Using Personality Traits

Nils_Lindeberg · 01-12-2024, 05:24 AM

I am all for option 3.

One shouldn't need to roll often, but there definitely could be situations where a player might want to do something, but their character might not be up to the task mentally or emotionally. The most common would be bravery. The player wants to do something really brave, but is bravery really a free agency choice for a character that is a coward at heart or just normal? Sure they might surprise everyone and be brave now and then, but most people want to be brave but can't pull if off consistently.

Another trait, like Attractiveness. Everyone wants it, but it might be better to combine it with something that might also be seen as positive. In this case it could be Forgettable, a good trait for murder hobos and thieves.

So either the pairs should both be bad, or both ends should be good.

That is why I would rather see Rash vs. Timid, both are basically bad. But I don't want to see Brave vs. Cowardly because there is very little upside to being a coward. Or Brave vs. Cautious because both are good and most people have one but not both.

But you could also have Brave/Rash vs. Cautious/Cowardly. Having a high or a low value comes with both an advantage and possible disadvantage, so they are still balanced. One extreme is not necessary better than the other. Sure there might be people who are both brave and cautious, but it is not that common. But if you have such a character just set the value at 7.

A 4th option is to have 3 mainly good parameters like Brave, Attractive, Disciplined, and then 3 bad ones.
And when you put out your values you need to balance the total so you have as many points in good ones as you have in bad ones. But that is little bit more complex.

01-12-2024, 05:24 AM	#9
Nils_Lindeberg Join Date: Jul 2018	Re: Using Personality Traits I am all for option 3. One shouldn't need to roll often, but there definitely could be situations where a player might want to do something, but their character might not be up to the task mentally or emotionally. The most common would be bravery. The player wants to do something really brave, but is bravery really a free agency choice for a character that is a coward at heart or just normal? Sure they might surprise everyone and be brave now and then, but most people want to be brave but can't pull if off consistently. Another trait, like Attractiveness. Everyone wants it, but it might be better to combine it with something that might also be seen as positive. In this case it could be Forgettable, a good trait for murder hobos and thieves. So either the pairs should both be bad, or both ends should be good. That is why I would rather see Rash vs. Timid, both are basically bad. But I don't want to see Brave vs. Cowardly because there is very little upside to being a coward. Or Brave vs. Cautious because both are good and most people have one but not both. But you could also have Brave/Rash vs. Cautious/Cowardly. Having a high or a low value comes with both an advantage and possible disadvantage, so they are still balanced. One extreme is not necessary better than the other. Sure there might be people who are both brave and cautious, but it is not that common. But if you have such a character just set the value at 7. A 4th option is to have 3 mainly good parameters like Brave, Attractive, Disciplined, and then 3 bad ones. And when you put out your values you need to balance the total so you have as many points in good ones as you have in bad ones. But that is little bit more complex.