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Post by jonas on May 21, 2017 11:16:01 GMT -8
Hi - I need some guidance regarding Self Control.
In the old days - before I started listening to Happy Jacks - I forced my players to roll for Self Control for their disads fairly often. Whenever the characters were in a stressful situation (which happends a lot in good stories), I looked for fiting disadvantages, gave an evil smile and made them roll (and do something detrimental to themselves when they failed).
But now - after learning more about player agency and yes-anding - I''m not that sure anymore.
Let's say that the characters need to get important information from a bunch of annoying kids (the horrible kind that think that THEIR stupid music is better than the one I listened to when I was young) and one of the PCs have Bad Temper. I'm playing the kids really rude and obnoxious, but the player roleplays that it doesn't bother him: "Kids will be kids, and I used to be like that myself when I was young."
When is the perfect time to ask for a SC roll? Shall I wait for when the player roleplays annoyd? Let the player decide himself? Ask the other players for input?
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Post by chronovore on May 22, 2017 15:27:49 GMT -8
tl;dr – Suggest it to them. "These kids are being jerks, and your character has a short fuse due to Bad Temper. How are you feeling?"
One of the rules I most enjoy in FATE are Compels, where the GM (or even another player) can suggest that a current situation can negatively play into a Player Character's Aspect. If the player accepts the suggestion, they're rewarded with a Fate Point, but they can also refuse the Compel if they pay a point from their own purse.
IIRC in GURPS the rules were clear about Disadvantages being resisted by rolling against the associated statistic, or the player can choose to embrace their character's limitations and roleplay it willingly. In GURPS 3rd Ed., the last edition with which I'm familiar, I don't recall a suggested reward for players who dive gleefully into their Disadvantages. Depending on the severity of the problems they're causing for themselves, I'd likely award a ½ Character Point for every instance during play where they really worked their Disads.
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ZT
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 24
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Post by ZT on May 23, 2017 8:11:00 GMT -8
+1 on chronovore's post, though the group has to be one that embraces their disads as a RP vehicle and not just free character points. I only use SC rolls in places where the player is blatantly ignoring their disadvantages or are stuck in that "Play the character or play what's best for the party|story|group" conundrum. Then if the rest of the party is mad (which in an RP group would probably be never), the player can always fall back on the dice roll as an excuse.
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Post by zoomfarg on May 23, 2017 17:00:02 GMT -8
jonas, this thread has given me the kernel of an idea! I've always liked the Wild Talents approach to disadvantages: if they cause significant problems, give the character extra XP for the session. So maybe borrow that for GURPS disads that have self control rolls. The disad is worth 0 CP at character creation, and there's never a self control roll. Instead, the disad gives extra XP based on how much of a problem it was, perhaps using a little scale: So (similar chronovore was saying) 0.5 XP if the disad caused a minor problem or for remarkable roleplaying, 1 XP if it caused a moderate problem, and 1.5 or 2 if it caused a major problem. To bring balance, maybe say that only the single greatest value will be recognized. So if one disad causes a minor problem and a moderate problem in one session, it's still only with 1 XP for the session. Maybe there's already an "Alternate GURPS" article like this in Pyramid somewhere, though not in any of the issues I've read. EDIT: The rule might also work with frequency-of-appearance disads, like Enemy.
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Post by chronovore on May 23, 2017 17:12:36 GMT -8
That's a good idea, but in lieu of the WHYNOTBOTH.gif – why not both? Give the points as standard in character creation, and then award them more points in sessions where the Disad was accepted and roleplayed by the player?
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Post by zoomfarg on May 28, 2017 4:03:50 GMT -8
To maintain some sort of balance with the disads that don't involve self control rolls. Of course, you could just handle *all* disads with the paid-as-you-play model.
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