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Old 05-21-2020, 03:24 PM   #1
johndallman
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Trademark

Trademark [-5, -10 or -15] is a mundane self-imposed mental disadvantage, with no self-control-roll. In a way, it is a kind of “compulsive behaviour,” in that you feed the need to “sign your work” by leaving some kind of signifier at any scene of action. The idea is to make it clear that the same person is responsible for several events, but if you’re sensible, it won’t give clues to your identity. This disadvantage appeared during the third edition period, apparently in Cyberpunk.

At [-5], your trademark is simple, such as a Tarot card or a mousetrap left at the scene, or a distinctive detail of the way you do things, like replacing security recordings with comedy videos. It’s quick to place, and does not give clues to your identity. If you can bear to leave without having left your Trademark, you only have a quirk, not a [‑5] disadvantage. At [-10], you do something more complicated, which takes at least 30 seconds to put in place, and may offer clues to your real identity. Anyone examining the scene gets +2 to Criminology and/or Forensics rolls to trace you, or otherwise figure out what’s going on. A [-15] trademark usually means you’re crazy in some way, and is complex, elaborate and revealing. Investigators may well find useful clues without using skills!

You cannot have more than one Trademark, unless, I presume, you have Split Personality, or several strongly defined identities in some other way. Doing several Trademark-like things is simply a higher level of the disadvantage. The disadvantage doesn’t define what your attitude would be if your Trademark was imitated by someone else, and that seems like a matter for role-playing rather than rules; this disadvantage already assumes quite a bit about the psychology of anyone who has it.

Trademark is a reasonably common disadvantage option on published character templates, commonly found on thieves and other rogues that have a sense of style. Horror uses it as a way of appeasing spirits, for slayers who need to vanish in the night, and on several kinds of serial killer. Powers has Trademark as a required disadvantage for some power sources, while Supers has Trademark behaviours for villains, and equipment as a Trademark. Thaumatology has spell “signatures” as Trademarks, which take no effort to leave, but are always present.

This is another disadvantage that I’ve never used. My imagination doesn’t tend to this kind of exhibitionism and “Leave no trace of your presence” isn’t a valid disadvantage. What difficulties has it caused in your games?
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Old 05-21-2020, 05:54 PM   #2
Inky
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: UK
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Trademark

It might not necessarily be the melodramatic "is obsessed with and can't bear not to do" of serial-killer stories. It might be "hasn't the sense not to do". I remember a detective novel I read (can't remember what, but a realistic rather than artistically-unhinged-serial-killer-nonsense one) where a policeman remarked that a recent string of robberies were clearly such and such a burglar back to his old tricks again - "He's even still got that habit of getting himself a sandwich and a glass of milk before he leaves".
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Old 05-23-2020, 02:29 AM   #3
RogerBW
 
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Join Date: Sep 2008
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Trademark

To me the canonical examples of Trademark are the Scarlet Pimpernel's signature cards and Zorro's Z-slash (both of them early examples of the double-identity hero too).

I think this might be partly combined with "leave no trace of your presence": a killer who leaves every crime scene bleached to the point that no useful trace can be recovered is still leaving a trademark ("it's that bleach guy again"), and while that's a somewhat useful behaviour for the criminal it still offers an avenue for investigators ("check bleach sales in the local area, someone's buying a lot of it" and "what are you doing with all this bleach in your lockup, Dave?").

But like John I've never used this; I could see it showing up for PCs in something like a GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel game, but when it's an aspect of a villain's behaviour I don't feel the need to stat them up in that much detail.
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