You take life, and your own behavior, seriously. Too seriously to throw a pie, use silly voices, play hopscotch, or wear a chicken suit. You respect the rights of others to Ham it Up, and you might even envy them, but you will keep a polite distance from 'undignified' behavior, even if it's necessary. If you honestly have no choice (matters of life and death, generally), any of your attempts to engage in Big Fun will proceed with obvious uncertainty, stiffness, and discomfort. Seizing the limelight is an occasional necessity when many people must be reached, but if you find it fun, you aren't letting on.

This is a 'quiet dignity' that isn't always apparent. When it is, however, others will react to you at either +1 or -1, depending on the person and circumstances.

The more serious version of this is Insufferable Dignity: You are not simply dignified; you are a Behavior Snob, disgusted by silliness and peering down your nose at those who behave in an undignified manner. You find most children repellent. Others react to your attitude at -2, with the exception of other snobs, who (being snobs), will probably find something ELSE about you to react poorly to anyhow. Fortunately for yourself, you consider the opinions of the undignified to be inconsequential. You may never learn the Performance skill.

The world is too sad and too sober - but you see where the humor hides, and love to share it. You'll steer the party toward the most cinematic and 'fun' solution even to serious problems. If the party must dress as chimney sweeps, you'll develop a Dick Van Dyke Cockney. If the party is dealing with Grim and Powerful NPCs (arresting officers, employers, Satan), you'll see the absurdity in it, and will have to make some sort of light of it to vent your system (trying to hold it in will just make you laugh). You do not, however, find real pain or tragedy funny, and you'll try to comfort anyone who seems to be hurting, even if it means taking a minute or three out from Saving the World.

Those in need of a smile react to you at +1; those trying to stay serious (who probably need a smile even more . . .) react to you at -1.

The fifteen-point version is Sophomoric Ham: You're so wrapped up in your own private Laugh Parade that you're oblivious to the feelings of others. There's Big Laughs if you do your Starving Family skit at the soup kitchen, right? You are tiresome in your most endearing moments, and others react to you at -1 to -3, depending on the prevailing mood and how much you clash with it. That others might be offended by you simply doesn't cross your mind. You may never learn the Performance skill.

You are a moron. This disadvantage is independent of IQ; many of history's greatest scientists and authors have been morons.

When you (the player) have a clever plan for party action, or a solution to a mystery faced in the adventure, you must make an IQ roll in order for your character to have the same idea! If the roll is failed, the PC has a moronic idea, instead, and eagerly offers a suggestion that is either obvious or obviously wrong. The 20-point version is Utter Moron. Utter Morons make their “idea rolls” against (IQ/2), rounded up.

If your idea could be justified by one of your skills, you may make a skill roll instead of IQ. Utter Morons may likewise roll against unmodified skill. Both versions have trouble with defaults. Morons take a -2 on all default rolls; Utter Morons take a -4.

While most morons are very obviously morons, some will seem smart! A Fighter Moron might talk tactics like Alexander, provided he never has to come up with an idea on his own. Get the same character in a mystery plot, and he's as likely to EAT the clues as put them together to form a solution. Scientist Morons are at a loss when faced with moral or social dilemmas, but have no trouble with physics.

For such PCs, this serves as a “bite your tongue” disadvantage, so when a Warrior Moron's player comes up with the solution to a mystery, his character won't suddenly turn into Conan the Detective. The 20-point version can be stifling…

Your body takes a long time to heal, and isn't particularly responsive to attempts to speed it up, either. When rolling to heal naturally, you roll half as often as a normal character (even when under the care of a physician). If you take a potion or an ultra-tech healing drug, make a (HT-2) roll. Failure means the drug has the minimum possible effect (a drug that restores 1d hits would restore only 1). Any attempts to heal you with magic, psionics, or other healing powers are at -3 to skill. This penalty is for ``generic healing'' only; it DOESN'T apply to attempts to remove your gall bladder, clean your teeth, or set your ankle. GM decides any unclear cases.

You tend to have “off days.” Frequently, you wake up feeling uncoordinated, dull, and sluggish. Skills that you might normally use with confidence seem to elude you, and you become either apathetic or irritable.

At the beginning of every game-day, roll 3d. On a 6 or less, you will experience a slump. During a slump, you gain either the Moron (10-point), Laziness or Bad Temper disadvantage (chosen at character creation - and some characters may have to potential to become any of the three, determined randomly; decide on the pattern of your slumps with the GM). Likewise, any success roll on IQ or DX-based Success roll is penalized by 1 when you are suffering from a Slump.