Is there a succinct term for how sometimes providing a specific ttrpg character with an ability, that ability stops being universal by default? (WHTOW has "literacy" as a talent, which means everyone without it--3 out of 4 the PCs--can't read)
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Funnily enough that's a case where you could actually correctly apply "exception proves a rule", though I doubt such a specific precedent has a single word term to describe it.
aug 26, 2025, 5:56 pm • 0 0 • view
I want to call it their "niche" but I'm pretty sure that's not what your after
aug 26, 2025, 4:46 pm • 0 0 • view
Pigeonholing?
aug 26, 2025, 8:02 pm • 0 0 • view
Air-breathing mermaids is related
aug 26, 2025, 5:48 pm • 1 0 • view
Yeah that's pretty much the name, same as "quantum ogre" being a term for content that gets moved around so players always encounter it. I don't think there's much of a more professional term for it.
aug 26, 2025, 5:52 pm • 2 0 • view
I remember getting annoyed with a Gurps gm for telling people "just make a DX roll" for things that I'd bothered to put a point into.
aug 26, 2025, 5:24 pm • 3 0 • view
I'll admit I say 'Roll DX and tell me how much you succeeded or failed' (as opposed to 'Roll DX-6' or stating the default out loud) to make things sound less daunting.
aug 26, 2025, 8:01 pm • 0 0 • view
If I were running it now I'd throw out a huge number of individual skills, but I'd tell people that at character generation.
aug 26, 2025, 8:07 pm • 2 0 • view
I'd go with something like GURPS Lite. 'Mechanic', not umpteen billion specializations. No No-Landing-Extraction skill. Melee Weapon (Easy, Average, Hard). Hand-To-Hand (Easy, Average, Hard). No familiarity penalties. Cut down on choice paralysis.
aug 26, 2025, 8:11 pm • 0 0 • view
Seems reasonable. I'd probably run FATE though.
aug 26, 2025, 8:15 pm • 1 0 • view
I need to finish reading that. Looks cool with a group that wants to collaborate on building a setting. I've also heard good things about Index Card RPG but don't own it.
aug 26, 2025, 8:17 pm • 0 0 • view
Would "foregrounding" work?
aug 26, 2025, 5:56 pm • 0 0 • view