Welcome back, intrepid gamemasters. How goes the good fight against the barbarian hordes that are your players? Hold strong, my friends and colleagues. You are the gamemaster, and with a little help, you can rein in those power gamers, clip the wings on the rules lawyers, and put the munchkins back in their place.

One of the areas that almost all GMs find frustrating is the use of Edges and Flaws, mostly flaws. Good players will take few flaws, if any, and will take flaws that they can play with and that will help put the character into their player character. Still, many players simply look at flaws as nothing more than a
source of points, something you take to balance out taking some edges or to tweak a couple extra points out so that they can get an extra couple skill points or raise that Willpower up to 6.

So, for all you beleaguered gamemasters out there wondering what to do when someone shows up with a twinked out character and a page full of flaws, this is not a problem! You have several options.

The first option is simple. If this is a first game session, you always have the option of making sure all characters pass your approval. Look it over, and ask the player to make changes or to start over. As the GM, it's up to you to create the story and game that these characters will be living in, and you need to have characters you are comfortable working with to tell that story. Most of the time a few tweaks and changes will work just fine, but occasionally, you just need to have the player go back to the drawing board.

If you're more than a couple game sessions in, however, this isn't really an option. So now you have to deal with the character and, for the purpose of this article, all his flaws. If this is the case, do not lose hope. With a little creativity and a small sadistic streak, you can ensure that players are earning the build points that flaws grant them. They're called flaws for a reason - they should hinder the character in his or her daily life and when the pressure is on during a shadowrun.

Skill Flaws

Aptitude/Incompetence

As written, every Aptitude and Incompetence may be only taken for a skill that a character has. Player
attempts to make an Aptitude more general - such as "Ranged Weapons" should be denied. If Incompetence: Rifle hardly affects a character because he never uses the FN-HAR he owns (and he never trains with it, trying to improve...), perhaps Incompetence: Firearms should be used instead. Also, be careful how many Incompetence flaws you allow - why would a character have many skills in areas that he's by nature not competent in?

Computer Illiterate

"A 3 point flaw? Heck, my character will never use a computer." Wrong! Everything from the phone system to a cars' Autonav is computer controlled. Computers aren't just a part of everyday life in Shadowrun; they're a part of darned near everything you do. Chances are a computer illiterate character isn't even going to be able to work the electronic menu at McHugh's. In this high tech world, it sucks to be this character. "Hey NightShade, can you order me a McSoy Meal? I can.t get this stupid machine to work."

Physical Flaws

Allergy

Everyone loves an Allergy. Need a couple more points to scratch out that Strength 6 you're trying to munch up? Take an allergy! Grab something rare and stupid so the GM can't screw you! First off, remember this: There's a difference between Common, Uncommon, and Unworkable. Saying "I'm allergic to Platinum" isn't going to cut it with me, unless of course, you're planning on getting loaded with cyber. In which case, I'll point out that platinum is a good conductor, and anything beyond standard cyber is going to use it in the wiring. Just use your head, and make sure the player is ready for the consequences of his allergies.

Bio-Rejection

Mages love this one. Non-mages, of course, rarely take it. Even at 5 points, this flaw isn't worth it to them. Mages, on the other hand, usually plan on never implanting cyberware. Sure, they'll occasionally contemplate a point of magic loss for some fancy new eyes with all the options, but rarely do they go more extreme. Simply put, do you know how much more vat grown clonal replacements cost over cyber? Or the time it takes to get said replacement parts? Have fun with this one and the mage will regret ever wanting two extra points. The same applies to Sensitive system.

Blind

Be sure to enforce the 'Cybereyes cannot correct this' rule, no matter how much a player may argue about it. And remember your target modifier penalties to astrally perceiving mages, plus the fact that this makes them astrally active. I had a player who once
tried play a blind mage who perceived at all times. He quickly got the hint after I started having him make tests for mundane actions. Sadly, the character died later that game session due to a major blunder on the player's part.

Borrowed Time

Really, this one is almost self-explanatory. However, occasionally you'll run into a power gamer who decides to play the 'expendable' character. They do it all the time anyway, but this just gives them more justification, as they figure they'll get themselves killed before this flaw can ever kick in. If you suspect this is the case, feel free to have them run out of time all that much sooner. Help them along. Why stand in their way if they want the character to die?

Color Blind

Ok, this one is a very minor flaw, worth a measly 1 point. However, it's amazing how many shadowrunners are color blind these days. If they're a decker or a rigger, this one is easy to have fun with. Ever try to work on electronics when you can't differentiate the colors of your wires? For others, this one takes a bit more work to utilize against the player, but it's still easy enough to do. "You'll know Mr. Johnson. He'll be wearing a blue suit and a red tie."

Deaf

Like blind, this one should be an obvious flaw. Don't let players weasel out of it, make sure the get the correct (-1) bonus if they.re a rigger or decker and it doesn't affect them while rigging or decking. And remember a couple things. For one, the -4 to tests when hearing is a factor only applies to tests where hearing is only one of several factors. If sound is the only factor involved, they automatically fail. And secondly, -4 could be used as a minimum modifier - the more the test requires hearing, such as a surprise test in pitch-dark - the higher the modifier.

Infirm

This is a favorite of deckers and some riggers, as well as some mages and the aforementioned 'short lifespan' munchkins. This flaw can be devastating, but if the player never plans to raise the character's attributes above a certain point, they're getting free
points. Infirm does not decrease your attributes, merely the attribute maximum. It doesn't even reduce your racial modified limit, unless of course it brings the max below this point. This means unless the PC buys high ranks in it to start, it's not going to affect a starting character at all and only hinders him over a lengthy period of time. Think long and hard about the player's intention before allowing this flaw.

Night Blindness

If this flaw is being abused, modify it so that it also overrides any natural vision modifiers, so an ork with this does not have night vision, but instead is even worse off at night than the average human. This is a fun one when crawling around a sewer or making a run at night (And really, how often do you run during the day?).

Parapalegic / Quadrapalegic

These flaws are obviously devastating to any combat - or movement-oriented character. For a decker, rigger, or even occasionally a mage it's much less so. Be careful of players who never want to leave home and/or their vehicle of choice. Remember that they can always be traced, and they'll probably need a bodyguard at all times. If this is more a character quirk than a true flaw that hinders the player and group, then don't allow points for it. But if they get points, use it against them. No matter how many precautions the
characters take, they'll never be as safe as someone who has one last resort: running away.

Weak Immune System

How often do players really need to make resistance to pathogens or poisons tests? Unless you're a sadistic GM like me, probably very rarely. This is a minor flaw, only worth -1, so you don.t need to play this one up too badly. Occasionally use a poison or a disease, but more importantly, remember the common diseases. Characters with this flaw have a higher chance of getting the flu or common cold; cuts and scrapes will get infected easier. They may need a basic medkit to treat those scratches and scrapes
immediately. And remember, nothing ruins a good silent sneak across a courtyard behind a guard's back than having to sneeze halfway across.

Mental Flaws

Amnesia

If you can't figure out how to utilize this against the player, don't allow it. This one can be great fun for a player and GM who want to work together to develop the character, but can be a pain for a player who takes it 'cause he's too lazy to create a background. If the latter is the case, have fun. The character is yours to use and abuse as relatives, children, enemies, and all kinds of other plot hooks can come swarming out of the woodwork.

Combat Paralysis

This is a big one among the "non-combat munch" types, especially those who don't play hyped up mages. What does it matter if you get a minimum result for the first round of initiative if your initiative is only 4+1D6 to begin with? Think long and hard about it, and remember that NPC teams will often follow the same old adage most PC teams adhere to: Geek the mage first.

Compulsive

Even at low levels, the character is going to go out of their way to get sate their compulsion. Compulsive gamblers will stop off to drop some coins in the slots, even if they have very few coins to do so. They'll borrow money and sell personal belongings - other
people's personal belongings, sometimes - and generally get themselves in bother due to their problems, oftentimes dragging other people down with them.

Flashbacks

This is another one you can have a lot of fun with, especially with a willing player. Regardless though, this is a flaw and should be tied to what the player does. Flashbacks "when you see a dragon" aren't a good flashback for anyone, but "bullet flashbacks" from a stint in the Desert Wars are great for a merc/sammy type. Every time they get into combat this could trigger. Apply the flashbacks to the character's "job" and it becomes a true flaw.

Impulsive

Characters like this will jump into any situation, regardless of the details. Left your pistol at home, and eight gangers just jumped you? No problem! Put them in situations where this will hamper them, and don't let them off easily. And again, if the character is designed to avoid this as a flaw, because he's got Willpower of six or more, then either throw it at him a lot, or don't allow it. For a good example of impulsive, watch the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Raphael had this flaw in spades.

Illiterate

This is yet another munch favorite, as at first glance it seems to have little effect on the character. Sure, you lose out on some knowledge skills, but what all do you really need to read? Look around you, my desperate GM. You need to read everything. Sure, things are
going to be more iconic in the cyberpunk future of Shadowrun, but still, words are an important part of daily life. Throw signs at them, make them realize they're missing out on a lot. Hurt them with it. Maybe Mr. Johnson wants a book report?

Oblivious

Huh, what was that? Did you say something? A great way to have fun with this flaw is to make a perception test for the player sometimes, and then tell only the rest of the group what's going on, leaving the player in the dark as to what's going on. This character is so focused on other things that he often misses what's going on around him. This is an obvious one, but could be a lot of fun in the hands of the right player.

Pacifist / Total Pacifist

Don't allow your players to play pacifists unless you really think they can handle it. Pacifist (-2) means a character just doesn't like to kill if they can help it, but a Total Pacifist (-5) will not kill. Moreover, most total pacifists don't even like to injure or harm others unless absolutely necessary. Play this up and enforce it, and you'll see a reduction in the number of pacifistic Shadowrunners.

Phobia

This one is similar to allergies. Everyone loves to get a few points off a phobia. After all, doesn't everyone have a phobia, a fear, of something? Whether it is spiders, the dark, heights, whatever, everyone has a phobia. But the thing to remember is most of us don't
truly have any phobias. Spiders may startle us or creep us out, or we may have a brief flash of fear when the lights get turned out at night, but it's not a phobia. Phobias are true fears, and even a minor phobia will strongly distract a character, while a 4- or 5-point phobia will debilitate the character.

Sensitive Neural Structure

This should not be allowed for any character that doesn't deck or rig regularly.

Simsense Vertigo

Like Bio-Rejection, this is a flaw really aimed at Deckers or Riggers. If the character is not going to be dealing with simsense by choice, he should not have this flaw. If a player does slip it in under the radar and isn't a rigger, decker, and never uses simsense for
anything, feel free to set them into situations where they'll need to use simsense: Meeting a Mr. J via the Matrix, maybe some BTL addiction, anything to get them hooking a Simsense player up to their noggin'. Take special note that Smartlinks qualify as simsense...

Uneducated

More than just lacking training, this character lacks knowledge. This is partially represented by lower Knowledge Skills to start, but also this is a character that most likely never finished high school. He may be intelligent, but he simply never learned the fundamentals. He won't know much from high school, let alone college-level courses. Anything beyond basic math is going to be foreign to him. He's not going to know how government works, he won't know much about geography, and he'll never have read Shakespeare. If he knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, it's because he caught the Channel 347 Ancients/Spikes version of it where the troll girl and the elf boy fall in love and end up getting shot down in the street by both gangs. Play this up. This is another fun one for the right player, or simply free points for the wrong.

Vindictive

This is another common flaw for the average Munch. Most shadowrunners are constantly angry and carry grudges, so Vindictive seems to fit them perfectly. However, this often goes beyond the "I'll get him back someday if I get the chance" type of grudge. This is "That waiter messed up my bill and stiffed me two nuyen!" followed by threats with a knife. Vindictive characters are dangerous to themselves and others, and are going to get the team in trouble one of these days. He'll end up in jail if he's lucky, or at the bottom of the Seattle Sound if he's not.

Social Flaws

Dark Secret

What angst-ridden "my whole family was murdered and I hate the world" character would be complete without the requisite Dark Secret? If you can, work with your player to come up with a good Dark Secret, or simply make one up for the more unimaginative players out there. Regardless, this needs to be something that will turn the character's world upside down. This will turn his contacts against him, his friends against him, and even his own family or loved ones against him. There are millions of ideas, use your imagination, but it should be something worse than "I killed someone once.."

Day Job

Too often this is taken because of background rather than as an actual flaw. "Yeah, my decker works in a computer store," and then they assume this means they also can get free or cheap parts to build with, and if they lose the job, no biggie. There are a lot of strings that come attached to this flaw and its bonuses. These characters have responsibilities - being at work, looking respectable, dealing with the public - and most importantly, they have a SIN (Or they're working under the table, which has it's own set of problems).

Hung Out to Dry

Not only does no one like to deal with this character, no one will deal with them. Word on
something they've done has gotten out, and no one wants to be associated with them. They need to stay home while the team is at their meets, and hope they can trust their partners - if their partners still trust them.

There are some other Flaws out there, but the ones I left off are all fairly self-explanatory. You can have fun with them, and in general they're fairly nasty. Well, that's it for this time. You are now armed and ready to deal with your over-flawed characters the next time you play! And remember, it's not a flaw unless they pay for it.