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[[General System House Rules | Back to General House Rules]]\\

====== The Enemy Flaw and You ======


So, I've been seeing a bit of confusion here, and admittedly, we as STs haven't been clear about this, either: "What's the difference between Enemy at 4 and 5 dots, and the Immortal Enemy flaw from Mage: Book of Secrets?" For all you masochists out there, I'll try to clear this up.

First and foremost, **the Immortal Enemy flaw is banned in this game**. If you've somehow managed to piss off an Antediluvian (Immortal Enemy 8), a Wyrm Totem (7 or 8), or an Ascended Archmage (6 or higher), well... one, you might as well just kill that character off in your first scene because they won't last a month, and two, that's virtually unplayable for the STs in this kind of a setting.

As for the Enemy flaw, it's all about the severity/power level of your enemy. That is not to say that it's based SOLELY on whether or not they can kill your character. It also depends upon their level of influence, the resources they have access to, who their friends are, and how capable they are of leveraging all of those assets against you.

So, for the sake of clarity, here is a list of examples of different 'tiers' of enemies, that include, but are by no means limited to, the types of enemies you could take, and how many points of a flaw they'd be worth. Note that some of these examples **//can actually make you a target for PVP//**, but these instances will be rare, few, and far between, and can only happen if your character REALLY screws up. If you WANTED this to happen and took this at character creation, **you forfeit the right to the protection of the 'No Stomping' rule**.

**Enemy (1):**
These guys are weak. You can take these by yourself, but for whatever reason, they're still dangerous enough in other ways to annoy you.
  * A mortal criminal/thug. Not necessarily an entire gang, but it can turn into that.
  * A vampire's ghoul.
  * A demon's thrall. 
  * A Neteru who really has it out for you for some reason.\\
Sure, you can easily kill any of these things,, but you'll probably piss off something even worse if you do, so be careful.

**Enemy (2):**
You can still take these guys by yourself, but you'd better have some EXP to your name before you try. These guys are slightly more dangerous. Examples include:
  * A recently-Awakened Mage.
  * A freshly-embraced vampire neonate.
  * A low-tier Fae.
  * A criminal gang.
  * A low-tier Sorcerer.

**Enemy (3):**
This is where you're going to start needing help. These enemies are all at least on par with your character, pose a real threat to their well-being, and in a fight, will be scaled to being as strong as your character is at any moment (if not stronger), or with enough backup to make fighting them a genuine challenge and a real risk of character death. Sure, there's a small chance you might win if you go it alone, but you're not going to walk away in one piece, and it's more likely you'll lose. Examples include:
  * An organized crime syndicate or terrorist organization.
  * A mage, vampire, Changeling, shapechanger, etc. on your own level.
  * A particularly dangerous Spectre.

**Enemy (4):**
Don't even think about trying to take these on alone. You WILL die. These are all boss-tier enemies, the kind that can and will make your life a living hell, and have the friends and resources to make that possible. If you take this flaw, you are basically giving the STs carte blanche to make your character's life miserable, which we will do, gleefully. Examples include:
  * A vampire elder (such as one of the Primogen), with enough underlings to send coteries/packs teams after you.
  * Pentex executive with enough money to send hit squads after you, or maybe even some banes or Fomori.
  * A high-ranking Technocrat who believes you're a genuine threat and has flagged you for termination.
  * A Garou sept Elder, who believes you're of the Wyrm.
  * High-Balance Mummies who believe you're a genuine threat to the Balance.
  * The Camarilla Sheriff, who has conclusive evidence that you've broken the Masquerade.
  * A low-tier Bane Mummy.
  * One of the Earthbound.
  * You're on the local Chantry's Blacklist.
  * The personal attention of the entire Society of Leopold (note that the attention of one of their members would fall under the Hunted flaw).
  * Your name, face, last known address, and list of known associates are all on Hunternet, with a blaring message that you're a major threat to all human life, and with a bounty to match. The Imbued WILL treat you accordingly. (Again, note that the attention of just ONE of them would fall under the Hunted flaw).
  * In particularly severe cases, the Prince, the Sabbat Bishop, or one of the main antagonists of the game.

**Enemy (5)**
Okay, so you basically want to die. Put simply, these guys are the kinds of enemies you'd usually find at the end of a very, very long plotline, that even a dream team of the highest XP characters in the game would have a very real risk of a total party wipeout. If you take this flaw (actually earning it in-game would be so hard that you pretty much have to //try// to gain it), be warned that your character is never safe. They will be looking over their shoulders constantly, knowing that the hell they've brought down upon their heads can be anywhere, everywhere, and nowhere at any time. There is a good chance your character will meet an early death if they turn down the wrong corner at the wrong time. **If you take this flaw, you forfeit the right to complain if the STs kill your character off; you have chosen this for yourself, and we will not go easy on you. We won't go out of our way to try to make that happen, but don't be surprised if it does**. Examples include:
  * A Vampire Methuselah, complete with the kind of power base that takes thousands of years to build.
  * An Archmage, a Technocrat Archmaster, or Nephandi Aswadim, along with the amount of influence (and allies) that kind of power comes with.
  * The Technocratic Symposium has marked you for termination.
  * The entire Garou Nation believes you're an agent of the Wyrm, and a particularly dangerous one at that. Think of this like their equivalent of being on the Red List.
  * Pentex's corporate board, with all the money and influence that can buy, and the personal assistance of the Wyrm's agents.
  * A top-tier Bane Mummy, Earthbound, Malfean, Maeljin, or one of the Yama Kings.

===== Losing This Flaw =====

There are two main ways to gain the justification needed to buy these flaws off. The first is to simply kill your enemy (good luck with that if you took Enemy 4 or 5). Of course, depending on how you do it, doing this could only make things worse: If you kill that ghoul and its domitor finds out it was you, then congratulations, not only did you NOT lose your Enemy flaw, you now have an even worse version of it.

The second is to somehow do this via plotline, such as finding evidence to clear your name if the local Amenti think you've broken the Balance, or delete those files the Technocrats or Pentex have on you. This may only be a temporary solution at best; deleted files could be brought back, or maybe you really DIDN'T break the Litany that time, but later you did, and this time there are witnesses. Of course, if the enemy has sufficient enough reason to hate you and it's completely personal, this won't be an option; you're stuck with their undying rage and hatred until one or both of you are dead.

If you kill your enemy and it's considered a 'perfect kill' (i.e. if you don't manage to bring something even worse after you), you have two weeks to buy the Flaw off. If you don't buy the flaw off, you will receive a new Enemy Flaw, of one degree less than the previous flaw. For example, if you had Enemy (3) and kill your Enemy, and then the two weeks are up, you will instead gain a new enemy, and your Enemy (3) flaw will be replaced with the Enemy (2) flaw. Note that your flaw cannot drop to 0; if you kill an Enemy (1) and don't buy the flaw off, you will gain another Enemy (1) two weeks later. Enemy (1) MUST be bought off with EXP in order to lose it permanently.

Note: If you kill your enemy and want to keep it at the same level as before, you can. Just tell your ST, you masochist.

===== Other 'Enemy-Like' Flaws =====


**The Hunted Flaw**: This is a 'spinoff' of the Enemy flaw that involves a dedicated Hunter coming after your character. They could be one of the Society of Leopold, or even one of the Imbued. You will be able to get rid of this Flaw the same way you'd get rid of Enemy, but be warned: If you aren't careful, killing the Hunter who is after you could very well turn into the Enemy flaw at four dots, with the entire Society coming after you, or winding up on the Hunternet's most wanted list!

**The Haunted Flaw**: This is if you've angered a Wraith who isn't capable of actually harming you (at least, not directly), but they're still capable of messing with you in other ways. If you've angered one powerful enough to actually, physically hurt you, that's most likely Enemy 3, where I've listed "A particularly powerful Spectre." Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be a Spectre; it could just be a Wraith, but one that really doesn't like you, specifically.

**The Demon-Hounded Flaw**: No, this doesn't mean you've angered one of the Fallen (Enemy 3, maybe Enemy 4 if it's a particularly powerful and/or influential Fallen, such as one of the Pentarchy or a Tyrant) or one of the Earthbound (Enemy 4 at least). This means you've angered a Bane, a Malfean, or something else that is incapable of harming you directly, but is definitely capable of ruining your life in other ways. If it ever gains a way to come after you directly, such as by possessing somebody or being summoned into this world, then it will become an Enemy flaw.
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