Trickster - what is this exactly?

[GWJ]

Like in topic - because description in Basic Set doesn't tell me any specifics, and we're never know what exact behaviors/effects etc. should this disadvantage trigger... Presently we play Dungeon Fantasy campaign and swashbuckler want to get this disadvantage, but I can't tell him exactly what is this, what it's not, what he should exactly doing, in which situations yes and in which no, etc. etc...

[Bruno]

"Trickster" is that jackass fratboy who keeps pranking people, as much as it is Brier Rabbit or Bugs Bunny.

I played a gnome trickster in a DF game. After a run where she had no good opportunities to prank bad guys, she basically imploded on her Self Control roll. She cast Sleep on the Catfolk martial artist while he was asleep (to *keep* him asleep), and then shaved him. And tidied up all the fur too, because magic is the prankster's best friend. Poof, no fur. Poor guy.

[corwyn]

It seems fairly straight forward to me. If you fail your SC roll, you need to pull a practical joke on someone/thing that will cause you serious trouble if you are caught. Be creative.

If in civilization, go find someone - a guard, a noble, a Barbarian, whatever.

If in a dungeon, i would consider taking a risk to embarass a monster while scouting or do a risky move in combat which would be humiliating but doesn't particularly do damage.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by corwyn

If in a dungeon, i would consider taking a risk to embarass a monster while scouting or do a risky move in combat which would be humiliating but doesn't particularly do damage.

"Pants"[1] the orc war-leader in front of his war party. Not only is it a prank, but then he risks falling on his face while trying to murder you, which gives you a chance to run away giggling.
For the barbarian Tricksters, consider the "atomic wedgie"[2], which if it's not written up as a Martial Arts technique yet, it should be.

[1] For English-as-a-second-language readers, this refers to sneaking up behind someone and yanking their trousers down in front of a large audience. Generally they get to keep their underpants in place, but sometimes you get a critical success and they loose everything.

[2] Grabbing an unfortunate male victim's underwear waistband from behind and yanking it up and over their head. The things children do to each other, I swear.

[malloyd]

Keep in mind you get a *lot* of points for this. It isn't just you stage fun pranks that mildly irritate people (that would be more like -5*) At -15* it is on par with you do suicidal stuff (On the Edge is -15*), or are regarded by everybody as worthy of being slain on sight (Social Stigma: Monster is -15 for all the time, and you don't suffer it until you pull a prank, so when it kicks in you do something that makes everyone believe you *worse* than a man eating monster?). You can and should regularly be compelled to do dangerous stuff to set up pranks, play them on murderous people you could absolutely never win a fight with and openly claim credit, and/or do stuff that will get you hanged if you ever return to this town. And those companions who brought you here probably deserve a good whipping for their insolence too....

Played as written for the points, it's a fairly crippling problem that more or less precludes ongoing social relationships - which for a DF setting that only has the one Town could be Really Bad. That said, it's one of those disadvantages most players and GMs treat as a lot less serious than they probably should.

[Flyndaran]

Tricksters troll the guy with temper problems and access to weapons.
They keep going past good humor, decency, common sense, and even self preservation instincts.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Played as written for the points, it's a fairly crippling problem

That was always my interpretation of the text as it's written, as well. Note that not only the foes you have to trick "dangerous", they're dangerous in italics for extra emphasis. Ordinary victims don't count. Not only that, but you're required to to annoy these perilous foes every day. Every single day. That suggests a rather short effective lifespan, or a pool of remarkably tolerant victims -- sort of belief-stretching in a DF atmosphere.

Like a number of the advantages in Characters, this one seems to be pretty extreme. Maybe it should be, given that it's -15 points. There are other Disads that are also adventure-failing and likely lethal, not in fun ways. As written, these aren't just cute bits of characterization. I'm always torn over not properly enforcing the Disad as described, which means letting players get away with free points and thus penalizing the people that didn't go for the game-wrecking problems. Or trying to figure out if the author was just overly enthusiastic when those Disads were described.

Perhaps we'd be better off with toned-down versions for fewer points.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Perhaps we'd be better off with toned-down versions for fewer points.

It's legit to tone things down all the way to a quirk - I don't see why more-restrained variants that aren't quite so mild can't exist too.

-5 and -10 versions of Trickster can be compared to Compulsive Behavior and Obsession, as Trickster is arguably a variation of those disads. It also sheds light on how bad the default -15 Trickster is.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Perhaps we'd be better off with toned-down versions for fewer points.

Probably. That jackass frat boy everybody hated upthread probably has the -5* point form. Anybody in the modern world who had the -15* form is in jail for vandalizing police stations, if not worse.

[Litvyak]

I think, as written, Trickster probably works best for a grifter-type character who is addicted to the thrill of the con.