Sphere-specific drawbacks must be chosen when a practitioner first gains the associated sphere, and grant the practitioner an extra combat talent in the prerequisite sphere. Drawbacks may be removed in place of gaining a new talent through your class progression or by taking the Extra Combat Talent feat.
Wiki Note: If a Base Sphere grants an additional talent (such as via a package selection or drawback) the additional talents do not count as talents spent for abilities that count the number of talents spent in a sphere. (This most often applies to gaining skill points or improving unarmed damage.)
Utility Starts
The [utility start] tag is described in Spheres of Guile. It is only possible to take advantage of a combat sphere as a [utility] talent if your game includes a way to gain combat talents restricted to those with the [utility] tag, such as using one of the variants in Chapter 1.
Piecemeal Utility Starts: If you have a progression or optional replacement that grants a [utility] combat talent or a [utility] magic talent, you can use it to gain a base sphere if you apply a drawback or combination of drawbacks that removes all of that base sphere’s benefits other than skill ranks and [utility] talents (and actions necessary to use such talents).
Adrenaline Junkie
You do not gain the brutal strike ability. You must take an (adrenaline) talent with this drawback.
Incompatible: Unbattered, Weakling.
Fatal Strike
You do not gain the brutal strike ability and cannot select (exertion) talents or other talents that rely on brutal strike. You gain Decapitate with this drawback.
Incompatible: Adrenaline Junkie, Unbattered, Weakling.
Ruinous Rage
You do not gain the brutal strike ability and cannot select (exertion) talents or other talents that rely on brutal strike. You gain Greater Sunder with this drawback.
Incompatible: Adrenaline Junkie, Fatal Strike, Unbattered, Weakling.
Savage Offense
You do not gain the berserking ability and cannot select (adrenaline) talents or other talents that rely on berserk. You gain Savage with this drawback.
Incompatible: Adrenaline Junkie, Undying.
Unbattered
Your brutal strikes do not inflict the battered conditions on foes. You gain Sanguine Invigoration with this drawback.
Undying
You do not gain the berserking ability and cannot select (adrenaline) talents or other talents that rely on berserking. You gain Deathless with this drawback.
Incompatible: Adrenaline Junkie.
Weakling
You cannot expend focus to increase the damage of your brutal strikes. You gain Extended Exertion with this drawback.