Continuing the discussion from Mythic Blood: Underpowered?:
OK, let's have a systematic look at this issue. It is something that could be fixed in errata.
These are all the Personality Flaws I can find that mention something other than pure roleplaying, broken into categories. I have included my thoughts on what should be done about them, and I would like feedback. Please let me know if I have missed any.
Church Upbringing
Minor, Personality
This Flaw covers children schooled by the Church and mostly raised by clerics as well, a fate befalling some orphans, bastards, Gifted children, and other misfits. The Church may act out of charity or a wealthy individual may have paid to discreetly get a difficult child out of the way. This secluded upbringing leaves the character less knowledgeable about the rest of society, which he finds unstructured, uncouth, and confusing. The player must spend 25 experience points from the normal budget on Artes Liberales, Latin, Music, Organization Lore: Church, or Theology. Unless the character has a Virtue that permits it, no other experience points may be spent on Academic Abilities.Covenant Upbringing
Minor, Personality
You were raised in a large, old covenant that has little contact with the outside world. You might have very strange religious beliefs, and you certainly find medieval social and political structures very odd. You may take Latin and Order of Hermes Lore at character creation. While Latin cannot be your native language, you may speak a language closely related to Latin that is spoken only at your home covenant.Faerie Upbringing
Minor, Personality
Perhaps you were abandoned by your true kin, and the faeries found you. Maybe your family actually lived in a faerie forest, or faeries took you as a babe. Though you are now back in human society, you feel at home with and have an enhanced understanding of faeries, magic, and other strange things. However, you find human society, including religion, bizarre. You may learn Faerie Lore at character generation.Imagined Folk Tradition Vulnerability
Minor, Personality
Although this flaw closely resembles a Delusion, Imagined Folk Tradition Vulnerability has other game mechanical effects as well. This character utterly and sincerely believes that he has been touched by the fay, and that they have granted him his special skills — whether or not any such exist. So, naturally, he is convinced that he is as vulnerable to traditional wards and folk magic as the fey. Whenever there is talk about such folk remedies, or people around him try to perform them, he does his best to dissuade them. If he can get away with it, he removes or sabotage such wards; for instance, he sneaks around at night and removes any warding marks or materials at doorways. Finally, he exhibits strange behavior around active wards or ritualistic actions. This could be refusing to shake hands with a person right after they have drawn the sign of the cross, or flinching whenever salt is flung over someone’s shoulder. On the plus side, this Flaw allows the character to purchase a score of 1 (but no more) in Faerie Lore at character creation. This is because he needs a rudimentary knowledge of the fay and the wards against them in order to be able to act this way. Without such knowledge, his behavior is based on what he thinks such wards might be.Magical Fascination
Minor, Personality
This character is intensely interested in supernatural and magical phenomena, to the exclusion of all other motivations. It is as if his life is hollow and drab without these experiences. He will involve himself in any supernatural investigation, social encounter, or confrontation. He must try and find out as much as he can about it, and he is curious and has busy hands, definitely trying to take souvenirs. To represent the scraps of knowledge he has, he is allowed to have a score of 1 (but no more) in either Magic or Faerie Lore at character creation. But most of the time, he is filling in the blanks himself and making it up as he goes along, enthusiastically.
These Flaws give the character access to extra Abilities, to account for the background without requiring a Virtue. I am inclined to say that this is not a problem, but maybe drop the requirement to spend xp on those Abilities for Church Upbringing.
Foreign Upbringing
Minor, Personality
This Flaw is somewhat similar to Covenant Upbringing, but means that the character is a foreigner and comes from a remote or isolated corner of Mythic Europe. He appears and sounds nothing like the locals, has odd customs, habits, and religion (although he need not be pagan), and is quite confused by local society. However, he is not an Outsider, and has been accepted — for the most part. His Native Language is one foreign to the saga, and he needs to learn another language in order to communicate with the rest of the turb. The maximum scores at character creation for locality-dependent Abilities like Language, Area Lore, or Organization Lore, as well as some social Abilities, are half (round up) that which his age normally allows.Sheltered Upbringing
Minor, Personality
You grew up completely separated from society, knowing only your parents or mentor. Recently you have been introduced to a wondrous new world of strangers, and you are overwhelmed. Depending on your personality, you might react with contempt, fear, or wonder. You are unable to function normally because you cannot understand most human customs. You may not take Bargain, Charm, Etiquette, Folk Ken, Guile, Intrigue, or Leadership as beginning Abilities, but you may learn them in play.
These restrict access to certain Abilities. It might be better to switch these to recommendations — if you want to play a foreigner, you probably don't want to make him an expert on the local culture. Mind you, I have Foreign Upbringing, and Japanese people hire me to teach Japanese culture to other Japanese people. So maybe just recommendations.
Judged Unfairly
Minor, Personality
Somehow you come across the wrong way to people, and they universally distrust and underestimate you. You catch no one’s eye, impress no one, and can get no one to take you seriously. If you ever find an exceptional someone who sees you as you want to be seen, you will cling to that person.
Determines how other characters behave, so not a Personality Flaw. Maybe make it General, and add the game effect that you cannot get a positive Reputation. (It's not as bad as The Gift, because people don't start off prejudiced against you.)
Nocturnal
Minor, Personality
Your natural body rhythms try to keep you sleeping until noon. You are at –1 on all rolls made between dawn and midday. Conversely, you have little difficulty staying up at night. Though you enjoy no special benefits in the dark, your companions may decide to saddle you with night guard duty on a regular basis to use your attributes to best effect.
This works fine if we just drop the mechanical effect, I think.
Noncombatant
Minor, Personality
You have no interest in combat, nor do you have any ability with it. You might be unreasonably afraid of combat, or a complete pacifist, or prone to freezing and doing nothing.
This is a legacy Flaw, but I don't think it's actually a problem. No explicit mechanical effects, and you need a Virtue to have Martial Abilities in ArM5. Maybe leave alone?
Prohibition
Minor, Personality
You have had a Conditional Curse (also known as a "Geas") cast upon you and must obey the restrictions of your prohibition or be penalized by the curse. If you fail to adhere to the restrictions, you will suffer the curse in full force. The troupe must agree on both the restriction, and the curse that strikes you if you break it.
Should be a Supernatural Flaw.
Reckless
Minor, Personality
You tend not to notice that situations are threatening. You start with a Personality Trait of Reckless +3, and can never have a positive Personality Trait reflecting care or patience. Whenever the storyguide deems it necessary for you to check bravery or a similar Personality Trait, make a roll against your Reckless score instead. A success means you do not realize your danger, and can act immediately without further checks.
Remove the mechanics and make it available as a Major, and this is fine.
Vow
Minor, Personality
You have sworn to do something difficult, and breaking your vow is a serious matter. Example vows include never raising a weapon, never speaking, or living in poverty. If you do fail to uphold your vow, you must perform some kind of atonement, whether it be religious penance or coming to terms with your failure in some other way. Furthermore, your Confidence Score drops by one until you atone. Depending on your vow, some people may respect your dedication, giving you a good Reputation of level 1 among those people.
Remove the mechanics, and make it available as a Major, and this is fine.