[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Xenophilia

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Combat Reflexes [15] and Xenophilia (6-) [-20] is actually a good combination, as the character gets a +6 to Fright Checks (combine it with Will 20, and the character is capable of dealing with entities with Terror 13). Strangely enough, Cosmic on Terror does not technically impact the bonus from Xenophilia, so it actually offers more protection from Cosmic entities than any advantage.

Sadly Rule of 14 rears its ugly face.

Originally Posted by Dalin

Me too! I love both the full disad and the quirk version. Like Overconfidence and (sometimes) Impulsiveness, it helps keep the plot moving, preventing caution paralysis. I've used it on a number of fantasy characters who tend to think that most creatures are potentially friendly and worth communicating with.

Totally agree, sometimes I'll take a disad like that just to keep things moving.

Originally Posted by Otaku

Wait... does Xenophilia require you see them as people? Looking at its entry on p.B162, it kind of goes both ways (so to speak).

I'm also curious if it is intended as a "good" Disadvantage. It strikes me as a "neutral" trait unless taken in combination with the correct other traits. After all, not everyone treats people all that well. Imagine some being that thinks it is "God", or something resembling the idea. It might be favorably disposed towards "interesting" beings (even humans) if they were exotic/mysterious/strange enough to qualify as Xenophilia targets, but would still consider them lesser beings (as with the rest of humanity).

It doesn't on both accounts, but it often is with me and my players.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Wait... does Xenophilia require you see them as people? Looking at its entry on p.B162, it kind of goes both ways (so to speak).

As far as my reading of the disadvantage goes, it doesn't make you see strangers and other races/strange beings as people but rather as someone/thing who wants to have a nice talk, share a drink or cuddle up. Or at least they're not overtly hostile even if evidence suggests otherwise.

You're not required to treat others as equals even though you assume they're not hostile. An exotic animal from another world could easily be recognized as a non-sapient being and still trigger Xenophilia.

[whswhs]

In my current campaign, one of the seven races, nixies, have Broad-Minded as a racial trait; they're river dwellers and natural merchants, and they tend to see strangers first as possible customers. And two of the PCs (one of them a nixie) have outright Xenophilia. This rather makes sense in a campaign about intercultural contacts . . .

[Tyneras]

It's one of those disadvantages I'd only allow as a GM in settings where it puts your life in danger (i.e. Dungeon Fantasy). The HAM rules would likely apply to most combat in this case.

In more social settings with rare combat I wouldn't allow anything past broad minded.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

As far as my reading of the disadvantage goes, it doesn't make you see strangers and other races/strange beings as people but rather as someone/thing who wants to have a nice talk, share a drink or cuddle up. Or at least they're not overtly hostile even if evidence suggests otherwise.

You're not required to treat others as equals even though you assume they're not hostile. An exotic animal from another world could easily be recognized as a non-sapient being and still trigger Xenophilia.

Such a cute little puppy monster, yes she is! :)

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

It's one of those disadvantages I'd only allow as a GM in settings where it puts your life in danger (i.e. Dungeon Fantasy). The HAM rules would likely apply to most combat in this case.

In more social settings with rare combat I wouldn't allow anything past broad minded.

I think that I have to disgree with that conclusion.

Yes, in most social settings, Xenophilia will not get you killed. But it's also true that Bad Temper won't get you killed, Intolerance won't get you killed, Code of Honor won't get you killed, and so on. But I don't think that they should be prohibited there. Rather, what's needed is to come up with negative consequences appropriate to a social situation. And there are a lot of those: embarrassment, job loss, ostracism, bad Reputation, loss of Status, poverty, divorce—or, as the Basic Set puts it somewhere, acquiring an adoring new friend (inconvenient relationships). Those can be quite effective motivators in a comedic campaign, and in a tragic one they can be powerful enough to make death a preferable alternative, if you want to go that way.

[AlexanderHowl]

I find that Xenophilia can offer plenty of complications when combined with Lecherousness, regardless of the type of campaign.

[Plane]

would it be broken to allow this as a Controllable Disadvantage since you're basically getting multiple levels Limited Fearlessness (strange people) in exchange for temporary disadvantage of Compulsion: socialize with strange people?

[awesomenessofme1]

Originally Posted by Plane

would it be broken to allow this as a Controllable Disadvantage since you're basically getting multiple levels Limited Fearlessness (strange people) in exchange for temporary disadvantage of Compulsion: socialize with strange people?

I'd say it's balanced. You forgot about the "Delusion: Dangerous foreigners and monsters are actually friendly" part. Controllable Disadvantage does get a bit weird with leveled traits, but since your self-control number is tied to the fright check bonus, I'd say different levels are pretty even in this context.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Rather, what's needed is to come up with negative consequences appropriate to a social situation. And there are a lot of those: embarrassment, job loss, ostracism, bad Reputation, loss of Status, poverty, divorce—or, as the Basic Set puts it somewhere, acquiring an adoring new friend (inconvenient relationships). Those can be quite effective motivators in a comedic campaign, and in a tragic one they can be powerful enough to make death a preferable alternative, if you want to go that way.

Yeah, the downsides of Xenophilia are just as strong but quite different in different genres. Even in deadlier campaigns social problems can come up; The king might not want to interact with the monster-whisperer or the knight who flirts with vampires.

Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1

I'd say it's balanced. You forgot about the "Delusion: Dangerous foreigners and monsters are actually friendly" part. Controllable Disadvantage does get a bit weird with leveled traits, but since your self-control number is tied to the fright check bonus, I'd say different levels are pretty even in this context.

The important thing is that I wouldn't allow you to turn it on, succeed a Fright Check, then immediately turn it off. If you fail the SC, your character wouldn't want to turn it off, for instance.