Quirks

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There's a lot (its okay, we have a table).

Quirks are modifiers to your character in Space Station 13. Inspired by similar mechanics from many games (especially roguelikes, ala Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead), they impact the way you play the game in small (or sometimes large) ways by adding passive mechanical bonuses and drawbacks.

Getting Quirks

Quirks are modified through the game preferences menu by clicking on Configure Quirks. Doing so will open your quirk setup.


Quirks are organized alphabetically and by quality, in descending order: positive, negative, and neutral. You can see their names, and next to those, a short gameplay descriptor of what they do. To the right of that is a button to either take the quirk or lose it. Whenever you spawn in, either through latejoining or when the round starts, your quirk setup will be locked in - your character will have those quirks until the round ends, and changes you make to the setup during the round will not apply.

Quirks use a point system, called quirk balance, which defaults to 0. This is used to balance the quirks you take, and designed in such a way that every positive quirk requires some drawbacks. Positive quirks take from this balance, negative quirks add to it, and neutral quirks don't affect it at all.

You cannot buy a positive quirk unless you have the balance for it, but you can take any amount of negative quirks. For instance, if you take the Stormtrooper Aim quirk, you now have a quirk balance of 4 and can purchase any one quirk that has a balance cost of -4, like Night Vision. If you were to also take Family Heirloom, you would have a quirk balance of 6, and could take a quirk with a cost of -2, like Friendly, or Mime fan. Simple stuff!

Regardless of balance points, you can only have six positive quirks at a time. Unspent balance is left unused.

Example quirks setup, using the right image as a reference:

  • Starting points: 0
  • You want to take Friendly and Night Vision, meaning you'll need 6 points.
  • You take Family Heirloom to gain 2 points.
  • You take Stormtrooper Aim to gain 4 points.
  • You now have 6 points, so you can now take Friendly for 2, and Night Vision for 4.

This setup coincides with the point costs (0 - 2 - 4 + 2 + 4 = 0) as well as the positive quirk limit (2/6). If you wanted, you could also take some additional negative quirks or some neutral quirks to get more quirks to work around.

Keep in mind that there's nothing forcing you to take the maximum amount of positive quirks, spend all your points, or even use quirks at all. You are able to enter the game and play even with no quirks, so don't let it concern you too badly!

List of Quirks

Below is a list of all positive, negative, and neutral quirks in the game, including their balance costs, items that can appear in mail, and actual gameplay effects. If you don't see a quirk on here, that means it's missing - please update the list to include it! Conversely, any quirks on this list that are not in-game have likely been removed, so you are free to remove them from this list to avoid misinformation.


Positive Quirks

Positive quirks take from quirk balance and have useful or beneficial effects.

Quirk Name Balance Mail Entry Description Gameplay Effects
Clown Enjoyer 2 Clown equipment "You enjoy clown antics and get a mood boost from wearing your clown pin." A Clown Pin spawns in your bag. Attaching that pin to your jumpsuit gives you a positive moodlet.
Friendly 2 Hugbox "You give the best hugs, especially when you're in the right mood." A bigger moodlet is received by your hugs.
Mime Fan 2 Mime equipment "You enjoy mime antics and get a mood boost from wearing your mime pin." A Mime Pin spawns in your bag. Attaching that pin to your jumpsuit gives you a positive moodlet.
Musician 2 Musical instrument or headphones "You can tune handheld musical instruments to play melodies that clear certain negative effects and soothe the soul." You spawn with a musical instrument beacon in your bag. Playing an instrument gives a bigger moodlet to those who hear it.
Alcohol Tolerance 4 Wine taster skillchip "You become drunk more slowly and suffer fewer drawbacks from alcohol." You only take 70% of the drunkenness from alcohol, and some negative effects (i.e. jittering) won't affect you.
Apathetic 4 Hourglass "You just don't care as much as other people, that's nice to have in a place like this, I guess." All mood modifiers (positive and negative) are 20% less effective on you.
Jolly 4 Emotion mask "You sometimes just feel happy, for no reason at all." You will occasionally gain a boost to your mood.
Light Step 4 Sandals "You walk with a gentle step; footsteps and stepping on sharp objects is quieter and less painful. Also, your hands and clothes will not get messed in case of stepping in blood." Stepping on sharp things, like glass shards and d4s, is 20% quieter than normal. Additionally, stepping on them without shoes will deal 25% less damage than normal.
Night Vision 4 Flashdark, light remover skillchip, or shadowshroom "You can see slightly more clearly in full darkness than most people." Your vision in darkness is very slightly brighter, and you can see the 3x3 area around you without a blur.
Signer 4 "You possess excellent communication skills in sign language." You can speak in Galactic Common Sign Language. Useful to speak to talk on space without using comms, Talking to deaf people, or if you're mute yourself.
Spiritual 4 Chaplain equipment "You hold a spiritual belief, whether in God, nature or the arcane rules of the universe. You gain comfort from the presence of holy people, and believe that your prayers are more special than others. Being in the chapel makes you happy." When you pray, administrators online will see a special notice next to your name. This doesn't mean they have to respond, though.
Tagger 4 Spraycan or canvas "You're an experienced artist. People will actually be impressed by your graffiti, and you can get twice as many uses out of drawing supplies." You spawn with a spray can in your bag. In addition, the graffiti that you make will increase the decoration value of the room containing it (capped at a certain point). Art supplies are consumed at half the usual rate.
Voracious 4 Meal "Nothing gets between you and your food. You eat faster and can binge on junk food! Being fat suits you just fine." The click delay when eating food and drinking drinks is halved.
Drunken Resilience 8 Random booze "Nothing like a good drink to make you feel on top of the world. Whenever you're drunk, you slowly recover from injuries." 6 to 40 drunkenness heals 0.1 brute and 0.05 burn damage per tick. 41 to 60 drunkenness heals 0.4 brute and 0.2 burn per tick. 61 and up drunkenness heals 0.8 brute and 0.4 burn per tick.
Empath 8 Foam finger "Whether it's a sixth sense or careful study of body language, it only takes you a quick glance at someone to understand how they feel."
Freerunning 8 Skateboard or roller skates "You're great at quick moves! You can climb tables more quickly and take no damage from short falls." You climb tables 20% faster.
Self-Aware 8 Stethoscope or entrails reader skillchip "You know your body well, and can accurately assess the extent of your wounds." When checking yourself for injuries, you can see the exact amount of brute and burn damage. You can also tell if you have toxin or oxygen damage.
Skittish 8 Cardboard box "You're easy to startle, and hide frequently. Run into a closed locker to jump into it, as long as you have access. You can walk to avoid this." Ctrl+Shift+Leftclick.pngOrdinary left-click. It doesn't matter if Combat Mode Combat 32.pngEnable with 4, disable with 1 or toggle with F by default. Left-clicking people with an empty hand will Harm Harm 32.png them if on, or Help Help 32.png them if off. Prevents you from switching places or being pushed when colliding with people. is on or not. on a locker will, if you can open it, cause you to jump in and lock the door behind you.

Negative Quirks

Negative quirks add to the quirk balance and have detrimental effects.

Quirk Name Balance Mail Entry Description Gameplay Effects
Blind -16 Sunglasses or white cane "You are completely blind, nothing can counteract this." Your eye organs spawn nonfunctional, and you also spawn with a blindfold. Incurable without intervention from above.
Brain Tumor -12 Mannitol pill bottle "You have a little friend in your brain that is slowly destroying it. Better bring some mannitol!" You occasionally get some ticks of brain damage, which, if left untreated, will cause various ailments. It takes 1 minute, 40 seconds to take 10% (20 organ damage) brain damage. You also spawn with some mannitol.
Chronic Illness -12 "You have a chronic illness that requires constant medication to keep under control."
Paraplegic -12 Motorized wheelchair "Your legs do not function. Nothing will ever fix this. But hey, free wheelchair!"
Unstable -10 Random plushie spawn "Due to past troubles, you are unable to recover your sanity if you lose it. Be very careful managing your mood!"
Bad Back -8 Cane "Thanks to your poor posture, backpacks and other bags never sit right on your back. More evenly weighted objects are fine, though." Having a backpack, satchel, or other storage container on your back gives you a heavy negative moodlet. However, you can wear guns, axes, swords, and other items on your back without problems.
Blood Deficiency -8 Blood bag "Your body can't produce enough blood to sustain itself." You lose blood over time, and you will die if you neglect to get treatment. Without treatment: (15 minutes: low blood symptoms, 30 minutes: oxygen damage builds up, 32 minutes: fainting, 34 minutes: dead)
Deaf -8 Whistle "You are incurably deaf." Your ear organs spawn nonfunctional. Incurable without intervention from above.
Illiterate -8 pAI card "You dropped out of school and are unable to read or write. This affects reading, writing, using computers and other electronics." You cannot interact with books, paper, computers, tablets, and other electronics.
Pacifist -8 Random flower or cannabis "The thought of violence makes you sick. So much so, in fact, that you can't hurt anyone." You are incapable of directly hurting any other creatures. You cannot fire guns, use Harm action.png Harm 32.pngTurn on Combat Mode Combat 32.pngEnable with 4, disable with 1 or toggle with F by default. Left-clicking people with an empty hand will Harm Harm 32.png them if on, or Help Help 32.png them if off. Prevents you from switching places or being pushed when colliding with people. and then left-click a person with your hand empty. , or swing weapons. Stun batons can still stun, but that's the extent of it. Note: If you spawn as an antagonist, Pacifist is not disabled.
Pushover -8 H.A.U.L. gauntlets "Your first instinct is always to let people push you around. Resisting out of grabs will take conscious effort." It is possible for you to be infinitely tabled or given infinite swirlies if you take this quirk.
Reality Dissociation Syndrome -8 Mindbreaker pill bottle "You suffer from a severe disorder that causes very vivid hallucinations. Mindbreaker toxin can suppress its effects, and you are immune to mindbreaker's hallucinogenic properties." You suffer from intense, constant hallucinations. These include normal hallucinations but can also be strange, unique effects that can't be induced by anything else. Having this does not give you a license to act in an antagonistic manner.
Extreme Medicine Allergy -6 Epinephrine medipen "Ever since you were a kid, you've been allergic to certain chemicals..." At the start of a shift, a selection of five medicines are selected that you are allergic to. You are informed of your allergies when arriving on station. Blacklisted from selection are epinephrine, adminordrazine, omnizine, synaphydramine, and diphenhydramine. If you end up with any allergic chemicals in your system, you will suffer severe toxin damage, severe organ damage, and be flooded with Histamine.
Frail -6 Gauze, ointment, or suture "You have skin of paper and bones of glass! You suffer wounds much more easily than most." If taking this quirk, it is advisable to keep a storage of blood on hand.
Junkie -6 Random narcotic "You can't get enough of hard drugs." Start with a random drug addiction and a pill bottle full of pills for said addiction.
Quadruple Amputee -6 "Oops! All Prosthetics! Due to some truly cruel cosmic punishment, all your limbs have been taken from you." All of your limbs are replaced with surplus prosthetics, which are very fragile and need tools to repair.
Claustrophobia -4 Convermol syringe "You are terrified of small spaces and certain jolly figures. If you are placed inside any container, locker, or machinery, a panic attack sets in and you struggle to breathe." You now start suffocating when stuck inside any container. This effect also applies when being in the presence of Santa Claus.
Glass Jaw -4 Boxing Gloves, Luchador Mask "You have a very fragile jaw. Any sufficiently hard blow to your head might knock you out." Blows to your head have a chance to knock you out for 3 seconds, depending on the severity of the blow.
Mute -4 "For some reason you are completely unable to speak" Pairs well with the "Signer" positive quirk.
Nearsighted -4 Prescription glasses "You are nearsighted without prescription glasses, but spawn with a pair." Anything far away from you is difficult to see. Unlike genetic mutation nearsightedness or nearsightedness caused by eye damage, this variety cannot be cured. without admin intervention. Any new bodies created through pod cloning will suffer the same issue, so you can't circumvent it that way.
Prosopagnosia -4 Appraiser skillchip "You have a mental disorder that prevents you from being able to recognize faces at all." Examining someone will always show them as Unknown, regardless of appearance, ID, etc.
Smoker -4 Smoking equipment "Sometimes you just really want a smoke. Probably not great for your lungs." Spawn with a tobacco addiction, a lighter, and a pack of smokes. You take half the damage from smoking and your lungs have 25% less max health.
Stormtrooper Aim -4 Cardboard cutout "You're terrible with guns and can't line up a straight shot to save your life. Dual wielding is right out." Any shots you fire with projectile weapons are shifted randomly by up to 25 degrees.
Depression -3 Happiness pill bottle "You sometimes just hate life." You occasionally become sad, in a similar way to how Jolly occasionally makes you happy.
Nyctophobia -3 Random source of light "As far as you can remember, you've always been afraid of the dark. While in the dark without a light source, you instinctually act careful, and constantly feel a sense of dread." You cannot run in darkness, you can only walk. When shrouded in darkness, you get a negative moodlet modifier.
Prosthetic Limb -3 Wire or welder "An accident caused you to lose a limb. Because of this, you now have a random prosthetic!" One of your arms or legs is replaced with a surplus prosthetic, which are very fragile and need tools to repair.
Social Anxiety -3 Psicodine pill bottle "Talking to people is difficult for you, and you often stutter or even lock up." You periodically stutter, and there is a very low chance every second for you to become incapable of speech for a time.
Body Purist -2 "You believe your body is a temple and its natural form is an embodiment of perfection. Accordingly, you despise the idea of ever augmenting it with unnatural parts, cybernetics, prosthetics, or anything like it."
Family Heirloom -2 Secure briefcase "You are the current owner of an heirloom. passed down for generations. You have to keep it safe!" You start the shift with a special item, which varies based on your job and species. Examples include a golden bike horn for the Clown or a special hammer for the Lawyer. If you are not in possession of your family heirloom, you gain a significant negative mood modifier.
Heavy Sleeper -2 Sleeping equipment "You sleep like a rock! Whenever you're put to sleep, you sleep for a little bit longer." All unconsciousness effects are increased in duration by an amount between 25% and 30%.
Hypersensitive -2 Random deluxe plushie "For better or worse, everything seems to affect your mood more than it should." Mood modifier is increased by 50%.
Light Drinker -2 Water bottle "You just can't handle your drinks and get drunk very quickly."
Bad Touch -1 Pepperspray "You don't like hugs. You'd really prefer if people just left you alone." Getting hugged gives you a negative moodlet. This moodlet becomes more severe if you dip below positive sanity.



Neutral Quirks

Neutral quirks cost no points and do not impactfully alter the way the game plays.

Quirk Name Balance Mail Entry Description Gameplay Effects
Ageusia 0 Random condiment "You can't taste anything! Toxic food will still poison you." Food, drinks, and reagents have no taste to you. However, toxic food will still incur nausea.
Ananas Affinity 0 Pineapple pizza slice "You find yourself greatly enjoying fruits of the ananas genus. You can't seem to ever get enough of their sweet goodness!" Pineapple is added to your loved foods list.
Ananas Aversion 0 Pizza slice that isn't pineapple "You find yourself greatly detesting fruits of the ananas genus. Serious, how the hell can anyone say these things are good? And what kind of madman would even dare putting it on a pizza!?" Pineapple is added to your detested foods list.
Colorist 0 Hair dye spray "You like carrying around a hair dye spray to quickly apply color patterns to your hair." You start with a bottle of hair dye in your backpack.
Deviant Tastes 0 Urinal cake or burned mess "You dislike food that most people enjoy, and find delicious what they don't." Your liked and disliked foods are swapped. This means that for humans you will suddenly like raw and gross foods, but dislike fried and junk food. This differs between species, so being a lizard or moth will cause you to like and dislike different things.
Extrovert 0 Flask "You are energized by talking to others, and enjoy spending your free time in the bar." You get a free positive moodlet from staying inside the station's Bar. Mutually exclusive with Introvert.
Foreigner 0 Universal tape recorder "You're not from around here. You don't know Galactic Common!" If the recipient of this quirk is a human, then they can only understand Galactic Uncommon. If they are of a species other than human, they can only understand their native language.
Gamer 0 Intento or fedora "You are a hardcore gamer, and you have a need to game. You love winning and hate losing. You only like gamer food." Going without gaming for 15 minutes will cause a gaming withdrawal via decreased mood. Winning and losing at games will raise and lower mood respectively. Gamers only like junkfood (gamer fuel).
Heterochromatic 0 Eyepatch "One of your eyes is a different color than the other!" You can set the secondary eye color in the preferences.
Introvert 0 Random book "You are energized by having time to yourself, and enjoy spending your free time in the library." You get a free positive moodlet from staying inside the station's Library. Mutually exclusive with Extrovert.
Monochromacy 0 Trenchcoat or fedora "You suffer from full colorblindness, and perceive nearly the entire world in blacks and whites." You can no longer view colors. Play as a Detective for the full authentic noir view.
Phobia 0 Blindfold or psicodine pill bottle "You are irrationally afraid of something." You become afraid of a particular subject. When encountering that subject, you may become paralyzed, scream uncontrollably, or close your eyes (causing blindness), while having your mood tank throughout.
Photographer 0 Camera film "You carry your camera and personal photo album everywhere you go, and your scrapbooks are legendary among your coworkers." You start with a camera and a photo album that can carry photographs across rounds.
Shifty Eyes 0 Paper sack "Your eyes tend to wander all over the place, whether you mean to or not, causing people to sometimes think you're looking directly at them when you aren't." Sometimes you make eye contact with people without meaning to.
Smooth-Headed 0 Random wig "You have no hair and are quite insecure about it! Keep your wig on, or at least your head covered up." You are bald. Also, you start off with a wig on your head. Having your wig on makes you happy. Having headgear on other than your wig makes you neutral. Having no headgear makes you sad.
Snob 0 Chisel or paint palette "You care about the finer things, if a room doesn't look nice its just not really worth it, is it?" You get a positive moodlet from staying inside a room with a high decoration value (carpets, paintings, statues, and a whole bunch of other things increase the value, whilst trash, vomit, and blood decreases the value). On the other hand, you also get a negative moodlet from staying inside a room with a low decoration value.
Transhumanist 0 "You see silicon life as the perfect lifeform and despise organic flesh. You are happier around silicons, but get frustrated when around organics. You seek to replace your fleshy limbs with their silicon counterparts. You start with a robotic limb." You get positive moodlets from being near silicons, and by replacing body parts with cybernetics. However you get a negative moodlet from organics. They all scale with the amount of organics/silicons/cybernetics.
Vegetarian 0 Random salad "You find the idea of eating meat morally and physically repulsive." Meat is added to your detested food list.

Random Hardcore Character

This is an option in the character settings. This mode exists as somewhat of an extra challenge for veteran players who would like to be cool by being on a leaderboard.

If enabled, each round your character gets a random budget of points which randomly selects quirks for you. The more points you end up getting the more score you will get if you survive the round. If you are an antag you will get double the points for making it through. The survivors are listed on the end of the round report.