Advantage and Disadvantages

[Azai]

I was wondering how people usually take these. I have the list and I find a few of them interesting, and I actually have used them once or twice.

Usually I let each player take one advantage for free, just to make things a little more interesting.

But I am wondering if anyone has ever added to the list to make more advantages?

Or if anyone has tackled the idea of force advantages? I remember in D20 something to do with a 'force boon' or something like that. Where you start a little ahead of the curve.

Maybe this translate to a few extra powers, or higher Force Die with a new character. I don't know. I am just curious to see how many people have dealt with these and actually use them.

[garhkal]

Being i have not seen any official listing of advantages/disadvantage for D6 starwars, i can't say.

BUT giving one free advantage is a little spurious imo. Most systems i have played which had advantages/disadvantages (merits/flaws) had thm ranked to keep some semblance of balance...
Ergo being acute smell would be say 1 pip, but having a full on photographic memory would be 4 pips..
having +1d to a specific skill would be worth 1pip, where has having +1d to a set of skills would be more..

Just letting them take ANY advantage for free starting off could easily see them 'asking to take' the most costly one there...
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[ZzaphodD]

Heres my list of Advantages / Disadvantages. Characters must balance them out. These are from some D6 list, I dont know the 'officialness' of it though. I have tried to weed out the weird stuff to make it more SW-ish, but as we always play in a cooperative manner so rules are never 'hard-wired' and changes are made on the spot if weird things come up. Im thinking of lowering the total amount to +/-4 instead of 6. Also, as my characters tends to focus on combat and perception abilities/skills, I have deliberately 'overpowered' some of the KNO advantages.

Advantage/Disadvantage rules and list
Players may spend up to 6 Points on Advantages. These must be balanced by an equal number of points in Disadvantages.

Advantages
Name Points Effect
Acting Ability 1/2 +1/+2 to Con, Persuation, Command.
Acute Hearing 1 +1D PER and Search when listening.
Acute Smell 1 +1D in Tracking/Search when using smell
***Acute Touch 2 +1D Pickpocket, Sleight of Hand, Lockpick. Tas bort?
Acute Vision 2 +1D long range shots,+1D Search when using sight.
Ambidexterity 2 No off hand penalty. +1D to certain tasks involving both hands.
Animal Friendship 1 +2D Animal Handling, Beast Riding
Artistic Ability 1 +2D Forgery
Athletic Ability 2/3 +1/+2 to STR skills (but NOT vs. damage)
Attractive Appearance 2 +1D to Bargain, Con, Persuation.
Seasoned Traveller 1 +1D Alien Races, Cultures, Languages (receive one additional lang. Free upon
creation.
Blandness 1 +1D Con, Hide/Sneak (in certain situations).
Computer Aptitude 1/2 +1/+2 to Point Comp/Droid Prog. & Repair, Security Systems
Contacts 2 +1D to Culture, Streetwise. Choose 3 established contacts. One contact character a
favour.
Connected 2 +1D Streetwise, Intimidation. Character is part of a criminal organization.
Dual Identity 2 Two sets of complete IDs. These are ‘real’ to all purposes.
Bombman. 1 +1D to Demolitions and detecting explosives & boobytraps.
Superior Education 2 +1D to Knowledge and skills.
Eye-hand Coordination 2/ 3 +1/+2 to Weapon skills, Lockpick, Pickpockets.
Fearlessness 2 +1D Command, Con, Bargain, Seduction
Trustworthy Personality 2 +1D to Bargain, Persuasion, Streetwise. You come across as a honest, empathic being
Internal Compass 1 Easy PER roll to find directions.
Linguistic Ability 1 +1D Languages. Three additional free languages at character creation.
Light Sleeper 2 Roll Combat Surprise while sleeping. +2D to any Perception checks for waking up.
Martial Prowess 2 The character has a +1D bonus when using Brawling, or the specialization
Martial Arts.
Mechanical Aptitude 2/ 3 +1/+2 to repair skills.
Musical Ability 1 +2D musical skills.
***Natural Lie Detector 1, 2, 3 +1/Point Bargain, Con, Gambling
Natural Resistance: Cold 1 +1D STR, Stamina to Cold
Nat. Res.: Disease 1 +1D STR, Stamina to Disease
Nat. Res.: Electricity 2 +1D STR, Stamina to Electricity (+1 to resists energy attacks)
Nat. Res.: Poison/Drugs 2 +1D STR, Stamina to Poison & Drugs
Nat. Res.: Radiation 1 +1D STR, Stamina to Radiation
Night Vision 1 No penalties for partial darkness.
***Obscure Knowledge 1 +1D in area
Very Perceptive 2/3 +1/+2 to Perception and skills
Photographic Memory 1 +2D on recall rolls to remember anything the character have seen.
Powerful Presence 2 +1D to Bargain, Command, Con, Bureaucracy, Persuation.
Spatial Awareness 2/3 +1/+2 to Mech and skills
Sixth Sense 3 +1D to Search and Surprise. Character may always roll Search to detect
stalker or to avoid ambushes. Character gets a feeling that something isn’t right.
Springy 3 The character has a +1D bonus to Climb/Jump or Dodge.
Subculture & Jargon 1 +1D Streetwise, Cultures, Bureaucracy in chosen area of expertise
Very Tough 2 +2/+1 to Strength rolls vs. Damage (Phys/Energy).
Wealth 2/3/4 2: 10,000 credits; 3: 25,000 credits; 4: $50,000 credits

Disadvantages

Name Points Effect
Addiction 1/2/3 1: Specific cigars/cigarettes. 2: alcohol 3: addictive drugs or spice; increasing
penalty for withdrawal. -1D / point when full abstinence (-1D for each day
without substance up to maximum penalty).
Albino 1 Must overcome stamina checks when in sun for extended periods of time. Light
sensitive eyes. -1D when in sunlight without eye protection.
Allergies 1, 3 -1D STR skills for resistance
Bad Liar 2 -1D Bargain, Command, Con, Gambling
Untrustworthy Personality 2 -1D to Con, Bargain, Persuasion. You come across as a selfish person, not widely
Trusted even by by those who know you.
Clumsiness 2,/3 -1/-2 to Dex and skills
Color Blind 1 -1D Perc and Search when using vision.
Cowardice 3 -1D Bargain, Command, Con, Seduction and Stalking maneuvers. Also RP issues.
Curiosity 2 Must overcome at least Moderate willpower test it resist exploring anything interesting
(GM's call. Modified by circumstances and how intriguing something seems).
Deep Sleeper 2 -1D to Perc checks while asleep. Takes 1D/2 rounds to wake up.
***Dependant 1, 2, 3 Your dear old Aunt May who needs looking after
Debt 1/2/3 1: 10,000 credits; 2: $25,000 credits; 3: $50,000 credits. Usual payment schedule 10%
month. If missed, one extra monthly payment is added.
Easily Intoxicated 1 -1D stamina when drinking and resisting drugs or poisons.
Gambling Habit 2 Must overcome difficult willpower role not to gamble when passing a game
or casino. Always bets at least 10% of available credits per hand if possible.
***Greed 3 Will follow the money, always. Hard to V.Hard Willpower check to do otherwise.
Hatred of Authority 2 HATES being commanded. Has to pass a V. Difficult Willpower check to follow direct
orders if not in own interest.
Hearing Impairment 1 -1D/Point PER, Search when using hearing.
Hunted 2/3/4 The higher the Points the greater the resources of the hunter. 2: Sector Authority or
Criminal organization. 3: Major Criminal Organization. 4: The Empire / ‘That’ Criminal
Organization.
ID Trouble 3 PC has NO identification of any kind IE: no credit account possible, must
carry cash, and cannot register vessels.
Illiterate 2 -1D Knowledge skills. Can not read.
Imperial Record 1 Wanted (but not specifically hunted) for a minor offence.
***Phobia 2 1-3 Specific things, Enclosed places, etc. Hard Willpower test to go near.
Lecherous 2 Difficult Willpower check to avoid coming on to persons of the correct gender (or both)
***Lost Dependants 3 Characters obsessed with revenge.
***Mood Swings 2
Moral Qualms 2 Code against killing, always fights fair and will not attack yielding opponents.
Night Blindness 1 -1D vision based skills at night
Overblown Honor 3 Hard – V. Hard Willpower check to back down from a challenge IE: if called chicken
would charge a rancor bare-handed.
Overweight 1/2/3 -1/-2/-1D to STR skills
Paranoia 1, 3 Paranoid about: 1: The people are watching me. 3: The voices
Thick Headed 2/3 Knowledge skill limit of 2: 3D / 3: 2D+2 (limits skills)
Racist 2/3 (Depending on how common the race) you have a hatred for a certain race
(choose race) anytime you see one of their kind you either don't trust them
or all out want to kill them.
Religion 2 Must practice/pay homage to strict code of living. NOT allowed for Jedi.
Short-winded 1 -1D to Stamina.
Susceptible to Disease 1 -1D resistance to disease.
Traumatic Flashbacks 2, 3 ********Under development********
Unattractive Appearance 2 -1D to Bargain, Con, Persuation
Uncouth 2 -1D Bargain, Command, Con
Unmistakable Feature/s 1 Deep Scars, Extensive tattoos, etc.
Vision Impairment 1, 2, 4 1: requires corrective lenses 2: partial, -1D ranged weapons, search 4: total
blindness, no vision skills
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[Whill]

Wow, Zzaph, that's quite a list! Some of them are interesting (for example how Religion is a disadvantage). I may take a few of those ideas and develop them for use in my game. But I avoid advantages that simpy provide increases to all uses of skills because (1) those can be produced with the normal character creation and advancement rules, and (2) they become increasingly more advantagous as the base skill is increased.

How I deal with the potential problem of players min-maxing to choose disadvantages that aren't that penalizing is simple: I don't have game mechanical disadvantages. For the rare player that really wants his character to have a disadvantage that his character's species doesn't give him, then he can just roleplay it in the PC's personality and choices, and not have any actual game mechanical disadvantage. Addicted to gambling or drugs? Just choose to act accordingly instead of make willpower rolls.

I currently have a very short list of optional general (non-species-specific) advantages (see below). All of the following advantages cost 1D of the player's starting skill dice.

Special Advantages

Ambidexterity
Benefit: Offsets the offhand penalty.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 4D
Restrictions: For beings with more than two hands, this advantage only affects one offhand.
Record: Put an “A” in the Handedness field.

Contortion
Benefit: Provides a +1D bonus to contort the body to escape bonds, etc.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 3D, Strength 2D, stamina 3D
Restrictions: None
Record: List under Dexterity as “(SA) Contortion” with a die value of Dexterity +1D.

Hardiness
Benefit: Provides a +1 bonus to damage resistance rolls.
Prerequisites: Strength 2D+1
Restrictions: This advantage may not result in a natural damage resistance die value above 4D+1 or the species’ maximum Strength (whichever is lower).
Record: Add a +1 to the Damage Resistance die value and also put “(SA) Hardiness” under Special Abilities or a blank space under Strength.

Improved Awareness
Benefits: Provides a +2 bonus to passive awareness rolls and a +1 bonus to initiative rolls.
Prerequisites: Perception 2D, search +1D (at least 1 skill die allocated)
Restrictions: None
Record: List under Perception as “(SA) Passive Awareness” with a die value of Perception +2, and add a +1 to the Initiative die value.

Improved Move
Benefit: Increases the starting Move by 1.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 3D, Strength 3D
Restrictions: This advantage may not result in a Move value above the species’ maximum.
Record: Add +1 to the species’ starting Move value and also put “(SA) Improved Move” under Special Abilities.

Jury-Rigging
Benefit: Provides a +2 bonus to jury-rigging rolls.
Prerequisites: Technical 3D, Perception 2D+1
Restrictions: None.
Record: List under Special Abilities as “(SA) Jury-Rigging +2”.

Further Explanation/Commentary:

I think handedness is a realistic factor but comes into play rarely enough in a cinematic role-playing to include it without bogging the game down. At character creation, all players must choose a handedness for their PC. If the species has 4 hands then by default the PC has 3 offhands. Anytime character has to perform an action (like shoot a normal blaster) with his ofhand, he suffer a -1D penalty. In my game, Ambidexterity provides no benefit other than offsetting the offhand penalty (for one offhand).

Contortion is a Reflexes skill in D6 Adventure, and I didn't think it deserved to be its own skill in Star Wars so include it as natural ability of the Dexterity attribute. But since I do not allow any attribute increasing, no characters would ever have more than their starting Dexterity to contort. Then I thought that Contortion could be an advantage so characters could have an improved ability to contort if they really wanted it (but it would still not advance after character creation). Again, likely to provide a rare advantage in-play.

Damage resistance is a natural ability provided by base Strength but it isn't a skill so cannot be increased with experience. Hardiness provides characters with the option to be a little tougher than their base Strength. I still strongly encourage players to beef up their PCs' Dodge to avoid getting hit in the first place, but this may be a valuable advantage to PCs with lower Strength (and Dexterity).

In my game Search is strictly for active awareness (actively looking for something), so base Perception includes passive awareness. The passive awareness aspect of Perception is therefore a base ability that cannot be improved through skill increase. Improved Awareness grants PCs the ability to have a passive awareness ability above the base attribute, and get a little bonus to initiative along the way.

I always thought it was odd that all species have a range of Move stats, but no character could start out with more than the lowest number in the range. So the Improved Move advantage provides a rule that allows PCs to start out a little faster than the starting minimum move score for their species.

Yes, Jury-Rigging does affect multiple Technical skills, but it only affects one specific use of those skills. Some people are better at jury-rigging things that properly reparing or modifying them and this advantage represents those people.
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[garhkal]

Nice list Z. But some comments/questions.

[ZzaphodD]

[garhkal]

[DoubtBreak]

Since I tend to obsess about small details in our rule system, I also built a list of advantages/disadvantages for characters: link (.rtf format)

Each item includes a point value, which corresponds to beginning skill dice- a character can gain a 1-point advantage by trading 1D of beginning skill dice, or 0D+1 of beginning attribute dice (or, of course, by taking a 1-point disadvantage). Disadvantages are limited to 5 points just to keep them manageable- don't try to ever run a game where everybody took 20 points of disadvantages each; it doesn't work.

The list is heavily customized to the rules that we use, and many of these were created by my players - so like ZzaphodD's list, these are all taken completely out of context.

The whole reason I'm posting it- Azai, your original question was about Force advantages. I have a small section of them- maybe it can help you make something that works for you.

[Azai]

I really lost my memory for this one.

I forgot I was one that made this thread ;P

I read through the file Doubtbreak and I really liked what you did for the force powers. That give me a kinda inspiration for a game I am currently running. (I am secretly having two characters be force sensitive)

Thanks for it!

Also, in regards to giving players a too much of an advantage. I take the rules rather lightly when GMing, I never go free form, but it honestly is just a group of friends and my fiance. The only people I play with, and it is usually myself that does the leg work or GMs everything.

I look at stats not as if you can't do this or aren't good at this, but more you earned this to this level. So I know, and you know and there is no mistake to it. We are also very role-play heavy group. Lots of times using Skype to roll play over, writing out full poses through that.

[ZzaphodD]

Also, regarding PCs having too much of an advantage, of course NPCs can also have these advantages/disadvantages. Theres only a matter of further tailoring PCs/NPCs really.
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[schnarre]

...Some good stuff here ZzaphodD! I might try a few of these in a game sometime in the near future. 8)
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[Esoomian]

[jmanski]

Might make for some intersting roleplaying, though....
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Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[Azai]

Also, with attractive appearance, if you don't take the advantage does that mean you are not attractive?

Are you bland? Cute, but not hot?

Like you pointed out cross species would it matter? Despite Twi'leks and Zeltrons, and Falleens supposing to be 'attractive across species' or Hapans all being pretty it is a matter of taste.

My fiance likes this trait, but I usually try to encourage her towards something else.

Fearlessness is another favorite of my group

[Esoomian]

I suppose it's possible for something (even a droid) to be aesthetically pleasing but it still seems like a fairly subjective advantage.

I'd probably call it Aestheticall Pleasing, drop it to only a one point advantage and then say it only applies against certain species/cultures.

But then again I would also probably have a crime lord looking for retribution target the 'pretty boy' too. I might just be mean.
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