History Main / ThatOneDisadvantage

** Truant was originally an Ability only given to Slaking, later being given as a Hidden Ability for Durant. Truant causes the user to [[LazyBum slack off every other turn]], not using any moves. When one turn can make a world of difference, this is a serious dealbreaker, especially since you can effectively remove any level of threat from a Slaking by using Protect, Dig, or Fly to avoid it on its active turns. It's telling that the most viable way to use the ability is to use Durant, use Entrainment to pass it onto the opponent and switch to a Pokémon with Shadow Tag or Arena Trap to seal the victim in, protecting and boosting effortlessly to set up a potential sweep.
** Slow Start is the signature ability of [[OlympusMons Regigigas]], which causes its Attack and Speed stats to be halved for five turns after it's sent out. As Regigigas heavily relies on those two stats to accomplish what it does, this ends up making it a pathetic attacker with very little going for it. Making things worse is that if it's switched out, the turn count resets after it's sent back out, ''even if it ran its course''. This ability alone makes Regigigas commonly considered one of, if not, ''the'' worst legendary in the series (competition only being present in base Calyrex).

** Slow Start was the signature ability of [[OlympusMons Regigigas]] (pictured above) prior to [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation 9]], which causes its Attack and Speed stats to be halved for five turns after it's sent out. As Regigigas heavily relies on those two stats to accomplish what it does, this ends up making it a pathetic attacker with very little going for it. Making things worse is that if it's switched out, the turn count resets after it's sent back out, ''even if it ran its course''. This ability alone makes Regigigas commonly considered one of, if not, ''the'' worst legendary in the series (competition only being present in base Calyrex).

** Slow Start was the signature ability of [[OlympusMons Regigigas]] (pictured above) prior to ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation 9]], which causes its Attack and Speed stats to be halved for five turns after it's sent out. As Regigigas heavily relies on those two stats to accomplish what it does, this ends up making it a pathetic attacker with very little going for it. Making things worse is that if it's switched out, the turn count resets after it's sent back out, ''even if it ran its course''. This ability alone makes Regigigas commonly considered one of, if not, ''the'' worst legendary in the series (competition only being present in base Calyrex).

** Slow Start is the signature ability of [[OlympusMons Regigigas]] (pictured above), which causes its Attack and Speed stats to be halved for five turns after it's sent out. As Regigigas heavily relies on those two stats to accomplish what it does, this ends up making it a pathetic attacker with very little going for it. Making things worse is that if it's switched out, the turn count resets after it's sent back out, ''even if it ran its course''. This ability alone makes Regigigas commonly considered one of, if not, ''the'' worst legendary in the series (competition only being present in base Calyrex).

** At the highest level of Terminally Ill, your character will suddenly drop dead after a month or so. This potentially flips over into MinmaxersDelight if you don't expect the campaign to last that long, but that's quite a real gamble if don't know how long it will go at character creation, and the book specifies "If the GM is running a one-shot adventure or short campaign, he should disallow this disadvantage as meaningless".

** At the highest level of Terminally Ill, your character will suddenly drop dead after a year or so. This potentially flips over into MinmaxersDelight if you don't expect the campaign to last that long, but that's quite a real gamble if don't know how long it will go at character creation.

...wait, it drains away your health when equipped and drains it faster with every attack? And your health cap is low to begin with?

Yep, that's [[TitleDrop That One Disadvantage]]. The one disadvantage that no smart {{minmax|ing}}er would ever take because it will most likely cripple your armor or weapon line-up, severely disrupt your plans, among other things. Accepting to be cursed with said disadvantage will most likely, and practically, ensure a quick death.

Note that the disadvantage itself might not just be in a weapon — {{mon}}s can also qualify for this if, say, their stats are let down by a horrible trait to the point it would cripple your line-up.

For a weapon to have That One Disadvantage, it should be presented as a disadvantage from the beginning. It should not just be a less smart option, it should clearly be labeled as an intentional handicap. You should get something in return for it. It has to be voluntarily chosen. And it has to be a completely disastrous option that is just plain not worth it. The only reason any remotely intelligent player would take it is as a SelfImposedChallenge, and even then it's borderline masochistic.

The disadvantage that no smart {{minmax|ing}}er would ever take because it practically ensures a quick death or severe disruption of your plans.

Clear requirement: it should be presented as a disadvantage from the beginning. It should not just be a less smart option, it should clearly be labeled as an intentional handicap. You should get something in return for it. It has to be voluntarily chosen. And it has to be a completely disastrous option that is just plain not worth it. The only reason any remotely intelligent player would take it is as a SelfImposedChallenge, and even then it's borderline masochistic.

** Generation 3 also introduced abilities, giving each Pokémon species up to two (Three, starting generation 5) abilities to choose from. Most abilities are helpful to varying degrees, but others are detrimental and can utterly neuter an otherwise viable Pokémon.
** Slow Start is the signature ability of [[OlympusMons Regigigas]], which causes its Attack and Speed stats to be halved for five turns after it's sent out. As Regigigas heavily relies on those two stats to accomplish what it does, this ends up making it a pathetic attacker with very little going for it. Making things worse is that if it's switched out, the turn count resets after it's sent back out, ''even if it ran its course.'' This ability alone makes Regigigas commonly considered one of, if not, ''the'' worst legendary in the series (Competition only being present in base Calyrex and Phione).
** Truant is even worse. Originally being the only ability given to Slaking, later being given as a hidden ability for Durant, Truant causes the user to [[LazyBum slack off every other turn]], not using any moves. When one turn can make a world of difference, this is a serious dealbreaker, especially since you can effectively remove any level of threat from a Slaking by using Protect, Dig, or Fly to avoid it on its active turns. Unlike Slow Start, Truant never wears off. It's telling that the most viable way to use the ability is to use Entrainment to pass it onto the opponent and switch to a Pokémon with Shadow Tag or Arena Trap to seal the victim in, protecting and boosting effortlessly to set up a potential sweep.

---> ''Like Unluckiness, [[UpToEleven but worse]]. Whenever anything goes wrong for your party, it happens to you, first and worst. If something goes right, it misses you. And any time the [=GM=] feels like hosing you, he can, and you have no gripe coming, because you are cursed.''

** Kite Shield makes all of the otherwise-squishy Knights get a SingleUseShield that absorbs all damage on their first hit, meaning that you will have to take at least 2 turns to kill one. By then, they can easily corner you. And if it's paired up with Bodyguard, which prevents the White King from dying as long as a Knight lives...
** Castle gives the White King the ability to [[TakingTheBullet swap place with a rook upon getting shot]], which can in many cases instantly checkmate you and end your run.

** Iron Maiden makes the [[DemonicSpiders already-dangerous]] Queens get their movement turn much slower but also makes them ''[[InvincibleMinorMinion completely invulnerable]]'' foes that can still soak up shots meant for other targets. This also makes it permanently impossible to get the very useful Queen Souls obtained from killing Queens, which allow the Black King to move like one upon spending them.

** Iron Maiden makes the [[DemonicSpiders already-dangerous]] Queens get their turn much slower but also makes them ''[[InvincibleMinorMinion completely invulnerable]]'' foes that can still soak up shots meant for other targets. This also makes it permanently impossible to get the very useful Queen Souls (obtained from killing Queens) from thereon.

* ''VideoGame/ShotgunKingTheFinalCheckmate'' has a Card system where the player selects one of two card sets at the end of a cleared floor, each containing a card that will benefit the [[VillainProtagonist Black King]] and a card that benefits [[HeroAntagonist White's forces]]. Some of the White Cards can be very detrimental to the point where it's not worth taking that set, even if the Black Card is highly beneficial:

** Castle gives the White King the ability to [{TakingTheBullet swap place with a rook upon getting shot]], which can in many cases instantly checkmate you and end your run.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has two accessories, the Goddess' Magicite and the Dawn Shard, which give large amounts of Magick Resist to whoever equips them, but also lock their MP at 0 and prevent them from using [[LimitBreak Quickenings]] or SummonMagic. In a game where magic is very strong and everyone has access to it in some form, regardless of what version you're playing, this is too big a price to pay. (And even physical builds won't appreciate the loss of Quickenings) [[spoiler: You lose both for plot reasons eventually, anyway.]] There's a ''slightly'' less bad version called Manufacted Nethicite, which only bestows permeant [[StatusEffects Silence]] in exchange for resistance to all elements, which can be situationally useful but still not something you want to use often.

** At the highest level of Terminally Ill, your character will suddenly drop dead after a year or so. This potentially flips over into MinMaxersDelight if you don't expect the campaign to last that long, but that's quite a real gamble if don't know how long it will go at character creation.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' introduced Natures starting in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation 3]], which increase one stat by 10% and lower another by 10%. While most combinations are useful to at least a few 'Mons, Lax (+Defense, -Special Defense) and Gentle (+Special Defense, -Defense) never see use in any serious setting, as even the most polarized wall, such as Chansey (with a whopping 250 base HP and 105 Special Defense, but a pathetic ''5'' base Defense), will suffer a significant drop in survivability if it [[DumpStat dumps]] its weaker defense stat, and between both attacking stats and speed, StoneWall Pokémon have plenty of other choices for a DumpStat.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has two accessories, the Goddess' Magicite and the Dawn Shard, which give large amounts of Magick Resist to whoever equips them, but also lock their MP at 0 and prevent them from using [[LimitBreak Quickenings]] or SummonMagic. In a game where magic is very strong and everyone has access to it in some form, regardless of what version you're playing, this is too big a price to pay. (And even physical builds won't appreciate the loss of Quickenings) [[spoiler: You lose both for plot reasons eventually, anyway.]] There's a ''slightly'' less bad version called Manufacted Nethicite, which only bestows permeant [[StandardStatusEffects Silence]] in exchange for resistance to all elements, which can be situationally useful but still not something you want to use often.

** Woe on anyone who takes the disadvantages Cursed or Unluckiness -- you're just begging the GM to be a dick towards you at the worst possible time. While the 75 free points you get for it are a massive advantage, especially for a low-level character, there's no way any GM worth the name isn't going to take a huge amount of pleasure in making you regret it. Here's the actual description for Cursed:
---> ''Like Unluckiness, but worse. Whenever anything goes wrong for your party, it happens to you, first and worst. If something goes right, it misses you. And any time the [=GM=] feels like hosing you, he can, and you have no gripe coming, because you are cursed.''

** There is actually an ''Easy to Kill'' disadvantage. While it can be offset with plenty of Hp, DR, etc., it's rarely taken because it's only worth -2 points per level.

* In general, any RPG with time travel in it has some way of making your character conscious of any timeline changes. If this ability is optional and the game ''focuses'' on time travel, it generally turns into this trope; skip getting this ability and you'll be spending all of your time trying to get your character to figure out things ''you already know'' instead of taking advantage of whatever you get in return.

** The same is true in 3 and New Vegas but for different reasons. Intelligence determines a characters Repair, Science, and how many skill points they get per level (+1 per point in 3, +0.5 per point in New Vegas). Having to spend more caps/equipment on repairs sucks but is manageable, but being locked out of side rooms full of treasure AND being worse at just about everything is something you'll be feeling throughout the playthrough.
** The trait "Skilled" is also widely considered a bad choice for the first two Fallout games. It gives you extra skill points each time you level up, but the tradeoff is that you get less Perks, which are generally far more useful than skill points.