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Old 06-05-2023, 08:42 PM   #1
Otaku
 
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Default Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

Hi, all!

Got a character concept in my head, inspired by someone I know, that I was building for fun. There are three major character traits I wanted to model... and yeah, they're Disadvantages. What can I say? Sometimes being bad can be fun! XD I'm not worried about 100% accurately recreating this person; like I said, "inspired by". ;)

These things probably just count as Quirks for the actual person, but I'd like to elevate them to at least mild Disadvantage status for a character. Meaning, if what I describe doesn't sound severe enough, how would I elevate it?I believe they could reach the level of Compulsive Behavior or Odious Personal Habit:
  1. Muttering/Mumbling
  2. Voracious Reader
  3. Gossipping

Up first, I'm talking about the kind of person who has a bad habit of verbal utterances that are loud enough to notice but which may be hard to understand and/or unpleasant when understood.

Sometimes, this person is just thinking out loud, either without realizing it, or just not caring. Other times, it is a passive/aggressive kind of thing: you can tell they want to speak up, but fear the consequences so they'll say it just quiet enough that they can plausibly deny you heard what you think they said. Sometimes, they mean to speak clearly, but are so used to muttering/mumbling that's how it comes out.

How it could be more than a Quirk: Maybe it reflects my own IRL Disadvantages, but people who do this chronically are very, very annoying. Besides being a distraction and nuisance, it gets to the point where you worry you're getting paranoid ("Did she really say that?"), wonder if she's trying to pick a fight, or you wonder if she's gone a bit crazy.

The second thing is the kind of person who is a voracious bibliovore. I mean a step beyond just being a habitual reader. This is to reading as Gluttony is to eating: a significant cost to your finances and time usage. And if someone gets in the way of that reading, it won't be pleasant for them (treat as Bad Temper).

I really am looking at real Disadvantagesfor reference with this. A Bibliovore will have a chunk of their Encumbrance, time, and money going into their habit.
This will eventually interfere with work and relationships. Throw it on an adventurer, and... see Gluttony. You're absolutely giving the GM permission to use books as bait.

The last thing is far simpler to explain, and I suspect I've just failed my Research rolls for my GURPS books. That is... the kind of person who can't seem to go too long without gossiping.

So... yeah, help would be appreciated. It is also possible that, for as broad as I think these are, they're really just Quirks, but I figured I'd ask to find out.
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Last edited by Otaku; 06-06-2023 at 10:31 AM. Reason: whswhs made me realize I'd left stuff out and been unclear
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Old 06-05-2023, 08:47 PM   #2
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

I'm fairly sure the first two are quirks. Having a funny way of speaking has several examples in the book of quirks. And what you call Bibliovore seems to be just Likes Books.

It also seems fairly mild. There's nothing you say in it that doesn't apply to me . . .
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Old 06-05-2023, 09:57 PM   #3
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

I edited the opening post, as I understand what whswhs is saying, but it feels like he didn't quite get what I was saying.

I'm sure many of us on these forums have these traits at the Quirk level. So I'm looking for (and suggesting) ways to elevate then beyond.

Easy litmus test, though:

How often have you been reprimanded for these behaviors at work? Someone with Compulsive Behavior (Reader) is showing up to work late and/or impaired because they stayed up til 4 AM reading. Again. They're late back from break because they were still reading. They're sneaking some time with a book during their shift if they can figure out how.

For the mutterer one, have your friends, family, and/or coworkers suggested you see a doctor about it? As in, they're worried you've got something wrong with you because ya do it that much.

If "Yes." I think it has gone beyond Quirk caliber but I have been wrong often enough it won't completely surprise me if I'm wrong and this is still somehow Quirk level.
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Last edited by Otaku; 06-06-2023 at 10:33 AM.
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Old 06-05-2023, 10:10 PM   #4
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

I'd say that Odious Personal Habit (Mumbler) could go right on a character sheet with your description for reference. The two different 'levels' could be based on a self-control roll.

Likewise, Compulsive Behavior (Voracious Reader) is workable as-is on a character sheet with your description for reference.

With a little more fleshing out of what specific behaviour and consequences you want to apply to Gossiping, it can also probably fit in an existing social disad.
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Old 06-06-2023, 01:29 AM   #5
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

Well ... damn near ANYthing can be a quirk, and damn near ANYthing can be a disadvantage.

The measure of whether something hits OPH rather than a quirk is simply the level to which it pisses people off. Someone muttering under his breath, if it's just that people glance at him and think he's weird, that's Quirk-level. If it's "Will you for pity's sake shut the eff up so the rest of us can get some sleep!!" it's OPH.

Same sort of thing with judging between Quirk and Compulsive Behavior. My wife and I are voracious and compulsive readers, and the highlight of a trip last month to Niagara Falls was -- second to the falls themselves -- happening to find the best used book store we'd ever seen. (Being Massachusetts residents, an area not exactly devoid of such places, this is no light praise.) We blew off the rest of our itinerary for the day to explore, and dropped a couple hundred bucks on far more than we could carry. That's a Quirk.

But -- if we couldn't be bothered to do chores, eat, go to work, because we couldn't be pulled from the books; if we were skating on our bills or living in a hoarders' hell because we were buying too many: that's a Compulsive Behavior.
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Old 06-06-2023, 04:21 AM   #6
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

Well the reading could be a reskinned addiction, complete with fiending for a fix.

The mumbler could also give a penalty to some delicate verbal stuff, elevating it beyond quirk.
Like, if it's a spellcaster, verbal components might get affected by it, making the skill rolls harder.

Gossipping could be like a milder, and reverse form of curious.
Where the character has to roll self control to not shower anyone who looks even mildly interested in the character with gossip.

On a critical failure, might have the afflicted character feel the urge to "connect with the other one via shared gossip" in such a strong, and urgent, own mind overriding manner, that they are compelled to blurt out something actually disadvantageous to the character.
Like a truth (to brag, but could jeopardize some operation), or if they have some dirt on the other person, try and talk about that in some way.

As in, gossipers often have a filter to not incur the wrath of the current gossip party, but a critical failure disables that.
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Old 06-06-2023, 05:33 AM   #7
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

The way I'd do it:

1) Muttering/Mumbling
A) O.P.H. and adjust level for how annoying it is.

2) Voracious Reader
A) Compulsive behavior (like comp. Carousing).

3) Gossipping (2 possibilities)
A1) Compulsive behavior (again).
A2) base it on chummy for when they have no one to gossip with.
(2 levels available).
.
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Old 06-06-2023, 07:16 AM   #8
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Default I am very forgetful >_<

I thank you all for the input. Since it is just me dinking around, I'll see how the character sheet looks with all of these. Maybe even put the character through some simple scenarios because... well... I am curious. Yes, that includes the Quirk approach; perhaps if I used them to flavor the Laziness Disadvantage, it would give me an appropriate Flanderization of the family member who inspired her.

Donny reminded me, I shouldn't assume people know what I mean by "gossip". Again, to elevate it beyond Quirk level, it has to be a problem beyond Quirk level. Throw in the usual "This person spends a lot of time on and fixates on gossip." Gossip may or may not be true; their Current Affairs Skill level probably determines that, give or take any other Disadvantages (like Delusions, not applicable here). I also intended to make it easier to get information from this character; if the party has a secret, they either are keeping it from the gossip or have to "babysit" her so she doesn't share with someone she shouldn't. I also thought about adding a minor reaction penalty, but maybe that should literally be a separate Reputation.

Something I left out for Bibliovore (just calling it that until I settle on the specifics), is that I was designing this character for your stereotypical, pseudo-medieval/fantasy game. Part of why I felt like making this character was to remind myself of the default GURPS magic system from the Basic Set. I am uncertain if Tech Level should be a factor for this Disadvantage. Obviously, no books = no one obsessed with books. Well, unless the setting resembles Ascendance of a Book Worm. And if it did, that might be the entire party's driving ambition, so still not applicable. I know I ought not to assume too much, as such a setting might align with real-world medieval book availability, or books could be as easy to acquire as in the present because enough mages know the correct spells for mass book production. Or something in between. This is why I stressed lugging around books so much, though; it isn't just this person has extra luggage, but is using up her limited carrying capacity to haul books.
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Last edited by Otaku; 06-06-2023 at 10:36 AM. Reason: I missed some stuff XP
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Old 06-06-2023, 07:41 AM   #9
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

Hmm. It seems like, in that case, if books really aren't often available (as opposed to a standard Dungeons and Dragons setting, which generally seems to have a lot of ancient tomes and scrolls lying around), Compulsion wouldn't work as well (as then it would basically just be Bad Temper most of the time, since not having access to books would be standard), and basing it on Curious might be more useful - whenever books are on offer (if they're that scarce, it might be any books at all, without needing to be more specific), make a self-control roll to not buy them (if for sale), pinch them (if abandoned/belonging to an enemy), or dip into them on the spot.

Possibly, add, from Compulsive Carousing, that when he does have access to any books that he hasn't already read several times he has Bad Temper if he can't spend at least an hour a day with them.

It seems like, this would lead to the mage usually being at high Encumbrance because he insists on carrying half a dozen bulky TL3 books with him on journeys.
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Old 06-06-2023, 07:58 AM   #10
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Default Re: Help With Some Disadvantages Inspired By Real Life: Mutterer, Bibliovore, Gossip

For the first thing (the mutterer) I would look at basing it on Disturbing Voice/Stuttering. A penalty to reaction rolls along with a penalty to most verbal skills seems like just what's called for. If -2 seems too severe (or not severe enough), the disadvantage is -10 points for a -2 penalty, so it should be easy enough to turn it into a -5/-1 leveled trait.

As others have mentioned, "Bibliovore" is obviously Compulsive Behavior- lost time and income in the background, and a self-control roll to avoid the behavior in specific instances where it's a really bad idea (when you're supposed to be keeping watch, say, or when the Necronomicon shows up). [Note that, per Characters, if you are somewhere where indulging the compulsion will be outright impossible, you suffer from Bad Temper until you can get back to it, so the disadvantage isn't free points even if large portions of the adventure take place in the Bookless Wastes.]

Likewise, gossiping could easily be compulsive behavior, with a reaction penalty from those you're talking about rather than an increased cost of living, and a self-control roll to avoid revealing secrets better kept dark.
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Last edited by ravenfish; 06-06-2023 at 08:06 AM.
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