[Basic] Disadvatage of the Week: Phobias and Squeamish

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Inky

Has anyone used Technophobia? If so, did you use the standard rules or change them? Being unable to learn any skills related to any machinery 'more complicated than a crossbow or bicycle' at all seems pretty crippling at high TLs, and Aichmophobia doesn't seem to have any such rule, you just have to make a Fright Check and, if you succeed, have a penalty to all DX, IQ and skill rolls while using sharp objects as usual, but no mention of not being able to learn the relevant skills.

I haven't used Technophobia, but it seems very close to a Vow (Use no technology more complicated than simple gearwork) [-15], so very crippling in a High Tech or Ultratech game even ignoring the outright fearfulness around complex gadgets. Given that GURPS is generic, the pricing for the the phobia might not be right for games that emphasize high tech or ultratech gear. [-30*] wouldn't be an unreasonable point cost at TL8+, once everyone starts carrying smart phones.

That said, a big loophole in technophobia is "how complex are guns". As long as the technophobe can be convinced that a firearm is "no more complex than a bicycle" (and most guns are mechanically quite simple, despite all their high tech engineering and materials) and that cartridges are no more complex than black powder-filled fire arrows. the phobia becomes a lot less limiting. Beam weapons would be a much harder sell, however.

Aichmophobia doesn't prevent you from learning skills named after blade types because those skills actually cover anything that's got approximately the same shape and balance as the named weapon. For example, you could easily learn Broadsword skill to handle blunt wooden practice broadswords or just a properly balanced stick.