"odd" experience point expenditures

[Perrryyy]

Narrators out there:

Question. as a PC, I sometimes find it fun ot intentionally throw roadblocks in my own characters: specifically, I like to spend XP on disadvantages or decreasing edges, to keep characters "honest" & "well-rounded". Do any of ou allow this? How do you do it with XP?

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Impossibilities are merely things which we have not yet learned. — Charles W. Chesnutt

[qerlin]

I trust my players not to go crazy with supping up their characters. We're all pretty into roleplaying here, so quite a few of them take new skills, advantages and disadvantages based off of what happens in the course of a game.

So I'm with you on this one, perrryyy

[Perrryyy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by qerlin:
I trust my players not to go crazy with supping up their characters. We're all pretty into roleplaying here, so quite a few of them take new skills, advantages and disadvantages based off of what happens in the course of a game.

So I'm with you on this one, perrryyy</font>

Ok, so how do you manage buying negative edges & disadvantages with XP? Do the reverse of positive edges & advantages? What if your XP goes beyond what you received in the last mission? Say at the end of an ep, a character is awarded 5 XP & decides to buy a negative edge (say Logic empathy from 0 to -1, which I would say costs 4 "negative" XP). Does the character now have 9 XP to spend? Sounds like an abuse of the system to me, but I'd really like to do this with some characters I have. Any ideas?

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Impossibilities are merely things which we have not yet learned. — Charles W. Chesnutt

[Keeper]

Actually, as a Narrator, I allow for any disadvantage which promotes the plot and good gaming, but I do not then allow the PC to reap the benefits in a counter-balancing advantage, for example, or points towards edges.

Frankly, I appalaud you as a player, looking beyond the numbers and fleshing out a character realistically. I certainly would not penalize you experience points for doing so; in most cases, I reward good role-playing. I consider the voluntary accetpance of disadvatanges for the sake of the story to be a shining example of just that: good role playing.

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Man is to man a god when he recognizes his duty.

[Don Mappin]

I would never make a player “pay” for a disadvantage using XP, but neither would I award them XP for a disadvantage taken. For example, during the course of an adventure the player’s character commits a crime and covers it up, earning him, in effect, a 2 point Dark Secret. The player neither gains 8 XP for picking up the disadvantage nor do I force the player to spend 8 points of their hard-earned XP to reflect the disadvantage—it was an aspect of play. Don’t get me wrong; they do now have the disadvantage, simply no XP cost was involved.

During character creation, as per the rules, it is another matter entirely.

I don’t make characters “buy” ranks in promotion (nor allow them to), as I consider that an aspect of play and another form of tangible reward. At the end of particularly harrowing adventure where a character performed admirably I’ll confer with the CO (if a PC) to promote a character, rather than make them purchase the rank. Same thing with commendations during play. Players never have the option to “buy” the Christopher Pike Medal—they must earn it.

I don’t see why disadvantages should be any different.


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[Perrryyy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Don:
I would never make a player “pay” for a disadvantage using XP, but neither would I award them XP for a disadvantage taken. For example, during the course of an adventure the player’s character commits a crime and covers it up, earning him, in effect, a 2 point Dark Secret. The player neither gains 8 XP for picking up the disadvantage nor do I force the player to spend 8 points of their hard-earned XP to reflect the disadvantage—it was an aspect of play. Don’t get me wrong; they do now have the disadvantage, simply no XP cost was involved.

During character creation, as per the rules, it is another matter entirely.

I don’t make characters “buy” ranks in promotion (nor allow them to), as I consider that an aspect of play and another form of tangible reward. At the end of particularly harrowing adventure where a character performed admirably I’ll confer with the CO (if a PC) to promote a character, rather than make them purchase the rank. Same thing with commendations during play. Players never have the option to “buy” the Christopher Pike Medal—they must earn it.

I don’t see why disadvantages should be any different.


</font>

Makes sense to me. I'll take it up with my Narrator.




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Impossibilities are merely things which we have not yet learned. — Charles W. Chesnutt

[tonyg]

I agree with Don on this one, and don't make players buy disadvantages.

I DO, like most narrators, award experience points in part of how well the players roleplay thier characters. Disadvantages tend to help define a character, and thus make it easier for a player to earn extra experience for good role-playing. So in a sense, a disadvance helps a player earn extra experience points.

[reimero]

By the same token, like someone else mentioned, if someone does something that would deserve a disadvantage, as a Narrator I would hit them with it. Generally speaking, though, it depends on two things: the circumstances and the Narrator. For instance, I won't allow a player to decide all of a sudden he or she wants to be blind or deaf. I *will* allow a player who was involved in an explosion or exposed to some nasty virus to become blind or deaf because it makes sense. Generally speaking, I'll allow most things... provided there's a reasonable explanation that doesn't involve the Q Continuum.

[Paul]

As a Narrator, I judge what Advantages and/or Disadvantages are to be paid for, and what are awarded.

However, my players are a little cautious about the over-use of Disadvantages to gain a few extra points for other things. I'm known to exploit Disadvantages - LOTS.

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