Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-05-2021, 12:53 PM   #1
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

I just had this idea I thought could make for a fun thread. Examples from fiction of what failed self-control rolls for disadvantages might look like. I'll start with some examples. I've been into Star Wars recently, so my examples will come from there.

The Phantom Menace: Jar Jar provides some good examples in his early scenes of what it looks like to convince someone with Cowardice to risk danger by using an even more dangerous alternative.
Attack of the Clones: Anakin's massacre of the Tusken camp could be seen as Berserk, and his poorly- thought-out rush to attack Dooku is textbook Impulsiveness.
Revenge of the Sith: You could view many of the pivotal moments as Anakin/Vader failing an Obsession (Find a way to save Padmé) roll.
A New Hope: Han's refusal to even consider that his ship might be being tracked looks like Overconfidence to me, as does Tarkin's "Evacuate? In our moment of triumph?" (Bonus: Not a self-control disadvantage, but Tarkin is definitely Callous.)
The Empire Strikes Back: Luke leaving his training to go to Cloud City is Impulsiveness powered by Sense of Duty (Friends).
Return of the Jedi: Luke cutting loose on Vader is some kind of failed roll, but I'm not certain which. Maybe Berserk or Bad Temper.

So, anyone else have any examples?
awesomenessofme1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 02:02 PM   #2
Stormcrow
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Marty McFly

Bad Temper (Accessibility: only when called a coward)

"Nobody calls me chicken."
Stormcrow is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 02:06 PM   #3
Donny Brook
 
Donny Brook's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

The parable of the scorpion and the frog.
Donny Brook is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 02:59 PM   #4
talonthehand
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LFK
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Roger Rabbit - Compulsive Behavior "Shave and a Haircut..."

I can't imagine it's more than quirk level, but it did almost get him killed, so, yknow.
talonthehand is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 03:06 PM   #5
Not
 
Not's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Your pick from Fraser's Flashman series.
__________________
Leave this space blank.
Not is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 07:50 PM   #6
Polydamas
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Captain Haddock fails self control rolls against Alcoholism in some of the early Tintin books, like the one where he gets drunk on rum in a lifeboat
__________________
"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper

This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature
Polydamas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 07:58 PM   #7
maximara
On Notice
 
maximara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Dr Jekyll (novel version): Compulsive behavior (indulge in "base urges")

In the novel Mr. Hyde is not an alternate personality but a chemical disguise.

On a side note Jekyll is supposed to be pronounced /ˈdʒiːkəl/ JEE-kəl not /ˈdʒɛkəl/ JEK-əl. AFAIK the 1931 film version of the story is the only one where the doctor's name is pronounced correctly.
__________________
Help make a digital reference for GURPS by coming to the GURPS wiki and provide some information and links (such as to various Fanmade 4e Bestiaries) . Please, provide more then just a title and a page number.
maximara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 08:44 PM   #8
(E)
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Steven Moffat's Series Jekyll had the pronunciation you mention, but only in the parts set in the same era as the novel.

Back to self control rolls, Peter Capaldi's run as the 12th doctor has a few. Punching someone he knew he shouldn't in "beneath the ice(?)". Various examples of bad temper when it comes to him insulting people as a result of a bad temper in the first season too. In his final season there are a few examples of him failing to not be distracted while giving a lecture.
__________________
Waiting for inspiration to strike......
And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs
Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn
(E) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 08:52 PM   #9
maximara
On Notice
 
maximara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Quote:
Originally Posted by (E) View Post
Steven Moffat's Series Jekyll had the pronunciation you mention, but only in the parts set in the same era as the novel.

Back to self control rolls, Peter Capaldi's run as the 12th doctor has a few. Punching someone he knew he shouldn't in "beneath the ice(?)". Various examples of bad temper when it comes to him insulting people as a result of a bad temper in the first season too. In his final season there are a few examples of him failing to not be distracted while giving a lecture.
IMHO the biggest fail of a self-control roll for the Doctor is the Valyard. In the novelization (which used an earlier version of the script) the Valyard was the Doctor's 13th incarnation. Of course that got changed but he likely shows a critical failure with a self control roll.
__________________
Help make a digital reference for GURPS by coming to the GURPS wiki and provide some information and links (such as to various Fanmade 4e Bestiaries) . Please, provide more then just a title and a page number.
maximara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2021, 09:37 PM   #10
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Examples of failed self-control rolls in fiction

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
Return of the Jedi: Luke cutting loose on Vader is some kind of failed roll, but I'm not certain which. Maybe Berserk or Bad Temper.
I think this example exhibits a pitfall one can run into in this sort of search: that certainly resembles failing self control for such a Disadvantage, but Luke at that point in the saga, really should not be statted with either of those.

Extreme and focused stressors - such as the Emperor's manipulative monologue - can sometimes cause characters to express behaviors that they don't regularly wrestle with. The throne room example is almost but not quite a match for Provoking and Taunting from Social Engineering.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
Ulzgoroth is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:46 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.