A “phobia” is a fear of a specific item, creature, or circumstance. The more common an object or situation, the greater the point value of a fear of it. If you have a phobia, you may temporarily master it by making a successful self-control roll . . . but the fear persists. Even if you master a phobia, you will be at -2 to all IQ, DX, and skill rolls while the cause of your fear is present, and you must roll again every 10 minutes to see if the fear overcomes you. If you fail the self-control roll, you will cringe, flee, panic, or otherwise react in a manner that precludes sensible action.
Even the mere threat of the feared object requires a self-control roll at +4. If your enemies actually inflict the feared object on you, you must make an unmodified self-control roll.
Some common phobias:
Blood (Hemophobia): -10 points.
Darkness (Scotophobia): -15 points.
Heights (Acrophobia): -10 points.
Number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia): Roll at-5 if Friday the 13th is involved! -5 points.
Spiders (Arachnophobia): -5 points.