Steve Jackson Games Forums - New and Custom Quirks?

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Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciaran_skye (Post 1033421)

Taking a look at Chronic Pain it might end up hovering around -5 to -10 as an ongoing, constant condition* but the whole "a few days a month" heavily mitigate it.

* Which for some women with hormonal problems it is and it would effectively lead to things like low HT, Unfit, etc. I've met women who have a menses for weeks at a time and it, and the underlying cause, do terrible things to their bodies.

The related problem is having your horrible period every 15 days or so. Combine the two for extra misery, sprinkle with a liberal dose of "all hormonal solutions make everything worse" and garnish with "your doctor won't authorize a hysterectomy because 'you might want babies one day and sue us'", and you have a good friend of mines problem.

What's really terrible is needing a blood transfusion and having to argue with the emergency room people that no, you aren't having "just a period" until you collapse from blood loss.

I swear she legitimately has Draining.

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

I think I just threadjacked. Sorry.

On a more related note, the GURPSNet mailing list had a game for a while where someone would pick a random word out of a dictionary, and we'd try to come up with Powerstone quirks vaguely inspired by it (in the free-association sense).

This might be a good way to generate more character-quirk ideas ;D

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Some of my own ideas, and a few I've seen on other threads:

Bad Line Luck
Whenever there are a choice of line-ups for something desireable, you always end up in the slowest-moving line. If you move to a different line, the one you move into mysteriously slows down or turns out to be even slower than the one you left.

Big Eater
This is a quirk version of Gluttony. You do not necessarily overeat, but you love food and love to eat a lot. You are prone to making food a high priority at all times, whether or not you need to. (Can be physical or mental.)

Dislikes Change
You really don't like changes to your life or surroundings. It's not just changes that anyone would dislike (i.e. your village burning to the ground, your best friend dying, your parents disowning you), it's nearly any change, even if many people would think it for the better. Of course you still welcome some changes (i.e. the birth of a grandchild, the overthrow of a hated enemy), but for the most part you want things to stay just the way they are, and all else being equal, you try to keep them that way.

Esprit d'Escalier (Staircase Wit)
You can never come up with good comebacks, ever. If insulted, you can only stare dumbly or say something lame.

Lactose Intolerance
You cannot digest raw dairy, except maybe goat cheese. A quirk-level Restricted Diet, but only in campaign settings where most people have lactose tolerance.

Temperature/Environmental Intolerance
A leveled quirk that gives you the exact opposite of Temperature Tolerance for one environmental condition (i.e. heat, cold, humidity, or aridity).

Social Stigma
You have a very minor Social Stigma. You belong to a group that suffers slight distrust or dislike in your culture, but are not treated badly enough for a full Social Stigma. Perhaps your religion is considered "silly" or your political group is viewed as crazy people.

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi (Post 1747783)

If Bad Line Luck is an actual (as opposed to a perceived) problem, I may have it :/

It's a nice looking group, but I'm having trouble figuring how Temperature Intolerance would work. Example?

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

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Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery (Post 1747839)

It's a nice looking group, but I'm having trouble figuring how Temperature Intolerance would work. Example?

I have Humidity Intolerance (high humidity). Dry heat merely bothers me, but combined with humidity it very rapidly saps my IQ, DX, and FP even when everybody around me is exercising furiously with no ill-effects. For me it seems that it must feel much hotter and more humid than it feels for everybody else.

In GURPS terms, Temperature Intolerance reduces the range of safe/comfortable temperatures, in the same way that Temperature Tolerance expands the range. Humidity Intolerance, or whatever, would simply add a different condition in which the person suffers effects as though it were too hot or too cold.

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by abe ray (Post 1748125)

in america lactose intolorence is a negative quirk.

As opposed to...a positive Quirk? Seems that a physical quirk by its nature would be negative.

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi (Post 1747907)

So, TempIntol would narrow the 55° band by HT degrees/-1? This seems like it might be worth exploring more. Maybe I'll start another thread for it. Thanks for the response!

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh (Post 1033076)

http://xkcd.com/774/

Sorry, couldn't resist. It's pretty on-topic, even though not to the Eye Hit Location extent.

I don't know. Some really aggressive Atheists can be pretty annoying. Enough to merit a small reaction penalty in GURPS terms, IMO. It doesn't have to be a matter of feeling "superior" to them (it can be, sure) but anyone trying to cram their beliefs down others throats can be a pain to deal with regardless of the beliefs in question.

Maybe it could be rolled in a general "Self Righteous" Quirk that could be further defined. For example "Self Righteous (Atheist, Fundamentalist, Vegan, Political Pundit, etc). A low end version of zealotry, code and intolerance, etc.

Re: New and Custom Quirks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciaran_skye (Post 1033231)

Cocktease - You don't just enjoy flirting, but outright sexual innuendo, but mean nothing of it. A Quirk-level version of "Compulsive Sexual Activity" from the Space Exploration Pyramid or Odious Personal Habit.

Nice but I'd call its Flirtatious to be little less blunt about it and it doesn't seem as potentially sexist.

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Falstaffian - Acts brave and boasts, but runs away from a fight. Think about Sir John Falstaff from Henry IV Part I and II and Merry Wives of Windsor.

Another good one. We called this one Blowhard but that name is classier :)

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Heavy Menses - Character has especially painful and messy menstrual periods. The character takes -1 on most activities to discomfort, cramping, anemia, mood-swings, etc. (Note, this represents the kind of menstrual period that forces many women to take off of work or school for bed rest and eventually, seek out long-term hormonal birth control.)

This could be justification for some full on Disadvantages. No joke.

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Is unaware of her Appearance - Character is Beautiful, but doesn't exploit it nor understand why she consistently get good reactions and extra attention. Out of genre, but like the cliche 80s teen/college movie nerd girl who is a knockout and gets tons of attention, but can't understand why.

I like it Classic Quirk for allot of "nerdy girls" like you say. I'd like to see it applied to a male character too, just for a change of pace.