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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 933688" data-attributes="member: 5143">There is a reason that they only use advantages when calculating ECL.  When 3e came out, the designers commented that one of the main goals of 3e was to avoid balancing a combat advantage with a role playing disadvantage.  It seems that almost every player who wanted to power game was more than willing to trade +2 to hit and damage for the disadvantage that people wanted to attack him more than the rest of the group.  I tested this once in 2e using skills and powers.  My friend made up a character who was rude, abrasive, ugly, partially psychotic, and also twice as powerful as the rest of the party combined.Back then I believed that a role playing disadvantage was worth balancing it out.  I told him, "Alright, you want to do that, you realize you won't be able to go almost ANYWHERE without starting a fight."  He didn't care.  So, the beginning of the adventure they were in the inn and he managed to get a 6th level fighter angry at him and challenged him to a duel.  They were 1st.  He managed to kill the 6th level fighter in a single round.  I assumed the guards were all around level 2-4 in the town.  They all came because there was a murder, and wouldn't believe him because of his disadvantages.  He single handedly took on 5 3rd level characters by himself.At about that time, I decided not to run the game anymore because I had failed to prove my point of teaching players that role playing disadvantages were actually disadvantages.The same thing happened with a lot of kits in 2e.  The Thief swashbuckler comes to mind.  It gave you the attack bonus of a fighter, in exchange you had the disadvantage of "trouble seems to find you."  Which I had only ever maybe once see a DM use.  Most DMs had written an adventure which didn't leave much room for trouble looking specifically for the swashbuckler.Parties always find a way around any disadvantages of certain members.  Normally to the detriment of the adventure.  Have a giant party member who gets attacked in towns?  Then the party won't go into towns and will avoid accepting missions that require them to.  Can't speak?  Make a form of sign language that the party understands.  Can't pick up things?  Be a wizard for mage hand.  Or if all else fails, pester the DM to allow you magic items that get rid if your disadvantages, hats of disguise, amulets of shrinking, ghost touch equipment, amulets of "solidification" or something else.Don't forget the one thing, that GP value is for character level not class level, so a stone giant that happens to have only one class level and is 15th level should have the gold of a 15th level character.  This means that they are a giant who likely carries around a +5 weapon, +5 armor, and a +6 strength enhancing item, making him significantly more powerful than a normal stone giant.</blockquote>

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