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Message: <blockquote data-quote="uzirath" data-source="post: 9181366" data-attributes="member: 8495">There are two elements that I have really enjoyed about the GURPS advantage and disadvantage system over the long haul. First is the ability to have character growth reflected in the mix. I've seen characters begin play with various disadvantages and then gain new ones and spiral into a bad place (bad for the character, but rewarding for the players). Likewise, I've seen players buy off disadvantages as their character learns to control themselves or visits the guru in the mountains or vanquishes their demons (sometimes literally). Sure, you can do all of this narratively without a "system," and I've enjoyed games like that, but I also enjoy when there's a mechanical structure to it. The other element is the self-control rolls that were added in 4th edition. Most mental disadavantages have a self-control roll that you can call for when you'd prefer to resist your issue. The default roll is 12, meaning you'll succeed more often than not. You can adjust the cost of the disad by adjusting that roll up or down. A 15 means you'll resist nearly all the time. A 9, less so, and a 6 means you'll barely ever resist. Combining this with the character growth element mentioned above allows you to begin the game as a raging jerk with a Bad Temper roll of 6 or 9. As you evolve as a character, maybe you grow and adjust that to 12 and then 15. Then you might buy it off altogether, or leave it as a remnant of your old self that only makes an appearance rarely. Most of my players have found this quite fun in play.I do agree with [USER=6787650]@FormerlyHemlock[/USER], though, that the disadvantage descriptions should be updated. I've always assumed they were written with a bit of hyperbolic flair; I never met anyone in person who ran them super-literally. But then I landed in an on-line game with a GM who absolutely stuck to the least generous interpretation of RAW. This wasn't fun because we were all a bunch of loonies. I quit the game, but I recognize that it is a flaw in the writing if it allows for that sort of nonsense.</blockquote>

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