Why is Broad-Minded a Quirk?

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Isn't that Congenial/Chummy?

Oh, not at all. Congenial/Chummy is "I don't feel right if there aren't people around me" (you could add "people I can stand being around" in place of people).

Look at p169 in GURPS Space... Broad Minded is a part of the Chauvinism spectrum and is the opposite of Chauvinistic. Congenial/Uncongenial are a part of the Gregariousness spectrum. Thus you can be a high Gregariousness/high Chauvinism person and love need people around you but not just anyone because you don't like those people.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Isn't that Congenial/Chummy?

Absolutely not. Being Congenial is a feeling of discomfort with being alone. While a Congenial person would develop an attachment to even the strangest company if he had no other alternative, as long he already had friends, he'd be satisfied.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by trooper6

Well...broad minded doesn't give you any social skills, so you don't magically get the ability to get along with strangers...just in the same way that Lecherous doesn't actually give you the Sex Appeal skill. And you do react towards strangers out of reflex, that reflex is: "Ooo Shiny" and some strangers may be offended by your mild fetishization of them. So disregarding the rest of society which may disapprove of your non-discriminatory ways, even the people you think are "so cool because they are different, can I touch your hair" may react not so well.

That is full-blown Xenophilia, not Broad-Minded.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

That is full-blown Xenophilia, not Broad-Minded.

The mechanical difference between the two is that you don't need a self-control roll to go against Broad-Minded.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The mechanical difference between the two is that you don't need a self-control roll to go against Broad-Minded.

There is also the variable bonus to Fright Checks when encountering truly strange beings.

[Phoenix_Dragon]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

That social consideration is only part of the matter though. The practical value of being able to get along with strangers and not react to them out of reflex remains.

I think this is part of the problem. Someone who lacks Broad-Minded is not incapable of getting along with strangers, and does not have to react to them out of reflex. Basically, he can choose wether to react to them positively or not. A Broad-Minded character is going to default to reacting to them positively. The Broad-Minded person is more constrained in his choices, because he defaults to only a certain range of options that the non-quirked character has. And if the stranger he's interacting with does something freaky, he has to make the same fright check the non-quirked character does, too. He certainly doesn't have more options available to him.

And yes, it will cause a hit to reactions at times. In many societies, anybody foreign is automatically regarded with suspicion, and being openly friendly with them might be considered very bad indeed. Even in modern "open minded" western cultures, there are plenty of social groups that will get you a negative reaction from certain people for socializing freely with. Plenty of people have a social stigma, and interacting openly with them often has a bit of that rub off.

It's not like there has to be a reaction penalty explicitly stated in a disadvantage for people to react negatively to someone who has it. There's no reaction penalty for Addiction (Meth). Or Alcoholism. Or Bad Temper. Or Berserk. Or almost every other disadvantage. But you can bet people will react to it.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by trooper6

Well...broad minded doesn't give you any social skills, so you don't magically get the ability to get along with strangers.....

Actually, while the description on page b163 doesn't specify magic, it DOES say you get along with strangers.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by Phoenix_Dragon

I think this is part of the problem. Someone who lacks Broad-Minded is not incapable of getting along with strangers, and does not have to react to them out of reflex. Basically, he can choose wether to react to them positively or not. A Broad-Minded character is going to default to reacting to them positively. The Broad-Minded person is more constrained in his choices, because he defaults to only a certain range of options that the non-quirked character has.

Except, of course, the book doesn't say any of that.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Absolutely not. Being Congenial is a feeling of discomfort with being alone. While a Congenial person would develop an attachment to even the strangest company if he had no other alternative, as long he already had friends, he'd be satisfied.

Well , it's the parent Disadvantage (Chummy/Gregarious) i'm basing my question on: those that have it react at a certain amount to others (+2 for Chummy, +4 for Gregarious). That certainly seems like someone that would say "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet.".

To a lesser extent, I see that in Congenial.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Except, of course, the book doesn't say any of that.

in this context positively is Neutral rather the mild negatively.