Modal verbs and disadvantages

[McCoy]

It has been said that Physical Disadvantages are what your character can not do, and Psychological Disadvantages are what they will not do.

 

Expanding on that, Dependencies are about things your caracter must do, and Suceptabilities are things that they must not do.

 

Broadly speaking then, Social Limitations would include things your character should not do.

 

So what about what your character may not do? Should Vows and Oaths be broken out into a seperate category from Psychological Disadvantages?

[Fireg0lem]

I believe Fuzion (shudder) broke a seperate category called "obligations" that included things like that; for example "sworn to bring down VIPER," "oath to protect women," "must hunt down demons." I would say that these would be a bit redundant, although I can see the value in having things that a character does because he feels obligated to, rather than wants to. YMMV.

[Monolith]

I think Vows and Oaths are just part of the normal Psych Limitation category. I vow to protect innocent, I swear never to kill, etc. Those just seem like reasons to have a Protective of Innocents or a Code versus Killing Psych Lim to me.

[Farkling]

If you will pardon the bad parsing of my logic...

 

Physical Lims are what your character can not do. (Can not cross running water)

Physical Lims are also what your character can not not do. (Can not (not cross running water) => (Must cross running water)

ie. Physical Lims are what your character must do. (not-not cross running water => cross running water)

 

Psych Lims are what your character will not do. (Prefers not to kill)

Psych Lims are also things your character will not not do. (Prefers to not (not kill)) => (Prefers to kill)

ie. Psych Lims are also things your character will do. (not - not kill => kill)

 

Thus, obligations and vows are handled in the existing sentence.

 

Physical Limitation: All powers lost if the blood of an innocent is spilled.

(Game Effect: Character loses all metahuman abilities until limitation is bought off or replaced through appropriate roleplaying)

 

Psych Limit: Sworn to protect the innocent

(Game Effect: Character will interpose hiumself between targets of lethal attacks, evacuate civilians, etc...)

 

Physical Limitation: Herbivore (also, Cannot digest meat)

Psych Limit: Vegetarian (also, Sworn to consume no meat)

 

 

All comments welcome.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Another consideration is enforcement. For example, let's say that mages in a particular Fantasy Hero game world must take a vow to never reveal a certain secret to non-mages. Another question to ponder when deciding how this works as a Disad is, "What happens if the character breaks the vow?" In our example, if breaking the vow means that the character will now be ruthlessly pursued and exterminated by all of magedom, then there may be an element of Hunted involved. If breaking the vow triggers a curse, then perhaps there is a Susceptability or Unluck involved, etc.

[Farkling]

And it fits the model...for if he breaks the vow, he no longer has those points, and must buy it off or substitute an equal value disavantage...

 

Of course, if he bought it off, I woul dstill have the consequences follow him, just more rarely, like a subplot leading to a story arc for resolution.