Creating a Cursed Were-Creature?

[Novembermike]

Originally Posted by aesir23

Are you saying that Oz from BTVS wouldn't be a valid PC?

I beg to differ. "I have to be locked up on the nights of the full moon when I'm a dangerous beast" is a valid and interesting disadvantage that in no way makes the character unplayable. Nor does it make sense to charge points for a transformation that's meant to be a drawback.

I think (if I remember the playtest correctly) this question may be addressed in Horror. Until then, the designer notes posted in the last post seem like a workable way to approach it. I think I'll adopt them as house rules.

Oz was a PC once he could control it to a degree. Until then he was an NPC. You can build a story around him, but he's not really going to be a participant in it.

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by Novembermike

Oz was a PC once he could control it to a degree. Until then he was an NPC. You can build a story around him, but he's not really going to be a participant in it.

He never really took control of it.

9 episodes out of 10, he remained human the whole time and contributed as much as anyone else in the party.

What if I ran a campaign in the world without Buffy of "The Wish", where he was one of the primary "White Hats" along with Giles and Larry? Surely he's a valid PC then?

Why couldn't he be my PC?

I reject the argument that some things should not be emulated in GURPS or that some concepts should be off-limits to PCs. It' Generic and Universal.

[Novembermike]

It's a tv show so things don't necessarily map perfectly, but he only makes sense as a PC when he's normal. Otherwise he was a monster. Also, I thought he came back from Tibet at some point and could control things or something.

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

It's in the Designer's Notes for Powers, here.

Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for!

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by aesir23

Are you saying that Oz from BTVS wouldn't be a valid PC?

I beg to differ. "I have to be locked up on the nights of the full moon when I'm a dangerous beast" is a valid and interesting disadvantage that in no way makes the character unplayable.

But not what was proposed. What was proposed was a character who would automatically turn into a murderous wolf any time he felt stressed.

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by aesir23

He never really took control of it.

9 episodes out of 10, he remained human the whole time and contributed as much as anyone else in the party.

What if I ran a campaign in the world without Buffy of "The Wish", where he was one of the primary "White Hats" along with Giles and Larry? Surely he's a valid PC then?

Why couldn't he be my PC?

I reject the argument that some things should not be emulated in GURPS or that some concepts should be off-limits to PCs. It' Generic and Universal.

First, I couldn't agree with you more! Second, I want to second the idea about character concepts like BtVS's Oz that have uncontrollable conditions making interesting, playable character concepts that can add to the drama and roleplaying challenges of a game. Oz's condition is more or less what I had in mind, ultimately, and similar cases from fiction. The Powers Designer's Notes disadvantageous Alternate Form should work well for this!

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

But not what was proposed. What was proposed was a character who would automatically turn into a murderous wolf any time he felt stressed.

That's not true - that he would "automatically" turn "any time" he felt stressed was also not what I proposed.

And I quote (myself), with emphasis added on the "can":

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

Especially if your change can come at any time during stress

I didn't mean "always". Even when you have Unconscious Only and Uncontrollable, that just puts the trait under complete GM control if it isn't limited by a Trigger condition. Even with that combination of modifiers, the GM could by the rules take control of the character's condition under any stressful conditions each time, but most GMs would be unlikely to do such a thing - they'd take take control of the ability when it made plot sense and wouldn't railroad the player in each stressful situation.

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by Novembermike

It's a tv show so things don't necessarily map perfectly, but he only makes sense as a PC when he's normal. Otherwise he was a monster. Also, I thought he came back from Tibet at some point and could control things or something.

Sure, but "sometimes he's a monster" is clearly a Disadvantage not an Advantage.

[Bruno]

Never mind the fact that there's an entire genre of RPGs based around monsters that loose control of themselves under stress and do terrible things.

It tends to slant the style of play towards "Tragedy" - but tragic stories are still stories and people not only like telling them, but they like reading them, watching them in plays, and so forth.

Even a "normal" Berserk PC can end up attacking his friends. This may not be suitable for campaigns or play-groups that aren't well slanted towards tragedy. But not all disads are suitable for all campaigns.

[Novembermike]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

I didn't mean "always". Even when you have Unconscious Only and Uncontrollable, that just puts the trait under complete GM control if it isn't limited by a Trigger condition. Even with that combination of modifiers, the GM could by the rules take control of the character's condition under any stressful conditions each time, but most GMs would be unlikely to do such a thing - they'd take take control of the ability when it made plot sense and wouldn't railroad the player in each stressful situation.

This is why it's bad. A trait like this is basically dependent on how often the GM feels like taking control of the character. All that happens is that at certain points the GM turns your PC into his NPC and you stop playing. Even if you're the one rolling the dice a character like this is going to be so limited by its traits when transformed that the GM can just tell you what to do.

The only thing this does is have you hand your character over to the GM at certain points in the adventure, and I don't think "Player Doesn't Play" is a good disadvantage.