Difference between revisions of "Poor Vision"

Revision as of 15:58, 14 March 2010

Physical Fault

You have significantly bad eyesight, in a time and place when vision correction is nearly nonexistent.

For five points you are either Nearsighted or Farsighted. If Nearsighted, you have difficulty focusing on anything further away than your outstretched hand, and suffer a −1 penalty to all Navigation, Discern (for estimating something visual), Spot, and ranged combat rolls beyond a distance of six feet. You tend not to see anything until it's right on top of you (−1 Reaction), meaning you will have difficulty identifying that ominous-looking approaching horseman and will fail to recognize even prominent landmarks until they're too close to be of much use, to name just a few problems (GM's discretion).

If Farsighted, your long-distance vision is fine, but anything closer than six feet becomes a blur. You suffer a −1 penalty to Dodge, Sneak, Search, Disable, and all melee combat rolls. You also have trouble reading books or manipulating any small objects (i.e. needle and thread).

The ten point version of this Fault is Barely Sighted, and it is essentially a combination of Nearsighted and Farsighted. You don't see well at any distance, which is a death knell for a warrior but can be a fun trait for a less combat-oriented character. Imagine a mage who, after burying himself in books for years, can barely see past the end of his nose. Envision him trying to throw spells at targets that are little more than blurs of color, or recognize friends and foes in a crowd, or press the right button on a complicated mechanism… great potential for humor and challenges. You take all the penalties listed above, and expect the GM to make the most of your near-blindness.

Note on vision correction: ground glass spectacles and magical artifacts that improve sight do exist, but they are painstakingly hand-crafted by only a scattering of individuals in the world, and the secrets of their design are jealously guarded. If you desire such a treasure, expect to pay several times its weight in gold — perhaps your GM could even use it as the object of a quest. If you wish to purchase vision correction through the Trump Item of Value at character creation, you must spend 3 Expoints for a pair of lenses or magic item that will negate the vision penalties. But remember that such things are easily lost, broken, or stolen, but not so readily replaced. Jinkies, where are my glasses?

Incompatible with

Acute Vision, Hawk Eyes, and Blind.