Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-03-2020, 03:26 PM   #1
johndallman
Night Watchman
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Xenophilia [-10*] is a mundane mental disadvantage with a self-control roll. You have a strong interest in, and affection for, strange and alien people. In a mundane campaign, you’ll try to socialise with foreign soldiers, or learn about excluded groups in society. In a campaign with exotic species, be it fantasy or SF, you’ll be trying to make friends with them as your comrades run, or prepare weapons. This disadvantage appeared during the 3e period, but I’m not sure just where, and was revised for 4e.

This disadvantage goes well with Curious. It does not exempt you from Fright Checks caused by alien creatures, but you do get bonuses to them, which are larger for harder self-control rolls. Distinguishing between “people who might be friendly” and “monsters that just want to eat you” is your problem, which is why this is worth [-10*]; a self-control roll of 6-, worth [-20], will probably get you killed in the long run.

Xenophilia is fairly rare on published character templates, mostly appearing on social types in settings where weird creatures can be expected. There’s a quirk-level version, Broad-Minded, which has two separate versions: the Power-Ups 6 effects considerably exceed those of the Basic Set. This disadvantage can be quite significant in Fantasy: Portal Realms, Lands Out of Time and Mars Attacks. Space uses Xenophilia in the alien species personality design system, and points out that in multi-species societies, the disadvantage only applies to outsiders. Don’t take Xenophilia in a Zombies campaign, if you want to stay human . . .

The only use I recall making of this disadvantage, as player or GM, was an NPC who was intended to shake a PC out of his comfortable misery and combined it with Overconfidence and Lecherousness. She ended up becoming an associate of the Cabal, which was more interesting than her previous life and not terribly dangerous.

Has Xenophilia entertained in your games?
johndallman is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 03:43 PM   #2
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Seems like the value of wanting to socialize with likely-hostile creatures would be even larger if we subtracted the build-in "Fearlessness (Non-Humans)" from this meta-trait.
Plane is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 03:55 PM   #3
kirbwarrior
 
kirbwarrior's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

I take it on probably a fourth to a third of all characters and I think I've not taken Broad-Minded (the quirk version) twice ever. Two players do similarly. It's just a fun disadvantage to have. And it goes great with the various Empathies.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmicfish View Post
While I do not think that GURPS is perfect I do think that it is more balanced than what I am likely to create by GM fiat.
kirbwarrior is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 05:12 PM   #4
Alden Loveshade
 
Alden Loveshade's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Hmm, looks like Earth, circa CE 2020+
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

One of my current PCs has both Xenophilia and Curious. Most of the time, I don't roll on them, I just do it.

But she was fortunate that she didn't become the victim of an "interesting" demonic flying monkey.

And looking through the property of someone who had just died, she got hold of a wax-sealed letter to a prince. (This is in a TL4 game played last month.) In regard to making a roll on Curious, I asked the GM, "Does Mini get a plus because she could be executed if she breaks the seal?" Fortunately, another PC thought of trying to look through the envelop using sunlight, so she didn't have to make a potential death roll.

As for Broad-Minded, many of my PCs have that.
__________________
Kerry Thornley: Dwarf Planet Eris, Discordianism, and The John F. Kennedy Assassination Without Thornley, there would never have been the Steve Jackson Games edition of Principia Discordia
Top 12 Clues You're a Role-Playing Old-Timer My humorous (I hope) article that also promotes SJGames/GURPS
GURPS Fantasy Folk: Elves My first GURPS supplement
Alden Loveshade is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 05:28 PM   #5
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

I've had trouble making Xenophilia a disadvantage in my games. In a number of cases, I've just banned it. Sometimes using words like "Xenophilic behavior is considered normal, in-genre, and not a disadvantage in this campaign"

Of course, that was lost in dreams, which is about learning new magic and technology and making friends with weird people.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!

Last edited by ericthered; 09-03-2020 at 05:31 PM.
ericthered is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 05:59 PM   #6
kirbwarrior
 
kirbwarrior's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Sometimes using words like "Xenophilic behavior is considered normal, in-genre, and not a disadvantage in this campaign"
I can see the reasoning behind that. For me, it almost feels like the 'good person' disads sometimes. You get points for being charitable. You get points for protecting others. Here, you get points for seeing bizarre and weird creatures as people.

Then again, maybe in a campaign where becoming friends with weird and bizarre things Xenophilia would be a step further, whatever that means.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmicfish View Post
While I do not think that GURPS is perfect I do think that it is more balanced than what I am likely to create by GM fiat.
kirbwarrior is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 07:32 PM   #7
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Combat Reflexes [15] and Xenophilia (6-) [-20] is actually a good combination, as the character gets a +6 to Fright Checks (combine it with Will 20, and the character is capable of dealing with entities with Terror 13). Strangely enough, Cosmic on Terror does not technically impact the bonus from Xenophilia, so it actually offers more protection from Cosmic entities than any advantage.
AlexanderHowl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 08:08 PM   #8
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

To me, this basically seems like a large Delusion (along the lines of "Dangerous foreigners and monsters are actually friendly") with a self-control number, combined with a limited version of Fearlessness. Does that seem like a fair description?
awesomenessofme1 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 08:40 PM   #9
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Quote:
Originally Posted by kirbwarrior View Post
I take it on probably a fourth to a third of all characters and I think I've not taken Broad-Minded (the quirk version) twice ever. Two players do similarly. It's just a fun disadvantage to have. And it goes great with the various Empathies.
Me too! I love both the full disad and the quirk version. Like Overconfidence and (sometimes) Impulsiveness, it helps keep the plot moving, preventing caution paralysis. I've used it on a number of fantasy characters who tend to think that most creatures are potentially friendly and worth communicating with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kirbwarrior View Post
For me, it almost feels like the 'good person' disads sometimes. You get points for being charitable. You get points for protecting others. Here, you get points for seeing bizarre and weird creatures as people.
Exactly!

My players take it a fair amount too. We had an awesome bard in our first DFRPG campaign who was always trying to strike up a song with every weird slime monster that we met.
Dalin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2020, 10:17 PM   #10
Otaku
 
Otaku's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: South Dakota, USA
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

Quote:
Originally Posted by kirbwarrior View Post
I can see the reasoning behind that. For me, it almost feels like the 'good person' disads sometimes. You get points for being charitable. You get points for protecting others. Here, you get points for seeing bizarre and weird creatures as people.
Wait... does Xenophilia require you see them as people? Looking at its entry on p.B162, it kind of goes both ways (so to speak).

I'm also curious if it is intended as a "good" Disadvantage. It strikes me as a "neutral" trait unless taken in combination with the correct other traits. After all, not everyone treats people all that well. Imagine some being that thinks it is "God", or something resembling the idea. It might be favorably disposed towards "interesting" beings (even humans) if they were exotic/mysterious/strange enough to qualify as Xenophilia targets, but would still consider them lesser beings (as with the rest of humanity).
__________________
My GURPS Fourth Edition library consists of Basic Set: Characters, Basic Set: Campaigns, Martial Arts, Powers, Powers: Enhanced Senses, Power-Ups 1: Imbuements, Power-Ups 2: Perks, Power-Ups 3: Talents, Power-Ups 4: Enhancements, Power-Ups 6: Quirks, Power-Ups 8: Limitations, Powers, Social Engineering, Supers, Template Toolkit 1: Characters, Template Toolkit 2: Races, one issue of Pyramid (3/83) a.k.a. Alternate GURPS IV, GURPS Classic Rogues, and GURPS Classic Warriors. Most of which was provided through the generosity of others. Thanks! :)
Otaku is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
disadvantage of the week, xenophilia

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:22 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.