Modelling ability to 'act/be fictional character

lachimba · 02-12-2012, 08:37 PM

I am interested in modelling the power below for a potential off beat, breaking fourth wall game.

In some movies/tv shows the characters sometimes act like other characters from fiction. Often this means they can and do things which their 'real character' never could.

For example, they read a book about Huckle Berry Finn, then take on not just personality, but also the advatnages, disadvantages and skills of the character. They speak his accent, have a delusion they are a teenager and know all things a teenager in the 1800s would have known.

Community has done this more than a few times (it even goes further with characters able to take on the abilities and traits of general) particularly in Modern Warfare and For a Few Paintballs more.

Now I could just say... that's acting and a quirk or mix of delusions as a disadvantage, but thats not much fun and it doesn't model well character suddenly being 'good' where they weren't one session before. Also it seems to me you can push this ability enough to even get 'soft' superpowers into an otherwise 'normal campaign' so its interesting for me.

My thoughts:

The best/easiest way is modular abilities cosmic with limitations of only being used for alternate form (the form is really just identical to the orginal character) stacked up with all the new abilities, a compulsory split personaility while in the other form and a requirment that it be either a character from fiction or appropriate archetype for what is going on in the session.

other ideas?

02-12-2012, 08:37 PM	#1
lachimba MIB Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney	Modelling ability to 'act/be fictional character I am interested in modelling the power below for a potential off beat, breaking fourth wall game. In some movies/tv shows the characters sometimes act like other characters from fiction. Often this means they can and do things which their 'real character' never could. For example, they read a book about Huckle Berry Finn, then take on not just personality, but also the advatnages, disadvantages and skills of the character. They speak his accent, have a delusion they are a teenager and know all things a teenager in the 1800s would have known. Community has done this more than a few times (it even goes further with characters able to take on the abilities and traits of general) particularly in Modern Warfare and For a Few Paintballs more. Now I could just say... that's acting and a quirk or mix of delusions as a disadvantage, but thats not much fun and it doesn't model well character suddenly being 'good' where they weren't one session before. Also it seems to me you can push this ability enough to even get 'soft' superpowers into an otherwise 'normal campaign' so its interesting for me. My thoughts: The best/easiest way is modular abilities cosmic with limitations of only being used for alternate form (the form is really just identical to the orginal character) stacked up with all the new abilities, a compulsory split personaility while in the other form and a requirment that it be either a character from fiction or appropriate archetype for what is going on in the session. other ideas?