Re: A Question about Abilties

From: bethexton_at_...
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 14:21:57 -0000

>
> Sometimes though an ability belongs
> to more than one category: Mercenary, frex, can be interpreted
either as a
> relationship, a personality trait or a flaw.
>
I think the key is how you put it down on the character sheet. If the character write up says something like "he is a mercenary warrior" it could be interpreted many ways. The player (with possibly some coaching from the narrator) has to decide what he/she wants it to mean.

Don't forget that one word from the character write up or list can be the basis of more than "ability" on the character sheet. So the final character could have: a relationship: "contact: mercenary company," a personality trait "mercenary," and a flaw "looked down on as a mercenary," (and for that matter, even a mental skill "know mercenary warrior practices," although I'd probably want something more in the write-up to support that).

Really, it all depends on the player's desires, as filtered by the narrator's judgement.

Of course, just because the player doesn't take it as a flaw doesn't mean that they may not someday encounter someone that despises him for being a mercenary, it just means that his reputation isn't so widely spread that most people look down on him.

At least, that's how I view it.

--Bryan