Character Flaws - Alderac Entertainment Style

[Hadrian the Builder]

Anyone here recall the character flaw system for Stargate and 7th Sea RPG? I've been thinking about rebuilding it for 4th edition. If I remember correctly, the system allowed any player or the DM to invoke a flaw for added drama and excitement.

Thoughts?

 

[Hadrian the Builder]

I'v just discovered I'm using the wrong terms. It was a system of virtues and hubrises.
How do you think that system would work in 4E, or if you played with it, how did you feel about your GM invoking your hubris?

 

[Number 6]

I think Flaws were for characters of Evil alignment, while a Hubris was for a character of Good alignment.

You could opt to take a Virtue (for Good characters) or a Wile (for Evil characters) as a Feat at 1st-level (or as compensation for the Flaw/Hubris).

A great idea, one that my campaign has in place, although it doesn't get used much. To spur the activation of a character's Hubris, I'm allowing players to learn (through magic or sneaky information gathering) the Flaws and/or Wiles of certain key villains in the campaign.

Anyone have a list of the Flaws, Hubrises(eseses), Wiles, and Virtues handy? They are out of my reach at the moment. They always struck me as a great tool when used sparingly, and had room for a little expansion.

 

[Nytmare]

I use them in my game as a crutch to help describe success or failure, instead of a mechanic that influences it.

What kind of affect would they have on the game?

 

[malcolm_n]

Our group actually still uses them straight out of the swashbuckling adventures book, since their effect is mostly RP anyway. We grant one additional feat at 1st level which must remain a heroic feat through the duration of the character's career (since the flaw doesn't get worse, the feat shouldn't get better).

 

[N0Man]

Are you familiar Aspects from the Fate RPG system (used in games like The Dresden Files and Spirit of the Century)? If I can get my 4E campaign going again, I'm planning on implementing Aspects into my game.

The nice thing is that they can work out quite well for flaws, virtues, advantages, disadvantages, backgrounds, allegiances, arch-enemies, and more.

In a nutshell, Aspects are descriptive words or phrases, catch-phrases, mottos, etc, that are used to describe or define the character. The player may play on his Aspect in order to gain some bonus when an aspect could work in his favor by spending a Fate Point. A DM may invoke one of these Aspects in order to create a complication for the character, at which time the Player is awarded a Fate Point if he allows the Compel or must pay a Fate Point in order to resist the compel.

This works out fairly well balance wise, because players cannot reliably gain or use Fate Points without either a mix aspects that give them advantages or cause complications, or single aspects that can do both.

For me, I am planning on ditching the standard 4E PHB2 Backgrounds and using Aspects instead. I'll *probably* keep the normal Action Points, but there will be an addition of Fate Points. I will likely both award and invoke them in a similar fashion as SotC does, and come up with a list of types of bonuses I'd allow with these points (including minor narrative control).

Check out the download page at FateRPG.com

Specifically there, The Spirit of the Century (SRD OGL) that you will find there can explain Aspects quite well, for that game.