Obsessions motivating "all actions"

[Stormcrow]

I'd also challenge the notion that Obsessions make for unplayable characters. I might make a Solar Patrolman with Obsession (Get promoted to Full Lieutenant, resist almost all the time [15 or less]) [5]. The character is constantly following orders quickly and to the letter, constantly trying to impress his superiors, and tries to get himself into situations where he can prove himself. His uniform is always perfect, his bunk always spotless. When he's on shore leave and his Obsession tells him he should really turn his friends in for getting into that fight in Venusport, he'll "almost always" be able to resist this temptation. When the captain tells him to stay behind on the ship while the crew explores a dangerous asteroid, he'll "almost always" resist the temptation to try to find a way to come with them (without violating orders). There's definitely tension there, but not an amount that is impossible to manage. It does, in fact, make a more compelling character, which is rather the point.

If you're only dealing with Obsessions about killing people, then yeah, you probably end up with some dificult-to-play characters, but Obsession is a lot more open-ended than that.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

The sentence about rationalizing all of your actions as an attempt to reach your goal is followed by the sentence about making a self-control roll to deviate from your goal. The self-control roll cancels out the need to rationalize. If I've got an Obsession to "kill all goblins" and I succeed at a self-control roll to "save my friend even though it doesn't kill any goblins," I don't have to rationalize saving my friend as a way to reach my goal of killing all goblins. Successful self-control rolls make exceptions to the need to rationalize.

Under that interpretation, GS would have to have his Obsession at Quirk level - basically any time a friend asks him to do something non-goblin-related for them, he does it (or at least makes an attempt), so long as it doesn't get in the way of killing goblins. If he has to make a self-control roll to do anything that he doesn't rationalize as helping him with his goal, even having it at the (15) level is going to result in him acting out of character.

Really, the DFRPG version works a lot better for him, as well as for the vast majority of Obsessed characters in fiction.

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Under that interpretation, GS would have to have his Obsession at Quirk level - basically any time a friend asks him to do something non-goblin-related for them, he does it (or at least makes an attempt), so long as it doesn't get in the way of killing goblins. If he has to make a self-control roll to do anything that he doesn't rationalize as helping him with his goal, even having it at the (15) level is going to result in him acting out of character.

Again, I don't know the character, but if it's just a quirk then it's just a quirk, no matter how character-defining it is.

A character trait that strongly defines a character but has little game-mechanical or compulsory effect on them is a quirk. If Goblin Slayer can disregard slaying goblins whenever it's inconvenient, then yes, it's just a quirk. If his behavior annoys people, it's an Odious Personal Habit. If he just fervently believes that goblins must be slain, it's Fanaticism. If Goblin Slayer has sworn to slay goblins but his oath doesn't prevent him from doing other things, that's a Vow.

There's another question which answer I don't know: is Goblin Slayer's obsession with killing goblins a self-imposed mental disadvantage? Traits like Obsession and Odious Personal Habit are not self-imposed mental disadvantages; traits like Fanaticism and Vow are. How much free will Goblin Slayer has with his interest in slaying goblins will have much to tell about which trait is the right one for him.