KNOCK! Character Quirks

That KNOCK! is a great source of Old School material and an interesting curation of stuff otherwise available online is nothing new. However, what I never forget about KNOCK! was when I received my zine #2 in the mail and it came with a beautiful bookmark with a range of prebuilt OSE characters. That the art was great was also nothing new… however, each pre-build character came with a unique quirk or special power. The most fascinating bit about this is that – to the best of my limited knowledge – it was never explained or otherwise mentioned. I’m not sure if I ever saw another Merry Mushmen material with the same idea (although I don’t have everything they ever published, so I might be wrong here).

Anyway… what is so cool about those Quirks? Well, they are simple and IMHO very flavourful. Here is the list:

Back from the dead: ignored by undead with HD 1 or 2. Cannot be magically healed.
Berserker at will: +2 to hit , -2 penalty to AC until the end of the encounter. 1-in-6 per round he attacks his closest ally.
Changeling: can cast a random 1st-level M-U spell every day. Has a -2 penalty to saves vs spells.
Demon’s child: bat wings under his cape (as feather fall, at will). Must drink human blood before memorizing spells.
Shapechanger: the PC can polymorph into a small bird once per day. Loses 1d100 XP every time.
Warrior Lineage: can invoke ancestors in combat, +4 to hit and damage until the end of the fight. Loses 1 Wisdom point permanently every time.

As you can see they are not very systematic or even balanced against each other, but I JUST LOVE the flavour and many narrative implications (and in-game uses) that they offer.

Let’s try to create a few more (as neutral as possible so they can be used with any class.. yes, I know they are not as cool as the original ones):

7^th Son of a 7^th son (or 7^th Daughter of a 7^th daughter): you can resist lycanthrope. If ever inflicted with lycanthropy, won’t become a referee character. You only transform into a were-creature under a full night moon (if you are outside), with a 1-in-6 per round chance of keeping control. Otherwise, you are a normal character.

Gold Nose: you can smell gold and gems within 30 feet. Can’t pinpoint it but can guess the volume. You usually have a prominent or big nose.

Identical Twins: you are actually two identical people. You share the same pool of HPs, spells, and any class ability (you have the same class). If you fall to 0 hit points or less, both twins die. You can only ever cast a spell or use a magical ability once per round. If you are separated from your twin for 1 turn or more, both of you roll with disadvantage on all dice. You need +25% XP to level up.

Loved by the moon: you are loved by the moon. Moonlight automatically causes you to levitate (like a potion of levitation). 

Made of wood or clay: you are some kind of golem or manikin shaped like a humanoid. You look like a normal person until you fall below half your full hit points, then you scare most people on reaction rolls. You don’t need to eat or to sleep (but still must rest) – pick one. You take double fire damage.  

Polymorphed animal: you can speak the tongue of birds, mammals, reptiles, or fish (pick one) and can try to avoid combats with their original type of animal. You have a tell-tale mark of your animal origin. In areas where magic doesn’t work or is cancelled, you revert back to their animal forms (equipment and clothes fall off) but you keep your intellect.

Sin-Eater: after 1 turn touching a living creature you can transfer 1d6 hit points of damage from them to you. Get weird flashes or fragments of a random sin committed by the target (the target knows this).

Sold your soul: you are immune to energy drain and charm. Cannot be raised from dead and must roll a saving throw to negate magical healing. Can be turned by clerics as if undead. Scares animals and children.