You have delved too deeply into subjects people were not meant to know. You are knowledgeable in things beyond the scope of most, but this knowledge has come at a terrible price. You are likely in questionable physical shape and occasionally shake with nervous tics. You sometimes mutter to yourself without realizing it.
You gain the following characteristics:
Knowledgeable: +4 to your Intellect Pool.
Fits of Insight: Whenever such knowledge is appropriate, the GM feeds you information although there is no clear explanation as to how you could know such a thing. This is up to the GM’s discretion, but it should happen as often as once each session.
Erratic Behavior: You are prone to acting erratically or irrationally. When you are in the presence of a major discovery or subjected to great stress (such as a serious physical threat), the GM can introduce a GM intrusion that directs your next action without awarding XP. You can still pay 1 XP to refuse the intrusion. The GM’s influence is the manifestation of your madness and thus is always something you would not likely do otherwise, but it is not directly, obviously harmful to you unless there are extenuating circumstances. (For example, if a foe suddenly leaps out of the darkness, you might spend the first round babbling incoherently or screaming the name of your first true love.)
Skill: You are trained in one area of knowledge (probably something weird or esoteric).
Inability: Your mind is quite fragile. Tasks to resist mental attacks are hindered.
Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.
1. Voices in your head told you to go.
2. You instigated the whole thing and convinced the others to join you.
3. One of the other PCs obtained a book of knowledge for you, and now you’re repaying that favor by helping them with the task at hand.
4. You feel compelled by inexplicable intuition.