Can fright checks from phobia's give permanent quirks?

[oneofmanynameless]

Originally Posted by Hide

What do you mean by CP advancement sinks? Do you award players with CP for acquiring quirks during the game? Or do you mean they start generating negative CP and thus, part of their earnings gets lost in buying off the quirks?

The latter.

Originally Posted by Hide

I do not take phobias because the characters tend to lose their autonomy if you let them for a long time. IMO the part of acquiring a lot of quirks with phobias is what justifies their cost; removing this element would reduce phobias to a quirk.

You forget that phobias generate substantial penalties when in the presence of the thing. That's not really a quirk.

EDIT to add: Also there is a quirk level version of a phobia: Dislike is defined as such. It gives minor bonuses to manipulate you, but doesn't not give a fright check or a penalty in it's presence.

[Dalin]

Are there other disadvantages that generate further negative traits? It seems like from a theoretical level, that could be an interesting sort of disadvantage. Part of the original cost includes the chance that you will slowly accrue further disadvantages (or need to siphon off some earned CP to offset them). From a generalized perspective, you're agreeing that your character will advance slightly more slowly than the rest of the party.

Whether that feature is truly built into the cost of phobias is another question.

[oneofmanynameless]

Originally Posted by Dalin

Are there other disadvantages that generate further negative traits? It seems like from a theoretical level, that could be an interesting sort of disadvantage. Part of the original cost includes the chance that you will slowly accrue further disadvantages (or need to siphon off some earned CP to offset them). From a generalized perspective, you're agreeing that your character will advance slightly more slowly than the rest of the party.

Whether that feature is truly built into the cost of phobias is another question.

Well there are plenty of disads that can result in lost character points circumstantially: bully and callous could cost you an ally, cursed can cost you everything but your life (or even that), anything that reduces your agency in combat could cost you limbs (or your life), and there are plenty of disads that will turn into twice their value if you fail too hard at them (like secret or duty).

Then there's Fragile (brittle) and Short Lifespan, which both tend to result in lost character points when they come up.
Fragile (Brittle) will never cost cp if there is magic or super science healing capable of restoring lost limbs and applicable to whatever your species is in the campaign so I doubt that the assumption of lost CP are part of it's cost.
Short lifespan is an interesting case mostly because it's exotic instead of a mundane mental disad. Generally it's only a valid disad for PCs in certain kinds of campaigns, and in those campaigns it functions similarly to terminal illness. I.e. if it comes up at all in a campaign it'll probably kill you (although it will suck down CP before it does). You could argue that the lost stats before you die are part of what justifies it's cost but I think it's weak when "you will die before the campaign is over" is on the table.
Lastly there's Dependency (aging, +30%). For some reason I always assumed the aging healed with the HP loss, but having just looked it over it says nothing of the sort. That can definitely cost you CP, but it isn't, over the course of a long campaign, a guaranteed point sink.

[Hide]

Originally Posted by oneofmanynameless

You forget that phobias generate substantial penalties when in the presence of the thing. That's not really a quirk

The penalties are substantial depending on the resistance roll (RR). A -2 or -1 (for 12 or 15 RR) are not really substantial, IMO. I doubt you take a RR of 6 or 9 (these give -4 or -3); however, if you do you also get about twice the CP.

On a RR of 6 many phobias cost as much as a mild neurological disorder (which imposes permanent penalties and has no RR).

I think that if the phobia is kicking-in frequently, either the player or the GM made bad choices. A phobia is most likely secret (until you scream), its trigger is limited to what you chose and its penalties are circumstantial; besides these factors, the risk of adding permanent quirks to your character is relatively small.

Quirks acquired through the phobia represent the natural breakdown of a person with irrational fears. Unlike a neurological disorder, you can easily buy-off the phobia.

Originally Posted by oneofmanynameless

EDIT to add: Also, there is a quirk level version of a phobia: Dislike is defined as such. It gives minor bonuses to manipulate you, but doesn't not give a fright check or a penalty in it's presence.

Yes, if you do not like the ill effects of the phobia, maybe you should take the quirk level of it instead. IMO, if you want a “true phobia” with the exception of not acquiring quirks, then you must buy a rule exemption. What I mean is you shouldn’t receive all of the phobia’s points if it is incomplete.

If all of you were forced to pick a phobia, then I would allow the exception “for free”. If this isn’t the case, then you should spend one of your “perk slots” with the GM exemption. As other players might want to enjoy from exemptions in other situations.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Hide

"this is the only way to acquire more than five quirks".

We have used this rule on B. 361, but it's come up very rarely--and then we've let the PC buy it off (or buy off a previous Quirk). I've found that many players (including me) have to keep on their toes to keep up with playing 5 Quirks, let alone 6+.

And some players don't want their PCs to have to do fright checks. For them, I remind them there are several fright check modifiers on B. 360 they can build into their character.

[Phil Masters]

I’m now imagining a -10% limitation for Unfazeable; “Not that you’d know it”. The character still makes Fright Checks, but strictly as a roleplaying guideline. If they fail, they tend to squeal, swear, mutter, jump about flapping their hands, or make nervous-sounding jokes. However, they never suffer permanent impairment or combat penalties, or gain extra quirks or disadvantages. They can even keep it quiet while attempting Stealth, though this may surprise their associates. Characters with normal Unfazeable, and for that matter those who make their Fright Checks, tend to react to them at -2, considering them to be drama queens.