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.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

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"

That seems like a very narrow approach to Emergencies Only.

"Your ability is triggered by your fear or excitement; you cannot use it under “routine” conditions."
Even for a soldier or FBI agent a gunfight is never 'routine conditions'. And I think the same would go for significant portions if not all of the duration of an actual race for a race car driver. Fictional characters who get bored during high-intensity scenes are a thing but I wouldn't assume that's what we're talking about here...

Immediately following:
"The GM is the final arbiter. He may rule that multiple successive failures of your power make you angry enough that it begins to work, but this is entirely up to him."
So optionally, trying to use your abilities and not having them work is potentially sufficient to meet the standards of an 'emergency'. Hard to imagine then that an actual high-pressure external situation wouldn't.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

That seems like a very narrow approach to Emergencies Only.

Emergencies Only is a -30% limitation, it should actually meaningfully limit the PC.