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I'm not a fan that the Leader Calling shares the same Shadow Weakness as the Warden; I'd prefer Callings not to share them unless they are balanced out across other Callings (ie, every Shadow Weakness has two Callings associated with it).

With that in mind, does anyone have any suggestions as to a new weakness to introduce?

I agree with you. I'm not sure what to call it or what the flaws would be, but perhaps something associated with Despair. What I have in mind is Denethor and Theoden. Theoden became convinced that his leadership was failing due to his age and weakness through the deception of Wormtongue. Denethor became convinced he had failed as a leader due to Sauron's deceiving him into believing defeat was inevitable. So perhaps the shadow weakness of a leader relates to a fear of failing the duty to those who place their trust in him/her. Is Fear of Failure too on the nose for a Shadow Weakness? It seems to me the final stage of this would be despair, or "Despairing" for a flaw, but I'm not sure what the progression would be. Hesitant? Doubting?

Rich H wrote:unless they are balanced out across other Callings (ie, every Shadow Weakness has two Callings associated with it).

Has anyone made a list of what combinations of Skill Groups are still "available" to invent new Callings?

The problem with the Leaader's SW is that it fits sooo well with the Warden's one.
But Summerhawk's idea seems to point in one right direction: a more depressive weakness than the "I'm surrounded by idiots" from the Warden. Of course, a Leader's weakness could also be that of Megalomania.

So, I'd say there are two options to go: depressive (I can't lead anyone anywhere) or maniac (I will conquer the world!).

As Summerhawk pointed out, in the LotR it seems that, when under pressure, leaders tend more to lend to the depressive side. I can even remember Aragorn's doubts on how to lead the Fellowship once Gandalf was gone, and also once Frodo left the group.

I can see why some might wish for a new Shadow-weakness, but I think it's fitting - and perhaps the 'power' that both Callings can succumb to is different. The Warden perhaps a more 'quiet' power with the Leader more open about it.

Summerhawk wrote:I agree with you. I'm not sure what to call it or what the flaws would be, but perhaps something associated with Despair. What I have in mind is Denethor and Theoden. Theoden became convinced that his leadership was failing due to his age and weakness through the deception of Wormtongue. Denethor became convinced he had failed as a leader due to Sauron's deceiving him into believing defeat was inevitable. So perhaps the shadow weakness of a leader relates to a fear of failing the duty to those who place their trust in him/her. Is Fear of Failure too on the nose for a Shadow Weakness? It seems to me the final stage of this would be despair, or "Despairing" for a flaw, but I'm not sure what the progression would be. Hesitant? Doubting?

Yeh, this. You could add to it Aragorn, who is constantly obsessed with making the wrong decision, and repeating the mistakes of his forbears.

Having said that, Francesco/Cub7 is so keyed into this kind of symmetry and proportion in their design, I would be surprised if there isn't a reason for the repetition. More callings to come perhaps . . . ?

If I were gonna give a name to it, I guess I might call it the "Curse of Foresight"? Or something along those lines anyway . . .

I like Hesitant and Doubtful; how about they are followed by Despairing and Tormented?

Ok--now I'm done.

Shadow Weakness: Pride

Boastful: A Boastful hero is unable to resist telling others of his gifts.

Entitled: An Entitled hero begins to believe his superiority makes him more deserving than those around him.

Delusional: A Delusional hero starts to believe in a distorted view of the world in which he is of central importance.

Paranoid: A Paranoid hero interprets any act of disloyalty as a plot to undermine him.

cuthalion wrote:I like Hesitant and Doubtful; how about they are followed by Despairing and Tormented?

Hah! I was thinking about Hesitant and Doubtful myself as first Flaws! The very same words came to mind. Your higher two Flaws sound perfect to me, I couldn't have come up with them.

I'm bad at finding short names that include a whole concept, but how about "Burden of Responsability"?

Hesitant would include difficulties selecting a choice, when various are possible (remember we are talking about a Leader, that takes decisions on behalf of others).
Doubtful could indicate incapacity to take a decission, or at least to take one without remorse.
I'd follow with Tormented: whichever decission you make, constant thoughts of "It could have been better to go the other way" or "Anyone else would have seen that this was the wrong choice" haunt you.
Despairing "makes you wanna cry" everytime you have to make a decission, or someone calls on you to bear the burden of responsability. You don't even take your time to think about pros and cons of every option: you already know that whatever you choose, it is condemned to fail.

Personally, I like this depressive weakness better than the maniac one (the Pride Glorelendil proposed, for example), probably to oppose it to the Warden's Shadow Weakness.

In fact, I think that Lure of Power can fit perfectly for a Leader, while a depressive Shadow Weakness could fit a Warden better. After all, Wardens are lonely people (mostly) who fight an unending battle against the Shadow. Besides, their Trait Shadow-lore gets well with the idea that, the more you know about the Shadow, the more despaired you turn, and the more futile you see your task.