Emergencies Only Competence

[RyanW]

Was trying to figure out how to build a disadvantage where you have trouble with routine situations, but not when it really counted. For example, you're a lousy shot on the range but a beast in battle, or are a danger to everyone around you when commuting to work despite being a world class racing driver. Kind of a reverse version of Low Self-Image. Would that be just a quirk, or maybe a quirk per affected skill?

[Anthony]

Might be a quirk. Might be Daredevil. Might be a reaction adjustment.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Was trying to figure out how to build a disadvantage where you have trouble with routine situations, but not when it really counted. For example, you're a lousy shot on the range but a beast in battle, or are a danger to everyone around you when commuting to work despite being a world class racing driver. Kind of a reverse version of Low Self-Image. Would that be just a quirk, or maybe a quirk per affected skill?

Take disadvantages for your normal state (possibly including attribute penalties) and then Not Disadvantage advantages with Emergencies Only -30%?

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Was trying to figure out how to build a disadvantage where you have trouble with routine situations, but not when it really counted. For example, you're a lousy shot on the range but a beast in battle, or are a danger to everyone around you when commuting to work despite being a world class racing driver. Kind of a reverse version of Low Self-Image. Would that be just a quirk, or maybe a quirk per affected skill?

It's a single quirk. If you're only penalized when a roll doesn't matter, then being penalized doesn't matter, and the effect is worth nothing. But you will be notable to other people for being so lousy in non-important situations. Being notable for something is a quirk.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

It's a single quirk. If you're only penalized when a roll doesn't matter, then being penalized doesn't matter, and the effect is worth nothing. But you will be notable to other people for being so lousy in non-important situations. Being notable for something is a quirk.

I can see it being a step further. Seemingly lousy isn't different than lousy from a social perspective, so Reputation or other reaction penalties can apply. And even further, being lousy 99% of the time and awesome 1% of the time still means you are, by and large, lousy. The quirk that you're a bad hire also likely applies here.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by RyanW

Was trying to figure out how to build a disadvantage where you have trouble with routine situations, but not when it really counted. For example, you're a lousy shot on the range but a beast in battle, or are a danger to everyone around you when commuting to work despite being a world class racing driver. Kind of a reverse version of Low Self-Image. Would that be just a quirk, or maybe a quirk per affected skill?

IIRC, years ago it was ruled that being incompetent, even with multiple skills was only a single quirk, just because it was too easy to abuse by taking incompetence for skills the character was never intended to use in the first place.

What you are describing probably needs renaming. First, it isn't truly incompetency because Incompetency prevents learning the skill at all. Second, it really isn't Emergencies Only. As you're describing it, you are competent "when it counts", being, using your example, "a world class racing driver" at work, but that isn't Emergencies Only. If you "suddenly become a world class driver" but only when your car goes into a skid, gets a flat tire while you're travelling at 60 mph on the open road, etc. or "a sharpshooter" when you come under fire from an ambush, but are still incompetent in your day to day job as a racing car driver, or an incompetent shot if you deliberately enter battle, that would be Emergencies Only. Possibly the quirk is "comes through only when the chips are down"

[Donny Brook]

Buy relevant Talents with situational (e.g. Emergencies Only) limitations.

[David Johnston2]

Talents with Emergencies Only works. Also Luck can represent the ability to come through in the clutch.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Talents with Emergencies Only works.

also maybe something like...

Anti-Talent 1 [-10]
Not Anti-Talent 1 (Emergencies Only -30%) [7]

net -3

[Anders]

That seems to me to be open to abuse. Anti-Talents are tricky, limiting disadvantages is tricky, combining the two... I would advise against it.