Character flaws

From: Bruce Ferrie <bruce_at_...>
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 22:52:15 +0100

On Monday, August 14, 2000 9:38 PM, James A. Holden [SMTP:jaholden_at_...] wrote:
>
> Finally, would you allow this mechanism to work the other way around? Would
> you allow a villain to augment his skills with a PC's flaws? (I would want
> to be careful not to abuse this mechanism as a narrator, as I have an
> advantage in having seen the PCs' character sheets. The NPCs wouldn't
> necessarily have this knowledge about the PCs, however.)
>

That's pretty much how I've used it, though I've tried to be nice to my players and objective. :)
Frex, one of the PCs I've GM'ed have had flaws like "Frightened of the Dark". When the circumstance are right, I rolled it as an augment to her foe's rolls in a contest. To represent the PC's nervousness.

I certainly don't do it every time. That would be tedious, and would discourage players from taking interesting flaws on the grounds that they could be over exploited. I try to only do it when it's fun for everyone. Especially the player whose character is involved. :)

Regards,

Bruce