12-18-2017, 08:45 AM | #21 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
I think I've used it wholly as an NPC trait. I've played villainous traits before, but the analysis of it being "Petty" seems to be correct. I've never found a way to make it interesting.
Of course, NPC traits are needed and vital.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
12-18-2017, 09:09 AM | #22 |
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: South Dakota, USA
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
When discussing possible protagonist Bullies in fiction, I think it is good to remember that
Of course, YMMV even taking these all into account; I grew up at least superficially valuing intelligence, and know that my base nature is quite petty. As such, it is easy for the severe snarker to still impress me unless I am his or her direct target, at which point I finally realize that he or she is using this to bully.
__________________
My GURPS Fourth Edition library consists of Basic Set: Characters, Basic Set: Campaigns, Martial Arts, Powers, Powers: Enhanced Senses, Power-Ups 1: Imbuements, Power-Ups 2: Perks, Power-Ups 3: Talents, Power-Ups 4: Enhancements, Power-Ups 6: Quirks, Power-Ups 8: Limitations, Powers, Social Engineering, Supers, Template Toolkit 1: Characters, Template Toolkit 2: Races, one issue of Pyramid (3/83) a.k.a. Alternate GURPS IV, GURPS Classic Rogues, and GURPS Classic Warriors. Most of which was provided through the generosity of others. Thanks! :) |
12-18-2017, 09:14 AM | #23 | |
Join Date: Jul 2012
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
I remember how miserable my first experience of GURPS was, and it turned out the player I thought of as a bad person later turned out to be playing a character with Bully. Now it turns out the player was not exactly a good person, but it seems like the disadvantage essentially gave the player license for disruptive behaviour.
Others have mentioned OPH for House, and I like that for a more nuanced, good-natured version for a snarky and sarcastic character who doesn’t mean any harm by it. At [-10] for a -2 penalty that can work rather well for something that’s similar but doesn’t quite fit. I don't know how well it applies to House, but if you don't want to pigeon-hole yourself into a role, OPH can do the job of "almost-but-not-quite" for a lot of other disadvantages. Quote:
|
|
12-18-2017, 10:36 AM | #24 | |
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Quote:
I guess I find the thought of playing a PC who's clearly a wish-fulfilment fantasy a bit... icky. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently wrong with self-indulgent fantasising, but subjecting other people to what amounts to self-stimulation is generally considered impolite, at best, unless they've explicitly indicated interest in sharing the experience. Just ask Louie CK. Which is why I generally try to make PCs who are flawed people, with traits that make them interesting in a fictional context (and motivated to buy into the campaign premise), but not someone I'd fantasise about being. Maybe I even go too far sometimes to avoid the implications of the PC as wish-fulfilment. I've noticed that I usually give my characters one or more traits that are deliberately at odds with what I find cool, sympathetic or titillating. And if I notice similarities in characters I've played, I'm likely to try to dramatically vary from that trend the next time I get to make a PC. So maybe I should play a Bully, next time. It would be an interesting challenge to try to make a character with Bully who is nevertheless a valuable part of a more-or-less heroic group of PCs, not to mention at least somewhat sympathetic.
__________________
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 12-18-2017 at 10:43 AM. |
|
12-18-2017, 10:41 AM | #25 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Early-seasons House thinks he has Intolerance (stupid people) [-5]. He actually has Intolerance (everybody who isn't me, and sometimes me as well) [-10].
__________________
Podcast: Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice Gaming stuff here: Tekeli-li! Blog; Webcomic Laager and Limehouse Buy things by me on Warehouse 23 |
12-18-2017, 11:13 AM | #26 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Also the final arc which starts from him bullying a police officer and how 'badly' it ends up turning out for him.
|
12-18-2017, 03:24 PM | #27 | |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Quote:
But bullying a bully with more power is probably what eventually destroys most bullies. Even more so than just bullying someone with the power to fight back. It takes another bully to get vindictively destructive, I imagine.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
|
12-18-2017, 03:58 PM | #28 | |
Join Date: Jul 2005
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Quote:
A character you enjoy playing need not be a pure wish fulfillment. But they do need to be someone you can feel comfortable with being for any length of time. And there are a large number of people for whom being a bully is a wish fulfillment: they regard being allowed to be ****** towards other people as a grand thing. Being able to say 'But I'm just playing my character!' is an excuse that only leads you so far. I would not be comfortable with someone at the table who actively enjoyed playing a bully. And if they volunteered for the job, rather than having it thrust upon them by the GM, then I'd rather not share social space with them.
__________________
Michael Cule,
Genius for Hire, Gaming Dinosaur Second Class |
|
12-18-2017, 04:40 PM | #29 | |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Quote:
__________________
Podcast: Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice Gaming stuff here: Tekeli-li! Blog; Webcomic Laager and Limehouse Buy things by me on Warehouse 23 |
|
12-19-2017, 05:29 AM | #30 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: U.K.
|
Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the week: Bully
Thinking about well-known fictional characters, the one who I recall first who's described as being a bully is Harry Flashman. And interestingly, while his original version, in Tom Brown's Schooldays, was clearly shown as a bully, he was also an unambiguous villain who came, moralistically, to a bad end. MacDonald Fraser's version's bully status is more ambiguous; as I recall (it's a while since I read the books), we only see him bullying people occasionally and briefly, and mostly fairly trivially. TV Tropes might say "Informed Flaw", even.
Because of course he's the protagonist (and the narrator), and while he's an anti-hero, the books need to maintain a certain level of reader sympathy. He's certainly selfish, a coward, and a lecher, as we see amply illustrated, but those traits are funny -- and while they make him a jerk, well, we can most of us admit to a certain preference for not getting hurt and a liking for sex, so we can manage a degree of sympathy for Flashman's instincts. So even the classic bully gets it toned down. (I do also recall the classic Tomkinson's Schooldays, including the very end...)
__________________
-- Phil Masters My Home Page. My Self-Publications: On Warehouse 23 and On DriveThruRPG. |
Tags |
bully, disadvantage of the week |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|