[DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Part 1

Here's another from my archive of pre-generated characters that I thought I'd showcase and get some feedback on. If I'm not playing a dedicated spellcaster, I'm usually playing some variation of a barbarian.

Bessarion

250 Points

Attributes: ST 17 [70]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 13 [30].

Secondary Characteristics:
Damage 1d+2/3d-1
BL 58 lbs.
HP 17 [0]
Will 10 [0]
Per 12 [10]
FP 13 [0]
Basic Speed 6.00 [-10]
Basic Move 7 [5]

Advantages:
Acute Hearing 2 [4]
Appearance (Handsome; Muscular Physique, -20%) [10]
Beefcake Protection [1]
Claws (Hooves) [3]
Combat Reflexes [15]
DR 2 (Doesn’t Stack With Armor, -20%; Tough Skin, -40%) [4]
Fit [5]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Skill Adaptation (Lifting for bodybuilding) [1]
Striker (Horns; Crushing) [5]
Temperature Tolerance 1 (22° thru 90°) [1]
Woodsman 4 [20]

Features:
Digitigrade posture (leg and foot armor isn’t interchangeable with human armor).
Furry lower-body (provides no real game mechanical benefits beyond mere basic modesty).
Tail (neither a manipulator nor enough of a problem to interfere with armor).

Disadvantages:
Code of Honor (Adventurer’s) [-15]
Common: Spoken (Native)/Written (None) [-3]
Lecherousness (15) [-7]
Odious Personal Habit (Unclad faerie) [-10]
Wealth (Poor) [-15]

Quirks:
Chauvinist [-1]
Hedonist [-1]
Nature Lover [-1]
Proud [-1]
Sociable [-1]

Skills:
Brawling-13 [1]
Camouflage-14 [1]
Carousing-12 [1]
Climbing-12 [1]
First Aid-10 [1]
Hiking-12 [1]
Intimidation-10 [2]
Lifting-15 [8]
Musical Instrument (Panpipes)-12 [12]
Naturalist-12 [1]
Navigation (Land)-13 [1]
Observation-12 [2]
Running-12 [1]
Sex Appeal-12 [1]
Staff-18 [20]
Stealth-12 [1]
Survival (Woodlands)-15 [1]
Swimming-13 [1]
Throwing-12 [1]
Tracking-15 [1]
Wrestling-13 [2]

Equipment:
• Blanket [Haversack] $20, 4 lbs.
• Bandages [Haversack] $10, 1 lb.
• Coins [Pouch] 10 copper. $10, 0.16 lb.
• Elven Rations [Pouch] $30, 1 lbs. 6 meals.
• Haversack [Torso] Holds 10 lbs. of gear. $30, 1 lb. (9.75/10 lbs.)
• Panpipes [Haversack] $40, 1 lb.
• Personal Basics [Haversack] $5, 1 lb.
• Pouch [Tied to Haversack] $10, 0.2 lbs. Holds 3 lbs. (1.16/3 lbs.)
• Quarterstaff Dmg thr+2 cr/sw+2 cr; Reach 1, 2; Parry +2; $10; 4 lbs.
• Rope, 3/8” (10 yards) [Haversack] $5, 1.5 lbs.
• Small Belt Knife [Haversack] $15, 0.25 lb.
• Whetstone [Haversack] $5, 1 lb.
• Wineskin [Over Shoulder] $10, 0.25 lb. (8.25 lbs. full of water)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Part 2

Designer’s Notes

Bessarion is “built to concept”, and under the assumption that each player creates their own personalized character with worldbuilding hooks that the GM then uses to create a game world where such a group of PCs could logically exist in. The concept is “faun barbarian”… while looking up imagery to inspire me, I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of what you can find on Google Images is, uh, erotic. Eh, why not? Hawt faun barbarian it is!

The RAW Faun template from DF’s The Next Level is strange. Above all else it wants you to be a Bard, otherwise those points in Musical Ability go to total waste. I’d think that the Bard niche would be best focusing on the Face Man qualities and those magical Bard abilities… but the Faun has traits that lean towards being a Barbarian/Druid. This gives the impression that the template is overall trying to stretch you in too many directions all at once and therefore not be point-efficient. Sense of Duty (Nature) is horrible, as it is so very polarizing; either no-one in the group should have this trait or everyone in the group should have it. I’m also not a fan of the Dependency on Mana, which may or may not be good game balance as it really depends on what in-game utility it is supposed to be counterbalancing… not all point expenditures are made equal and that trait might be overcompensating.

His Appearance (Handsome) has a cool modifier on it. I wanted to be able to model male sexual attractiveness achieved through a defined, muscular physique while not necessarily having a more attractive face. Muscular Physique, -20%, is a combination of:

• Accessibility, Only when not wearing armor, -10%. You must be only clad in clothing that shows off your muscles! Wearing all too modest clothing or armor that isn’t specifically shaped to show off your physique won’t do.
• Maintenance, Weekly Lifting roll, -5%. You must maintain your muscle mass and definition by working out at least once a week, dedicating a day’s worth of exercise. No doubt there’s probably more finer grain detail to how often/how much you need to work out for bodybuilding, but this seems to be a conveniently gameable abstraction that seems roughly plausible enough. This amounts to about 12 hours(!) of exercise, which could logically be broken up into smaller chunks spread over multiple days rather than a single day.
• Nuisance Effect, Distinctive Feature, -5%. Such a well-built, defined muscular physique tends to draw eyes… this gives -1 to
your Disguise and Shadowing skills, and +1 to others’ attempts to identify or follow you. This might rather call for the actual quirk plus an associated Required Disadvantage, -1%, but this is unnecessary splitting of hairs really. Either way you have what amounts to a net [10].

As a feature of the modifier, you’re required to have at least ST 13 to qualify for this Limitation.

Beefcake Protection is from DF’s Barbarians book. It’s just Extra Option (Bulletproof Nudity).

Code of Honor (Adventurer’s) is an interesting trait I came up with. It’s essentially CoH (Mercenary’s) [-5] + Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5] + Sense of Duty (Hirelings) [-5].

Skill Adaptation (Lifting for bodybuilding) is realistically an over-abstraction, but DF seems to be the genre where a dedicated skill for bodybuilding seems out of place. A Skill Adaptation Perk seems appropriate for this.

Woodsman is a neat Talent I came up for him. Camouflage, Naturalist, Navigation (Land), Survival (Woodlands), and Tracking benefit from this Talent. The Reaction Bonus is from fellow woodland folk.

Fun fact, from what I can gather the name Bessarion might mean something like “wooded valley”, and it is of Ancient Greek origin.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Cool character! I only have one question and a suggestion.


Can a being that weighs so little have such high strength (17)?

Wouldn't it be better to just combine Oswald the Violet and have him be a sexy shapeshifter? and maybe add GLAMOUR as an ability.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Well, as written, Bessarion's build makes the suggestion that Fauns within this particular theoretical setting are SM 0 at full maturity. Some might depict Fauns as smaller creatures, but it really depends on the source material. The Faun of Pan's Labyrinth is quite tall for example. Given his ST of 17, he ought to be at least 275 lbs.

I like each of these characters to be their own distinct character, although that's a neat idea! I'd avoid Alternate Form because... hmm, I don't know, I just wish there was a more eloquent way to handle that trait.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Humans at full maturity are also typically SM 0, but the standard DF1 Barbarian template (which I know you're intentionally departing from here) has Gigantism (ie: SM +1), for what that's worth. A hulking Faun Barbarian standing 7' tall, maybe with a rack of antlers like an elk, would be a pretty cool image IMHO.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

DF has a tenuous connection to reality at the best of times.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

The imagery is certainly pleasing to the mind, but game mechanically it's actually more crippling (in my opinion, and others as well). SM +1 is definitely for the Rule of Cool rather than practicality. I know I'm invoking the RoC a bit already with this character but if we wanted higher SM, I'd suggest that the GM make SM +1 a [-25] Disadvantage. He's already has a hefty amount of Disadvantages though so I'd rather not layer it on even more heavily than it already is. :(

Hmm, how I'm envisioning him, he's still quite tall for SM 0. More or less ~6'2"-6'3" and ~275 lbs., and very obviously impressively built. The modifier on his Appearance (Handsome) is supposed to invoke what I call The Chris Pratt Effect; guys with smokin' hot ripped bods, but with a very Joe Schmoe-face. If we could give Bessarion SM +1, it'd be for sheer beefiness rather than straight height.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Rule Of Cool wins out over practicality any day that ends with a Y when I run DF. :)

I've seen that thread before and won't rehash the pros and cons, except to point out that Gigantism also comes with Move +1, which is worth [5].

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I like Rule of Cool. Especially in dungeon fantasy, where a certain degree of munchkinism is expected but encouraged to be counterbalanced by lots of fluffy Rule of Cool stuffs.

Generally I'm not fan of Gigantism/SM +1. It just doesn't jive with my personal taste in PC design, although I recognize they're necessary for certain character concepts. My mind just can't get over what appears to be far more baggage than what these traits would otherwise suggest.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Some loose thoughts for GMs to read.

Beefcake Protection (... like I said, from DF's Barbarians book. I find the homoeroticism baked into the material to be funny. This is coming from a genderfluid biromantic/bisexual biological male of 75% Caucasian racial identity [I know, so very acutely ambiguous. I blame the years of narcissistic abuse from a more likely than not NPD mother and sociopathic abuse from a sociopath brother... and "winning" the genetic lottery... ANYWAYS...) is more or less as much as [95] points of Advantages, after taking into account the obvious -10% for "Only when not wearing armor" that makes you strip down for the benefits, for the dirt cheap price of [1]. Sweet heavenly munchkinism! In that custom modifier for his Appearance (Handsome), the maintenance cost ensures that he'll need to work to maintain his appearance and consequently his access to Beefcake Protection.

The rules text for Bulletproof Nudity (/Beefcake Protection) is... uh, a bit dated in my opinion. Topless males should absolutely get a extra +1 to active defenses. I'm sure many women, men, and other-gendered peoples can attest to the fact that exquisitely built and defined male pectorals can be quite scintillating. I'd say maybe at least require ST 13 (GURPS defines this as the minimum for "bulging muscles") or better to benefit from this extra +1 to active defenses.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

The only DF Barbarian I ever GMd had this (though I haven't read the Barbarians book and called it Arrowproof Nudity, but it was the same idea). He was a colossal THREE-FOOT TALL Leprechaun in my all-Leprechauns campaign, Little Green Men. His standard move at the commencement of any hostilities was to whip off his kilt, which he also became skilled in using as a Light Cloak and Sling.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Hahaha, that's amazing!

I just found the very particular naming of the trait to be interesting. I wonder what the story is behind that? TTRPGs are mostly written by heterosexual, cis-gendered men... which is pretty true of GURPS, although perhaps I shouldn't be making assumptions about the author's identities. My impression though is that by large they're straight men. Oh, sure, there's women involved in GURPS. But if this stuff was written by men, by a primarily male consumer base... well, it's safe to assume intentional homoeroticism. Jokingly is totally fine too, plenty of LGBTQ+ people are totally OK with jokes being cracked at the expense of queerfolk so long as they're made in good taste. This seems to be the intention here with "Beefcake Protection".

I usually deem it largely unnecessary to list the sexuality of a character on their sheet (nothing to do with queer awareness, "fade to black" is just a scarcity in roleplaying, at least anecdotally). Almost all my characters are heterosexual, cis-gendered people, and I usually only dip into alternative sexualities/alternative gendering if I'm for whatever reason wanting to explore LGBTQ+ themes. I've had some queer characters... but their sexuality/gender for the most part just isn't that important to most typical adventuring.

For characters with the Sex Appeal skill, as Bessarion has, sexuality becomes a bit more relevant in adventuring. Should it need be made apparent, yes, Bessarion is a heterosexual, cis-gendered faun male. The Lecherousness trait has some strongly implied bicuriosity though... honestly, I find the queercoding in GURPS traits to be quite amusing.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Yeah, you really shouldn't.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I don't know what I don't know, I can only guess. If you took offense to my statement, I apologize.

I'm all too familiar with homophobia/transphobia. A lot of the horrific child abuse and trauma I experienced as an adult was because of it.

As a child, I was repeatedly raped and molested, neglected and starved, thrown into a room and then subjected to toxic fumes, physically abused to the point of suffering head trauma that caused an immediate seizure, was witness to kittens being smashed to death... the list goes on.

As I transitioned to adulthood, the horror only continued. I've been battling crippling PTSD my entire life... over the past decade, I've been mostly homeless. I've tried to hold onto a job as well as I could despite my mental health, but it was and has been such a struggle. I suffered even more trauma as an adult... threatened with violence and raped, beaten and left to bleed in a puddle of my own blood by someone throwing hateful slurs, narrowly escaping with a female friend from a machete-wielding mad man hellbent on murdering us....

I have suffered enough because of homophobia/transphobia.

So, I'm genuinely sincere with my apology. My insensitivity might be born from my "profound callousness", something I've been labeled with before by others. Some might even accuse me of sociopathy... something my older brother was afflicted with before the blunt head trauma and excessive substance abuse totally scrambled the rest of his marbles. I find the accusation laughable, only even somewhat believable if you believe in the "environmental factors" (PTSD, ala Dexter) triggering the genetics.

Unlike my older brother, a child sexual abuser, serial killer of domestic pets, and committer of grand theft auto... I have standards. Those standards include being at least somewhat empathetic to the LGBTQ+ community.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Something like 'please don't make assumptions like that' would have been a nicer way to put that. I agree with your general message that he certainly can't safely just assume something like that, but I get the feeling you're intentionally trying to be hostile and push Tymanthee away and that isn't really doing anyone any favors.

In the interest of keeping a friendly environment and avoiding unnecessary conflicts it is often better to assume comments like the one from Tymathee are made in good faith, without ill intention, and are perhaps simply the result of someone struggling to communicate. People can be tired, unfocused, simply not native English speakers, etc. and not realize that something sounded a bit problematic.

If someone actually is trying to take a platform to make sexist/racist/[...] remarks it tends to become very obvious very quickly, so I wouldn't worry too much about something like what Tymanthee wrote. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

In my head canon, all Fauns are PAN-sexual [rimshot!]

I'll show myself out...

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

BOOOOOO!!!
I admit that one was pretty good. Now get out of here!

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Bolded by me for emphasis.

In GURPS terms, I might qualify for the Callous Disadvantage. If not that, unquestionably the Insensitive Quirk. If you had the backstory I have (admittedly quite out there... but life is not always so mundane), you'd probably be notably callous too. I think my failure to have more respectful communication is simply a matter of my inherent personality. What I suggest to others, because realistically I can't always be nearly as empathetic as they desire, is to simply try to be not too thin-skinned. I can be self-aware of my own character flaws, but there's only so much I can do to circumvent them.

Also, thanks RedMattis and Gold & Appel Inc. I really appreciate the lighthearted humor. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

ANYWAYS, this thread needs to remain on topic. Something I'd like to discuss further perhaps is Bessarion's Odious Personal Habit (Unclad faerie). Very thematically appropriate, I'd think.

It assumes a game world where Fauns have largely adapted to society that's more modest. Fauns who live out in the remote wilderness can certainly have their own nudist communities, but "wholesome" likely human (and/or elves, dwarves... races you'd associate with possibly having a nudity taboo) dominated culture requires you be properly clothed. Larger society probably is aware of the fact that faerie-folk are known for having a no nudity taboo, so they're not too prejudiced to the less cultured faeries... but most Fauns quickly grow savvy to what's expected of them. Bessarion is a notable outlier here in that he shirks new fangled civilized Faun-culture in favor of retaining the old fashioned nudity of the Faun communities who live out in the remote wilderness... that's part of the reason why he has the Chauvinist [-1] quirk.

The OPH also mostly counterbalances his Appearance (Handsome), which is a prerequisite for his Beefcake Protection (a rather absurd point crock honestly). There's some rather nuanced character design here that I'd hope my future GMs would appreciate. :)

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

There is no need for apology. And really, you can do what you want. But making broad sweeping statements like that is kind of insulting.

Text has no tone. I tend to blunt statements in situations where it seems like broad sweeping statements are made. So if you took it another way, well, sorry.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

It was your choice to react to that statement as you did. I can say what I say, but how people react to it is up to them. This is evident from other replies, which ranges from annoyance to indifference. You're the only person thus far to take offense to this, literally.

The bolded is a logical fallacy (and frankly, it is in general) given the statement that directly follows it. Writing is only likely to be toneless if you suffer from Autistic Spectrum Disorder because you lack the "hard empathy" to intelligently identify emotions within common forms of communication, including writing.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I don't understand. I thought that punctuation made the tone. For example. STOP!

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I might make some closing statements, and then this thread really needs to return to on topic discussion. Although seemingly tangential, it is at least somewhat pertinent to the discussion of a player's character to discuss the psychology of the player behind said character.

My life story is very real. Should anyone truly doubt the legitimacy of my account, I can provide provide what documentation I have to prove the legitimacy of my Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its causes. I can make photo copies of the documentation I have on hand and request copies of further documentation from the mental health professionals I am working with. I truly don't mind being so transparent. What about police records documenting these events? I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to provide those, as police involvement has sadly been not something that was available to me. For much of my life, I was under further threat of sociopathic abuse from my brother and the threat of being completely disowned by my own mother. My recent statements on this forum, my recent confidential confiding with my community college, and my very recent work with mental health professionals has been the first time in my life that I've finally told this story.

Sociopathy, essentially, is a hereditary genetic mutation that may or may not be influenced/triggered by environmental factors. Approximately 1 out of every 100 people suffer from the condition. I have reason to believe, prior to what I know to have been a traumatic brain damage and excessive substance abuse, that my older brother was a sociopath. Why, Tymathee, you might say, anyone can commit incestuous sexual abuse against a younger sibling, laugh with delight as they smash kittens to death, and repeatedly commit acts of violence just short of murder... and still not be a sociopath. Yes, technically you'd be correct. However, let us invoke some common sense. Such a person could very likely be a sociopath given the kind of behavior exhibited.

The existential horror that I have to live with, besides my crippling PTSD, is that I likely am a carrier of this genetic mutation. I'm ethically and likely morally obligated to never have biological children, and if I'm public with this information about me... I'll likely suffer to what amounts to a Social Stigma. People may vary well see me as a genuine liability to society... and, perhaps more horrifying, they shall always have the itching suspicion that I'm one of them. If nothing else, I'm likely to be genetically predisposed to having at least some antisocial features myself.

So, Tymathee, why be so transparent? Why potentially put yourself at risk of such prejudice?

Because, to a certain extent, I'm tired of essentially living with what amounts to a false persona, a alter ego of normalcy, my entire life. This is immense pressure for a young adult to deal with. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do moving forward, or how much more truly public I want to go with my life story.

In a way, Bessarion is just one of the vehicles for a fleeting escape from an all too dark reality. Sometimes, I just want to put aside the thoughts that heavily burden my mind and just roll some dice and roleplay instead.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

That's simply not true. Text, when crafted into sentences to form a narrative, most certainly can have tone. It is affected by cultural norms, agreed or accepted understandings of certain words or combinations, local idiom, and more.

Tone can be set through the specific language, the content, the plot, the psychology of the characters, political and personal context, and more.

"For sure" and "OK" essentially mean the same thing, but they convey it differently. "Whatever" certainly has cultural variations and expectations when it's used.

Various slang or vulgar words convey different tones depending on their context or cultural history.

The suggestion (made by another) that punctuation is required to set tone is simply wrong, but perhaps the result (in some cases) of the modern influx of emojis to ensure the tone is understood. And that's a feature of writing on the internet. When I first encountered the 'net in '91, (and BBSs before that), it was clear that most people didn't spend too much time to craft their messages, and because of the instant expansion of access to different cultures, backgrounds, language skills, and so on, it was easy for people to misread the intent of a writer who wasn't interested in polishing the text, just sending it. So then, the importance of emojis arose. A old friend who frequented one particular FIDOnet echo used to sign off from his point with "Deem smilies included". A lawyer with an androgynous name who was masterful with language, and mostly taking the **** with the sign off.

That said, punctuation does come into it. Along with word choice, personal pronouns, consistency, empathy, and honesty.

So, yeah, text can have tone but we can't control how someone receives it. We can attempt to present it with clarity, and the best writers will most often achieve that. The rest of us? Can be hit and miss.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Tone is certainly more easily conveyed via face to face communication. Online forum messaging really muddles it... and consequently, how capable people are of being empathetic to each other.

When you're a capital C Callous person like me, although perhaps I'm being too cynical with my own self-awareness, is only made worse in faceless online communication. Circumventing said callousness is usually better done face to face, as you have a clear reading of the other person's "tone" and other identifiers of their emotional state, etc., so you can make better decisions in how you respectfully communicate with others. Realistically speaking, people who'd qualify for the Callous Disadvantage have at least some means of maintaining positive relationships in their lives if they want to remain functional members of society.

Sure, that can be true of me. I don't think I'm quite so malicious though... not because I really care about people's feelings or their pain, but because of intelligent practicality, and in the bigger picture of my own life I just want some semblance of happiness, and treating others with what respect you're capable of giving plays a part in that. Realistically speaking you can't live your whole life trampling over other people's all too fragile feelings. So you develop methods to better your own means of "empathizing". Psychology (Cold Reading) (or better known within the RAW as Psychology (Applied)) can help you get a better read on people... which some might use as further reason to accuse you of being manipulative, but when I analyze people I'd like to think I'm doing so so that I'm less prone to saying something wholly insensitive.

Unfortunately, the cutoff point for neuroplasticity has been passed, as I've aged past the point where my mind is malleable enough to undue how my personality is hardcoded. I'd like to be optimistic and say this wasn't something I was necessarily born with (but evidence suggest otherwise. Two parents with notably antisocial-leaning personalities are likely to yield children with antisocial-leaning personalities)... as perhaps my "enviormental factors" played a strong role in how I became the person I am now. Burned once, burned twice, burned thrice... your heart figuratively wrenched from your chest and thrown to the ground and shattered into so many fine pieces of glass by the very people who were supposed to be the ones who truly cherished you. The world, too, violates you over and over again. Eventually you just become so jaded that you could never completely trust anyone to respect your own feelings and wellbeing.

Well, when it comes to Bessarion, it's right there on his character sheet, "Code of Honor (Adventurer's) [-15]". As a player I'm contractually obligated to roleplay my character as a person who honors their word, looks out for their adventuring companions, and even goes a step above that to ensure the safety and wellbeing of NPCs hired on or otherwise accompanying the party. If I don't, the GM is free to penalize me for it. That's no fun, so better to be a responsible player and do as I'm meant to as written on the character sheet.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I like the idea that both your characters are evil “bad guys”. For me violence is like a chain, it keeps growing and growing, and as longer it is the harder it hurts harder when it hurts. With more links, the chance of a “kinder (weak)” link to break the repeating cycle of violence and pain could happen.

Maybe if your characters had endured pain/violence, overcame it and with that knowledge decided to keep the chain growing. Maybe that way it could be helpful in overcoming/understanding past pains.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I suppose Bessarion could be seen as a "bad guy".

Evil? Perhaps. Morality is a very esoteric topic, so nuanced that no one could really be the true arbiter of all that is moral or immoral (... if you believe in a singular, omnipotent higher power, who crafts humanity in their image... one has to raise the question, is such a deity a sociopath? If such a condition is almost certainly entirely born from genetics, then we have our conclusive answer there).

I've discussed before in another thread on how I visualize morality as a complex Venn Diagram; every single person alive is a individual circle within the diagram, with overlaps representing commonality of morals. Perhaps where the circles don't overlap is where a differing of opinions is and where we see the lack of objectivity of human morality.

I've spent a lot of my free time studying the Dark Triad, and the empathetically challenged in general, as a means of understanding how "evil" works within our own reality and perhaps to even better understand myself.

When it comes to making characters, I like to incorporate significant character flaws into how I conceptualize them. Some might think of me as a edgy contrarian, but honestly I think it makes for better characters with greater potential for positive character development over the course of a campaign. If your character is Mister Wholesome-Goody Two Shoes, and ends the campaign as Mister Wholesome-Goody Two Shoes, you likely didn't have much positive alteration of character over the course of the campaign. I suppose such a character could have negative character development instead... what happens to them that taints the goodness within them. I'd imagine most people wouldn't like to see good people turn bad though, but ymmv.

I think, overall, Bessarion has characteristics that would put him at odds with the game world. In some ways, he wants to uphold the more conservative beliefs of the now dated traditional Faun culture, but likely simultaneously is at least somewhat cognizant of the larger society he is at odds with. He has personality flaws, some of which are perhaps inherent to the Faun species, that he must deal with and perhaps overcome.

Overall, I'd think it'd be more accurate to label him as a "anti-hero" rather than outright "evil bad guy".

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

In my point of view, evil is only evil if you lose. Your characters are a force to be reckoned with, just be sure there is no one left to judge them as "evil".

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

That's certainly one way to look at it. Some might say the winners write the history books, for better or for worse.

"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!" - Conan the Barbarian

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Um... it does? In what way? I guess you must be talking about this line:

But in context, it seems extremely clear that that's only referring to standards of attractiveness, not the "appropriate sex" part.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I suppose it could certainly be interpreted that way, but if my interpretation of the rules is indictive of anything that it is easily interpreted that way as well. In fact prior discussions on Lecherousness have included the acknowledgement of bicuriosity so I'm certainly not alone in this interpretation.

Do note that just because the trait may imply bicuriosity, does not mean you have to roleplay that aspect if you don't want to. If your character is "super straight" then that's just how they're characterized sexually, regardless of what's written in the Lecherousness trait. If a heterosexual player doesn't feel comfortable roleplaying homosexual interactions then they don't have to. Bessarion is strictly heterosexual, so he's hitting only on women.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Parsing the sentence normally it's pretty clear that it means if you can't find attractive members of the appropriate sex you are likely to hit on less attractive members of the appropriate sex. There's no grammatical basis to interpret anything else or to suggest your orientation may change or expand.

A character's appropriate target sex and gender are whatever they are. Opposite, same, both, other, and in whatever degrees and levels.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Perhaps my interpretation of the RAW isn't RAW, but I was simply inferring from reality, and so were other forumites on other threads discussing the topic of Lecherousness. Prisons for men... often have men, when left with no other options yet desire sexual stimulation, find means to do so. I'd imagine Lecherousness only compounds this. This has some basis in legitimate scientific research, too. Men who have sex with men, regardless of actual sexual identity, is perhaps a bizarre but very real thing. I'd imagine within female prisons similar behaviors take place as well.

I'd also note that I followed my statement with the fact that Lecherousness doesn't have to override your character's sexuality if their sexuality has no flexibility whatsoever, so my interpretation of the rules works out to a net +0% in terms of game balance.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

There's no doubt that people do all sorts of things. Dominance being quite a key part of it in prisons, for example. In the animal world, male homosexual behaviours are apparent in some primates where it's quite clearly an act of domination. There are, I don't doubt, many other examples and reasons - that's just one.

And so any game or player or character should be able to do pretty much whatever they want, and in a situation where choices were extremely limited then other behaviours might be displayed. But the clear parsing of the English as written in the rules has nothing to do with orientation. Simply that lecherous individuals will not necessarily hold out for those they would normally find to be particularly attractive within their normal range, but may "settle" (which is a terrible term, I know) on those they would normally consider beneath their advances.

In other words, handle lust and preference separately.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Lecherousness could only be priced as it is per RAW assuming all sexualities are 0-point Features of characters, so yes, rules as written it has nothing to do with orientation, but I'm simply acknowledging the reality that human sexuality is not so black and white. We're arguing semantics here, Farmer.

Dominance theory may certainly play into it, but male (and female) sexual variance has more nuance to it then that. Ancient history finds that men could've sought sex with men because men were seen to be the superior sex (Ye Olde Sexism!), that males made better lovers because of their greater intellect. History even has evidence that same-sex male relationships made them better warriors.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

I don't think we're arguing :-)

Homosexuality in Rome, as an example, was certainly interesting. A very male dominated culture, and one in which prostitution (of any kind) was quite open. So, yes, it's far from black and white (which I alluded to when I qualified that homosexual dominance primate behaviour was but one example of various behaviours).

And, yes, orientations etc. should be zero-point at default, then further defined by the specific culture in which you play.

Re: [DF] Faun Barbarian - Bessarion
 

Oh, I figured, there's only so much you can effectively communicate through a faceless online forum.

I guess my point was that we're debating what amounts to how 0-point Features and/or +0% changes to Lecherousness. Lecherousness obviously incorporates your character's personal sexuality, but it's simply sometimes convoluted given how complex individual sexualities can be, it really depends on the inclinations of the player and how they see their character. I think players ought to read into the text of Lecherousness as they see fit and according to how their character is characterized sexually.

It's not something terribly pertinent to Bessarion's concept, his (hetero)sexuality, but I've certainly liked discussing the topic. Lecherousness might suggest bicuriosity if you're inclined to read it that way (I know grammar matters, but to a certain degree young America doesn't care about grammar so much as the intent behind the words. That's a Pandora's Box...), but if your character is sexually characterized to be explicitly attracted to one and one sex only then it's non-negotiable. I certainly do believe their are people in life who just don't ever swing the other way, and so there's characters within fiction who are the same way.

Of course, a lot of my perspective may be biased as I've got no meaningful strict preference for gender expression or biological sex. You could be a effeminate man, a hypermasculine man, just a man... a masculine woman, a hyperfeminine woman, or just a woman. Or somewhere in between, I don't care. Whether I'm up for being (bi)romantic or (bi)sexual is purely up to my mood.

So I might be inclined to ask questions like "Are the Straights really Straight?", as well as even "Are the Gays really Gay?". I've had a lot of anecdotal experience of witnessing people blur the lines all too often, so naturally my perspective is shaped by this. I'm not trying to argue against the RAW of Lecherousness or trying to twist the grammar into something it doesn't mean, but I am trying to infer reality to make the trait fit what I know to be realistic. I think this is a GM call to say whether or not the trait includes inducing bicuriosity in strictly heterosexual/homosexual characters, and also for the player to decide if that suits how they conceptualize their character.