Transcendent is Horrific and Vice Versa.

[Tiggurix]

So, if I were to set a campaign in this setting, where this is considered the height of beauty, while this is considered disgustingly repulsive, how would I handle Appearance and/or Pitiable? Would I give Blighterfly Very Beautiful while Mothstrous would be Monstrous, and shift the effects around if they encountered someone from outside their setting? Or would I give Mothstrous Very Beautiful and treat it as a Disadvantage, while Blighterfly would get Monstrous and treat it as an Advantage? The latter approach makes more sense to me, but seems more tedious. What do you guys and gals think?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Tiggurix

Would I give Blighterfly Very Beautiful while Mothstrous would be Monstrous, and shift the effects around if they encountered someone from outside their setting? Or would I give Mothstrous Very Beautiful and treat it as a Disadvantage, while Blighterfly would get Monstrous and treat it as an Advantage? The latter approach makes more sense to me, but seems more tedious. What do you guys and gals think?

The names of advantages and disadvantages are just names, you assign them whichever one gives the correct effect. So whatever generates a reaction bonus from the dominant culture of the campaign gets labeled Attractive etc. regardless of how you the GM would describe them in English. A good many advantages and disadvantages actually mean something a little different from the normal meaning of the word attached to them, consider Honesty or Invertebrate.

[ArchonShiva]

The actual modifiers should guide the value of advantages and disadvantages.

Is this thing universal to your campaign setting, or do these beings visit, say, Earth once in a while?

Truth is, "beauty" is indicative of two things: physical fitness (higher HT should lead to higher attractiveness) and a sort of reputation/status - people associate certain looks with positive or negative stuff.

[Anaraxes]

Social Engineering points out the need for a "reference society" that determines things like Status and Rank, which do not necessarily apply outside of that society. The same thing is true of other value traits, even if they run a bit deeper than "society" through "culture" to "psychology",