Everything

Wow – did you just go there? Yep, you did… and will go there again soon enough. Thanks to some quirk of personality, you tend to say and do things that other folks frown upon, typically at the least appropriate times. You make cooked-cat jokes in Asian restaurants, say what’s on your mind when it’s best to keep your mouth shut, and stumble over courtesy like it was a kiddie-gate you weren’t tall enough to avoid. This could involve activities too, like picking your nose in front of an elder or showing Martyrs to your 8-year-old niece. God damn it all, what were you thinking?

Minds do weird shit, and so this Flaw reflects a mental condition or psychological kink that drives the character toward embarrassing behaviors. Contrary to popular belief, this does not

necessarily mean the character is Asperger’s /autistic, although it could compliment the physical Flaw: Impediment if that Flaw represents an autistic spectrum condition that manifests in especially inappropriate behavior. (An autistic character does not have to take this Flaw, as many folks on the spectrum do not behave this way.) The quirk in question might come from a strange upbringing, psychic trauma, past lives acting out (“What? In MY day, this sort of thing was perfectly acceptable!”), alien cultural mores, social isolation, Avatar dickery, or any other mental stutter that screws with social-pattern recognition. A physical condition, like autism or Tourette’s syndrome, is more suited to the Impediment Flaw.

As with Impediment, the value of this Flaw depends upon the degree to which it causes problems for your character:

• (1 point) You occasionally say and do silly shit that causes small degrees of embarrassment to you and your friends. +1 difficulty to social rolls if and when you act out.

• (2 points) Your quirk inspires some pretty mortifying behavior on a fairly regular basis. +1 difficulty to many social rolls, even when you’re not acting out at the moment.

• (3 points) Dude, you need to STFD and STFU or you’re going to be in big trouble… again. +2 difficulty to all social rolls that aren’t related to making an ass of yourself.

• (4 points) You are a source of constant headaches to anyone who dares to identify as your friend. +2 difficulty to social rolls, plus a bad reputation among folks who’ve met or heard of you.

For obvious reasons, this Flaw could be a major-league trigger for certain players, especially if the inappropriate behav­ ior includes bigotry and /or sexual misbehavior. A player who decides to take this Flaw should discuss it with her Storyteller and fellow players… and if it becomes a source of real-life friction around the table, the Flaw should be discarded, or else played “offstage” rather than acted out in real time. (See Triggers,

Limits, and Boundaries in Mage 20, p. 345.) IT SHOULD NEVER BE USED AS AN EXCUSE FOR REAL-LIFE DICK­

ERY, EVER. (Was that clear enough?) This Flaw is intended as a “mature audiences” option that reflects the unfortunate effects of mental malfunctions and social maladjustments. If a player cannot employ this Flaw in a mature manner, then it should not be employed at all.