Psis vs Weirdness Magnet?

[Danukian]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

IF you're going to make it helpful, you should definitely adjust the cost towards the positive. The phrasing in Basic is somewhat unfortunate, as a lot of people get the impression that Weirdness Magnet isn't all that bad. The -15 point value should be taken as a contraindication to that.

While I agree with the rest of what you said, as well as what Kromm said, I disagree with the above: -15 is no more crippling than Greed, which is a racial standard for DF Dwarves. It is on par with One Hand or One Eye, which millions of people have without seriously impeding daily life in RL. Several disadvantages provide limited bonuses in certain circumstances without being labeled meta-traits ~ Honesty, On the Edge, Berserk, etc.

Overall, I feel Weirdness Magnet should be similar to Unlucky, but Supernatural Events. Jimmy Olsen and The Tick were weirdness magnets. I do think good RPing of the Magnet should be rewarded - like an excuse to burn a CP on something, or maybe a +2 Circumstance Bonus in a very particular situation for every 3-5 misfortunes wouldn't be out of wack.

A) Character needs a Contact with Supernatural connections - Player burns a point and says "Oh, yeah: the brownie that through away all of my shoes because they were made out of synthetic materials was muttering something about that, I'll get a new pair of loafers and ask him in the morning!" Take 10% of Cost of Living for replacing all his shoes and a CP and there is a new Contact, but I would keep it very limited!

B) Character is Sleep Deprived because his the Insane Fluters of Azatoth decided his alarm clock made a lovely noise and have been making it join them in a glorious symphony at random intervals for the past three nights, even when the character has tried to sleep else where. When the party is investigating the Phantom of the Opera killings, the WM Character suddenly says, "Hey, I KNOW this tune! The Insane Fluters played this the other night!" And takes a +2 to Musical Composition Check.

Limited bonuses - as long as they do not exceed penalties and they are WEIRD should fit in fine.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Danukian

While I agree with the rest of what you said, as well as what Kromm said, I disagree with the above: -15 is no more crippling than Greed, which is a racial standard for DF Dwarves. It is on par with One Hand or One Eye, which millions of people have without seriously impeding daily life in RL. Several disadvantages provide limited bonuses in certain circumstances without being labeled meta-traits ~ Honesty, On the Edge, Berserk, etc.

Greed and those others are pretty disadvantageous IMO. Compare it to similarly valued Social disads (which it resembles more than it does most Mental ones), like a -15 point Reputation, or a Social Stigma:Monster. The Disadvantages that actually provide measurable benefits are specific about what they are.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

IF you're going to make it helpful, you should definitely adjust the cost towards the positive.

I think the occasional dose of benefit is already baked into the Disad. It's not 100% negative effects, all the time. (For that, you want Cursed, for five times as many points.)

Originally Posted by B161

Nothing lethal happens to you, at least not immediately, and occasionally some weirdness is beneficial. But most of the time it is terribly, terribly inconvenient.

The problem (such as it is) seems to come from some people treating it as just random cool stuff that happens, averaging neutral, which doesn't really line up with the RAW cost or description. So then there's a backlash against any thought of anything positive, ever :)

Interfering with a one-off villain's power just enough to be noticed isn't much of a benefit, and seems to me to fit very much into the spirit of the Kromm post you linked. I don't think anyone's suggesting that WM means immunity to precog in all games where that's a common ability.

[Danukian]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Greed and those others are pretty disadvantageous IMO..

I agree that those are pretty disastrous disadvantages, though not, IME, as disastrous as the Curious for 1/3rd the cost. One Eyed character will have a much easier go at life than Curious ones...

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

The Disadvantages that actually provide measurable benefits are specific about what they are.

Right, That is the whole point of this thread: most disadvantages spell out their rare circumstantial benefits in a specific, Black & White manner, while Weirdness Magnet says

Originally Posted by B161

Nothing lethal happens to you, at least not immediately, and occasionally some weirdness is beneficial. But most of the time it is terribly, terribly inconvenient.

Pretty vague. Should the character get an immunity to Precog? No. An Occasional bit of helpful well-timed Psi-Static? Sure, as long as the player is willing to accept the 7-toed other foot to drop anytime after that.

[mr beer]

I think of John Constantine as being a good example of a Weirdness Magnet. For a sillier campaign, the entire cast of Aqua Teen Hunger Force could be inspiring.

[smurf]

IIRC the character has something like unkillable so with a HP of 40 it's pretty much anything that can be thought of lethal is not that lethal.

With regen and regrowth things can be quite grim. The other WM is completely unaware of this player's violent side. Likewise it gets sliced up or caught in crazy plots of world domination by Psi aliens (forgot what they were called in 3rd Ed Aliens).

Things of the 109th Sen Battalion (space ogres on steroids) who resides on the TIMF (trans intergalactic mobile fort) need to be asked to leave the earth because they are in violation of treaty that could upset other aliens.

[Danukian]

Originally Posted by smurf

IIRC the character has something like unkillable so with a HP of 40 it's pretty much anything that can be thought of lethal is not that lethal.

Lol, At first look, I thought you said the Character has Unlikable . There is a character with some serious social issues: Weirdness Magnet and some type of Stigma or OPH to make him Unlikable !

[smurf]

Remembered... it's the Kronin.


Well the character is an Alien so it is kind of moot. Just that weird stuff happens virtually all the time.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

I think the occasional dose of benefit is already baked into the Disad. It's not 100% negative effects, all the time. (For that, you want Cursed, for five times as many points.)

Originally Posted by Danukian

Should the character get an immunity to Precog? No. An Occasional bit of helpful well-timed Psi-Static? Sure, as long as the player is willing to accept the 7-toed other foot to drop anytime after that.

This is the kind of thing that I'm against, and that I think is against the spirit of the trait. Any good to come out of it (WM) should be completely incidental, and not something that you (as the character with it) could count on as a dependable benefit. The only thing like that that is guaranteed is the non-negative reaction from supernatural investigators, etc., mentioned in the text. Otherwise, I'd say that any good that seems to arise by dint of your magnetism is either a false benefit, or a precursor to more trouble.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

This is the kind of thing that I'm against, and that I think is against the spirit of the trait. Any good to come out of it (WM) should be completely incidental, and not something that you (as the character with it) could count on as a dependable benefit. The only thing like that that is guaranteed is the non-negative reaction from supernatural investigators, etc., mentioned in the text. Otherwise, I'd say that any good that seems to arise by dint of your magnetism is either a false benefit, or a precursor to more trouble.

At best it sounds like combining Blindness with Social Regard: Venerated. You should still have to pay for any advantages, even if they almost always come in a package.