Defect: Surface Aversion

"For reasons that might include anything from past trauma to physical discomfort, a creature with this defect will do anything in its power to avoid crossing a certain type of common floor surface."

Watching my family's little dog Duke and how he refused for reasons we could never be sure of to walk on tile floors inspired me to formulate the effects of this Defect! After moving to Texas I also discovered that scorpions have trouble with carpeted floors and would also be subject to the effects of this Defect. If you enjoy the idea of Defects, you can check out more than 230 more of them in Skirmisher Publishing LLC's sourcebook, The Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects. 

Watching my family's little dog Duke and how he refused for reasons we could never be sure of to walk on tile floors inspired me to formulate the effects of this Defect! After moving to Texas I also discovered that scorpions have trouble with carpeted floors and would also be subject to the effects of this Defect. If you enjoy the idea of Defects, you can check out more than 230 more of them in Skirmisher Publishing LLC's sourcebook, The Jester Dragon's Guide to Defects. These "anti-Feats" can be a fun way to give your player and non-player characters alike some interesting quirks and to add a new dimension to your game. 

Defect: Surface Aversion [General]

For reasons that might include anything from past trauma to physical discomfort, a creature with this defect will do anything in its power to avoid crossing a certain type of common floor surface (e.g., tile, flagstone, carpeting). 

     Detriment: A character with a Surface Aversion will not willingly move onto a particular sort of surface (as selected or agreed to by the DM). If forced onto such a surface, the creature will be debilitated as if by Nausea. If the creature participates in some measure to cross a surface without touching it (e.g., being carried by another character, transported in a cart, levitated), it will suffer a -4 penalty to its AC, attacks, and saving throws while over the surface in question. 

     Special: This defect can be taken multiple times, each instance applying to a different sort of common flooring.