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So I'm a new DM and my friends just made their characters. One of them chose a flaw from the rulebook that confuses me. It's part of the "Folk Hero" background and reads like this:

The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed

How is this a flaw? Every other flaw listed in all backgrounds are negative aspects of a personality or some bad characteristic. This one just states a bad man wants you dead, which is neither negative nor an aspect of one's personality.

My (sort of) problem with this is that you end up with a character who doesn't have any real character flaws, which makes it a lot more bland.

Am I reading something wrong or is this flaw kinda dumb?

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The intention of that flaw is to provide a plot hook for YOU, the DM! You now have the opportunity to pursue the party with the agents of the said tyrant, and disrupt their plans at inopportune moments. While personality traits are clearly directly linked to personality, ideals, bonds, and flaws are a little more nebulous, and can be linked to outside influences, or, in this case, threats.

You may wish to ask your player to describe who this tyrant is, and how they managed to fall into disfavour with them. Perhaps this story will reveal a flaw of the character as well. For example, they may have performed some act against the tyrant, on behalf of the people. That is a good indication that they are a moraliser, who might not always see the full impact their actions might have. Perhaps, as a result, the tyrant took it out on the character's original town?

With this information, you would have a ready-made BBEG for one (side) arc of your campaign.

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    \$\begingroup\$ @ShadowKras plenty of flaws have a way of redounding to the group if the group isn't going to just cut the flawed member loose. "I can't resist taking a risk," "I'll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets rough," "when faced with a choice between my friends and my money, I usually choose the money," "I turn tail and run when things look bad," "my sharp tongue usually lands me in trouble," "I would kill to acquire a title," &c. &c. &c. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 19, 2017 at 17:58
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The term "flaw" is used here, as it is in other systems (such as Ars Magica), not necessarily to represent a personal imperfection, but as an aspect where the player relinquishes control of his character.

Both personal flaws and story flaws serve a similar purpose: to enrich your character with a quirk or hook that you would otherwise not necessarily select yourself without this prompting. Whether by creating a more interesting character or providing story hooks.

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Scorched Earth policy is in effect

Most of the time, evil and good are points of view. A simple D&D campaign deals with very clear cut black and white lines that make this division simple. Metallic dragons are good, Chromatic are evil. Right?

No.

The world isn't a black and white place. The evil tyrant ruling over the land still has to be careful not to stir up the populace. If the people rise against this person, he/she doesn't have any more food, water, servants, conscripts for the army, or leverage against other people. Ultimately, all that the tyrant is left with is a castle and some loyal minions.

So why would stopping at nothing to pursue you be a flaw?

  1. The enemy knows who you are, personally, and wants you dead. This makes travelling in the realm openly a very bad idea. Bounties on your head, wanted posters, sizable rewards for your capture alive or dead, and more.
  2. Propaganda will paint you as a monster to be avoided or killed, turning normal, every day people into enemies that attack you on sight. This is bad if you're playing a hero, because you'll be forced to defend yourself against innocent people.
  3. Powerful groups looking to topple the tyrant and help you may not wish to draw attention to themselves by having you in their presence. You may find doors closed that would otherwise be open to you. Your party will constantly need to leave you behind in order to gather even the most mundane information.
  4. Do you have a player who isn't exactly the greatest person on earth in your party? That reward might be very tempting to a murderhobo who's just looking for a gear upgrade. What's stopping your party member from dropping a message off to the guards about where you'll be sleeping? Or poisoning your food and bringing you in?

I think you're getting the idea now on how this can be an extreme liability, if you choose to exploit the flaw. Having a bad guy stopping at nothing to come get you is extraordinarily dangerous. Most campaigns tend to ignore the party until they've made themselves a thorn in the BBEG's side. With this flaw, you're already marked, and by definition the BBEG is after your blood at ANY cost.

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    \$\begingroup\$ 3B. Powerful groups looking to topple the tyrant might try to exploit you as a figurehead, distraction, or other expendable resource. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 19, 2017 at 16:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ Well, the possibilites for this are fairly endless. I agree, but I'm not going to keep adding to the list. That's why my follow on paragraph says, "I think you're getting the idea..." \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 19, 2017 at 17:48
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If you've ever played Shadowrun, this is the sort of flaw you might see from it. In SR (and 5e), this nemesis could interfere with deals that you make, find and kill off people that you've come to know and like, attack you directly with mooks, attack you indirectly by spreading false rumors about you and your party.

The options are pretty much left to the DM's imagination, but I definitely recommend discussing what you have in mind with the player so that the character can be implemented into the world. The player's character has reason to have familiarity with this tyrant, so it makes sense to give them some insider info.

You might think that this flaw goes away if you manage to hunt down and kill this person, but not necessarily. Others might assume the mantle, perhaps the tyrant had an heir or a spouse who liked them (or at least liked being empowered). Reconciliation might not be an option because the tyrant's implacable or such reconciliation would place you at odds with those beneath the tyrant's heel. In short, as a flaw, it never goes away, it just evolves and becomes a part of the story.

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Try rephrasing it into a paranoid delusion. "I believe the tyrant will stop at nothing to kill me."

The character cannot help but behave as if she were a hunted woman. She cannot help but behave as if there is no possibility of reconciliation or peace with the ruler.

Even if it is not true.

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It's a serious danger to any party he is part of, without him being able to control or mitigate it or foresee when its consequences will kick in. It is not as much a "flaw" per se as a liability, to a degree where the party might consider being better off without him for a while or permanently.

The consequences are not better than unforeseeable blind Berserk rages.

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