I'm finalizing a reservist character for a game on the Welcome to the Shadows boards, who is a naga combat face. His stats are mostly done, but I've been giving some consideration to quality choices for him and I was wondering whether it would be worth it from both a mechanical and a roleplaying standpoint for him to have a Spirit Affinity to bugs.

Yes, I know that sounds really really strange. I have neither silliness nor munchkinism in mind with this idea, I assure you (though I suppose Yerameyahu may still accuse me of munchkinry with this anyway ). I will probably elaborate and explain this better when I'm not half-asleep, but the basic idea is a bit like that of the Exchange, where the naga would receive random 'favors' from flesh- and maybe some true-form strangers (as well as one or two flesh form NPCs that have developed a more intimate interest and relationship with him - maybe I'd stat them up as contacts or something)... except that he never actually joined this sort of network or consented to this sort of thing in the first place. The very-alien insect spirits have a bizarre and uncomfortably personal interest in him, he doesn't have any idea why they're so interested in him, and this inexplicable 'generosity' from such amoral and compassionless and generally alien entities is more than a little disconcerting and creepy to him. They won't take no for an answer, and they just refuse to go away and leave him alone. As you can imagine, he walks a fine line in balancing their more often than not unasked-for 'favors' with his entirely reasonable and strong wariness and suspicions that they want to eat his soul nom nom nom.

So, what are you guys' thoughts on this? Under what conditions, if any, would you allow something like this from a PC?

Interesting. I like it and I'd probably allow it in my game. Of course taking this gives the GM the right to screw with your character.

I thought POSITIVE qualities do the opposite. they prevent the GM of screwing with the PC

No, they just require more creativity

Anyway, I think it sounds fine. Spirit Affinity doesn't extend to any sort of control over said spirits after all.

If there can be negative qualities with positive spins (Debt, many metagenetic ones), why can't there be positive qualities with negative spins?

Also, I thought in general, that was what spirit affinity was for? Sure it usually only comes up when a mage summons one, and the "gift" is not directly targeting you, but still.

No, spirit affinity just means that kind of spirit tends to like you. It is less likely to harm you and so on. It doesn't grant any kind of control what-so-ever, nor even bonuses to social or magical interactions with spirits.

And there are positive qualities with negative spins, such as escaped clone, but it is something that includes that there is a negative spin, and so has it's price/power balanced by that. Spirit affinity however makes no mention of a negative spin, so really shouldn't be given one, as that isn't factored into the cost/power of the quality.

Maybe. In my opinion the spin, positive or negative, is usually up to the player and the GM to use (or exploit, as the case may be). You are right, though, it does say the spirit type just likes you, without any real rules interaction. That just makes it more open ended for the GM to use, I think.

Ha, I'm glad I have that reputation, Sephiroth! I hope that it's also for giving everything a chance, hehe. It sounds interesting, and it sounds like a perfect application of that quality: they like him for no reason.

Cool, I'm glad it's not as insane of an idea as I thought it was.

So then, what kinds of things would you as GM's do with a player character that has this kind of quality? Would this quality and my character description idea make it appropriate to take an insect spirit NPC as a contact (I'm still not even sure if 'contact' is even the right role for something like this, but it wouldn't really be an Enemy either)? To what extant should I let a GM mess with my character before I start worrying that I'm not being given my BP's worth from it? EDIT: I mean, I don't intend for this to be a not-serious-at-all "Oh yaaa, insect spirits are liek ma BFF's" kind of character, but it'd be nice not to be greeted with legions of DIMR insect-shaman-bounty hunters either.

I ask because I get the impression from what digging I've done through the forum archives that this is a fairly novel idea, and I still don't have an entirely good idea of what both the positive and negative implications of taking something like this would be.

It certainly is a novel idea . .

I guess it would just not come up very often. Unless you run in Chicago or the GM decides to make you clear some unwanted inhabitants of a neighborhood of course. But, if the PC ever crosses ways with these things, they will not attempt to kill him. That's a good thing.

I could see having a hybrid form insect spirit (or whichever one it is that looks normal) as a contact with the spirit affinity quality. I couldn't see a particularly high rating on the contact, but could be interesting.