A Greater Defect.

This Defect only applies to non-living Items, since characters and creatures should acquire a Size Template instead (page 32). Awkward Size means the Item is notably larger and more massive than an ordinary human. An Item with Awkward Size may have trouble fitting through openings and moving through narrow alleys, and is much easier to notice. The larger the Item, the more Points this Defect will be worth (-2 Points/Rank). Size usually refers to the Item’s longest dimension.

Additionally, larger Items make bigger targets in ranged combat. For every Awkward Size category the target is larger than the attacker, the attacker gains a +2 bonus to hit with a ranged weapon.

Conversely, for every Awkward Size category the target is smaller than the attacker, the attacker receives a -2 penalty with a ranged weapon.

For example, if a Huge Size 2 Item and a Gigantic Size 4 Item are in ranged combat, the Size 2 Item gains a +4 bonus to hit while the Gigantic Size 4 Item gains a -4 penalty to hit. Table-15 shows the progression of mass and height. Select a size and then assign an appropriate mass (usually within the range provide). Size 0 (the usual human-sized Medium standard) is shown for comparison purposes.

A Greater Defect. A character with the Bane Defect is vulnerable to an otherwise non-damaging substance such as water or sunlight, or a specific element, material, or object. The Bane should relate to the character’s background or Attributes in some way. The character suffers damage if their skin is physically touched by the Bane. If the Bane does not require direct physical contact (such as sunlight, seeing one’s reflection, hearing the noise of a temple bell, or having the Bane in close proximity), the exposure damage is halved.

Alternatively, if the Bane only affects the character when Assigning Defects can align the game mechanics of BESM to your vision for your character, as well as create excellent opportunities for engaging role-playing beyond hack-and-slash combat. It's important to approach the portrayal of Defects with maturity and sensitivity when touching upon many real-life physical and social issues that have far-reaching implications and impacts on others. Anime stereotypes can provide many laughs around the gaming table, but being mindful of the emotions and sensitivities of others should always take priority. Role-playing is about having fun with friends. No one should ever feel marginalised, ridiculed, or targetted because a character's portrayal fails to consider how it may impact others.

**DEFECTS & SOCIAL**

**AWARENESS**
07: DEFECTS ingested, the damage is doubled.

Finally, the damage inflicted assumes that the Bane is common, such as water, sunlight, steel, or wood. If it is less common, such as a holy symbol, Buddhist scripture, or rare element, the damage is also doubled. If it is even more rare such as one particular artefact, the damage may be tripled or quadrupled as determined by the GM.

A Greater Defect. Under specific conditions selected by the player (and approved by the GM), the character will enter a state of unbridled anger. While enraged, the character will furiously attack the closest person, whether that individual is a friend or foe. Once that person is defeated or flees, the berserk character will attack the next closest “threat.” Examples of conditions that might initiate Blind Fury include: receiving a certain amount of damage, sight of blood, a specific sound or smell, being outnumbered in combat, seeing a friend in danger, confrontation with a specific opponent, etc. The character can only return to a normal emotional state under another specific condition. This return could involve a Soul Stat roll, or could be an automatic reversion over time.

**Examples**
of return conditions include: no targets in the vicinity, a specific calming technique performed by an ally, solitude, injection of a particular drug, being knocked unconscious, etc.-2 Points Initiating the Blind Fury is difficult; reverting to a normal emotional state is easy

A Lesser Defect.

This Defect can only be assigned to a Companion or Item, indicating that the person or object actually belongs to another individual or organisation instead of the creating character. The Companions or Items may be issued to the character but the organisation imposes mild, strict, or severe conditions on their use.

**MILD CONDITIONS**
The character can use the objects or allies for some personal business (such as travelling or recreational use), but if they are released from the organisation or disobey direct orders, the objects can be taken away. The character can also be assigned different objects at any time at the discretion of the organisation.

For example, a police detective might have conditional use of an unmarked police car.

**STRICT CONDITIONS**
The character is only permitted to use the objects or allies for activities as ordered by the organisation. This is the way most military and police equipment is issued. If the character is caught using the objects for personal activities, they will receive a severe reprimand.

**AWKWARD SIZE**
Rank Size Points Height Typical Mass Range 0 Medium 0 1 - 2 metres 50 - 150 kg 1 Large -2 3 - 4 metres 200 - 1,200 kg 2 Huge -4 5 - 8 metres 1.5 - 8 tonnes 3 Mammoth -6 9 - 15 metres 10 - 60 tonnes 4 Gigantic -8 16 - 30 metres 75 - 500 tonnes 5 Gargantuan -10 31 - 60 metres 550 - 4,000 tonnes 6 Colossal -12 61 - 125 metres 4 k – 30 k tonnes 7 Enormous -14 126 - 250 metres 40 k – 250 k tonnes 8 Monstrous -16 251 - 500 metres 300 k – 2 Mtonnes 9 Titanic -18 501 - 1,000 metres 2 M – 15 Mtonnes 10 Monumental -20 1,000 – 2,000 metres 15 M – 125 M tonnes15

**07: DEFECTS**

**SEVERE CONDITIONS**
The character can only use the objects or allies under specific orders. A government-owned time travel device would probably fall under this category. Using the objects at any other time results in incarceration, physical punishment, or even death. -1 Point Mild conditions are imposed on the object’s ownership and usage

A Greater Defect.

This Defect prevents the character from leaving a narrowly defined area. This may represent an undead villain that is cursed to haunt a particular place, an android that is programmed to follow a specific guard route, or someone under house arrest or forbidden to leave the country.

A Greater Defect. A Cursed character has likely offended a great being of power in their past or is the direct descendent of someone who did (since Curses often pass through bloodlines). A Curse may also be assigned to an entire race of beings that have fallout out of disfavour with a god. The Curse can take a near limitless number of forms but should not provide a character with an obvious advantage (remember, it’s a curse!). The exact nature, background, and limitations of the Curse should be discussed with the GM.

A Lesser Defect. Some characters are Easily Distracted by events, objects, people, or ideas, which are collectively known as triggers. Notable examples of triggers include attractive members of the opposite or same sex, wealth, food, movie stars, hobbies, gossip, hot cars, music, one’s own looks, books or scrolls of ancient lore, magical items, etc. A character with this Defect will become enthralled with the trigger until it can no longer influence them. Many characters have interests in a variety of triggers but do not possess this Defect because their interest is moderated by their sense of judgement and decorum. -1 Point Easily Distracted by a trigger that is encountered infrequently

A Lesser Defect. The character is less durable than their Body and Soul Stats would otherwise suggest.

This Defect is appropriate for characters with a “glass jaw” or those who succumb to physical trauma easily. -1 Point Health Points are decreased by 10

A Greater Defect. The character is recognisable by many people, and thus it is difficult for them to keep secrets or maintain a private life. In a modern setting, journalists and photographers follow the character’s movements regularly, and report their actions on television, in newspapers, and on websites. Hounded is a particularly significant disadvantage for someone who maintains a secret identity.

If a character maintains a dual identity, some of their Defects may not affect them in one of the identities.

For example, a masked vigilante may be wanted by the police on murder charges (the Wanted Defect), but their alternate identity may be a respected member of the Tokyo political assembly. In these instances, the character will receive fewer Points back from the Defect. If either the character’s normal or secret identity (but not both) suffers from a Defect, the value of the Defect is worth 1 Rank less.

For example, if a character’s secret identity has the Magnet Defect at -3 Points, it is only worth -2 Points to the character though it functions at

A Serious Defect. The ability to manipulate objects with hands or other appendages is one of the major advantages that humans have over other species. If a character lacks these abilities, due to natural design or an unfortunate accident, they will be at a significant disadvantage.

A Serious Defect. The ability to communicate through language is a major advantage that humans have over other animals. If a character lacks these abilities, due to natural design or serious injury, they will be at a significant disadvantage. This ability does not refer to comprehension of speech but the ability to produce it. A hearing-impaired individual will instead have the Sensory Impairment Defect (page 164).

A Lesser Defect.

This Defect reflects a character’s poor judgement or talent in offensive combat situations, which makes it much more difficult to strike an opponent successfully. The character suffers a penalty to their Attack Combat Value. This penalty is doubled, though, if it only applies in certain types of combat situations (such as ranged attacks, melee attacks, or against a type of opponent). See page 169 for more information on the Attack Combat Value. -1 Point -1 Attack Combat Value for all attacks; or -2 Attack Combat Value in certain situations only

A Lesser Defect.

This Defect is only available to characters who have the Alternate Form (page 78) Alternate Identity (page 80), or Merge (page 103) Attributes; assign it to their base form. The character may accidentally change from their base form to their other form (or vice versa) or an external trigger (such as an opponent, ally, natural force, etc.) may induce the change.

This Defect may represent a character who: transforms between identities upon hearing or uttering a specific word; reverts to normal when a particular chemical in the body is in low quantities (such as sugar or salt); transforms when a button on an Item pushed; transforms in times of stress; transforms when a substance (such as water or sunlight) touches the character; etc. -1 Point Difficult to trigger the character’s Involuntary Change

A Greater Defect. Ism is discrimination based solely on one particular aspect of a character.

**Examples**
of Ism include: ableism, ageism, classism, cisgenderism, ethnocentrism, racism, or sexism, or discrimination based on education, species, genetics, sexual preference, occupation, religion, physical features, etc. The players and GM are strongly encouraged to discuss any contentious discrimination issues and their role in the game before play begins to ensure no one will be uncomfortable role-playing a character subject to them.

**07: DEFECTS**

A Lesser Defect. The character attracts susceptible girls or guys (or even both sexes) like bees to nectar. For some reason, individuals are simply drawn to the character, fall helplessly in love (or lust) with them, and cannot stop thinking of them. Even worse, they will fight each other over the character to keep one another from advancing any relationship.

This Defect should only be assigned if the character would be bothered by such attention but lacks the will to take extreme measures to drive away the admirers. The Magnet Defect does not represent some unusual charisma on the part of the character but rather their fate to constantly meet obsessed people. -1 Point At any specific time, only a few adoring fans are actively chasing the character

A Lesser Defect. A character is considered Marked if their body hosts a permanent and distinguishing design that may be difficult to conceal. The design may be a family symbol, an identifying birthmark, a permanent scar, or a unique tattoo. If the mark is not considered out of the ordinary (such as freckles or an unremarkable tattoo), this Defect does not apply. Characters who are obviously non-human (alternate race, robotic, demonic, alien, etc.) in a setting where most people are human (or vice versa) would also have the Marked Defect. When considering assigning the Marked Defect, consider what would seem out of the ordinary and the focus of attention. Most animals, for example, would not have Marked since it’s normal for them to be animals. A rare jade-green tiger would certainly qualify for Marked, though, since its colour is quite out of the ordinary.

Similarly, a female monkey saving Tokyo as a magical girl would also qualify, since heroism is not a normal calling for a monkey. In a traditional high-fantasy setting, most of the standard races (elves, dwarves, halflings, etc.) would also not have Marked since these races are usually common enough to avoid attracting attention.-1 Point Mark is easily concealable because it is small or in an inconspicuous location

A Lesser Defect. The character has someone in their life that actively interferes with goal achievement on a regular basis. This Nemesis can take several forms. They could be a professional rival such as someone competing for the favour of the character’s boss. The Nemesis could also be personal, such as a criminal that is pursued by a specific law enforcement officer who devotes their existence to putting the character behind bars. The Nemesis may even be a romantic rival, such as someone chasing the same person the character is currently pursuing. The Nemesis should be someone who makes the character’s life difficult (and cannot easily be removed) but the Nemesis does not need to be a mortal enemy. It might be someone the character loves very much but one whom they cannot avoid, such as an overbearing parent who lives at home with the character. If for any reason the Nemesis is defeated or goes away, the GM should create another Nemesis unless the player also wishes to use Advancement Points (page 303) to eliminate the Defect permanently. -1 Point The Nemesis is merely annoying or interferes infrequently

A Lesser Defect. When the Nightmare Defect haunts a character, they have trouble sleeping at night and functions at less-than-optimum performance during the day. The nightmare can be a memory of a tragic event or traumatic experience or it might be something else such as a prophetic vision or warning. The nightmare may not occur every night but it will haunt the character regularly.

Additionally, the nightmares do not need to portray the exact same events repeatedly but the visions should be related in some way. The details concerning the subject matter of the nightmares and why they occur is the responsibility of the GM and the player to create. 07:

**DEFECTS -1**
Point Nightmares occur infrequently and have a slight effect on the character’s daily life

A Greater Defect. Free will has little meaning for a character who is Obligated to a corporation, government, crime ring, or other organisation or individual. Control over the character can be exerted through a variety of methods including blackmail, brainwashing, legal contract, technology, or just highly effective propaganda. Dire consequences await a character whose actions conflict with the mandate of the organisation. Obligated should not normally be assigned to Companions directly and is only applicable to Items if that Item itself impedes the freedom of the character who possesses it.

A Lesser Defect. A Phobia is a fear (often irrational) of an event, object, or person that can limit a character’s choice of actions. Avoiding situations that could trigger the phobia may take a high priority in the character’s life.

**Note**
that a Phobia that effectively cripples the character with fear does not add constructively to the role-playing experience. -1 Point Slight Phobia or one that is encountered infrequently

A Serious Defect. The character has a physical impairment that makes aspects of daily life more challenging. Possible impairments include: one or more missing (or unusable) legs, amnesia, constant sickness, nagging injury, severe headaches, an android that requires frequent repairs, etc. The player and GM should discuss the problems and limitations associated with the impairment. See also the more specific Impaired Manipulation (page 158), Impaired Speech (page 160), and Sensory Impairment (page 164) Defects.

A Lesser Defect. The character must negotiate their way through a complicated bureaucracy in order to accomplish tasks.

This Defect is often associated with characters who are members of law enforcement organisations or similar government agencies that require paperwork. A large criminal organisation, however, may also require a character to receive permission from several levels of bosses before undertaking certain high-profile jobs. Red Tape also includes whatever measures the character must take “after the fact” to appease the organisation to which they belong.

For example, a cop may need to fill out a report every time their weapon is fired or may have to follow a complicated series of steps to obtain a search warrant. A thug (or a medieval noble) may be required to pay a percentage of their take to the regional boss or face some very strict penalties. The Red Tape Defect is usually inappropriate for allies created with the Companion Attribute. -1 Point Red Tape impedes the character before or after a major action (but not both) and is generally easy to manage

A Serious Defect. The character inflicts reduced damage in combat, possibly due to feebleness, lack of combat experience, youth, etc. For more information on combat and damage, see page 183.

A Serious Defect. One or more of the character’s senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) are either diminished or lost. An example of a diminished sense is being near-sighted or hard of hearing; the GM should take the impairment into consideration when deciding what the character is able to perceive. An example of a lost sense is blindness or deafness. Any diminishment or loss is based on the character’s status after benefiting from any technological aids such as eyeglasses or hearing aids in the setting.

For example, if a character has a hearing aid but is still hard of hearing, they have Sensory Impairment at -3 Points. In a setting where a hearing aid was unavailable or could not correct their particular impairment, the character would have Sensory Impairment at

A Lesser Defect. The three game Stats indicate the same level of ability or competency in all aspects of each Stat: the Body Stat represents all physical aspects, the Mind Stat represents all mental aspects, and the Soul Stat represents all spiritual and willpower aspects. Some characters may have one or more aspects of a Stat at a less proficient level than the rest of the Stat aspects, however, and this is when you can assign the Shortcoming Defect to provide more precision.For example, a bulky brawler might have a high strength, excellence endurance, fast running speed, good manual dexterity, and healthy immune system... but be rather clumsy. This would fit a character with a Body Stat of 8, with the Shortcoming (Agility) Defect at -3 Points.

Similarly, a witty, perceptive, and insightful academic genius that happens to have a surprisingly bad memory might have a Mind Stat of 9, with the Shortcoming (Memory) Defect at -2 Points. Every Stat has several aspects associated with it that are considered either Major Aspects (highly important aspects that arise frequently in a game) or Minor Aspects (less important aspects that arise infrequently). Each Stat usually has the three Major and three Minor Aspects listed below but players may create additional or alternative Aspects with the Game Master’s input.

**07: DEFECTS**

**BODY STAT**
Major Aspects – Agility, Endurance, Strength Minor Aspects – Immune System, Manual Dexterity, Running Speed

**MIND STAT**
Major Aspects – Creativity, Perception, Reason Minor Aspects – Common Sense, Intuition, Memory

**SOUL STAT**
Major Aspects – Charisma, Luck, Willpower Minor Aspects – Composure, Empathy, Self-Discipline

**NEW ASPECTS**
These Aspects and their classification as Major or Minor are examples only. The GM can redefine or rename these Aspects, or create others that better reflect particular character concepts or the nature of a setting, or what elements of achievement the GM wishes to emphasise. A few examples of alternate Aspects, which could be Major or Minor depending on their emphasis and exact definition, may include: Co-ordination, Looks, Fitness, Lower-Body Strength, Muscle, Upper-Body Strength (for Body); Focus, Intellect, Judgement, Mechanical Aptitude; Savvy, Wit, Wisdom (for Mind); Artistic Ability, Courage, Charm, Gravitas, Leadership, Inspiration, Piety, Presence, Sanity (for Soul).

**ALL STAT ASPECTS**
Sometimes a character needs the Shortcoming Defect to apply to all aspects of a specific Stat. This usually applies to characters that undergo a radical change from one form to another, such as that induced by the Alternate Form Attribute (page 78).

For example, a scientist character with a Mind Stat of 11 who transforms into a hulking beast may need to reduce their Mind Stat to 3 with a Shortcoming Mind Defect. For this application only, a -1 penalty is applied to all the character’s specific Stat and Skill rolls for every -2 Points of the Shortcoming Defect assigned (ie. what could be considered negative Levels of the Augmented Attribute). All Derived Values must be recalculated for this application of Shortcoming. -1 Point For a Shortcoming Major Aspect, the character suffers a -1 dice roll penalty to Stat and Skill rolls with a minor obstacle. For Minor Aspects, this increases to a -2 dice roll penalty with a major obstacle.

A Lesser Defect. A character with this Defect has someone for whom they will go to any lengths to keep safe from harm – even at the risk of their own life. The S.O. should be a regular fixture in the campaign. A one-night stand or a cousin visiting for two weeks is a plot complication and not an appropriate S.O. The character’s sense of obligation towards the S.O. is enough that the character will take great pains to ensure their safety and well-being.

**Examples**
include spouses and steady romantic partners, teammates, immediate relatives (parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, perhaps very close cousins), and close co-workers (such as a cop’s partner). It is acceptable for a character to take another character as an S.O. provided the players role-play this relationship appropriately. In this case, the S.O. relationship is always worth just -1 Point but is treated as a -3 Points Defect by the GM in terms of the frequency with which it affects the game. The S.O. Defect is inappropriate for most Companions and almost all Items. -1 Point Significant Other is rarely placed in great danger and appears infrequently

A Greater Defect. The character has a dark secret. Exposure of this secret could cause harm to the character in the form of public humiliation, loss of a job, arrest, injury, or even death. The Point Rank of this Defect is based on the severity of the consequences if the secret is revealed. The secret must be important enough that the character will actively take steps to keep others from learning of it. If the Skeleton is ever revealed, the character will suffer the associated consequences and the GM should replace it with appropriate Defects worth at least as many Points as Skeleton in the Closet.

For example, most criminals have a -2 Point Skeleton in the Closet – they have committed crimes that could send them to jail or worse but usually there is no easily available evidence. If their secret is discovered, they will usually have Skeleton in the Closet replaced by an equal or higher value of the Wanted Defect (page 167).

**A -6**
Point Skeleton is usually reserved for characters who 07: DEFECTS face destruction or death if their secret is discovered, such as a flesh-eating alien living among humans or an undercover special agent that has infiltrated a terrorist organisation. The Skeleton in the Closet Defect also applies to someone who has a secret identity that they wish to conceal. The value depends on the consequences if the secret is revealed and thus is heavily dependent on the nature and actions of the character.

For example, if an undercover agent’s identity is revealed, enemies can target the character and their family more easily. Whether this is a -2, -4, or -6 Rank Defect depends on the position of the character, popularity of the character, how many enemies they have, how easily the character can maintain a normal lifestyle, etc. When in doubt, assume that most characters who have secret identities gain the -4 Points Defect. Skeleton in the Closet is only appropriate for Companions if their allied character is aware of the secret and must strive to protect it, since its exposure would be harmful to the character as well through “guilt by association” and the loss of an important ally or friend.

A Lesser Defect. The character exhibits a Social Fault that produces hardship for either the character or their companions and allies (or both). Social Faults are primarily role-playing opportunities rather than strict mechanistic rules that provides a framework for character action based on a background story or plot hook – but they are not intended to cripple your character’s participation. When a Stat or Skill roll is required in circumstances that touch upon the Social Fault, the GM can impose a major or minor obstacle (page 182) to the roll, raise the Target Number, or impose other penalties. For most characters, assigning more than two or three Social Faults is not recommended. A non-exhaustive list of Social Faults include: abusive, aimless, antisocial, anxious, arrogant, bigoted, borderline, boring, cowardly, demanding, depressed, envious, greedy, histrionic, honour code, impulsive, inflexible, loquacious, narcissistic, nihilistic, obnoxious, obsessive, overconfident, overly sensitive, pacifistic, passive-aggressive, perfectionist, puritanical, sadistic, shy. -1 Point Imposes a slight disadvantage on the character and/or their allies

A Serious Defect.

This Defect means the character has a Special Requirement that must be fulfilled in order for them to continue to function normally. This might include: a mechanical device that needs constant maintenance for proper functioning, a cyborg’s need for batteries, a vampire’s thirst for blood, a chronically ill patient’s requirement for medicine, a god’s need for worship, a fairy’s need for belief in its existence, an addict’s need for a fix, or a baby’s need for constant attention. The Special Requirement may involve a physical object, an event, an action, an environmental condition, or even a state of mind. Everyday activities, such as eating and sleeping, are not considered to be Special Requirements unless they must be carried out under unusual conditions or more frequently for some reason.

For example, if a robot requires regular changes of batteries instead of (rather than as well as) food, this is not a Special Requirement unless these batteries are rarer or more costly than ordinary food would be.

This Defect covers a wide range of possibilities and the details should be discussed with the GM.

A Lesser Defect. An Unappealing character may find it difficult to blend into a crowd because their appearance is distinctive.

Alternatively, the term “unappealing” may not necessarily mean ugly, but can also refer to a bad smell, manner of speech, or even an unpleasant habit that provokes a consistently negative reaction. A monstrous, ugly creature is usually both Unappealing and Marked (page 161), while conversely a beautiful winged angel would be Marked (the presence of wings) but not Unappealing. -1 Point Slightly Unappealing

This section covers any and all possible Defects that a character might possess but are not detailed in the rules. The boundaries and limitations of the Defect should be discussed with the GM. -1 to -3 Point Unique Defect occurs infrequently and/or has a slight effect on the character -2 to -6 Points Unique Defect occurs frequently and/or has a moderate effect on the character -3 to -9 Points Unique Defect occurs constantly and/ or has a severe effect on the character

A Greater Defect. The character has a critical weakness to a specific object, environment, thought, activity, or condition. When in close proximity to the Vulnerability, it can temporarily strip the character of their Attributes that are derived from one particular source (such as magic or technology or supernatural ability; see page 258). The Vulnerability should only affect the character rarely, however, since it impacts them so severely.

This Defect is mostly applicable to non-humans or superhumans.

A Greater Defect. The character is Wanted by the law, a powerful criminal, or private organisation that has placed a price on their head. Being Wanted is different from having a Nemesis since there is no single person devoting their life to annoying or hunting down the character but the character needs to conceal their identity or move around regularly to avoid having strangers calling the police or pursuing the character (depending on the circumstances).