Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

[Donny Brook]

Lessa fails several Bad Temper and Selfish rolls in the first Pern book.

[Rendu]

Been a while since I read the comics, but Storm's claustrophobia was paralyzing at times.

[maximara]

Lina Inverse's failures of Bad Temper were spectacular and common enough to earn her the nick name "Enemy of all who live"

[RyanW]

Many heroes, aside from tragic ones, have only quirks rather than actual disadvantages with self-control rolls. As famous as Indy's fear of snakes is, it never causes much more hesitation than a simple knowledge that some snakes are dangerous would any time it actually matters.

[ravenfish]

In Lord of the Rings, Peregrine "Pippin" Took appears to have Curious. The bit where he has to look in the Palantir might be the effect of the item's magic rather than his character (although, in Middle Earth, such magic tends to play on preexisting character traits), but when, in Moria, he drops a stone down a dark shaft to see what happens (despite the need for quiet), that looks like a failed self-control roll.

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Impulsiveness is almost a genre necessity for a certain class of hero. John Carter (of Mars) narrates somewhere or the other that, when there is someone to rescue, he tends to find himself doing it before he has time to consider the consequences.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

Impulsiveness is almost a genre necessity for a certain class of hero. John Carter (of Mars) narrates somewhere or the other that, when there is someone to rescue, he tends to find himself doing it before he has time to consider the consequences.

Chronic Hero Syndrome is more Sense of Duty, Charitable and Selflessness.

Impulsiveness means you do things without thinking them through even if you're not trying to rescue or help anyone. It basically makes a character unable to exercise patience and restraint. It doesn't imply anything about the charcter wanting to help anyone.

[Donny Brook]

Frodo volunteering to take the Ring to Mordor is a failure against Charitable perhaps. Or Destiny as a disad.

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

Impulsiveness is almost a genre necessity for a certain class of hero. John Carter (of Mars) narrates somewhere or the other that, when there is someone to rescue, he tends to find himself doing it before he has time to consider the consequences.

Originally Posted by Icelander

Impulsiveness means you do things without thinking them through even if you're not trying to rescue or help anyone. It basically makes a character unable to exercise patience and restraint. It doesn't imply anything about the charcter wanting to help anyone.

He didn't say Impulsiveness made John Carter want to help people. John Carter wants to help people (he also has a Sense of Duty toward those in need), and instead of thinking about the consequences, he just jumps in and helps — he's Impulsive.

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

He didn't say Impulsiveness made John Carter want to help people. John Carter wants to help people (he also has a Sense of Duty toward those in need), and instead of thinking about the consequences, he just jumps in and helps — he's Impulsive.

Yes, that's my line of thought. With Sense of Duty (Humanity) or Charitable, you can gather aid, scout for weaknesses, set an ambush, or employ any of dozens of tactics to maximize your success at rescuing the captive. With one of those plus a failed Impulsiveness self-control roll, you draw your weapon and charge.

[cosmicfish]

Someone already gave a Firefly example, but I'll give another: Mal, when he fails to resist Saffron's seduction attempt and decides to go to the Special Hell... and then gets knocked unconscious.