HOMBAK house rules: character creation part4 : passions

[French Desperate WindChild]

still a new "background" episod, where we find two little characters (well in fact same size than others...)

 

Passion ! What a nice word, what a good idea. I love it so thanks to include it in the rules.

I stop the congratulations now, to not drown you (but that’s the best idea I find in rqg ).

 

Before exposing what I change in creation rules, I have to present what I understand and add/change in play.

 

Passion is what a character feels, not what a character does.

So a character can act against her passion.

If a character does something against her passion, GM may give penalty in the opposite way that passion may inspire:

Spoiler

 

Player rolls the passion:

Critical: despear, and passion is reduced by 20. The character absolutely understand acting against herself

Special: passion is reduced by 10 and -30% to the ability used

Success: passion is reduced by 1D10 and -20% to the ability used

Failure: passion is reduced by 1D10, no impact to the ability used

Fumble: no impact. The character has absolutely no idea that what is doing is against herself.

 

 

I have a big concern with the community support explanation

Quote

Community Support an adventurer’s Loyalty Passion can be used to gain the support of a community or individual, such as determining whether that community will pay the adventurer’s Ransom (see page 64). The gamemaster should determine the exact nature and extent of the support a given community can supply.

Maybe misunderstanding, maybe disagreement.

To be honest, I don’t know if my “loyalty” is RAW or not

Based on what is passion for me (feeling, not act/decision) there is an issue to “translate” this feeling in a “community decision “

Then what could be the use of Loyalty Passion? I concluded it is something like an Orate roll.

Spoiler

 

See the scene: our trollkin is in the argan argar temple.

The local Uzuz requests the temple to “give” her the trollkin (for any deadly reason)

The trollkin succeed a loyalty temple roll (critical success).

The temple will not refuse, will not fight the Mistress, but the trollkin may see an opened door and could gain some time to flee.

 

I consider the support community as a GM card (note that I don’t consider the GM as a players opponent: the GM’s goal is to create a good story, with pleasure for the players, there is no way to “defeat” the players.)

 

All passions describe only the pc’s psychology (and that is for me a powerful tool):

• It may help the player to focus her acting on these passions and not to lose herself in too many ideas

• It may help the GM to influence the players on a better play (“remember you love her, are you sure you want to….”)

• It may help the GM to define and / or personalize the campaigns, creating opportunity to have one main player in a scenario, then another one in another scenario, etc… I m pretty sure players will thank the GM to involve them in this manner.

•  

  It allows pc to improve their skills (inspiration)

 

Now what about the character creation ?

• I ask to have a “way of life” passion (for example ‘become a king’, ‘carpe diem’, ‘a peaceful life’ , ‘work is everything’, ‘escape work’, ‘provoke anyone’, 'provoke authority', 'provoke only weaker than me')

• Homeland, occupation and cult provide other passions, as RAW (

  But you can have a background removing one of this passion)

• For any exotic skill you need a passion (why do you speak Aldryami ? were you friend with one ? were you prisoner ? where you student in a knowing god temple ?)

• For any skill above 75  you need a passion. It could be “love smithing”  or “love art/beauty”, “love weapons” or “loyalty master” if you are a smith, or why not “hate master” (you learned a lot but with a bad master, describe what he/she did). Of course, if the skill is from your cult/occupation you don’t need to add a new passion (you can, but no need)

 

Then the value: put what you want, with only few restrictions:

• Max = 90%.

• For any skill above 90%, you need the associated passion >= 80%

• For any exotic skill above 90%, you need the associated passion = 90%

• In all cases be consistent with your story and your passions (hate lunar 90% could not be only because they won the war, maybe you saw dady crucifixion, or these beautiful whip scars on your back - or your face -, in addition of the body part you lost, may explain it)

 

But of course, it is for my table. Your play can differ, your own passions should differ!