[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Gluttony and Increased Consumption

[johndallman]

Gluttony [-5*] is a mundane mental disadvantage with a self-control roll. You’re fond enough of good food and drink for it to be a problem for you. The disadvantage appeared at GURPS 1e, and hasn’t fundamentally changed since then.

Gluttons do their best to make sure that there will be plenty to eat and drink on adventures, and are happy to carry supplies. They never willingly miss meals, and need to make a self-control roll to resist tempting food and drink when there’s a good reason for doing so. Clearly, this disadvantage provides an excellent reason for being overweight but this is not required.

Increased Consumption [-10/level] is a mundane physical disadvantage. Where Gluttony is an inclination, this is a hard requirement to consume more food, fuel, or whatever keeps you going. Each level doubles the number of meals you must eat a day, or halves your endurance between refuellings. Normal humans who are Overweight or heavier, or have Gluttony, can take a single level of this disadvantage.

Gluttony is a fairly common disadvantage option on published templates, especially for Discworld wizards, gargoyles and halflings. Increased Consumption is rarer, but Aliens: Sparrials have it. Bio-Tech can supply Gluttony as a behavioural modification, or remove it with gene therapy. Fantasy dragons are usually gluttons, as are several Horror monsters, and Madness Dossier Sandmen can cause it with drugs. The Power-Ups series has quirk-level versions of both disadvantages, and can use them as limitations of other traits. Several Reign of Steel: Will to Live robots have Increased Consumption, and that disadvantage is significant for Space ecosystem carrying capacity. Ultra-Tech robots with biological bodies often eat a lot, and mechanical Zombies follow suit.

I haven’t seen these disadvantages be important, although I think a PC in the first GURPS game I ever played was a glutton. Have they been entertaining in your games?

[Bruno]

My character in Christopher's current campaign has Increased Consumption 1, as a werewolf (and thus accelerated metabolism). Leo is also a touch neurotic, and over-eats to the point of Gluttony (on top of Increased Consumption) to suppress the Beasts hunger. He's also just plain a big man with an active lifestyle, and realistically needs to eat.

Leo's eating has been an ongoing joke - in just about any lull, Leo can be found eating a Powerbar, or jerky, or desperately trying to open a Twinkie silently. Technically he should really crinkle a bit from all the snack food he carries around. When the party goes out for food, Leo's the guy who orders four double big macs, an extra large fries, and a soda as big as your head - and manages to eat a hamburger before you even get to the table. He's the guy who takes the 72 oz steak challenge and wins. He is not welcome at any buffet in Boston.

It has become a character defining trait, even though it's a racial one.

[Pursuivant]

I see Gluttony as more of a "color" trait, while traits like Increased Consumption, Increased Life Support, and/or Restricted Diet are more "logistical" disads.

Biologically, Gluttony seems appropriate for any sort of animal which will go far out of its way to acquire high-quality food, will unhesitatingly eat tasty but potentially dangerous foods, and/or will eat until it is physically sick.

That seems appropriate for many predators and scavengers unless they are notably bait- or trap-shy. It also applies to some herbivores, like cows, horses, or sheep, who will eat themselves to death if they get enough rich fodder (e.g., a horse which will jump a fence to get into an apple orchard, or tear open a sack of oats, then eat until it suffers a fatal colic). It might apply to critters like monkeys or elephants who will risk their lives to raid tasty crops, even though they're arguably smart enough to know better.

Animals like bears or squirrels might have a limited form of Gluttony when they start eating to put on fat for the winter.

For sapient creatures, Gluttony can represent either a gourmand who will eat anything ("Supersize it? Hell, yeah!"), or a more refined "foodie" who is just as dedicated and obnoxious about eating more refined fare. ("Never mind the travel advisories, you haven't truly lived until you've tasted authentic home-made Waziri ibex biryani!"). Combine it with traits like Callous, Delusion, or Sadism to create epicurean villains ("A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.").

Increased Consumption is appropriate for creatures with high metabolisms and/or sufficient Size such that they must consume more food than humans. Realistically, most SM 1 or greater animals are likely to have Increased Consumption, although proportionately they might consume less food per pound/kilo of mass than smaller creatures.

[ericthered]

I've seen little done with gluttony, though when I look at it, I scratch my head as to why. Its good color and not very dangerous. Why don't I see it more?

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I've seen little done with gluttony, though when I look at it, I scratch my head as to why. Its good color and not very dangerous. Why don't I see it more?

I'd say it gets used fairly often, usually because it's almost free points- it adds some colour, but it rarely actually disadvantages the PC.

[Black Leviathan]

I shy away from increased consumption for humans as it implies a metabolism radically different from the human norm. In the past the disadvantage has been problematic for play because of this.

Increased consumption is also purely a metabolic trait. It doesn't reflect any psychology around eating like gluttony. If you are trapped on a desert island with limited supplies a character with increased consumption will feel hunger faster but won't necessarily behave unethically. However a glutton will have to make control rolls not to go after the food and water before others can eat it.

[Flyndaran]

It certainly fits a poorly managed hyperthyroid. I lost weight eating an average of 5k Calories a day back when mine was hyper. And that was the only symptom, thankfully. Back then I was only mildly active too.

It's not optimal or healthy long term, obviously. But for Gurps time periods of months to a couple years, it's not necessarily disadvantageous in any way other than food bill and insane hunger.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I've seen little done with gluttony, though when I look at it, I scratch my head as to why. Its good color and not very dangerous. Why don't I see it more?

Who wants to be a glutton though?

No really, it's not 'sexy' like Lecherous, Compulsive Carousing, Xenophilia, etc...


Lately I've seen it skipped because it increases In Town costs, and the mind set of "whatever cuts into the bottom line has to go" comes into play.

[isf]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Who wants to be a glutton though?

No really, it's not 'sexy' like Lecherous, Compulsive Carousing, Xenophilia, etc...


Lately I've seen it skipped because it increases In Town costs, and the mind set of "whatever cuts into the bottom line has to go" comes into play.

I've played a Glranthan Troll in a couple of dnd games and he would have had gluttony and universal digestion in gurps terms: currently in Dnd5E in the underdark with the start of an Ogre warband along with the usual party of escaped slaves.