Enforced Pacifism

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Opellulo

Exactly: slap in a -30/50% limitation (negated by Will roll) and call it a day...

The only problem is that limitations intended for advantages don't necessarily work for disadvantages.

Example: A disadvantage worth -10 points with RAW Unreliable and an Activation Number of 5 (-80% limitation) yields just -2 points for for a problem which causes you problems ~95% of the time. The same disad with an Activation Number of 14 (-10% limitation) yields -9 points for a problem which affects you just 10% of the time.

Reversing the limitation for Activation Numbers fixes this problem, but if you do that then it might be just as simple to halve the base cost of the disadvantage and use the standard Self-Control Roll rules.

Originally Posted by Opellulo

I personally don't see the need to define point cost in that precise way unless the player and GM really intend to play that aspect of the character and campaign. Otherwise is just a way to game the system and gain free character points in a quite unethical way.

Standard Pacifism is just fine for self-imposed moral behavior, but no so much for things like chips implanted in your brain which cause you to freeze up whenever you attempt violent acts. In such cases, it might be considered bad roleplaying to NOT try to resist the control and there's probably no reason why you should feel guilty or morose if you overcome it.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Tinman

Personally, I like this Idea of a resistible pacifism.

Thinking about it a bit more, I realized that the same or similar mechanics could be applied to "invert" any externally imposed disadvantage, including external controls intended to counter existing disadvantages.

For example, if a succubus has Lecherousness (All the Time, x4) and acquires a permanent Curse which imposes Vow (Chastity) most of the time, in game terms her Lecherousness would only trigger if she makes a Resistance/Self-Control/Whatever roll to overcome her Vow.

This could be easily modeled by buying down her level of Lecherousness based on how frequently she can overcome her conditioning rather than how frequently she can resist it.

From a roleplaying standpoint, her player would be penalized for not trying to struggle against the conditioning or for feeling regrets when it is broken.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

I rather wonder how fast a Berserker cursed with Pacifism (or vice versa, which is worse) would accumulate other mental problems... especially if one is curse with Pacifism: Total Non-Violence.

That assumes that the Berserker is also emotionally and mentally "afflicted" with a personal distaste for violence and deep respect for sapient life. If they've just got a curse which makes them physically "lock up" when they attempt violence, they shouldn't be penalized for trying to break their conditioning. Unless they normally feel emotional distress as a result of their Berserk behavior, they should "feel nothing but recoil" when they break free and attack.

No Fright Checks, GM imposed disadvantages, or angsty roleplaying over their moral failings required.

[dcarson]

Depending on how it is imposed a IQ roll might work to resist. You can think of a way to twist the imposed rules.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

That assumes that the Berserker is also emotionally and mentally "afflicted" with a personal distaste for violence and deep respect for sapient life.

Yes. Like the bit at the start of that post that you clipped out of the quote basically said.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Yes. Like the bit at the start of that post that you clipped out of the quote basically said.

Apologies for the clumsy clippage.

What I was trying to communicate is that roleplaying and game mechanics penalties can be very different for an enforced disad than for a self-imposed one. For example, a sociopathic berserker with a curse which imposes standard Pacifism on them might still be incapable of feeling long-term guilt after they behave in a violent fashion. Instead, they might feel pain or some other affliction instead.

As long as the game mechanics and roleplaying penalties are equivalent, enforced disadvantages don't have to work precisely the same way as RAW versions.