Personality Difference

August 3, 2022
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?

The way in which you think, function, and interact with others significantly affects your ability to relate to situations and people. Choose or roll 2d4 traits from the following table, ignoring duplicates.

function generateTrait() { var traits = ["Anhedonia", "Anxiousness", "Attention Seeking", "Callousness", "Cognitive and Perceptual Dysregulation", "Deceitfulness", "Depressivity", "Distractibility", "Eccentricity", "Grandiosity", "Hostility", "Impulsivity", "Intimacy Avoidance", "Irresponsibility", "Manipulativeness", "Perseveration", "Restricted Affectivity", "Rigid Perfectionism", "Risk Taking", "Separation Insecurity", "Submissiveness", "Suspiciousness", "Unusual Beliefs and Experiences", "Withdrawal"]; var probabilities = [4, 7, 3, 5, 3, 5, 4, 3, 3, 7, 5, 3, 3, 5, 5, 3, 4, 9, 3, 2, 2, 6, 2, 3]; var result = ""; var rand = Math.floor(Math.random() * 100) + 1; var i = 0; var sum = probabilities[i]; while (rand > sum && i < probabilities.length - 1) { i++; sum += probabilities[i]; } result = traits[i]; document.getElementById("traitResult").innerHTML = result; }

Personality Differences/Disorders

Among the most misunderstood, mischaracterized, and stigmatized mental experiences, personality differences arise from trauma and tend to lead to significant challenges to navigating relationships and maintaining a favorable quality of life in a social context. While we highly recommend treatment and counseling for those affected and for those close to someone affected that’s beyond the scope of this book, this book was created to promote understanding and remove stigmas.

Personality differences may cause intense feelings, similar to the Amplified Emotion trait as it’s described below (In the real world, people with Borderline Personality Disorder are often misdiagnosed as Bipolar, even though the former is more common.), but instead of changing gradually over days, mood shifts can come quickly and unexpectedly with no external stimulus. Not only does this make relationships challenging, but it can also lead to fears of abandonment, which can then amplify distressing emotions even further. Those with personality differences may not realize the effects of hurtful behavior, and while these conditions don’t excuse hurtful behavior, it’s important that those who need help have access to treatment, support, and society.

In the real world, personality disorders are treatable with therapy, and their effects can be managed with medication if necessary. But like all of us, those who experience personality differences need patience and understanding, to be recognized as complex people with value, and who deserve love and respect.

d100 Trait
1–4 Anhedonia
5–11 Anxiousness
12–14 Attention Seeking
15–19 Callousness
20–22 Cognitive and Perceptual Dysregulation
23–27 Deceitfulness
28–31 Depressivity
32–34 Distractibility
35–37 Eccentricity
38–44 Grandiosity
45–49 Hostility
50–52 Impulsivity
53–55 Intimacy Avoidance
56–60 Irresponsibility
61–65 Manipulativeness
66–68 Perseveration
69–72 Restricted Affectivity
73–81 Rigid Perfectionism
82–84 Risk Taking
85–86 Separation Insecurity
87–88 Submissiveness
89–94 Suspiciousness
95–97 Unusual Beliefs and Experiences
98–00 Withdrawal
  • Anhedonia. (See Anhedonia under Mental Traits)
  • Anxiousness. You experience both Baseless Emotions: Panic/Nervousness and Worrying. Roll a separate IE for each.
  • Attention Seeking. You depend on the attention and approval of others for your self-worth. This motivates you to excessive emotional, outspoken, and dramatic behavior, excessive concern with physical appearance, and to be easily influenced by others as you seek their approval. You tend to believe that your relationships with others are closer than is reciprocated. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks and saving throws against being charmed.
  • Callousness. You have difficulty recognizing others’ needs or feelings, which leads to repeated harmful, aggressive, impulsive, or irresponsible behavior without remorse. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Charisma (Persuasion) and Wisdom (Insight) checks and +(IE) to all Charisma (Intimidation) checks and saving throws against psychic damage and being charmed.
  • Cognitive and Perceptual Dysregulation. You experience 1d4 of the following: Depersonalization, Derealization, Sleep-Wake Disorder, Asomatognosia. Roll a separate IE for each.
  • Deceitfulness. When you tell others about yourself or your experiences, you misrepresent or embellish the facts, assume false identities, or otherwise lie for personal gain without experiencing remorse. While this practice lying gives you a +(IE) bonus to Charisma (Deception) checks, your inability to empathize gives you a −(IE) penalty on Wisdom (Insight) checks.
  • Depressivity. You experience all of the following Baseless Emotions: Guilt, Hopelessness, and Worrying. Roll a separate IE for each.
  • Distractibility. You have difficulty concentrating and focusing on tasks, and you are easily distracted by environmental stimuli. Finishing any task takes (IE) × twenty percent longer to accomplish, and you have a − (IE) × 2 penalty on all Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration. If you cast a spell with a casting time longer than 1 action, you must succeed on the saving throw. On a failed saving throw, the spell is not cast.
  • Eccentricity. You act in unusual and unexpected ways for your culture, motivated by unusual superstitions, beliefs, and perceptions such as believing you can perform spell-like effects without casting those spells or have senses that you don’t. You have a −(IE) penalty on saving throws against illusion magic and a −(IE) penalty on Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks, but your creativity gives you a +(IE) bonus to Charisma (Performance) checks.
  • Grandiosity. You believe that you’re more important than others and feel the need for others to recognize that. You have difficulty valuing others’ feelings and needs compared to your own and expect favors, advantages, and admiration. You have a +(IE) bonus on Charisma (Intimidation) and Charisma (Performance) checks but a −(IE) penalty on Wisdom (Insight) checks.
  • Hostility. You feel frequent anger, become irritable from minor insults, and tend to act mean. You have a +(IE) bonus to Charisma (Intimidation) checks but a −(IE) penalty on Charisma (Persuasion) checks. If you are a barbarian, you get an additional Rage per day, but your Rage is so intense, you spend one Hit Die every time you Rage. If you have multiple traits, you may choose Baseless Emotions (Irritability) as one of them.
  • Impulsivity. You have difficulty establishing plans and act without considering consequences. You have a +(IE) on initiative rolls but a −(IE) penalty on saving throws against enchantment magic.
  • Intimacy Avoidance. You have a narrow range of social experience and expression. You don’t enjoy social or personal relationships and find them challenging. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Charisma checks but a +(IE) bonus on saving throws against enchantment magic.
  • Irresponsibility. You experience little or no sense of obligation or commitment to agreements and promises and are careless with others’ property. Whenever you use the help action, you must succeed on a DC 10 + (IE) Constitution saving throw or fail to help, still using your action but with no effect.
  • Manipulativeness. You use subterfuge to influence or control others, using ingratiating yourself to people to control them for your purposes. You have a +(IE) bonus to Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks but a −(IE) penalty on Wisdom (Insight) checks.
  • Perseveration. You persist at tasks or methods even though the behavior is no longer effective, no matter how much evidence or failure demonstrates reasons to stop or change. You have a +(IE) bonus to Constitution checks and saving throws to continue an action, but on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), you must choose your course of action for the round, and you must succeed on a DC 15 + (IE) Constitution saving throw to choose the disengage action or to choose a different course of action during the round.
  • Restricted Affectivity. You have a narrow range of emotional experience and expression. You don’t enjoy most activities. You have a −(IE) penalty on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks but a +(IE) bonus to saving throws against psychic damage or being charmed or frightened. If you are a barbarian, you must succeed on a DC 10 + (IE) Wisdom check to Rage, and you do not benefit from Bardic Inspiration.
  • Rigid Perfectionism. You are preoccupied with details, orderliness, and rules. Tasks must be completed perfectly, and you feel the need to be in control of people, tasks, and situations, having trouble delegating tasks for fear that they won’t be done perfectly. You’re rigid in your values and morals and protective of your valuables, obsessing over the perfect way to use them. You have a bonus of +(IE) on saving throws against being charmed but a −(IE) penalty on Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks. If you have multiple traits, you may choose one or more Alleviation Behavior traits as one or more of them.
  • Risk Taking. Your emotions are unstable, which leads to impulsive or risky behavior with little regard for personal safety or consequences. You have a −(IE) penalty on all saving throws against enchantment spells but a +(IE) bonus on saving throws against being frightened. If you have multiple traits, you may choose Baseless Emotion (Restlessness) as one of them.
  • Separation Insecurity. Your self-image is unstable, which leads to ongoing feelings of emptiness and fear of being alone or abandoned. You have a −(IE) penalty on all saving throws against psychic damage and enchantment spells. If you have multiple traits, you may choose one or more of the following Baseless Emotions for one or more of them: Dread, Panic/Nervousness, and Worthlessness. Roll a separate IE for each.
  • Submissiveness. You lack self-confidence and feel the need for others to take care of you, feeling like you can’t reliably take care of yourself. You tend to be submissive and cling to others, need close relationships to get approval, and will tolerate being treated poorly. You have a −(IE) penalty on rolls against Charisma (Intimidation), Charisma (Persuasion), and being charmed. If you have multiple traits, you may choose Executive Functioning as one of them.
  • Suspiciousness. You have an undeniable feeling that those around you can’t be trusted, that others are trying to harm you or plotting against you, and that those who claim loyalty to you are unfaithful to you. You’re reluctant to share information about yourself with others for fear that they’ll use it against you. Suggestions and minor criticisms seem like personal attacks. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Wisdom (Insight) checks and Charisma (Persuasion) checks but +1 to Charisma (Intimidation) checks.
  • Unusual Beliefs and Experiences. You have beliefs outside of your culture or religion that others do not share. This leads you to dress and act differently, have inappropriate emotional responses, and experience social difficulties. You believe that certain events have messages for you or that you can influence people or events with your thoughts beyond any casting ability you actually have. You have a −(IE) penalty on all Wisdom (Perception), Wisdom (Insight), and Charisma (Persuasion) checks. If you have multiple traits, you may choose Hallucinations or Delusions as one or more of them.
  • Withdrawal. You feel inadequate, inferior, or unattractive, which leads you to avoid social situations, meeting new people, or new activities. You’re overly sensitive to criticism, embarrassment, and ridicule. You have a −(IE) penalty on saving throws against the Vicious Mockery spell or similar effects, saving throws against being frightened, and on rolls against Charisma (Intimidation).
Real-world Examples

Personality Disorders

Assistive Options

Because you may not even be aware that you have a Personality Difference, and due to their effect on how you perceive yourself and reality, these can be especially difficult to manage. Party members will require patience and understanding to help you function in a healthy, cooperative manner. When needing a check related to one of these traits, a party member can use the help action to give you advantage on the roll.