Roleplayer #8, January 1988
New Disadvantages
by the readers of Roleplayer
Absent-Mindedness . . . . . -15 points
The classic disadvantage for eccentric geniuses. An absent-minded person
has difficulty paying attention to anything not of immediate interest to
him. An absent-minded person suffers a -5 penalty on any IQ roll except
those involving a task he is currently interested in and concentrating upon.
If no engaging task or topic presents itself,
the attention of the absent-minded individual will drift to more interesting
matters after only five minutes; he will ignore his immediate surroundings
until something catches his attention and brings him back. Once adrift in
his own thoughts, an absent-minded character must roll against IQ-5
in order to notice any event short
of personal physical injury.
The absent-minded person may attempt to rivet his attention on a boring
topic through sheer strength of will. To do so, he must make a roll against
IQ-5, modified by Strong or Weak Will, once every five minutes. "Boring
topics" include guard duty, small-talk or other forms of meaningless
conversation, repetitive manual tasks, driving on an empty highway . . .
.
Absent-minded individuals also have a tendency to forget trivial tasks --
like paying the bills -- and items -- like car keys and check-books. Whenever
it becomes important that an absent-minded character have performed such
a task or brought such an item, the GM should call for a roll against IQ-2.
If the character fails this roll, then this minor detail has slipped his
attention. For example, an absent-minded detective pulls his gun in a shoot-out.
He has been involved in gunplay earlier today, in which he fired four rounds,
so the GM calls for an IQ-2 roll. The character fails the roll, discovering
too late that he forgot to reload his weapon, so his revolver only has two
bullets left!
-- Steffan O'Sullivan
Compulsive Lying . . . . . -15 points
The opposite of Truthfulness, the Compulsive Lying disadvantage forces the
character to lie constantly, for no reason other than the joy of telling
the tale. A compulsive liar delights in inventing stories about his deeds,
lineage, wealth -- whatever seems as though it might impress his audience.
Even when exposed as a liar, the character will cling tenaciously to his
stories, calling his accuser a liar and a scoundrel.
In order to tell the pure, unvarnished truth, a compulsive liar must roll
against IQ-4. A charitable GM might allow a liar to tell a slightly-fractured
version of the truth if he only narrowly failed this roll. When a PC liar
makes a roll to tell the truth to his fellow party members, he should roll
out of sight of the other players. Thus, they can never be sure that they
are getting accurate information from their comrade.
-- Art Samuels
Gullibility . . . . . -10 points
There's one born every minute, and you're it. A gullible person naturally
believes everything he hears; he'll swallow even the most ridiculous fish-story,
if it's told with any conviction.
In order to not believe a lie -- or an improbable
truth, for that matter -- a gullible character must make a roll against
IQ, modified by the plausibility of the story. A lie well-told, or involving
something the character has no familiarity with -- "My father is the
chief of police in this town, and he won't stand for this!" -- calls
for a -6 penalty to the IQ roll. A lie concerning a topic the gullible character
is familiar with -- "Didn't you know they bred ducks in your village,
Torg?" -- calls for a -3 to the roll; and even a totally outlandish
tale -- "Of course the Eskimos are descended from Spanish conquistadors;
everyone knows that" -- will be believed if the character fails a roll
against unmodified IQ.
Furthermore, a gullible character suffers a -3 penalty on any Merchant skill
roll, or in any situation in which his credulity might be exploited. A gullible
person can never learn the Detect Lies skill.
-- Art Samuels
Overweight . . . . . -5 points
You are somewhat heavy for your race. Determine weight normally for ST,
and then increase it by 30%. This extra weight is treated as encumbrance
(see p. B61), which you cannot get rid of. (Exception: this encumbrance
doesn't count against you when swimming.)
Overweight characters get a +2 bonus to their Swimming roll. Being overweight
carries a reaction modifier of -1 only among health conscious societies
-- like that of the 1980s yuppies -- and in areas where food is in especially
short supply -- such as among the dregs of Autoduel
America.
-- Jim Kennedy
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