How much does Xenophilia overrides self-preservation instincts?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Leeland

I am not sure if i have played the disadvantage wrong all the time.

My characters with Xenophile just react to everyone exactly the same as if the other guy was a "normal" human.

I would react to an elf intimidating me with a gun exactly like i would react to an human intimidating me with a gun.
On the flip side, i would acept an invitation to dinner from a demon as likely as i would acept an invitation from an human in the same situation.

That's the Quirk-level, Broad-Minded. It doesn't make you compulsively fascinated with the exotic to the same extent and it doesn't invalidate your ability to recognise that some forms of 'exotic' can equal danger. Full-blown Xenophilia requires a Self-Control roll to resist trying to make the friendly acquintance of someone new, strange or alien, so you would be more likely to accept the invitation from the demon than from a human who was familiar to you (or at least someone from a familiar culture).

[AlexanderHowl]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

Better yet - have the next demon they face lie about most demons being good and they just got unlucky with the previous ones... then do its evil plans to them once they are off-guard.

Or the demons that humans face are the psychopaths that the demon race punish with interdimensional exile (making them vulnerable to summoning). Demons who have not faced interdimensional exile are immune to summoning and are just as good or evil as any human.

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

Originally Posted by Icelander

This is the core of why Xenophilia is a high point Disadvantage. Everyone else knows full well that demons are dangerous, but this character will never believe it (unless he buys off the Disadvantage), insisting that they can't judge an entire race by prejudices against them. Even after being attacked by lots of demons, they'll treat every new demon as a potential friend until he proves otherwise, never judging him by the actions of his kin, but only on his own behaviour.

Xenophilia is kind of admirable, actually. Suicidal, in a certain kind of world, but admirable.

In such a situation, would a xenophile character be able to notice something's off if they are asked for classified data (that they know fully well it's classified as well as why it's classified) and keep the data to themselves, like they would with normal people, or could we expect a xenophile character to let some classified data slip?

[TGLS]

I'd say Xenophile characters are more willing to see their targets as people than as a member of a group. So while they would be willing to go drinking with occupying troops, they wouldn't betray the resistance or becoming quislings at the first opportunity. And they certainly wouldn't give the brutal governor a pass simply because he's foreign.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

In such a situation, would a xenophile character be able to notice something's off if they are asked for classified data (that they know fully well it's classified as well as why it's classified) and keep the data to themselves, like they would with normal people, or could we expect a xenophile character to let some classified data slip?

I'd treat it as a conversation with any other character that the Xenophile character is trying to make friends with. If the Xenophile character is naturally loose-lipped with people he likes, he is very likely to blabber to anyone suitably exotic. If the character wouldn't break the law, betray his country or violate his code of honour, not even for people he liked and esteemed, he won't do it simply because he happens to like a lot of exotic people.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I'd treat it as a conversation with any other character that the Xenophile character is trying to make friends with. If the Xenophile character is naturally loose-lipped with people he likes, he is very likely to blabber to anyone suitably exotic. If the character wouldn't break the law, betray his country or violate his code of honour, not even for people he liked and esteemed, he won't do it simply because he happens to like a lot of exotic people.

It's a Disadvantage that a Social Engineering-savvy opponent could try to lever advantage out of.

But certainly it doesn't generate automatic failure to resist.

[Kelly Pedersen]

It would probably be reasonable to impose a penalty on a Xenophiliac character's rolls to resist Influence rolls and other rolls to deceive them from "exotic" sources, similar to the one that a Phobia imposes when you're in the presence of the source of fear. So, penalty based on the self-control number: -1 for 15, -2 for 12, -3 for 9, and -4 for 6.

So, if a mysterious alien came up to the character with Xenophilia (self-control 12) and tried to convince them that, no really, they're a legitimate person to give the secret documents to, the character would have -2 to on Perception, Detect Lies, or Body Language rolls to see through the alien's Acting roll.

[AlexanderHowl]

Not really, a character with Xenophilia is not blind to differences, and it does not give them Gullibility (if they would not give secrets to human strangers, they are not more willing to give secrets to alien strangers). If Humans are at war with Alien Race X, no amount of Xenophilia is going to make it likely that a loyal Human soldier will give secrets to members of Alien Race X (they would probably treat captured soldiers from Alien Race X quite well and be respectful of Alien Race X civilians while occupying their territory though). If Alien Race X is sexual compatible with Humans, they might have an Alien Race X lover as well.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

It's a Disadvantage that a Social Engineering-savvy opponent could try to lever advantage out of.

But certainly it doesn't generate automatic failure to resist.

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

It would probably be reasonable to impose a penalty on a Xenophiliac character's rolls to resist Influence rolls and other rolls to deceive them from "exotic" sources, similar to the one that a Phobia imposes when you're in the presence of the source of fear. So, penalty based on the self-control number: -1 for 15, -2 for 12, -3 for 9, and -4 for 6.

So, if a mysterious alien came up to the character with Xenophilia (self-control 12) and tried to convince them that, no really, they're a legitimate person to give the secret documents to, the character would have -2 to on Perception, Detect Lies, or Body Language rolls to see through the alien's Acting roll.

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Not really, a character with Xenophilia is not blind to differences, and it does not give them Gullibility (if they would not give secrets to human strangers, they are not more willing to give secrets to alien strangers). If Humans are at war with Alien Race X, no amount of Xenophilia is going to make it likely that a loyal Human soldier will give secrets to members of Alien Race X (they would probably treat captured soldiers from Alien Race X quite well and be respectful of Alien Race X civilians while occupying their territory though). If Alien Race X is sexual compatible with Humans, they might have an Alien Race X lover as well.

They are more likely to give the secrets to an alien than any random human. As noted, they have a compulsion to make friends with aliens, not with random humans.

So, with aliens, they are effecively behaving as they do toward people they like or whose good opinion they value highly. Xenophila is going to be exploitable by a social engineer who counts as 'exotic', just as Lecherous can be by a character who falls under the preferred lust object can do with someone with that Disadvantage.

It isn't an automatic failure or anything, but people with Disadvantages that make them seek intimacy with strangers (which doesn't have to be sexual) are certainly at a higher risk for being taken advantage of by strangers using that against them.

[AlexanderHowl]

They are not compelled to do anything, and I think you are reading far too much into the disadvantage. An unsuccessful control roll only means that the character assumes that the entity in question is interested in interacting with them socially (Characters, 162). The disadvantage comes from the simple fact that foreign soldiers (or cute vampires [or TMWNMTK]) are not necessarily going to feel sociable and the character is unwilling to shoot first and ask questions later when violence might appear to be the most rational reaction.