Character IS the contact

[Alverant]

Normally if your character has someone s/he can contact for information or is owed a favor, you'd pay points for it. But what about the flip side? What happens if a DNPC bought Contact:Your Character at 11-, how is it noted on the character sheet? The oppositte of the Hunted disad is Hunting, a psych lim. So what about here? Is it a -5 point "Owes Mayor a Favor" perk you can buy? If so, what happens when the favor is fulfilled? Does it work like a normal favor and you permentaly "gain" the points?

[OddHat]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

If taken before play begins, the NPC who has the character as a Contact is probably that Character's DNPC, if it's worth any points at all.

 

If your character becomes a contact after play begins, it's worth no points.

[Edsel]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

If the NPC is someone your character can not, or will not, be willing to ignore then perhaps it could be taken as a minor Social Limitation. But I'd agree with OddHat that if this is something that happens after character creation it isn't worth any points.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

In our campaigns we've always treated Contacts as at least potentially working in both directions. Assuming the Contact has a reason and method to contact the PC, there is no reason not to have them occasionally call for assistance from the hero. They can make excellent plot hooks in their own right; and have done so repeatedly in both our Champions and Dark Champions campaigns. They're often better than DNPCs, who are often very two-dimensional and taken solely for Disadvantage points, as opposed to Contacts where the PC has paid points and thus tends to make them better rounded and more interesting individuals.

[David Johnston]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

Normally if your character has someone s/he can contact for information or is owed a favor' date=' you'd pay points for it. But what about the flip side? What happens if a DNPC bought Contact:Your Character at 11-, how is it noted on the character sheet? [/quote']

 

Probably isn't. After all DNPC's do not get "Superman will pull me out of jams" as some point paid-for addition to their character. You may have a psychological limitation which can be exploited by a DNPC like "In love with...". You may have a Contact who expects a quid pro quo for their information. Or you may have "being blackmailed" as a Social Limitation.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

In our campaigns we've always treated Contacts as at least potentially working in both directions. Assuming the Contact has a reason and method to contact the PC' date=' there is no reason not to have them occasionally call for assistance from the hero. They can make excellent plot hooks in their own right; and have done so repeatedly in both our Champions and Dark Champions campaigns. They're often better than DNPCs, who are often very two-dimensional and taken solely for Disadvantage points, as opposed to Contacts where the PC has paid points and thus tends to make them better rounded and more interesting individuals.[/quote']

 

We do the same.

[Edsel]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

Same here.

 

In my Weekend Warriors campaign it is pretty obvious that Rally Vincent is a contact of the Player-character Sweeper. And you can be certain that if she is in need of help she'd call on him and he'd do whatever he could to help.

[OddHat]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

In our campaigns we've always treated Contacts as at least potentially working in both directions. Assuming the Contact has a reason and method to contact the PC' date=' there is no reason not to have them occasionally call for assistance from the hero. They can make excellent plot hooks in their own right; and have done so repeatedly in both our Champions and Dark Champions campaigns. They're often better than DNPCs, who are often very two-dimensional and taken solely for Disadvantage points, as opposed to Contacts where the PC has paid points and thus tends to make them better rounded and more interesting individuals.[/quote']

 

We do the same.

 

Same here.

 

In my Weekend Warriors campaign it is pretty obvious that Rally Vincent is a contact of the Player-character Sweeper. And you can be certain that if she is in need of help she'd call on him and he'd do whatever he could to help.

 

Yup. Your character asks his contacts for help, and his followers. If they're fully three-dimensional characters, they will ask him in return.

 

Whether they're mostly a burden, mostly an asset, or at your beck and call determines whether they're written up as Contancts, DNPCs, Followers, or a mix of two or more, but from the POV of your character in the game they're all real people, with all the complications relationships entail.

[PhaseKitty]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

I'd say it's probably best to go with Trebuchet, et al.'s idea, and call it part of having a Contact.

 

However, if the person who can use your charrie as a Contact is not a Contact for your charrie, that's another thing totally. Is that what you're talking about?

 

If so, I'd say make it a minor Psych Lim, or a minor Social Lim.

 

BTW, you said

What happens if a DNPC bought Contact:Your Character at 11-' date=' how is it noted on the character sheet?[/quote'] Did you really mean a Dependent NPC, or just an ordinary NPC?

[Trebuchet]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

Whether they're mostly a burden' date=' mostly an asset, or at your beck and call determines whether they're written up as Contancts, DNPCs, Followers, or a mix of two or more, but from the POV of your character in the game they're all real people, with all the complications relationships entail.[/quote']Exactly! Characters are supposed to be people, and relationships between them are seldom if ever going to be unidirectional. Most DNPCs and Contacts are still going to have (in a well rounded campaign) much more complicated dealings than "I take care of Aunt Mary" or "Bruno owes me total fealty, but I don't owe him nothing." There will be exceptions, of course.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

I agree about Contacts being two-way. Favors, however, are one-directional pretty much by definition. So I could perhaps see allowing someone to take "Owes ______ a Favor" as a minor Social Lim at character generation. If it's developed in-game, then I probably wouldn't give any points for it, just as players don't get additional Hunteds for every villain they **** off.

[Metaphysician]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

OTOH, it might not be a Minor Social Limitation if the PC owes the character the equivalent of a life boon. Then again, thats best if the recipient character is himself a PC, probably. . .

[Mike W]

Re: Character IS the contact

 

Generally, being someone's contact is worth no points because anyone who would list you as a contact should already be on your sheet as a contact, ally, or DNPC already. Actually, it's a standing rule in my game that anyone you take as a contact, especially to start the game, gets you as a contact, generally at the same roll unless you provide a good reason for an exception.