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.
Addling Brew
You must select the Instill Charm talent with the bonus talent granted by this drawback, and you can only use your Mind sphere abilities through this talent.
Animal Shaman
You may affect animals with your Mind sphere effects, but not creatures of your own creature type. You must choose the Recondite Stimuli advanced talent as the bonus talent gained from this drawback, and must choose vermin with that talent.
Incompatible: Kindred Knack
Blatant Side-Effects
Your mind-affecting magic acts more like a hammer than a scalpel, and produces odd, unintended changes in your target, effectively giving your mind-affecting effects a signature, recognizable trait. Deadpan speech patterns accompanied by an echo and a change in vocabulary, strange glowing halos, curious tremors in the earth whenever the target draws near, the temporary growth of horns or antlers, or even inexplicably vibrant, sometimes swirling, eyes are just some of the traces that your magical mind-affecting effects might leave on their targets.
These side effects vanish without a trace when a target is no longer under the effect of one of your mind-affecting effects, making it incredibly obvious when you are influencing someone’s mind and when you are not. Whatever the nature of the signs, a person speaking to or observing a target so affected will recognize the creature’s signs with a DC 10 Perception check, and may know (either through personal history or a DC 10 Spellcraft check) that the target is under mental control. In addition, a DC 15 Sense Motive check will suggest mental coercion and allow someone to detect the enchantment at work, as will a DC 5 Sense Motive check for incredibly blatant mind-affecting effects (such as the Enthrall or Mind Control talents or the dominate person spell).
Empath
You do not gain the Suggestion charm. You must select a (charm) talent with the bonus talent granted by this drawback.
Hypnotic Gaze
To affect a target with your charms, you must look them in the eyes. A target must be able to see your eyes (or another part of your body at GM discretion) to be targeted with your charm. A creature may declare they are averting their gaze from your eyes as an immediate action or a free action which can be taken once per round, in which case you gain concealment against them for 1 round but they receive a +4 bonus on any saving throws against your charm for the duration. A creature who shuts their eyes completely (a free action which can be taken once per round, in which case the creature cannot open its eyes until the start of its next turn) or otherwise cannot see you at all cannot be targeted by your charm at all. Your charm effects are considered gaze attacks for any ability that would affect gaze attacks.
In order to target yourself with a charm, you must be able to clearly see your reflection in some nearby reflective surface such as a mirror or a pool of water. Whenever you target yourself with a charm sphere effect by looking into a reflection of yourself, you are flat-footed until the beginning of your next turn. You may not use your charms on yourself while you cannot see. You must select a (charm) talent or a talent which affects your charms using this drawback.
Incompatible: Addling Brew, Inward Focus
Inward Focus
Source: Spheres Apocrypha: Cognition Talents
You cannot use charm effects. You may only select (cognition) talents and talents that augment them, and must select a (cognition) talent with the bonus talent gained from this drawback.
Incompatible: Any Mind drawback that retains or affects a (charm) talent.
Kindred Knack
You may not affect creatures of your own creature type, and the Expanded Charm talent does not allow you to affect creatures of your own creature type. The bonus magic talent gained from this drawback must be the Recondite Stimuli advanced talent.
Incompatible: Animal Shaman
Lost In Translation
Your charms become language dependent effects; the targets of your (charm) talents must share a language with you in order for the charms to take effect, and the language must be properly spoken to them as part of the casting. Creatures incapable of hearing you cannot be affected by your charms. You may not select or use (cloud) talents.
Tactile Charm
The range of your Mind sphere effects such as charms and clouds decreases from close to touch. Using a charm on a target requires you to touch them first, which usually requires a melee touch attack as part of using the charm. You must select the Charming Strike talent as the bonus talent from this drawback, and can only use that talent when making melee attacks.