12-06-2021, 10:21 AM | #21 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
I tell my players not to take common sense. I lack the ability to tell if I failed in my description or if the player is being reckless, and thus give "are you sure?" warnings by default. sometimes I say its a free campaign advantage if it makes them feel better.
I usually forbid phobia. Usually they get replaced with some other disadvantage that doesn't involve fright checks, like a vow to avoid the object of fear.
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12-06-2021, 02:08 PM | #22 |
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: L.I., NY
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
I don't outright forbid anything, a lot depends on the specific campaign. That said, a player would have to make a very strong case for Weirdness Magnet. I also discourage too many Enemies, Dependents, and other traits that have frequency of appearance rolls. If there are a lot of those, I find that I have trouble including them all in a way that both feels organic to the events of the game, and is worth the points. If a player wants these things in their character's back story, I encourage them take them at quirk level, then I can work them in as it makes sense to me.
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12-06-2021, 02:29 PM | #23 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
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I'm somewhat more lenient with Origin Magnet, as there are NPCs who I'll give it to - but it's still generally not a PC trait.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting |
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12-06-2021, 02:32 PM | #24 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
Quote:
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting |
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12-06-2021, 02:35 PM | #25 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
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Yeah, unless I find a Fright Check Table I actually like, I'd be inclined to do this as well.
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GURPS Overhaul |
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12-06-2021, 08:19 PM | #26 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: London, UK
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
- Stupid
- Very Stupid This applies for PCs , Players & observers who will not remain quiet during play actions . We even had an ' I've been Stupid ' lamented placard to wear around the neck . In one memorable Sci Fi & Swashbucklers type game , we had to go out & photocopy it multiple times as 62.5% of those taking part had been extremely stupid in a chase scene . We even had a small yellow 'Stupid PC' tag that was placed on Characters that had pulled something dumb & were being run by someone else next session . I think I recall hearing Swordboy's cat Bisto* got carded & removed from games hut for knocking over an entire Wargame battle set up ... Mrs Swordboy was not impressed with them afterwards ... cat was so annoyed it took days to remove it from it's collar . Not quite as bad as The Hubcap of Shame , but you get the idea . - Functionarily Illiterate as frowned upon . When players with I.Q. of 120-180+ try to play characters in modern settings , it causes no end of trouble for organisers . And leads to 'who taught Shrek & the other Ogres to read then ?' futile debates that derail games . It might be funny in Discword but not so much in Far Far Away ... * Bisto : named after gravy granules of same colour grey/brown .
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12-09-2021, 02:10 AM | #27 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Rome, Italy
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
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There are some disadvantages that are a hassle to manage for a GM and/or than can totally hijack a campaign. Also there is a certain type of player that uses disadvantages as an excuse to be annoying to everyone... Yes, that's a different problem, but still one that unrestricted disadvantages can easily enable.
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12-09-2021, 08:39 AM | #28 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
Origins Magnet as a disadvantage possessed by the main villain of the campaign (or just the main villain of the first few sessions) could be an interesting hook, with most or all of the PCs being people who got powers as a result of the villain's crimes (or of one specific crime, e.g. they were all in the bank that he was using his new invention to rob to get the money for a patent lawyer, and the Gadget has 'Temporary Disadvantage: Origins Magnet' on it...).
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. |
12-09-2021, 09:03 AM | #29 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
Quote:
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting |
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12-09-2021, 10:11 AM | #30 |
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Hmm, looks like Earth, circa CE 2020+
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Re: Which traits are Forbidden in your games?
There is no trait in GURPS that I forbid for all campaigns. There are traits I won't allow for specific campaigns; i.e., this is a historical Old West campaign set in a Tech Level 6 town, so nobody gets High TL.
I've ran GURPS games ranging from Old West to Supers to Medieval/Modern Day/Futuristic Fantasy to Monty Python to Paranoia to Time Travel to Infinite Worlds to Space/Science Fiction/Space Espionage/Space Rock and Roll to World War II to Horror to Steampunk to Gilligan's Island. I saw Weirdness Magnet mentioned more than once as something forbidden. I certainly don't think it works for all campaigns, but it was a foundational trait in a long-running two-GM Supers campaign. One of the PCs had it. That, and various PCs' Enemies, led to most of the adventures. To me, Weirdness Magnet can be one of the most fun Disadvantages in GURPS.
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advantages, disadvantages |
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