[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Alternate Identity, Temporary Identity, Zeroed

[Otaku]

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Alternate Identity (p. B39) is a Social Advantage with a cost of either 5 or 15 points, depending on whether is it Legal or Illegal, respectively. It can be purchased multiple times, each additional purchase yielding another identity.

Each identity, whatever relevant biometrics used to identify you in the setting (if any) are registered under another name, and you have an additional set of relevant identification documents (like birth certificate, licenses, etc.) for the alternate identity that is good enough to pass close inspection. Anything else that might be needed for the identity (additional wealth for example) must be supplied separately by buying the appropriate Advantage. You can lose this advantage if your two identities are officially connected, such as a government agency (excluding one that is supposed to already know).

• A Legal Alternate Identity requires at least 10 points in a relevant social Advantage that justifies it, like Legal Enforcement Powers. It can be combined with a Secret Identity if appropriate, such as a "super" allowed to hold property under his "super hero" name.
• An Illegal Alternate Identity costs 15 points. It costs more because it has to be discovered to be revoked by the government (or relevant government in the case of a spy), though as it is illegal there will be the appropriate penalties (as determined by the setting) if it is discovered, in addition to losing the Advantage

A Temporary Identity costs no character points as it is considered insubstantial enough to be below system resolution; pay the appropriate cash costs and/or make the appropriate Skill rolls. By default it is good for one week, after which a "discovery roll" is made by the GM. On a roll of 8 or less it has been "successfully" discovered; otherwise the process repeats again each week the roll is made, at a cumulative +1 per repeat. So after three weeks, the roll would be made at a +2 meaning 10 or less indicates the ID is no longer any good. The value in setting is usually negotiable, as is the quality: a "cheap" ID might measure its lifespan in days while a high quality (and presumably pricier) ID might last longer and/or start with a lower discovery roll.

Zeroed is, in a sense, the opposite Advantage; instead of having multiple official identities, you have none. As per p.B100, Zeroed is meant to include the highest authorities of the land, and setting specific methods of identification won't work on you. In a fantasy setting, magical divination cannot discover conclusive details, just as in a modern setting searches of government databases will turn up nothing.

You can't have an Alternate ID (that would just become your de facto ID even if the exact history is fraudulent), but you can use a Temporary ID. You need to decide the how and why you are Zeroed, and there is a built in drawback, at least for most settings: as you don't officially exist, you will usually lack any legal protection under the law. This can range from an inconvenience to incredibly dangerous as you'll lack legal protection. You also have to deal strictly in cash/commodities or blind account (such as a Swiss Bank Account), or go through a Temporary Identity or other person.

Thankfully Kromm clarified this trait and its intended usage:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Do realize that Zeroed isn't meant to be an initial condition that wears off the first time somebody takes your picture. It assumes maintenance, and some off-screen means of achieving that. You're Zeroed now and, a few weeks later when your picture shows up again, you're still Zeroed because whatever means made you Zeroed in the first place nuked the records. That's how it works.

Those whose worlds don't assume forces powerful enough to wipe out arbitrarily secure records shouldn't use Zeroed. Neither should gamers who just want to be mysterious Man With No Name types. If you're simply somebody who starts play with no identity and gradually builds up a permanent record, you're not Zeroed. You have something more akin to Zeroed as a one-use advantage (1/5 cost, 2 points, like Favor), if not just a perk.

Zeroed is for people who work for the MIBs . . . or have a backdoor into SkyNet . . . or possess supernatural abilities that completely transmute them every sunset . . . or serve Oblivius, God of Nothingness. It's an active trait. It isn't just an Unusual Background.

So...

1. Have you used or encountered any of these Traits in play? If so how useful did they seem?
2. Are there any related (supporting, competiting, etc.) that should be a part of this discussion?
3. What are your thoughts on the pricing and requirements?
4. Any ruling issues with these traits?

[WingedKagouti]

One thing of note is that the One-shot/Favor version of Zeroed could easily be a Disadvantage in several settings, especially Cyberpunk, if the character doesn't have a noticable Patron backing him/her. In other settings, like no-magic medieval/renaissance, it's closer to a campaign feature if you travel far enough.

[vicky_molokh]

Back in one of my fantasy campaigns, a whole race had Zeroed, and a bad Reputation. They were impossible to tell apart with divination, and the records of individuals kept getting lost . . . the bad rep was in part inherited from the god who created them (he was involved in a betrayal), and in part a stereotype grown out of the fact that divinators could not trace a stolen object more precisely than 'answer fuzzy, probably one of the Eclipse Race did it'. Having a racial Forgettable Face (only for purposes of telling two Eclipses apart - their third eye made it easy to differentiate them from other races) helped the confusion too.

One player likes taking Zeroed, but only actually did take it for his character as part of the racial template mentioned above once.

One PC (of a different player) has a Legal Alternate identity in my current X-filish campaign. Nobody knows about it.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

In other settings, like no-magic medieval/renaissance, it's closer to a campaign feature if you travel far enough.

It's not a campaign feature, because you have to travel again to get rid of your new identity once people remember you in your new faraway land.

[johndallman]

The only campaign I've played in that used these traits was Madness Dossier, where most PCs live under a legal Alternate Identity, and the players don't have to worry about their real one.

In my Infinite Cabal campaign, the characters have stayed clear of worlds that have high-quality identification systems, and live under a variety of Temporary Identities. The campaign is set largely in Britain, which has never had compulsory ID systems except during wartime. Before the internet and credit cards, if you're obviously of adult years, don't drive and stay clear of the police, you can avoid any need to identify yourself.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

One thing of note is that the One-shot/Favor version of Zeroed could easily be a Disadvantage in several settings, especially Cyberpunk, if the character doesn't have a noticable Patron backing him/her. In other settings, like no-magic medieval/renaissance, it's closer to a campaign feature if you travel far enough.

A low tech no magic setting is one where Zeroed is simply impossible and that's all there is to it. There's no mechanism in such a setting to make your records disappear.

[Ashtagon]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

A low tech no magic setting is one where Zeroed is simply impossible and that's all there is to it. There's no mechanism in such a setting to make your records disappear.

Yes there is. Magic.

[simply Nathan]

I'd charge a Perk for these if I even allowed them (which, aside from "protection from divination Zeroed", I probably wouldn't to begin with). I have a hard time seeing these being worth the points.

[ErhnamDJ]

Originally Posted by Ashtagon

Yes there is. Magic.

He said there's not any magic.

[Not]

Magic like in our world, where a woman feels a burning sensation in her hand while hundreds of miles away her daughter burns her hand on the stove. Coincidence? Time-Life Books Mysteries of the Unknown says otherwise.