My Honest Opinion

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

Most GURPS disadvantages are "pathological." They're larger than life exaggerations to make them more gameable. Bad Temper guys are, like, always angry (or on the verge of it). Bloodlust guys always advocate for murdering people. Lecherous characters always hit on people. That's the default stance. Of course, it only comes up when it matters (the Lecherous guy isn't going out of his way to find girls to hit on, though it's fair and good RP if he does, provided he isn't bring the game to a stop), and you can make self-control rolls.

But, yeah, Honesty is pretty extreme. All disads are. It's right there in the text: you always follow the laws. You don't jaywalk, you file your taxes on time, you sign up for the draft. If the law of the land says you have to pay 99% income taxes, then you do. If the law of the land says you must turn in any escaped slaves, you'll do that too. Calling it a "worship of authority figures" is a bit of a poetic flourish, but it's one that derives from the implications of the disadvantage. If the "law of the land" says you must do something, then you must do it. That's what the advantage says. The only exception is if there isn't (or almost isn't) a law of the land, in which case you revert to your homeland's laws.

Nowhere does it say "You must follow the law, but only totally reasonable laws that you agree to." That's not really much of a disadvantage!

I agree that it's a big disad like most GURPS disads, but the problem is that Icelander's interpretation of extremeness makes the trait inconsistent both with the reputation it provides and with the examples of character archetypes that possess it. It sounds like the sort of interpretation that will give the Honest character a bad reputation, not a good one. Actually, it reminds me of this comic.