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(TFT) GURPS Advantages/Disadvantages as a TFT resource



On 8 July, I suggested using Gurps Advantages/Disadvantages

Using GURPS Attribute Advantage and Disadvantages (using the disadvantage articles from Spacegamer as a guide) I came up with:

take the GURPS advantage and divide it by 5. therefore a 15 point GURPS phobia becomes a 3 point TFT phobia.

The talent pool is great raid also. I'll work on adopting them to our TFT database.

Michael on 9 July suggested:

Oh terrific! Now tons of TFT players with "Triskadekaphobia!" ;D

Personally, I prefer Handicapped Characters in TFT from TSG #51,
by Forrest Johnson and More Handicaps in TFT - TSG #57 by Ralph
Sizer.

There are lot harder to 'number-crunch' than GURPS and there also
a lot more 'severe' than the easily ignored GURPS Disads. IMHO.

I think a fairer conversion would be:
0 TFT pts       = GURPS 5 pts or less
1 TFT pt        = GURPS 10 pts
2 TFT pts       = GURPS 15 pts
3 TFT pts       = GURPS 20 pts
4 TFT pts (maximum for any single handicap) = GURPS 25 or more + pts.

The advantage of this is because every handicap is so severe, you wont find players taking them just for the points. They have more incentive to take them for the role-playing because they're not 'free' points.

I'm not suggesting go hog wild on disadvantages, but some are rather clever and GURPS gives a good description of them.

On 16 July, Justin writes:

Of the two articles, [Handicap Characters - Space Gamer #51, More Handicaps - Space Gamer #57] 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.

That is one reason why I don't create sanctioned D&D characters. Who wants to *roll* up a character. I envision my persona and then make my stats fit the concept. Also, remembering which character has a handicap is about a easy for the GM to remember as which guy has naturalist or recognize value. I constantly forget to *give* the players the advantage they are supposed to have, so it goes both ways. If the player is stupid enough to create an unplayable character and the GM lets that character into the game, then you are either *really* good role players or you're really atrocious gamers. But keep in mind, that "old, fat, blind hemophiliac fighter" could be 'Sir Cocomo Joe, legendary NPC of past campaigns who the players have to escort to the king. Maybe the player characters are responsible for keeping this tottering Quixote out of combat.

Michael replies to Justin on 19 July:

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.

I often create characters that need that 2 points of IQ to learn Naturalist or Business sense or something and I can't get it any other way but by disadvantage.

On 17 July Dave showed us a Handicap list:

This is a combined random table I made for those two Handicaps
articles. Sorry it doesn't look pretty in this non-monospace font . .

Roll   Points   Handicap
9 4 Moronic
10 4 Pacifist
11 4 Butterfingers
12 4 Claustrophobia
13 3 One-Armed
14 3 One-Track Mind
15 3 Choleric
16 3 Cowardly
17 3 Neurotic
18 3 Old (Age 50)
19 3 Narcolepsy
20 2 Alcoholic
21 2 Acrophobia
22 2 Cuteness
23 2 Nearsighted
24 2 Neurotic
25 2 Laziness
26 2 Old (Age 40)
27 1 Miserly
28 1 Hard of Hearing
29 1 Neurotic
30-32 Character has one more handicap
33 1 Old (Age 30)
34 1 Fat (4 encumbrance)
35 1 Dyslexia
36 1 Homosexual
37 1 Gullible
38 2 Fat (8 encumbrance)
39 2 Reputation
40 2 Migraines
41 2 Lame
42 2 Odious
43 2 Over-Sexed
44 2 Eunuch
45 3 Fat (12 encumbrance)
46 3 Squeamishness
47 3 Rube Goldberg Mind
48 3 Kleptomaniac
49 3 Asthma
50 3 One-Legged
51 4 Stuttering
52 4 Hemophiliac
53 4 Rheumatic Fever
54 4 Blind>

And again Micael writes in replay to the list:

I like this, but I think it makes it too hard to roll for the upper and lower limits. I made a similar table and assumed that when given two choices you'd roll 1-3/4-6 or three choices 1-2/3-4/5-6, etc..

Handicap Table
In real life, you don't get to choose your handicaps. If the GM prefers, he can decide how many handicaps to allow a player-
character, and then let them roll.
It is suggested that there be a 1 in 6 chance (or 10%) for any
particular NPC to have a handicap. [table was included]

Again, the reason I like TFT is you decide what your character is. However, instead of rolling, I can select from this list. Hmmm, I should see sometime soon how different this list is from GURPS disadvantages and see if they are as week as the above list.

I still think using think using GURPS advantage and disadvantage is a good idea. The GM still has the right to OK a character sheet before game so they can veto a potential points abuser; or as GM mak a 'Disadvantage not appropriate for my game' list and eliminate Triskadekaphobia.

But I seem to be belaboring only the disadvantages: GURPS has some great advantages like Combat Reflexes, Eidetic Memory, etc.

John Paul



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