Cost: 1-5

Description: Some folks just have a hard time keepin' their mind on what they're doing.

There's something your character finds extremely distracting, to the point that your character will drop what she's doing and watch (or participate in) whatever it is distracting her.

In game terms, your character must make a Onerous (7) Spirit roll, subtracting the cost of the hinderance from the roll. A gal with a Distraction (-1) would subtract one from the roll, while someone with a Distraction (-5) would subtract five from the roll.

Success means that your character was able to stay focused despite the distraction. Failure means that your character stops whatever it was he was doing beforehand and focuses on his particular distraction. Additionally, once the character is distracted, he remains distracted until (A) he passes a Onerous (7) Spirit roll with the appropriate penalty; (B) someone makes a successful persuasion roll against your character; or (C) the distraction goes away.

Some possible distractions include purty women, games of chance, or losing a particular hat.

Example: J.P. MacGillicudy, the noted Riverboat gambler, has a distraction (-2) when it comes to games of chance. He's chasing a thug through the back alleys of Albuquerque when he stumbles across a group of men having an impromptu craps game behind the local saloon. A successful Spirit roll with a -2 penalty means that J.P. continues after the thug without even breakin' stride. A failed roll means he notices the dice game and cain't help but stop a bit to roll the bones.

'Nother Example: Pete Hutter (from the TV show Brisco County, Jr.) has a Distraction (-5) when it comes to his gun. If he loses his gun (or if someone takes his gun), he must pass a Spirit roll (with a -5 penalty) before he can do anything. A failed roll indicates that Hutter will obsessively search for the gun or just sit despondently and mutter "I've lost my piece" under his breath.

Notes: Once the character gets a success, he is no longer distracted by that particular incident for 24 hours. (e.g. Once MacGillicudy gets a success, he can pass by that particular crap game again and not be distracted.)

The Marshal should adjust the penalties in favor of the character (if not negating the hinderance altogether) under particularly stressful situations. If MacGillicudy is being shot at as he runs down the alley past the crap game, his self-preservation will probably kick in before he gets too distracted.

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