RoleMaster is another tabletop RPG system that has a system like this, though they're usually called Talents and Flaws. I played in a long-running game with friends from college in that system. And since adventuring changes those who call it their profession, our characters would gain new talents and flaws over the course of our adventures, sometimes with interesting results and sometimes with interesting origins.

For instance, I played a dragon-blooded character who had a flaw called "Repulsive Habit - Minor", meaning it was the kind of thing that weirds people out without being outright disgusting. He ate eggs whole, shells and all. The GM came up with this because she decided he needed the sulphur and other minerals so he could use his fire-breathing ability, since he wasn't a full dragon and didn't produce what he needed naturally.

My other character, a chaotic little sorceress, ended up with fears of spiders, demons, squishy noises, and jello. The first two came about naturally, the third came from a failed Sanity check when dealing with these organic doors in a cultist hideout we infiltrated, and the fourth came from a lich-like being whose body went gelatinous when he died... and when he came back a moment later. @_@ The only problem is that she tended to react to things she feared by hitting them with her "blow them up from the inside out" spell. I still regret that we never got invited to a party with a large display of jello desserts. ^_^

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