Disads: the Second Best CP Deal in GURPS

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

I would like to point out there is a difference between "gets into unnecessary trouble" and "expected to be dead by the end of the first session". I'm arguing against some people's notion that the latter is the proper course.

The proper course is to abide by the rules of the game that your group has agreed to play; absent house rules to the contrary. When playing GURPS, a Disadvantage describes the effects of having it on your character sheet. Curious [-5*] declares that encountering a $thing which is not already 100% familiar to the character requires a self-control check. Failing this self-control check mandates the character take any and every step necessary to completely familiarize themselves with $thing no matter how dangerous it may be to do so. It doesn't render them stupid. They know it might be dangerous. They still do it.

Depending on the $thing they aren't familiar with, it is entirely possible for a character to enter play, fail a single roll and then effectively commit suicide ... for 5 points.

Again, absent house rules to contrary.

Most groups don't consider the above acceptable. They go, "That's stupid!" and change the rules of the game without really thinking about it. You can't rely on groups doing that though; some don't. And here, in these forums, we can't say anything meaningful about a group's house rules if we don't even know the change has happened.

RAW, GURPS Disadvantages are of such severity that a player should stop and think about what it means and whether they're okay with that before putting it on their character sheet.