Munchkin Edges/Flaws, What have you learned to ban? Options

[caramel frappucc...]

[Lindt]

If a player TRULY wants to take multiple "Evil backstory" flaws, go for it, just be ready for a living hell, and quite possibly a dieing one as well. HMVV carrier + cutter nanites + hunted by 3 different AA/AAA corps. Been there, seen it happen.

And common sense isnt really twinkish at all, its to prevent people from doing monumentaly stupid things, like walking into the lobby of the Ritz packing anything bigger then a slingshot.

[LinaInverse]

[nezumi]

[Tanka]

[ElFenrir]

[Dawnshadow]

Edges/Flaws that strike me as munchkin..

Sensitive System (Awakened). Same cost as bio rejection for awakened.


Amnesia? I love it. Great excuse for roleplay, and for setting up lots of hooks that are both good and bad. And really -- you don't get to avoid a backstory. They've got gear. They've got a home. They've got all the little things around said home. They just don't know why they have those things. They don't know who it is in the pictures. And they've got all the stuff that's gone on since their amnesia. Especially when you know someone is out to get you.. but you don't remember why.

[Kyoto Kid]

Sometimes these "munchkin" flaws actually do work well in certain contexts.

Take Dark Angel for example, She has the following combination of flaws. all which come out of her background. I worked with the GM on her design during Chargen. Some of her "unknown" background I outlined while the GM fleshed in many of the other details. I play her totally disconnected from my (player) knowledge of her history except when certain "memories" surface.

Dark Secret - She is a fallen Angel from The Seraphim

Amnesia (2) - She has slotted so many aliasofts during her career that she doesn't quite remember who she really is. At the current time she is believes she is actually her last covert Identity, a teenage sleuth named "Laura Mars" (OK I kinda borrowed that from a certain TV show).

Incomplete Deprogramming (SOTA 2064) - This is somewhat related to the above and boy does the GM have fun with this one. Normally she's an electronics wiz but then she thinks she's the sharpshooter assassin, or maybe the group's interrogator, or maybe....You get the picture.

Dossier on File (Sota 2064) - Yeah ol' Lucien has the entire skinny on her real identity. Keeps her looking over her shoulder from time to time when the GM says "you get an odd feeling of something familiar nearby" (with her reaction boosting she is a bit of a "twitch"). This also made for some real Bon Temps during the New Orleans segment of Brainscan.

Sensitive Neural Structure (4) - This also stems from the constant Programming/Deprogramming and use of aliasofts during her career with the Seraphim. She has a 3 slot chipjack, Headware memory (100 mp), and induction datajack. because of her skill in computers, often times the other characters ask her to play the team's decker. This was also real fun during the BTL den scene in Brainscan.

Her edges:

Friends in High places
Blandness
Good Rep 2
Friendly Face
Human Looking (elf)
Bonus Attribute - Quickness (next to her Charisma - her one claim to fame)

Yeah, the girl is pretty messed up, but that is what makes her so fun to play

[toturi]

Amnesia at 5 points is not munchkin but Amnesia at 4 is. Why? Because(by the book) only at 5 does the GM have control over the PC's chargen sheet. Otherwise, it is business as usual. (And combining it with Dossier on File and Friends in High Places to get the complete low down on yourself)

Various Allergies and Phobias are also useful for munchkining. But if you stick to those named Allergies and Phobias(and so playing by canon, since other allergies and phobias do not exist in canon), then the munchkin factor drops like a rock.

Aptitudes are over-rated even for the "recommended" ones. I'd rather have Perceptive being "recommended".

[hyzmarca]

[Kyoto Kid]

[toturi]

While the PC may know little about his background, it doesn't mean the player cannot seal off any potential hooks for the GM. Since your GM isn't playing by the book(ie house ruling), then there is little left to discuss.

Moreover, Dossier on File doesn't say that the PC does not get access to it. It merely states that attempting to erase a Dossier should be the basis of a major adventure.

[Siege]

I'll rephrase - how many flaws couldn't be abused by a creative player?

-Siege

[pragma]

Allergy/Phobia are prretty bad. I don't ban them in spite of seeing them abused frequently. But a common mild or uncommon moderate goes a long way in the edge department.

Aptitude is absolutely terrifying -- especially when characters take it for sorcery without telling you. I am so glad that character is retired.

Its an unspoken assumption in my group that the GM will write an amnesiacs backstory. I think it really adds to the PC experience to be completely in the dark that way. That said, amnesia 5 is banned simply for the inconvenience of it all. For example: how do you manage combat pool with amnesia 5?

[toturi]

Honest answer? I don't know. Just because I've not seen someone creative enough to abuse a certain Flaw, it doesn't mean you won't.

[FrostyNSO]

I'm a big fan of Aptitude>Small Unit Tactics

[Ed Simons]

[caramel frappucc...]

To pick up babes with, obviously.

[Sahandrian]

I pretend Common Sense doesn't exist. I have a system of my own for that. The first part is simply letting the players point out each other's stupid ideas. But the second only works in live games.

I have a well-known "sadistic" grin. My players quickly learn that when they see this, I'm about to have a lot of fun at their expense. They tend to reconsider their actions.

This same tactic also makes Amnesia a very unpopular flaw in my groups.


Edit: Oh yeah. And I restrict Aptitiude to specializations. And can still only be taken once.

This post has been edited by Sahandrian: Nov 5 2005, 03:36 AM

[brohopcp]

I've got an elf with the human looking edge and amnesia. He woke up the first morning and couldn't determine his own species. His I.D. was no help, being fake.

[Glyph]

I don't think any of the Edges are unbalancing, although I would follow the recommendation for the Aptitude Edge (not allowing it for decking, combat, or magical skills).

The Flaws all have game mechanic disadvantages. They can be abused, but my simple rule for allowing or disallowing them would be: if it's not an actual disadvantage, it's not worth points. For example, Sea Madness in a land-locked game, or Bad Karma for a one-shot game.

For potential abuse, though, Infirm can be munchy. For three points, what's the penalty? That your Attributes max out at 6 instead of, potentiallly, 9? For a lot of character types, that would not ever even come up. Even a lot of sammies would probably rather boost one of their combat skills, rather than spend Karma on the expensive task of raising an Attribute past the Racial Modified Limit. I would look at that Flaw very closely, especially if the character has relatively "normal" physical Attributes despite the Flaw.

The 5-point version of Amnesia is fun - you get to create a character that's different than anything they've played before, and get to watch them try to figure out what they can do, and what's going on. The two-point version lets them create a character normally, but I wouldn't let it excuse a player from having a backstory. If they have gear, contacts, etc., then obviously some time has elapsed since the character woke up unconscious and bleeding in a dumpster. So, how did the character find out what he/she could do? How did he/she meet those other people, or find an apartment, or get an Ares Alpha assault rifle? Has the character tried finding out about his/her past? Have there been any clues? Any strange people asking questions about the character?

[Kyoto Kid]

[SMDVogrin]

[Lindt]

Last time I checked, arnt ALL charcters subject to GM approval?
And Kyoto, there is a reason that there is a recommended limit to the number of edges/flaws you can take. If my memory serves me, you have 10 edge points right there. Balanced with 10 points in flaws. Sheesh.

[blakkie]