, flees from spiders, that sort of thing.
Committed some terrible crime in their past which they’ve managed to keep hidden from their friends and supporters. If brought to light it would undo them.
Their body rejects whatever the most direct and useful form of healing is. Whether it’s magic spells or injections of science goo, it causes them to vomit and convulse until they’ve lost as much health as would have been gained by a normal person.
Hemophilia. Their blood does not clot properly, and so any injury which gets them bleeding is incredibly dangerous.
Their vision is quite poor. They really ought to wear glasses, but don’t for whatever reason. Or perhaps they do, but their vision is so bad that glasses can’t fully compensate for it.
Accident prone. Perhaps they lack a good sense of balance, or good situational awareness, but they frequently stumble on stairs, knock things off tables, bump into walls, etc.
They refuse to think about the secondary consequences of their actions. They never plan more than a single “move” in advance. Complicated strategy confuses them, and is dismissed as “too convoluted.”
Easily falls into tunnel vision. Whatever they’re focused on becomes their whole world, and it takes a very serious interruption for them to give attention to anything else.
They are chemically dependent on some substance. Either something originally taken for pleasure like alcohol or opium, or a medicine taken to treat a chronic illness.
Trusts too much in the power of fear as a means of ensuring cooperation from their subjects, soldiers, and allies.
Relies over-much on the element of surprise. They might act in random, even detrimental ways, because they believe it will throw their opponent off guard.
Believes in the ultimate supremacy of one type of power, and ignores all others. For example, they might be so impressed with military strength that they ignore the importance of political power, or of having good information.
A soft spot on their skull never closed up properly when they were a baby, leaving them more vulnerable to head trauma than most.
Color blindness makes it difficult for them to identify many signs and symbols dependent on color.
A prudish disposition. They are shocked and disgusted by strong language, sex, spicy food, or by anyone who enjoys such things. It’s surprising how strong a reaction you can get out of them with a simple curse word.
Has made a great number of enemies, all of whom are potential allies to the players. Some of these enemies are dedicated enough to die for revenge.
Embroiled in a secret love affair which could destroy an important alliance if it were brought to light. Alternatively, their partner or other family member is the one embroiled in the affair, and they have no knowledge of it.
Lacks immunity to some common childhood ailment which can be serious, or even deadly, if caught as an adult.
Proud of their expertise in some given skill. Very defensive about it too, must always prove that they’re the best whenever anyone else claims to be decent at it.
Believes everyone is just as selfish/greedy/cowardly as they themselves are. If they’d sell their mother for a sack of gold, then they may easily be tricked into thinking another person would do the same.
They distrust experts. They’re much more likely to believe in the opinions of a friend, or the ramblings of a seer. Probably a nepotist.
Has an overinflated sense of how much loyalty they inspire in people. It’s almost inconceivable to them that anyone would betray them.
Underestimates anyone who isn’t part of their social in-group. For example, a wizard might believe nobody who lacks magical powers could be a threat to them. An aristocrat might dismiss anyone from a lower social class. Etc.
Their genitalia are mangled, either by some complication of their birth, or some accident they suffered in life. Sex is embarrassing, difficult, and possibly even painful. They’re very pent up.
Afflicted with Asthma. Cold environments, extended physical activity, dust, and other irritants can bring on an attack which leaves them wheezing and unable to breathe properly.
Afflicted with Diabetes. They must carefully monitor their intake of sugars. If one were to replace all their cookies with sugar-free ones, it could be deadly.
They are unwilling to accept any colatoral injuries or death for their actions. Taking a hostage would be an effective tactic against them. Kinda means you’re the villain, though.
They benefit and are protected by the favor of some individual. A person who might be convinced to stop.
Has made a silly oath in their past. Perhaps they regret it, but for whatever reason they are intent on upholding it. Perhaps it is a matter of personal honor, or maybe breaking the oath would have magical consequences.
Lives in a social bubble. They’re unaware of much that has been done in their name because the people around them only tell them what they want to hear.
Is a member of a much-loathed social group, which prevents them from ever being fully accepted by their peers. Perhaps they are of an untouchable caste, immigrated from an enemy nation, or simply come from a poor family.
Place entirely too much faith in the tried and true. “If it worked for our forefathers it will work for us,” “the wall has repelled every attack for a thousand years, it won’t fall now.” They are ill prepared for dealing with new technologies or methods.
They are comfortable in the assumption that greater force will always win out in the end. So long as they have the biggest stick in town, they’re not worried.
The powers, abilities, or protections of the character are tied to a given location. The further they get from it, the weaker they are. Likewise the closer they get, the stronger. Perhaps the location is the place of their birth, or the place where they made their pact with the devil, or any number of other options.
The true name of this character, when spoken in their presence, removes a magical protection or otherwise weakens them.
There is an innocuous, non-damaging spell. It’s probably a first level one from the basic list. When this spell is cast on them, it has wild extra effects.
In a great deal of debt. Perhaps it is money to a bank or patron, or perhaps they’re in debt to a demon or wizard for some less common currency. Regardless, they’re not being very good about paying it back. Their creditor is not happy.
The sun is tied to their powers, abilities, or protections in some way. Either it sustains them, or surpresses them, so that their abilities fluctuate throughout the day according to how much sunlight they’re exposed to. Could also work with the moon.
Is in terrible physical shape. Can’t lift or run much at all, gets exhausted easily.
One of their powers can be warded against by an incredibly obscure, but quite simple method.
They are secretly some sort of creature other than what they pretend. Perhaps they’re a vampire pretending to be human, or a human pretending to be a lich, or a pile of snakes pretending to be an angel. Regardless, they have all the weaknesses inherent to their true form.
Holds to a deep belief in some elaborate, exploitable fiction. Perhaps a set of superstitions, social norms about gender or sex, a religious belief system, or a fortune teller.
Has a compromised immune system. They are prone to catch any disease they are exposed to.
Gullible. Can be tricked much more easily than they ought to be.
Is a truly terrible speaker. They jump all over the place, forget what they’re driving at, and will ultimately fail to be convincing if they ever need to make an important speech.
In the past their life was saved by a time traveler. One who has not yet gone back in time to save them, and who might be stopped.
Satisfying their ultimate desires is actually much simpler than they think it is. For example, they might think they want to conquer the world, but really they just want someone to love them. If someone is found to love them, then conquering the world will suddenly seem a great deal less important.
Miserly. They’re unlikely to ever spend money unless they feel it’s absolutely essential. Anyone they hire doubtless feels underpaid, and any buildings or equipment they’re responsible for are probably ill-maintained.
Wholeheartedly believes in the value of individualism. Refuses to acknowledge the role anyone else has had in their past successes, and refuses to accept any help that would diminish their sense of self reliance.
Believes they have a magical protection against a certain sort of harm which they actually do not have. Perhaps they did at one time, but it has worn off.