Nothing gets called a hindrance if it helps your hero. A hero with a hindrance suffers major penalties in the game. If you play someone with a hindrance, you must follow the rules, no matter how much you might not want to. And that’ll be a lot of the time. But hey, think of it this way: It’ll build character.
In fact, it’s not possible to have a trivial hindrance. You can’t choose Physically Disabled and then say you’ve got a bunion on your toes. You can’t choose Obsessive and say you’re nuts about Elvis. And if you’re Fatally Vulnerable to Cyanide–well, geez, we all are. It’s got to Mean something to you.
But it can’t overwhelm your heroes or they won’t be interesting. Xavier is fascinating because he struggles for peace from his wheelchair, not because he complains about it. Make the hindrance a key element of your hero, but not the only element.
How does a Hindrance Affect a Hero?
Hindrances generally cause one or more scores to fall to 0 in certain situations as described in the listings that follow.
Actions to resist the effects of hindrance are always desperate Willpower actions. Succeeding in this action allows a contingent action that is temporarily free of the effects of the hindrance.
Characters with hindrances never succeed in resisting a hindrance unless there is a good story reason.
If you create a new hindrance, it should be as debilitating as any on this list.
- Addicted:
Your hero suffers a paralyzing addiction to some harmful substance or source. Lack of the substance for a day drops willpower to 0 until the substance is administered. If a chance to get the substance arises, the hero must make a desperate Willpower action or seize the opportunity at once. There are also crippling long-term effects to addiction, but they’re beyond the province of a game. Examples: Cloak (life energy), Iron Man (alcohol), Morbius(blood). - Bruiser:
Your hero couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but will level it if he or she does. When your hero tries a physical attack, he or she must use Agility rather than Strength when determining the action score. This changes the attack’s trump suit to Agility as well. If the hero hits, calculate damage normally based on his or her Strength score. Your hero must have a minimum of 11 Strength and a maximum of 4 Agility to possess the Bruiser hindrance. Examples: Hulk, Juggernaut, Rhino. - Burnout:
Using powers burns out your her’s body, draining 1 point of Strength permanently each hour until death occurs (at Strength 0). Most of those who possess this Hindrance (such as Proteus) can switch bodies. - Fatally Vulnerable:
Your hero suffers damage from the touch or absence of a common substance. After enough exposure or deprivation, he or she will die. You have 0 defense against the source of the damage, and will lose one card (or 5 health) per exchange of contact. During exposure, your hero may not heal wounds regardless of powers or the aura on the Narrator’s card. Once no longer exposed to or deprived of the substance, your hero heals normally - but if you drop to 0 cards while under the effects of the hindrance, the hero dies. Fatally Vulnerable characters are killed at 0 Health if in contact with the source. Examples Dracula (sunlight, running water), Attuma (lack of water). - Frail:
Your hero cannot take a punch. Reguardless of Hand Size, he or she falls unconscious when you have a number of cards equal to the characters Edge. (Characters with this Hindrance drop unconscious if their health score drops to single digits.) - Frenzied:
Your hero loses control in battle, falling into a killing rage which can endanger allies. If the frenzy takes hold, he or she won’t accept surrender and will fight to the death. Your hero has 0 Intellect, and must succeed in a desperate Willpower action in any exchange where there are still conscious foes to fight. Once in the frenzy, your hero cannot stop attacking, pull punches, or do anything to lessen damage; only by making a new desperate Willpower action can you quell the rage. If anyone restrains the hero, you must make a desperate Willpower action to avoid making that individual the target of your hero’s next attack. A Frenzied character never succeeds in these actions. Examples: Wolverine, Venom. - Grounded:
Your hero is stuck for good somewhere other than game’s normal setting. He or she can only be away from this place for a few hours at a time; Thereafter either place itself calls the hero back or someone perfrming a fairly common action triggers the recall. Captain Britain has this Hindrance. - Guilt-Ridden:
Your hero is plagued by guilt over a past failure, usually involving death or serious injury. Whenever he or she is placed in a similar situation, the hero falls to 0 in all ability scores. Examples: Giant-Man (making sentient robots), Rogue (absorbing memories). - Hateful:
Your hero has a consuming hatred for something (not just a single person). He or she will go far to find the object of revulsion and destroy it. If Your hero doesn’t rush to obliterate the object of antipathy upon encountering it, he or she is reduced to 0 in all abilities. Examples Bastion (mutants), Punisher (criminals), Man-Thing (fear). - Inaccurate:
Your hero cannot aim — at least not as well as most people can.When attacking, you cannot play cards until after your hero has succeeded in an attack. Thus, cardplay is treated like a variable damage bonus, but does not count toward generating the action.For MWI purposes, all attacks at considered to be at 50% of character’s agility score, where as normal people get to use their full agility score. If making multiple shots, you then follow contingent action rules but based on half the agility, not full agility. - Kid:
Your hero is under 13. Beyond the obvious disadvantages (can’t drive, can’t vote, can’t reach the top shelf), the hero has a 0 intellect for any Intellect action. This hindrance is ignored if he or she has a skill that reduces difficulty for the purpose of that action. Examples: Franklin Richards, most of Power Pack. - Lightweight:
Your hero is superhumanly strong, but has little impact when he or she strikes a foe. When your hero succeeds at a physical attack, Strength is 0 for totaling damage. Thus, the Strength score can affect only whether the attack succeeds, not damage. Cards are used as normal for figuring damage. Your hero must have an 11+ Strength to have the Lightweight hindrance. Examples: Loki, Enchantress. - Monstrous:
Your hero doesn’t look remotely human, or is so disfigured that normal humans (those with 0 Edge) run in fear on sight. Your hero has a 0 Willpower when trying to convince someone with an Edge of 0 not to flee. Those with the Monstrous hindrance needn’t make action against others’ Monstrous appearances. Examples: Man-Thing, Nightcrawler. - Naive:
Your hero is innocent of the ways of society. He or she trusts in the inherent goodness of all creatures and assumes that all others do as well. Your hero has 0 ability scores for making and dodging surprise attacks, and you must always declare your hero’s actions first. Examples: Longshot, Silver Surfer. - Non-Corporeal:
Your hero does not have a physical body. This reduces his or her Strength and Agility to 0 unless he or she somehow in mental control of a real body. This hindrance does not provide this control, however. Wile non-corporeal, the hero cannot be affected by physical attacks. Examples: Proteus, the Shadow King. - Obsessive:
Your hero has a consuming passion for something or someone, and strives to satisfy this desire. If your hero doesn’t rush to the object of desire upon encountering it, he or she is reduced to 0 in all abilities. Examples: Arcade (games), Kraven (hunting). - Overconfident:
Your hero is without fear- but not in a good way. Failing to believe he or she can be harmed, your hero won’t use full abilities and weapons Until things et very bleak. Any card you play with a value of 7+ is treated as a 0 of that suit, and you can’t declare pushes. this hindrance vanishes when you are reduced to 2 or fewer cards (or below 10 Health). Examples: The Leader, Ultron. - Overprotective:
Your hero values life too much to uncork his or her full powers and therefore cannot kill without gaining the Guilt-Ridden hindrance. For purpose of attacking, his or her relevant ability score or intensity cannot be higher than the targets highest ability score or intensity. Only heroes with 15+ in one power or skill can hold this hindrance. Example: Thor. - Panicky:
Your hero can’t distinguish minor threats from major ones, and acts impulsively with out husbanding resources. Any card you play of 4 or less is treated as if it were a 0 of that suit; Edge cards still apply, but they have 0 value. Cards pulled off the deck after you play trump count as full value. Panicky characters gain no value from Narrator draws of 4 or less. Examples: Songbird (Screaming Mimi), Toad. - Physically Disabled:
Your hero suffers from physical misfortune which makes a common action such as seeing or walking difficult to perform. (A disability corrected by a power, such as Daredevil’s radar-offset blindness, is not a hindrance.) This hindrance reduces an ability to 0 in certain situations:Even if cured, your hero suffers a long period of adjustment. He or she can't have a score in the affected ability greater than the number of moths since losing the disability.
Examples: Rick Jones (unable to walk), Alicia Masters (blind). - Phobic:
Your hero is terrified of something, and will flee the dread object. If your hero doesn’t run away from the object of fear upon encountering it, he or she is reduced to 0 in all abilities. Examples: Dracula (garlic), Mole Man (sunlight). - Programmable:
Your hero is easily reprogrammed (probably remotely). Reprogramming changes the hero’s calling to Soldier and deprives him or her of the ability to act independantly. If a programming change is made, the Narrator (Storyteller) can choose to direct the hero’s play. - Susceptible:
Your hero is especially vulnerable to a single form of common attack, such as mind control, fire, or cold. If you’re playing a Susceptible hero, your hero has 0 defense against such an attack. Examples: Iceman (fire), Sub-Mariner (dehydration). - Transformative:
A common occurrence causes your hero’s personality to be subsumed by a persona that the hero finds repulsive. A desperate Willpower action must be made every exchange to avoid the change. Your hero may not remember what occurs while transformed. If you’re playing a Transformative hero, you lose control while changed - the Narrator may ask you to continue playing, but has final say over your actions. Examples: Hulk, Werewolf, Puck, Ghost Rider. - Triggered - Powerless:
Your hero loses all of his or her powers when within firing distance of an object or material - or when separated from it. If you’re playing a Triggered-Powerless hero, all affected powers are reduced to 0 intensity and lose all special features when this occurs. This can occur if the hero is a high-tech hero, and loses his or her equipment. If the condition is rectified, powers return at 1 intensity per exchange, or when the equipment is restored. This hindrance can only be chosen if the hero has a power of at least 10 intensity. Examples: Annihilus (loss of cosmic control rod), Dracula (stake through the heart). - Uncreative:
Your hero cannot come up with strategies in fights (that is, he or she has intellect 0 in combat). In addition, the heroe always responds to combat situations with the simplest and most apparently logical action, regardless of the consequences. The narrator (storyteller) can direct your actionsif he of she believes you’re considering the consequences of your actions too closely. Example: Super-Adaptoid - Unlucky:
Your hero is plagued by bad luck. When your hero will be affected by the narrator’s draw (for example, if the hero is wounded and would regain cards on a positive draw), the narrator draws two cards and applies the worst. Characters with Unlucky hindrance also cause this effect, with the card applied being the one worst for that character. If individuals on both sides of a conflict have this hindrance, they cancel each other out. Examples: Spider-Man, Rick Jones.