[SE] Sanitized Metabolism: how useful is +1 in in 'close confines', like 'elevators'?

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

Sanitised Metabolism grants '+1 to reaction rolls
in close confines (cramped spaceships, submarines, eleva-
tors, etc.)'.
Now, I'm wondering just how often the opportunity to benefit from it actually arises. Now it looks like a significant part of the time, it would be deliberately arranged:
Sure, either you're on a submarine/spaceship, or not. But making sure the make the important requests when you 'accidentally' end up riding the same elevator as your target seems like a viable strategy.
It also seems that at least half the time, it's easy to arrange a close approach when using Sex Appeal: as long as it's possible to get close to the target, either the +1 helps get a success at Sex Appeal (so you end up being a daring but very-well-reacted-to character), or it fails, and you get a Bad Reaction anyway (so you creep out the target one way or another, and it's extremely unlikely to make a difference).

Thoughts on the topic? More viable cases of application?
Thanks in advance!

[Flyndaran]

Most hygienic people don't stink in elevators after only the few seconds to minutes it normally takes to ride them.
Stuck in one worrying for hours would raise the issue, of course.

[Mailanka]

I honestly find the +1 to be kind of weird. I expect it's actually "Won't get a -1 from accidentally farting or having BO, which is only noticeable in enclosed spaces," but that's really hard to adjudicate in game, so it becomes a +1.

Only, the very reasons that makes the random -1s for being a smelly human hard to adjudicate make the +1 rather hard to run as well. Basically, you get it whenever you DON'T fart or DON'T have BO in the sort of circumstances where doing so would get you a -1.

[Flyndaran]

Humans evolved to produce stink above and beyond that automatic to all animals.
Only humans, chimps, and gorillas among primates have armpit stank, for example.
Lack of stink is most assuredly inhuman, not merely lacking unusual odor.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

I honestly find the +1 to be kind of weird. I expect it's actually "Won't get a -1 from accidentally farting or having BO, which is only noticeable in enclosed spaces," but that's really hard to adjudicate in game, so it becomes a +1.

Yeah, it's broken. "I'd like you more if we had met in an elevator" does not make any sense. It's clearly intended to be you don't suffer a penalty that you might otherwise, not that you get a bonus.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Humans evolved to produce stink above and beyond that automatic to all animals.
Only humans, chimps, and gorillas among primates have armpit stank, for example.
Lack of stink is most assuredly inhuman, not merely lacking unusual odor.

Removing and preventing armpit stank is, however, something one does on a daily basis as a woman in North America. Between washing once or twice a day, shaving (which significantly reduces trapping of sweat and therefore smell "maturation"), applying deodorant or antiperspirant, wearing loose or sleeveless clothing, and living in air conditioning, it's quite possible to run into a woman who just plain doesn't have stinky armpits for at least part of the day.

We don't tend to think these people are aliens, monsters, or baboons.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Removing and preventing armpit stank is, however, something one does on a daily basis as a woman in North America. Between washing once or twice a day, shaving (which significantly reduces trapping of sweat and therefore smell "maturation"), applying deodorant or antiperspirant, wearing loose or sleeveless clothing, and living in air conditioning, it's quite possible to run into a woman who just plain doesn't have stinky armpits for at least part of the day.

We don't tend to think these people are aliens, monsters, or baboons.

Only as long as you never get within 1 foot of said woman. I say this even after I lost my super sense of smell.
People smell. Pretending we don't under any circumstances that won't add enormous amounts of perfume/chemical scent seems like some kind of cultural delusion.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Yeah, it's broken. "I'd like you more if we had met in an elevator" does not make any sense. It's clearly intended to be you don't suffer a penalty that you might otherwise, not that you get a bonus.

'Broken' seems like a serious accusation for a narrowly-applicable pair of bonuses (-1 to be tracked by scent only, and +1 to Reaction in close confines only).

Now, whether the intended mechanic was to offset penalties is an interesting question. But 'offsets a -1 penalty that is usually not factored into reaction rolls even when it might anyway' seems very meh compared to other Perks.

Also, an interesting note is that Sanitised Metabolism isn't restricted to smell only.

[Flyndaran]

Has anyone ever created its opposite? I think we all know or are ones that render bathrooms HazMat superfund sites, or need two or more showers on days of major exercise.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Only as long as you never get within 1 foot of said woman. I say this even after I lost my super sense of smell.

You can stick your nose right in the shaved armpit of someone who's well washed and wearing airy, clean clothing in a cool environment, and it's not going to smell any more or less than their forearm is. Get rid of the clothing (which traps sweat) and it's doubly so.
Make them a vegan instead of a meat eater, and the effect is even easier to achieve.

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Has anyone ever created its opposite? I think we all know or are ones that render bathrooms HazMat superfund sites, or need two or more showers on days of major exercise.

Bad Smell is a canonical -10 point disad good for -2 reaction penalties just about all the time, but for humans I think that level of reaction penalty is either one of those unfortunate genetic problems that make you smell like fish oil because of protein mutations, a work-related "injury" from working with substances with lots of mercaptans in them, or a level of poor hygiene just as well represented as an OPH.

A problem that's more periodic (terribly foul farts but not terribly frequent farts) could probably be tinkered together from Bad Smell and the Frequency of Appearance rules for reputation.