(TFT) Re: Disadvantages

[Michael Taylor <MichaelTaylor1@compuserve.com>]

Message text written by INTERNET:tft@brainiac.com
>Of the two articles, the first is the best as it has a handicap table that
randomly assigns a handicap.  As it states, in real life, you don't get to
choose your handicap.  The problem, as a GM and I could say this about
GURPS
as well, is remembering which character had which handicap or forgetting
the
handicap and of course do you think the player is always going to tell you.
In the past week, the list has been writing about realism, "How realistic
is
it to have a (lots of adjectives) old, fat, blind, hemophiliac fighter in
combat?"  The only thing it does is lend itself to roleplaying and
interesting characters.  Comments???

Yours in Cidri,
Justin
<

Well, for the first problem - forgetting your handicaps - this seems like
it would be appropriate to use the Game Master's Discretion (ITL:10) to
take away Experience Points. 

I personally think the TFT Handicaps work better in this regard than the
GURPS Disadvantages because the TFT Handicaps are more severe. They're alot
less forgetable than the GURPS Disads. It's easy to forget a character's
craving a cigarette (5 pts in GURPS), but it's not so easy to forget a
character is Dyslexic and can't learn the Literacy talent (1 pt in TFT).

For the second problem - again, the severity of the disadvantages gives the
advantages to TFT. In GURPS you have to have Disadvantages to start equal
to most of the other players. 

In TFT the Handicaps are severe enough - and not worth as many points, that
they remain strickly for roleplaying - the points aren't worth the severity
of the Handicap. 

You *could* take alot of them, but they would be severly noticable to other
characters without them. In general, I think the're low point value means
that players will only take them if they really fit the character - rather
than for the points. IMHO.

Michael



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