Disadvantages/Complications

[assault]

I threatened a long time ago to run a Pulp Fantasy game. Recently, since I can't find my copy of the original Fantasy Hero, I've been creating fantasy characters using Justice Inc.

 

It's easy, except for Disadvantages. That's the bit that takes time and thought.

 

Disregarding edition issues, I need to be able to suggest appropriate Disadvantages and Complications in a way that allows characters to be built very quickly.

 

So that's my question: how do you point new players at a disadvantage set that doesn't result in them sitting about scratching their heads?

[IndianaJoe3]

7 hours ago, assault said:

I threatened a long time ago to run a Pulp Fantasy game. Recently, since I can't find my copy of the original Fantasy Hero, I've been creating fantasy characters using Justice Inc.

 

It's easy, except for Disadvantages. That's the bit that takes time and thought.

 

Disregarding edition issues, I need to be able to suggest appropriate Disadvantages and Complications in a way that allows characters to be built very quickly.

 

So that's my question: how do you point new players at a disadvantage set that doesn't result in them sitting about scratching their heads?

 

A certain amount of that will be inevitable, since many Complications tie into a character's back story and can't be planned out in advance by the GM.

 

That being said, the GM can create NPCs and organizations beforehand. They can be used as Hunteds or Rivals. Membership in the organizations might lead to a Code of Conduct, Subject to Orders, or a Negative Reputation.

[Alcamtar]

I like to make a short list of disadvantages that I, as a GM, and most likely to call upon during a game, to help focus thinking.

 

You could pick up a free resource like 5 point fudge that has a list of pithy one liner Faults. Pick the things on the list of appeal to you and leave off the ones you'd rather not call attention to. (You could also use something like Gurps Lite; personally I find the colorful and witty fudge list to be more inspiring)

 

You can either stat them up yourself to show how it's done, or just leave them as seeds. Another option is to provide prefab templates: partial formulas that they can customize.

 

Sometimes when I want to do something very specific with the disadvantages, such as alignment or things very closely tied to the game world or magic mechanics, I'll stat those up specifically in advance.

 

https://www.panix.com/~sos/rpg/fudfive7.pdf

[Steve]

I always find package deals in the books helpful for this. Pick the archetype and take the disadvantages associated with them. Tweak as necessary.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Complications always take longer for me as well, because that's the character's background, persona, and supporting cast.  Making the powers etc up is a matter of concept: this character manipulates sound!  The personality and history of a character takes a while to come up with unless you just want yet another knockoff:

 

Secret Identity

Code vs Killing

DNPC

Hunted by generic enemy

etc

[Hugh Neilson]

Part of the challenge is that we think in Supers terms for disadvantages.  Fantasy characters require different thinking.

 

As Christopher notes, backstory and personality are key, and that applies to all genres.  For Fantasy, I'd look to a number of lower-point drawbacks.  An infrequent DNPC, perhaps. Mild Distinctive Features (especially for non-human races, but even a burly human warrior with scars is distinctive).  Hunteds would be pretty uncommon, but various Watched complications may be relevant (the organization who trained him; a rival organization; the city watch; a guild). Rivals fall into similar territory.  A character might have a negative reputation, but few would be that well-known.  Any physical complications are likely to be minor, but old war injuries aren't out of the question.  Maybe an injury is what drove this character out of physical labour and into the study of spellcraft, for example.

 

Social complications like being a minority (race; religion) that suffers some prejudices; being subject to orders; keeping a dark secret.

 

Susceptibilities and vulnerabilities are unlikely - although I recall a character who took 1.5x effect from a pretty female's PRE attacks.  I'd avoid Unluck.

 

Psychological is always the workhorse - what makes this character tick?  Whether honest to a fault, greedy, hates goblins, never hits a lady, an overconfident young gun with something to prove, a naive farm kid - there needs to be some character to your Character! Perhaps a minor Enraged, if the character suits it.

 

6e reduced required Complications considerably, and left the need to ensure the ones remaining are actually meaningful.  Heroic characters only need 50 points of Complications.

 

Leverage IndianaJoe3's list of organizations and backgrounds that provide some disadvantages up front, and that will cover some points. 

 

Perhaps Dwarves have a Reputation of being greedy gold-grubbers, and have Distinctive Features.  Now tack on a Watched by the old Dwarvish clan and a strong sense of Honour, and you should be a long way to those 50 points.

 

Maybe our Wizard is missing one hand from an injury that sent him to learning, is beholden to (subject to orders from and watched by) the old wizard who trained him, and of course that one-handed wizard is pretty distinctive.

 

A human warrior might be scarred (Distinctive Features), have a reputation for drunken misconduct causing him to be Watched by the city guard, and is still Subject to Orders from his military service.

 

Or maybe he has a Reputation for being greedy, a Secret family curse and a Susceptibility (that same curse) that doing something helpful without getting paid applies a 1d6 Transform which, if it accumulates sufficiently, will change him into a ravening beast.  Much though he would like to be altruistic, his help would quickly turn to harm.

 

Our charming Casanova might be a sucker for a pretty face, and have a DNPC "girl of the week" and/or be Hunted by a rotating cast of angry husbands/brothers.

 

My general bias is to start with the background and personality sketch, and start grabbing Complications from there.

[Chris Goodwin]

Here is an old thread wherein I suggest a bunch of "typical" Disadvantages for fantasy characters.  Is that the sort of thing you're looking for?

[Old Man]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:25 PM, assault said:

So that's my question: how do you point new players at a disadvantage set that doesn't result in them sitting about scratching their heads?

 

On a couple of occasions I just suggested some of the disadvantages that the players had.  The players never caught on.