Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - NO Cultural Familiarity

pgb · 04-12-2012, 07:38 AM

Is there any official pointer on (the cost of) allowing an individual to have NO Cultural Familiarity? This might represent a real mental problem like Low Empathy (but affecting a different set of skills), or just a very peculiar upbringing or origin.

What if the PC's origin is not that peculiar, but their native CF is going to be no use to them, and not buying the extra CF for the locale for the campaign is right conceptually for the character - at least as they start out?

In some cases the disadvantage would be easy to buy off, in others it would be difficult or impossible. But in the meantime, it is potentially a serious problem, and I'd like to price it appropriately.

Pricing it symmetrically with extra CFs, as a quirk, would seem far too stingy. But doing anything else is also a bit odd, since presumably there will be PCs around who HAVE bought the relevant CF for just one CP. It's not an anti-talent, since the PC may HAVE some of the skills it covers. It could be 3 levels of a group incompetence (pB166, 452) - by the book it would be -45(!), but comparison with other cases suggests -15 or -20. Maybe -30; I would like to have it levelled, so it could be bought off gradually.

I'm thinking about this from a GM point of view - so I'm not too worried about `abuse'. Perhaps it would only be available as part of a template... Or perhaps it would only be available if it was essentially permanent.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Paul.

04-12-2012, 07:38 AM	#1
pgb Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: UK	NO Cultural Familiarity - pricing Is there any official pointer on (the cost of) allowing an individual to have NO Cultural Familiarity? This might represent a real mental problem like Low Empathy (but affecting a different set of skills), or just a very peculiar upbringing or origin. What if the PC's origin is not that peculiar, but their native CF is going to be no use to them, and not buying the extra CF for the locale for the campaign is right conceptually for the character - at least as they start out? In some cases the disadvantage would be easy to buy off, in others it would be difficult or impossible. But in the meantime, it is potentially a serious problem, and I'd like to price it appropriately. Pricing it symmetrically with extra CFs, as a quirk, would seem far too stingy. But doing anything else is also a bit odd, since presumably there will be PCs around who HAVE bought the relevant CF for just one CP. It's not an anti-talent, since the PC may HAVE some of the skills it covers. It could be 3 levels of a group incompetence (pB166, 452) - by the book it would be -45(!), but comparison with other cases suggests -15 or -20. Maybe -30; I would like to have it levelled, so it could be bought off gradually. I'm thinking about this from a GM point of view - so I'm not too worried about `abuse'. Perhaps it would only be available as part of a template... Or perhaps it would only be available if it was essentially permanent. Thanks for any thoughts, Paul.