As a fun one-off that might turn into a campaign, I'm planning on running a Godzilla-inspired Kaiju game. At the moment, I have stats for each Kaiju race available to the players, a collection of "monster traits" (breath weapon, flight, amphibious, claws, ect) the players can buy with starting XP, in addition to raising attributes, and a set of Kaiju-specific skills. However, I want to include Kaiju Weaknesses, an optional mechanic to gain extra starting XP in exchange for accepting some form of handicap. For a few examples:

Elemental Weakness (5XP) - The player selects an element (fire, electricity, ect.). Attacks of that element add one boost die, and a successful attack adds 2 damage per Success instead of 1.

Frail (20XP) - Halve the Kaiju's Wound Threshold.

Vulnerable (25 XP) - The Kaiju's soak is in Vehicle Scale instead of Kaiju Scale. (Personal scale=1, Vehicle scale=10, Kaiju scale=50). Furthermore, the Kaiju's Wound Threshold is converted from Kaiju Scale to Vehicle Scale. (A 12 KS would go to a 60 VS, for example. This way the Kaiju still takes damage from Vehicle scale weapons that wouldn't get a full point of Kaiju scale damage past soak.)

Ponderous (15XP) - The Kaiju may not use its free maneuver each turn to perform the Move maneuver. (Can still use its action or suffer 2 strain to perform the Move maneuver.)

These are what I have for Kaiju weakness options so far. Any suggestions for more would be greatly appreciated!

Easily Restrained (5 or 10 XP) When immobilized it takes a Daunting as apposed to Hard difficulty Athletics check to break free.

Humanity's Hero (5-10 XP) Add 1 setback die to any check that could pose a risk to nearby humans. The Kaiju that actually cares about collateral damage.

Berserk (15-20 XP) If reduced to 0 strain the Kaiju begins attacking in a blind rage. This mostly involves attacking their allies, or making the fight more difficult in some way.

Clumsy (5 XP) Add an automatic threat to any check involving fine motor skills or a delicate task.

1 hour ago, Noahjam325 said:

Easily Restrained (5 or 10 XP) When immobilized it takes a Daunting as apposed to Hard difficulty Athletics check to break free.

Humanity's Hero (5-10 XP) Add 1 setback die to any check that could pose a risk to nearby humans. The Kaiju that actually cares about collateral damage.

Berserk (15-20 XP) If reduced to 0 strain the Kaiju begins attacking in a blind rage. This mostly involves attacking their allies, or making the fight more difficult in some way.

Clumsy (5 XP) Add an automatic threat to any check involving fine motor skills or a delicate task.

These are fantastic!! I especially love Clumsy, it's perfect

Thanks, here's a few more I thought of.

Remote Controlled (20 XP) The Kaiju is remotely controlled by a normal person; usually by some mind control device, or the Kaiju is a robot. The user needs to be within a certain distance of the Kaiju to control it. The person themselves can be targetted to stop the Kaiju, or the signal controlling the Kaiju is susceptible to being hacked/interfered with. Add anywhere from 1-3 setback die to any given check depending on connection quality.

Exposed Weakness (Variable Cost) The Kaiju has clear weak spots. For every 5 XP gained from this the Kaiju adds +10 to any critical hits taken.

Panic Response (10-15 XP) Whenever the Kaiju rolls initiative add 1 challenge die. Ignore all results on the challenge die, except for Despair (and just the Despair part, not the failure generated).

Between your suggestions and what I've come up with on my own, this is my current list of Kaiju weaknesses. For now, I think this will do pretty well. Thanks for your help! I'll post more in a separate thread once I get the game rolling (whenever I find time).

Elemental Weakness (5XP) – The player selects an element (Fire, Electricity, Cold, ect.). Attacks of the chosen element add a boost die, and a successful attack adds two damage per success instead of one.

Clumsy (5XP) – Add an automatic Threat to any check involving movement or fine motor skills.

Environmentally Adapted (5XP) – The player selects a type of environment for the kaiju (ocean, desert, forest, ect.). When outside that environment, the kaiju adds a setback die to all checks. When in that environment, the kaiju adds a boost die instead.

Protector (10XP) – Add a setback die to any check that could pose a risk to humans.

Easily Restrained (10XP) – When immobilized, it requires a Daunting Athletics check to break free.

Fight or Flight (10 XP) – Before rolling Initiative, the kaiju must roll an Average Fear check. If the kaiju fails, it must Flee in Terror (Genesys, pg 244). The Fear check's difficulty increases by 1 for each rank of Fearsome an opponent has.

Ponderous (15XP) – The kaiju may not use its free maneuver each turn to perform the Move maneuver.

Soft Hide (15XP) – Attacks against the kaiju reduce their Critical Rating by 1, to a minimum of 1.

Weak Spot (15XP) – The kaiju has a weak point. If an opponent uses the Aim maneuver to target the weak spot, they add +50 to any critical hits rolled.

Frail (20XP) – Halve the kaiju’s total Wound Threshold.

Berserk (20XP) – If the kaiju reaches its Strain Threshold, the kaiju will attack the nearest target each turn, if able, rather than fall unconscious. It cannot voluntarily suffer strain beyond its Strain Threshold. If the kaiju suffers further strain, it will become incapacitated.

Limited Resource (20XP) – The kaiju’s powers stem from a limited resource. When the resource isn’t available, some of the kaiju’s traits may not be able to be activated. Details of this weakness should be worked out between the Player and GM before the start of the first session.

Vulnerable (25XP) – The kaiju’s soak is in Vehicle Scale instead of Kaiju Scale. Furthermore, the kaiju’s Wound Threshold is converted from Kaiju Scale to Vehicle Scale.

Limited Power Source (25XP) – The kaiju has a limited source of energy. The kaiju suffers 1 strain for every maneuver it makes, and 2 strain for every action. The kaiju may perform a Recharge action, rolling a Channel check (Channel is one of the many Kaiju Skills specific for my setting) and recovering strain equal to success. The Recharge action does not cost strain to perform.

Remote Controlled is the only weakness I dropped, as I already have it to an extent with the "Artificial" kaiju race. However, after some playtesting, I might decide to add it back to the list at 25XP.