Flaw or not? (was Raiding for Hostages)

From: John Galloway <yuskim1_at_...>
Date: Mon, 09 May 2005 10:01:14 -0000

> >Some of the women should have stopped you in your tracks!
>
> I too was delighted to be able to use Disrespectful of Authority in
> the climactic contest (augmented by all sorts of combat abilities).
> Not only was this a great minimax (since I wasn't going to be able
> to use most of my combat augments in a non-lethal situation), but
> my character has always taken to "no one can make you do anything"
> since hearing her first Bad King Urgrain story (well, probably
> since she was 2 years old and learned the word "no"). It's really
> great to have a game system where the default option ("violence is
> always an option") doesn't really work, but staying true to your
> core personality does.
>
> In short, no Greydog boss woman was going to stop Brenna!

Um, I think she meant women from your own clan, tribe, or whatever. But that's not important right now.

When I first read this I thought "I take it that 'Disrespectful of Authority' wasn't quite so useful when it came to raising 100% support from the community." And then I thought "Shouldn't 'Disrespectful of Authority' be a flaw?" which was followed by "Maybe it would be for me but that's not the impression I get from David's description."

So, if something that is part of one characters core personality is a flaw in another character, who decides whether an attribute counts as a flaw?

The book uses fairly vague phrases like "usually a problem, not a benefit" and "normally they are a hindrance to a character, an obstacle that he must overcome" but the emphasis seems to be more along the "Flaws are story devices" lines.

Any thoughts from the more experianced and/or opinionated HQ gurus out there where YGreally doesV?

Thanks,

• John