Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness .

Racer · 02-18-2019, 01:57 AM

I don't really play GURPS often , but often help out other GMs with stuff & sometimes sit in on games to play an NPC etc .

Going over PC builds & character sheets in last few years , I've noticed the amount & bizarreness of Quirks growing rapidly . In fact a couple of GM friends have questioned whether they should even allow some . A few of the odder examples :

Always wears socks inside out .

Deeply attracted to any female named 'Emma' / male named 'Malcolm' .

Must eat at least two bananas a day . Gets stressed if they cannot .

Terrified of Koalas - despite being based in late 19th Century South America .

Dislikes odd numbers , but '5' is okay ...

Despite zero evidence , believes various in game FICTIONAL Characters are homosexual ...

Always gets lost in a specific town/city - even though they hardly visit there .

Still uses a VCR .

Collects the protective wax off Cheese whenever possible . Makes miniature sculptures from it .

Always uses ridiculously obscure nicknames for other people , so that hardly anyone else knows who they are talking about .

Will only eat branded beans .

Goes mental if duvets are mentioned ...

Always goes to the wrong Station/Airport/Library when collecting someone or something .

Worries constantly about the Heat Death of the Universe .

Must ALWAYS play 'blue' in boardgames .

Prefers to have AT LEAST two backups for most household objects .

Makes and stores homemade jam - never eats it ...

Despite living in a fantasy setting , deep down doesn't really believe in magic .

Has perfect hearing but likes to watch television with the sound off & subtitles on .

Travels with own toilet seat ...

Some of these are based on their own quirks or those of people they know . Others are possibly chosen to wind up the GM - the 'separate refrigerators for each family member' saga went on for years & became a legend in one gaming group .

Just trying to get an idea of what others would agree are acceptable , plus some of the stranger quirks others have encountered ?

Xakaz · 02-18-2019, 03:20 AM

As the number of Quirks is usually very limited, I don't really care about them not being restrictive for a character at all. They encourage players to flesh out their characters, and the more characters are fleshed out - the better.

Also:

Quote:

Must ALWAYS play 'blue' in boardgames

Wow! It's just me!

coronatiger · 02-18-2019, 04:11 AM

As a GM, I may veto quirks that I'm reasonably certain will never come up in play in a meaningful way (like the Koalas). And I won't go out of my way to make one PC's quirk relevant (like creating a bunch of NPCs named Emma/Malcolm). If it fits the theme of the PC perfectly, I'll allow one completely irrelevant quirk, because it fleshes out the character, as Xakaz put it.

I broadly categorize quirks either as role playing quirks (affects how the player role plays the character) or rules quirks (affects stats or die rolls).

A role playing quirk shouldn't come up (or be brought up) too frequently, because I feel that disrupts the flow of the game.

I prefer it if my players have at least a couple of role playing quirks, but I won't enforce this unless some of the suggested quirks are obviously out-of-character.

I don't mind some quirks being silly in an otherwise "serious" campaign, as long as they don't become too pervasive.

In the current campaign where I'm a player, my character has the following quirks:

Dislikes being alone
Enjoys heights
Loves fondling their girlfriend when they think nobody's watching (the girlfriend is an always-present Ally)
Prefers finer inns
Sashays when they walk

I don't think I've ever played any weirder quirks than these.

By the way, having a fantasy-setting character not truly believing in magic would qualify them for Mundane Background. To the annoyance of a mage I played earlier, such people can't supply FP for spells...

Racer · 02-18-2019, 04:37 AM

Just been messaged another one :

Swing Phobia : absolutely TERRIFIED by swings - but strangely has no problems with climbing ropes ! Rope swings they can go either way ...

And a real life one I forgot about : Can't sit backwards on any transport . Motion sickness isn't a problem , moving backwards just makes them 'feel odd' .

Icelander · 02-18-2019, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer

Swing Phobia : absolutely TERRIFIED by swings - but strangely has no problems with climbing ropes

Personally, as far back as I can remember, I've been terrified of watching children (when I was a child, my smaller siblings and others younger than me) on swings. I could use them myself, but every time I see a toddler use them I am irrationally convinced that they will start playing around in it and their fragile skulls end up slamming into the metal structure around it at high speed, sustaining horrific injuries and brain damage.

I know intellectually that this is unlikely and even those few times children do injure themselves on swings, it's rarely serious and I've never even heard of anyone being killed (though I don't doubt it has happened somewhere, pretty much every single object in the world has probably killed someone at some point.

I can even manage to restrain myself from forbidding my nieces and nephews from playing in a swing, because to punish them for my irrational terror would be wrong. But I still can't watch them or any other child play in a swing. I have to look away to avoid witnessing the horror and I've got a sinking feeling in my stomach the entire time, even to the point of being queasy and having difficulty breathing.

Maz · 02-18-2019, 05:40 AM

I'm with the others. I'm not really harsh when it comes to quirks. In fact I tend to allow people 5 pts from quirks even if they do not fill them out right away. Then they are open to be filled out during play (sometimes heavily encouraged by other players).

However I would veto Quirks that would never come into play. Or Quirks that are really played as full fledged disadvantages.

But basically if I can imagine a situation, however contrived, where the Quirk could come into play. I would probably allow it.

For instance. The "wears sock inside out". (From Finding Forrester). My initial reaction is "No. That's a character trait, not worth a quirk". But then, giving it a minute I could see it coming up in a situation where people are in a disguise or someone is impersonating the character or something like that. I can just imagine a scene where the characters are going undercover as soldiers and an officer notice that characters socks being wrongly on and chewing him out for it, causing unwanted attention. And so I would allow it. It might never come up, but I would look for an opportunity for it to happen.

~~evileeyore~~ · 02-18-2019, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coronatiger

I broadly categorize quirks either as role playing quirks (affects how the player role plays the character) or rules quirks (affects stats or die rolls).

Ditto. I used to allow even nonsense ones that wouldn't ever come up*, but Power-Ups 6 Quirks really turned me around on that.

* Back in 3e it often hard to come up things that both mattered and yet didn't matter enough to be a disad.

Quote:

A role playing quirk shouldn't come up (or be brought up) too frequently, because I feel that disrupts the flow of the game.

Now here we disagree. They can come up very frequently, as long as the effect is also minimal.

I don't preference rp over mechanics Quirks.

Quote:

I don't think I've ever played any weirder quirks than these.

I have a Half-Ogre Barbarian in DF game, his Quirks are:

[-1] Believes that blue things are more powerful than not blue things.
[-1] Paints himself and everything he owns blue.
[-1] Loud and boisterous, no concept of 'indoor' voice.
[-1] “Wait! I know how to solve this!” - hits problem with his axe.
[-1] Doesn't understand why townies don't like him.

And of course he has the Penetrating Voice Perk...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maz

I'm with the others. I'm not really harsh when it comes to quirks. In fact I tend to allow people 5 pts from quirks even if they do not fill them out right away. Then they are open to be filled out during play (sometimes heavily encouraged by other players).

Ditto this as well.

I require two, the other three can come later. If they don't start showing up I put a time limit on them like "You need to come up with one per game or I start docking exp".

RyanW · 02-18-2019, 10:42 AM

I had a character in one brief campaign I ran that had the quirk "Why is it always pineapples?" Any time he found food, it would always be (or at least include) pineapples, which he disliked.

Anaraxes · 02-18-2019, 11:23 AM

Proliferation of silly quirks and non-quirks is something of a matter of taste, but I suspect that kind of thing is why 4e made the change from 3e to insist that Quirks are small Disadvantages. Not drastic, which is why they're only worth -1 point, but real disads that actually come up. Otherwise, they fall under the "disadvantages that aren't disadvantageous aren't worth points" rule.

That said, I too tend to do things like most of the respondents here. I'm willing to bribe players with a CP for color and RP value even if it's not strictly disadvantageous. (See, frex, the bit in the books about "always dresses in black" versus "dresses like a stereotypical necromancer".) Most of the people in my usual group don't need that kind of bribe any more, but still... But even then, "RP value" and "color" still have to actually show up in the game, or else they, too, are actually worthless.

I'd disallow quirks that were just random nonsense to fill in the blank or just make a joke at character creation, but didn't help actually to paint a picture of the character for the other players. (If the game is meant to be a silly game, then "random nonsense" might be perfectly valid, because in that sort of game, it will put in an appearance and help build the character and story. Context matters.) Your players can do a better job of them, so when you run into that sort of filler, just suggest that they think about it a little more -- which is where the suggestion about literally leaving it blank for a session or two comes in particularly useful. Sometimes players don't actually have a strong sense of their character, but it acquires one with a little bit of play, in which case you just record the Quirks that you've discovered in play.

AlexanderHowl · 02-18-2019, 12:01 PM

I have always made it a point that quirks come up at least once a campaign (more if it makes narrative sense). If a character prefers X type of man or women, at least one of the NPCs will qualify. If a character collects ceramic turtles, there will be a ceramic turtle for sale or easily stolen. It helps create context for the campaign and is quite amusing when the ceramic turtle that they stole just ended up containing the only copy of X document.

02-18-2019, 01:57 AM	#1
Racer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, UK	Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . I don't really play GURPS often , but often help out other GMs with stuff & sometimes sit in on games to play an NPC etc . Going over PC builds & character sheets in last few years , I've noticed the amount & bizarreness of Quirks growing rapidly . In fact a couple of GM friends have questioned whether they should even allow some . A few of the odder examples : Always wears socks inside out . Deeply attracted to any female named 'Emma' / male named 'Malcolm' . Must eat at least two bananas a day . Gets stressed if they cannot . Terrified of Koalas - despite being based in late 19th Century South America . Dislikes odd numbers , but '5' is okay ... Despite zero evidence , believes various in game FICTIONAL Characters are homosexual ... Always gets lost in a specific town/city - even though they hardly visit there . Still uses a VCR . Collects the protective wax off Cheese whenever possible . Makes miniature sculptures from it . Always uses ridiculously obscure nicknames for other people , so that hardly anyone else knows who they are talking about . Will only eat branded beans . Goes mental if duvets are mentioned ... Always goes to the wrong Station/Airport/Library when collecting someone or something . Worries constantly about the Heat Death of the Universe . Must ALWAYS play 'blue' in boardgames . Prefers to have AT LEAST two backups for most household objects . Makes and stores homemade jam - never eats it ... Despite living in a fantasy setting , deep down doesn't really believe in magic . Has perfect hearing but likes to watch television with the sound off & subtitles on . Travels with own toilet seat ... Some of these are based on their own quirks or those of people they know . Others are possibly chosen to wind up the GM - the 'separate refrigerators for each family member' saga went on for years & became a legend in one gaming group . Just trying to get an idea of what others would agree are acceptable , plus some of the stranger quirks others have encountered ? __________________ Five Gauss Guns on a Camper !!! The Resident Brit . Last edited by Racer; 02-18-2019 at 02:01 AM.

02-18-2019, 04:11 AM	#3
coronatiger Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Trondheim, Norway	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . As a GM, I may veto quirks that I'm reasonably certain will never come up in play in a meaningful way (like the Koalas). And I won't go out of my way to make one PC's quirk relevant (like creating a bunch of NPCs named Emma/Malcolm). If it fits the theme of the PC perfectly, I'll allow one completely irrelevant quirk, because it fleshes out the character, as Xakaz put it. I broadly categorize quirks either as role playing quirks (affects how the player role plays the character) or rules quirks (affects stats or die rolls). A role playing quirk shouldn't come up (or be brought up) too frequently, because I feel that disrupts the flow of the game. I prefer it if my players have at least a couple of role playing quirks, but I won't enforce this unless some of the suggested quirks are obviously out-of-character. I don't mind some quirks being silly in an otherwise "serious" campaign, as long as they don't become too pervasive. In the current campaign where I'm a player, my character has the following quirks: Dislikes being alone Enjoys heights Loves fondling their girlfriend when they think nobody's watching (the girlfriend is an always-present Ally) Prefers finer inns Sashays when they walk I don't think I've ever played any weirder quirks than these. By the way, having a fantasy-setting character not truly believing in magic would qualify them for Mundane Background. To the annoyance of a mage I played earlier, such people can't supply FP for spells... __________________ You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do. Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.) Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue

02-18-2019, 04:37 AM	#4
Racer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, UK	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . Just been messaged another one : Swing Phobia : absolutely TERRIFIED by swings - but strangely has no problems with climbing ropes ! Rope swings they can go either way ... And a real life one I forgot about : Can't sit backwards on any transport . Motion sickness isn't a problem , moving backwards just makes them 'feel odd' . __________________ Five Gauss Guns on a Camper !!! The Resident Brit .

02-18-2019, 05:40 AM	#6
Maz Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Denmark	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . I'm with the others. I'm not really harsh when it comes to quirks. In fact I tend to allow people 5 pts from quirks even if they do not fill them out right away. Then they are open to be filled out during play (sometimes heavily encouraged by other players). However I would veto Quirks that would never come into play. Or Quirks that are really played as full fledged disadvantages. But basically if I can imagine a situation, however contrived, where the Quirk could come into play. I would probably allow it. For instance. The "wears sock inside out". (From Finding Forrester). My initial reaction is "No. That's a character trait, not worth a quirk". But then, giving it a minute I could see it coming up in a situation where people are in a disguise or someone is impersonating the character or something like that. I can just imagine a scene where the characters are going undercover as soldiers and an officer notice that characters socks being wrongly on and chewing him out for it, causing unwanted attention. And so I would allow it. It might never come up, but I would look for an opportunity for it to happen.

02-18-2019, 10:42 AM	#8
RyanW ☣ Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Southeast NC	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . I had a character in one brief campaign I ran that had the quirk "Why is it always pineapples?" Any time he found food, it would always be (or at least include) pineapples, which he disliked. __________________ RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats.

02-18-2019, 11:23 AM	#9
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . Proliferation of silly quirks and non-quirks is something of a matter of taste, but I suspect that kind of thing is why 4e made the change from 3e to insist that Quirks are small Disadvantages. Not drastic, which is why they're only worth -1 point, but real disads that actually come up. Otherwise, they fall under the "disadvantages that aren't disadvantageous aren't worth points" rule. That said, I too tend to do things like most of the respondents here. I'm willing to bribe players with a CP for color and RP value even if it's not strictly disadvantageous. (See, frex, the bit in the books about "always dresses in black" versus "dresses like a stereotypical necromancer".) Most of the people in my usual group don't need that kind of bribe any more, but still... But even then, "RP value" and "color" still have to actually show up in the game, or else they, too, are actually worthless. I'd disallow quirks that were just random nonsense to fill in the blank or just make a joke at character creation, but didn't help actually to paint a picture of the character for the other players. (If the game is meant to be a silly game, then "random nonsense" might be perfectly valid, because in that sort of game, it will put in an appearance and help build the character and story. Context matters.) Your players can do a better job of them, so when you run into that sort of filler, just suggest that they think about it a little more -- which is where the suggestion about literally leaving it blank for a session or two comes in particularly useful. Sometimes players don't actually have a strong sense of their character, but it acquires one with a little bit of play, in which case you just record the Quirks that you've discovered in play.

02-18-2019, 12:01 PM	#10
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Quirks, Non Quirks & general silliness . I have always made it a point that quirks come up at least once a campaign (more if it makes narrative sense). If a character prefers X type of man or women, at least one of the NPCs will qualify. If a character collects ceramic turtles, there will be a ceramic turtle for sale or easily stolen. It helps create context for the campaign and is quite amusing when the ceramic turtle that they stole just ended up containing the only copy of X document.