Phobia

Limitless Heroics Cover: As our heroes fight the hydra, we see just some of the variety of symptoms represented in this book. The paladin has a prosthetic arm to assist with their amputation. The barbarian rages from their wheelchair, providing mobility for their paralyzed legs. The ranger, whose body is more accustomed to an aquatic environment just as someone in the real world may be more comfortable in a quieter or darker sensory environment, finds ways to compensate and keep fighting. The wizard’s vitiligo may not be thought of as a disability, nor should it be, yet many in the real world experience severe discrimination due to unusual skin pigment — how many celebrities, corporate executives, or politicians do you know with visibly irregular skin?

You have a persistent, excessive fear of an object, person, animal, activity or situation. Choose or roll on the following table, or choose a different stimulus. When within (IE) × 10 feet of the phobic stimulus, you must succeed on a DC 8 + (IE) Wisdom saving throw each round. On failure, you must move away from the stimulus or have a −(IE) penalty on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma ability checks due to distraction, and you must succeed on a DC 8 + (IE) Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on an applicable spell each round. This trait always has a Triggered Frequency, and you may choose or roll more than one Phobia.

Note that the labels can be broad, so when you roll or choose a Phobia, discuss with your GM what exactly it encompasses and what may have caused it. A fear of rats may relate more to their size than their shape. It also doesn’t give you additional awareness and is based on your perceptions, so if you’re afraid of spiders, a fiend that looks like one would probably also be included, or a fear of a gender would be based on your perception of gender, not the object’s own gender experience.

d100	Phobia	Stimulus
1	Biomophobia	a specific biome
2	Topophobia	a specific location or places like it
3	Numerophobia	a specific number
4	Ektropophobia	aberrations
5	Batrachophobia	amphibians and frog-like creatures
6	Thymomenophobia	angry people
7	Kallitechnophobia	aristocrats and royalty
8	Panoplophobia	armor
9	Anthropozoophobia	beast-like humanoids
10	Zoophobia	beasts
11	Autophobia	being alone
12	Catagelophobia	being ridiculed
13	Scoptophobia	being stared at
14	Aphenphosmphobia	being touched
15	Ornithophobia	birds
16	Hemophobia	blood
17	Bibliophobia	books and scrolls
18	Toxophobia	bows and other stringed weapons
19	Gephyrophobia	bridges
20	Zootrypono	burrowing creatures
21	Koumpounophobia	buttons
22	Wiccaphobia	casters
23	Ailurophobia	cats
24	Angelophobia	celestials
25	Pedophobia	children
26	Politophobia	cities
27	Ierotikophobia	clerics and clergy
28	Kibotophobia	closed containers
29	Coulrophobia	clowns
30	Trypophobia	clusters of small holes
31	Claustrophobia	confined spaces
32	Kataskeniphobia	constructs
33	Chromozoophobia	creatures of a certain color
34	Cornophobia	creatures with horns or antlers
35	Pterophobia	creatures with quills and spikes
36	Plokamophobia	creatures with tentacles
37	Pterugophobia	creatures with wings
38	Achluophobia	darkness
39	Necrophobia	death or dead things
40	Dinosaurophobia	dinosaurs
41	Cynophobia	dogs
42	Draconophobia	dragons
43	Pogonophobia	dwarves
44	Stoicheiodiphobia	elementals
45	Xotikophobia	elves
46	Basophobia	falling
47	Neraidophobia	fey creatures
48	Daemonophobia	fiends
49	Pyrophobia	fire
50	Anthophobia	flowers
51	Pteromerhanophobia	flying
52	Megalophobia	giants
53	Nanophobia	gnomes
54	Misophobia	halflings
55	Acrophobia	heights
56	Domatophobia	houses
57	Automatonophobia	human-like figures
58	Entomophobia	insects
59	Astynomiophobia	law enforcement officers
60	Technourgimophobia	magic items
61	Stratiotophobia	martial classes
62	Androphobia	men
63	Catoptrophobia	mirrors
64	Pithikophobia	monkeys and ape-like creatures
65	Teratourgimophobia	monstrosities
66	Aichmophobia	needles or pointed objects
67	Trypanophobia	needles/injections
68	Arithmophobia	numbers
69	Chromophobia	one or more colors
70	Kalikantzarophobia	one or more monstrous humanoid races such as orcs or goblinoids
71	Laspophobia	oozes
72	Agoraphobia	open spaces or crowds
73	Algophobia	pain
74	Anthropophobia	people or society
75	Botanophobia	plants
76	Herpetophobia	reptiles
77	Amaxophobia	riding in a cart or carriage
78	Pontikiphobia	rodents
79	Katergarophobia	rogues
80	Metamorphophobia	shapeshifters
81	Microphobia	small animals
82	Ophidiophobia	snakes
83	Chionophobia	snow and ice
84	Glossophobia	speaking in public
85	Arachnophobia	spiders
86	Bathmophobia	stairs or steep slopes
87	Xenophobia	strangers or foreigners
88	Sminophobia	swarms
89	Noctiphobia	the night
90	Tonitrophobia	thunder
91	Astraphobia	thunder and lightning
92	Chronophobia	time (deadlines and schedules)
93	Lilapsophobia	tornadoes and hurricanes
94	Haphephobia	touch
95	Dendrophobia	trees
96	Cacophobia	ugliness
97	Apethanatophobia	undead
98	Hydrophobia	water
99	Aerophobia	wind
100	Gynophobia	women

Real-world Examples

Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Assistive Options

With professional assistance, gradual increased exposure and proximity to the phobic stimulus can help reduce the phobic reaction over time. The assisting cleric, druid, or physician must succeed on a DC 8 + (IE) Wisdom (Medicine) check to offer proper assistance. If the assistant fails this check or it’s made without an assistant, you make your Wisdom saving throws with disadvantage. You (the character) will not know that the assistance succeeded, but if they fail, you may notice over time that it’s not helping and seek a different assistant.

When attempting to reduce your phobic reaction, begin with a representation such as a painting or imagining the stimulus and work up from there to maximum exposure with the real version. The player and GM should develop a strategy of eight to ten steps and may attempt this once per day. For the first step, you must succeed on a DC 8 + (IE) Wisdom saving throw for three consecutive attempts. The days need not be consecutive. Once accomplishing that step, the DC increases by 1 and requires three consecutive successful attempts, repeating the process until every step is successfully completed. If you have a traumatic or dangerous experience related to the stimulus, you must succeed on an additional Wisdom saving throw equal to your current step roll or lose one step, even if you’ve completed all steps.