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Old 02-27-2021, 02:06 AM   #23
David Bofinger
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: IQ gain and free talents?

Quote:
Originally Posted by larsdangly View Post
let people take flaws (from the ITL Companion) in exchange for talent points rather than stat points (which I don't allow).
I'm not a big fan of rewarding players for taking flaws because their value depends so much on the nature of the campaign.

For instance: A character takes the handicap Claustrophobia. In a game which is largely about expeditions underground that could be really crippling. On the other hand the game might be set on the Lognom Steppe, where the character spends much of his time riding a galloping dinosaur and rarely walks inside anything more substantial than a yurt. In which case the points given for the disadvantage are largely free.

Either way we risk players trying to weasel out of having their weakness activate, or GMs thinking they have to bring handicap X into the game somehow no matter how that distorts the story.

I would rather wait until something bad happens because of the handicap, then give the character (if they suffered personally) or the party (if it suffered as a whole) a reward they can use during play. Perhaps a fraction of a wish, or of some weaker form of a wish, perhaps a wish that must be used before you can earn another. The benefit should more or less equal the consequence.
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