Reverse of Weirdness Magnet

[hcobb]

Dr. Who's time machine, the Tardis, is incapable of reaching uninteresting times.

Any random spot in time and space it shows up at is just about to be invaded from another world at the very least.

Is this just another way of playing out Weirdness Magnet for a jumper?

[Stone Dog]

Adventuring PCs find adventure isn't Weirdness Magnet. Adventures are nasty and disturbing things that make you late for dinner. Weirdness Magnet just involves odd things happening on the way. Things that are a bit irritating, but not usually very dangerous.

[Ejidoth]

I tend to read players taking Weirdness Magnet as 'I promise not to complain when really improbable things happen to move the plot along or improbable new subplots pop up or whatever, if you'll give me fifteen more points.'

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Dr. Who's time machine, the Tardis, is incapable of reaching uninteresting times.

Any random spot in time and space it shows up at is just about to be invaded from another world at the very least.

Is this just another way of playing out Weirdness Magnet for a jumper?

It's called "Being a PC".

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Stone Dog

Adventuring PCs find adventure isn't Weirdness Magnet. Adventures are nasty and disturbing things that make you late for dinner. Weirdness Magnet just involves odd things happening on the way. Things that are a bit irritating, but not usually very dangerous.

Actually it's probably supposed to be considerably worse than that, it *is* a -15 point disadvantage that draws stuff to which people react quite negatively to you for.

But no, the Tardis always materializes somewhere interesting stuff is happening isn't Weirdness Magnet - the events are usually not particularly weird (by the standards of Timelords anyway) nor would they often be particularly inconviencing to the Doctor if he just ignored them rather than jumping in and getting involved. I think this is the 0 point Feature "Is a Main Character", combined with some sort of Sense of Duty from the Doctor.

Incidentally I've found that ruling that WM includes Unluckiness, that is explicitly stating that it will result in you being automatically screwed over once a session, but in a weird way, as per the Unluckiness disadvantage, has pretty firmly moved it back into the serious disadvantage category and not the free points I have to ban to discourage everybody from taking it that it used to be. It probably should always have been played like that, but adding the slightly harder rule of Unluckiness to the description clarifies it a lot.

[fschiff]

Isn't there a disadvantage called 'Mundanity.'

[Wraithe]

Originally Posted by fschiff

Isn't there a disadvantage called 'Mundanity.'

Well, the question is whether it's a disadvantage:

Normalcy magnet [15 points]

Nothing weird tends to happen around you, or if it does, not for very long. Invading aliens will realize they've left their toothbrushes at home, and leave to go get them. Demons will appear and decide to go somewhere else. Mystic maps will turn out to be complete gibberish, leading nowhere interesting, unless occasionally, to a good restaurant. Intradimensional gates cannot open to strange new universes in your presence.

"Normal" people who realize you are a Normalcy Magnet will react to you at a +1 (+2 during a crisis), while thrill seekers, paranormal investigators and adventurers will react to you at -4, once they realize you are a Normalcy Magnet.

[Stone Dog]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Actually it's probably supposed to be considerably worse than that, it *is* a -15 point disadvantage that draws stuff to which people react quite negatively to you for.

It is only a -2. You get the same modifier for looking like Shane Macgowan.

It can easily be a low grade sort of Serendipity effect. Always on, but most of the time it doesn't actually DO anything but get in the way and bring attention to you.

I'd make it less like Unluck and more like Cursed (-90% Mostly Harmless, +10% -2 Reputation) or something close to it. Where if you were Cursed then the demon lord would change plans on seeing you to include something personally unpleasant, but since you are just a Weirdness Magnet you remind him of an old minion and it amuses him before the encounter goes on like normal.

[moldymaltquaffer]

If you come home from work to find your mailbox (briefly) crammed full of live frogs.
If you turn on your television only to see real-time video of yourself, but can't find the camera.
If you go to the fridge, and find that everything in it has been transformed into rutabagas.
If you're walking your dog, and a catholic schoolgirl with glowing red eyes greets you in a language you don't understand.
If your head hardly hits the pillow before your sleep is interrupted by an alien abduction.
And this is an unremarkable evening for you, then you have the Weirdness Magnet disad.

It's 15 points of distilled Masochism.
(And lots of fun!)

[Stone Dog]

Originally Posted by fschiff

Isn't there a disadvantage called 'Mundanity.'

Mundane Background. You are so normal that you can't even learn about the supernatural or use equipment based on it until you come to grips with the fact that it is real.