Merits & Flaws

Sudden flashes of sensory trauma haunt you constantly. These might be legacies of psychoactive drug use, visions of a past or future incarnation, kickbacks from PTSD (see the Flaw of that name), echoes of Quiet, all-too-vivid memories, Things Man was Not Meant to Know… in short, they could be anything that floods your mind with bursts of unexpected impressions that overwhelm your current circumstances.

High-stress situations can trigger such hallucinations – and since mages essentially live in high-stress situations, this Flaw can be a fairly nasty one. The stress in question doesn’t have to be a bad experience, although it does tend to be the bad days that bring such things out in the worst way possible. You might see your loved one’s face start to melt in a moment of passion… or feel the branding irons that seared your flesh in a past life burn their way into your skin during an argument with your boss. Heavy traffic could become a roller coaster, and the exam you’re taking might morph into a living page of laughing cartoons. Flashbacks don’t have to make sense, and they often don’t. They can, however, blot out your true surroundings unless you successfully make a Willpower roll (difficulty 8) to shake them off.

Thankfully, flashbacks don’t often last long. By the time you realize that you’re not dodging HIT Marks in the ruins of Concordia, though, you may have driven off the road, punched your best friend, shat your pants, or run like a maniac through downtown Seattle without realizing that it was all in your head… this time, anyway.