How Damaged Can Your Character Get Before You Retire It?

Greentongue · November 14, 2019, 06:25:40 PM

Interesting that "and scars to prove it" can help invest in a character.

HappyDaze · November 15, 2019, 07:25:58 AM

Quote from: Greentongue;1113929Interesting that "and scars to prove it" can help invest in a character.

I'd argue that playing time invests one in a character whether there are scars or not. Likewise massive crippling that comes on quick doesn't tend to build investment. This especially applies to life paths that can cripple characters before they even see play (e.g., Mechwarrior 3e).

RPGPundit · November 20, 2019, 06:58:49 AM

Quote from: Greentongue;1113929Interesting that "and scars to prove it" can help invest in a character.

Yes, that's absolutely true. Survivable serious injuries that aren't just magicked-away can become huge parts of making your character grow.

Omega · November 22, 2019, 12:19:42 AM

When one of my players first introduced me to the Baldur's Gate PC game way back he noted that pretty much all the character profile pics had one or more scars. I wouldnt say all. But quite a few did.

mAcular Chaotic · November 22, 2019, 01:23:18 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;1114407Yes, that's absolutely true. Survivable serious injuries that aren't just magicked-away can become huge parts of making your character grow.

What do you think of injuries that aren't just cosmetic?

Like, instead of scars, something like a limp.

Greentongue · November 22, 2019, 02:29:00 PM

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1114648What do you think of injuries that aren't just cosmetic?

Like, instead of scars, something like a limp.

Savage Worlds includes such things in character creation so they serve a mechanical purpose in some game systems.
Certainly gives more options for personalization.

HappyDaze · November 22, 2019, 04:04:50 PM

Quote from: Greentongue;1114697Savage Worlds includes such things in character creation so they serve a mechanical purpose in some game systems.
Certainly gives more options for personalization.

IIRC, those are only taken voluntarily by the player and with a return of more points that can be spent on skills or abilities. Permanent wounds as discussed in this thread are inflicted upon a character with no mechanical benefits in return. It's a pretty big difference.

BTW, howdy fellow central Floridiot!

Greentongue · November 22, 2019, 09:55:30 PM

That is correct when it is done during character creation. The Wound system does include disabilities having mechanical effects.
I don't mean to imply that a player would go out of their way to get a disability just that it is mechanically supported.

RPGPundit · November 29, 2019, 06:44:19 AM

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;1114648What do you think of injuries that aren't just cosmetic?

Like, instead of scars, something like a limp.

Yes, absolutely. They make characters, especially experienced characters more interesting. I think I already mentioned the guy in my L&D campaign who lost a hand. In my Wild West campaign I had one guy, a part-time lawman, who was once shot in the leg and while it wasn't a fully incapacitating wound meant the guy walked with a limp and could no longer make running moves. It became an interesting part of his character.