Rather than granting boons and bonus spell points, sphere-specific drawbacks grant the target an extra magic talent in their prerequisite sphere. The prerequisites of the selected talent must be fulfilled. A creature does not gain this bonus magic talent until they gain the sphere-specific drawback’s prerequisite sphere. A sphere-specific drawback may be removed by spending a magic talent, in essence ‘paying back’ the talent gained from the drawback.
It is possible to have multiple sphere-specific drawbacks from the same sphere, but some drawbacks are incompatible with each other. These are listed under each drawback as ‘incompatible’. Occasionally a sphere-specific drawback grants a bonus feat in place of a bonus magic talent. Such sphere-specific drawbacks must be bought off with a feat instead of a talent, and may only be bought off in this fashion if the caster meets the bonus feat’s prerequisites.
You cannot gain sphere-specific drawbacks when gaining a sphere through temporary talents (such as those that are only gained for a single casting or that last less than 24 hours), nor use a temporary talent to buy off a sphere-specific drawback you possess.
Black Spot
Your gloom’s maximum size is a 5-foot radius and cannot be increased in any way. You cannot use options that change the area of your gloom (such as greater darkness or wall of darkness, or the shifting shadows sphere ability). You gain a bonus dark sphere talent that grants a (blot) or (darkness) option.
Contact Dark
Your Dark sphere abilities that target (i.e. cloak) can never have a range greater than touch. Your Dark sphere abilities that create an area of effect (i.e. gloom) must have their initial area of effect placed to either include a square you occupy or be adjacent to your space.
Darkness Speciality
Choose either cloak or gloom. You lose that sphere ability. You may take this drawback twice, losing both cloak and gloom.
Incompatible: Any Dark sphere drawback that modifies the exchanged sphere ability (i.e. Selective Melding and cloak, Singular Shade and losing gloom), or would exchange that sphere ability (i.e. Shadowy Storage losing the same ability).
Light Fearing
The light is not your friend, and your magic recoils from it.
You must make a successful MSB check (DC equal to your Dark sphere MSD) to use a Dark sphere ability while in an area of normal or bright light.
Incompatible: Selective Melding, Singular Shade.
Personal Darkness
You cannot target creatures other than yourself with your cloak sphere ability (or other Dark sphere abilities, if they can target, i.e. the following darkness option to center an effect on a target other than yourself). You gain a bonus Dark sphere talent that grants a (meld) or (shadow) option.
Special - Contact Dark: If you possess both this drawback and the Contact Dark drawback, instead of selecting a Dark sphere talent of your choice, you gain the Clinging Darkness talent as a bonus talent and must use the following darkness option when creating a gloom.
Selective Melding
The darkness is your only friend, and your magic requires it.
Your (meld) effects only work within glooms you create (even if they would normally work outside of a darkened area, including the darkvision (meld) option). You gain a bonus Dark sphere talent that grants a (meld) option.
Incompatible: Light Fearing.
Singular Shade
You draw upon your own shadow to produce magics, manipulating and stretching your own shadow.
You may only have one active gloom at any given time; while you have an active gloom, you do not cast a shadow (and cannot benefit from or be the target of abilities that require the target to possess a shadow, such as (shadow) options). You gain a bonus Dark sphere talent that grants a (blot), (darkness), (meld), or (shadow) option or the Darkness Mastery talent.
Incompatible: Light Fearing, Shadowed Brew.
Shadowed Brew
You may only use Dark sphere abilities that are modified with the instill darkness [instill] option (if a Dark sphere ability could not be used with the [instill] option, it cannot be used). You gain the Refined Darkness instill darkness [instill] and Clinging Darkness following darkness options as bonus options (but not the full talents).
Incompatible: Singular Shade.
Shadowy Storage [utility start]
Choose either cloak or gloom. You lose that sphere ability. You gain the Shadow Stash talent.
Incompatible: Any Dark sphere drawback that modifies the exchanged sphere ability (i.e. Selective Melding and cloak, Singular Shade and losing gloom), or would exchange that sphere ability (i.e. Darkness Speciality losing the same ability).
Archived: Ultimate version (before Polished)