The current mechanic for gaining and losing traits in Eclipse Phase is:
If, through gameplay, you gain a positive trait or lose a negative one, pay the corresponding CP.
If, through gameplay, you gain a negative trait or lose a positive one, you get no recompense.
This tended to break my games, because a) traits are fairly expensive compared to the average RP income per play session and b) characters are gaining and losing traits with a fairly large frequency (gaining and kicking addictions, gaining and curing mental disorders, gaining and losing enemies and allies etc.). And since positive changes (e.g. loss of a negative trait) are paid for, and negative ones offer no recompense, this translates into a fairly large leak of RPs for the characters - even if they are not really improving their trait set! Every mild addiction they gain and kick costs them 5RPs, every enemy gained and lost 10 RPs, etc. Often, this leak ends up consuming each and every RP gained by the characters!
Isn't anyone else having trouble with this? I have houseruled that traits gained or lost during play cost nothing, and give no recompense. It works much, much better for me.
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RPs and Trait gains/losses
Fri, 2011-09-09 16:57
#1
babayaga
RPs and Trait gains/losses
Sat, 2011-09-10 19:36
#2
Mandella
Re: RPs and Trait gains/losses
I do the same. In fact, in most games I run Traits are only bought at character creation (and I usually heavily edit the choices, too). After that, it's all roleplaying and plot. The story and your actions gain you a powerful Ally? Great! It shouldn't suddenly cost you CP. Same when you make that inevitable deadly enemy -- you don't get any back, except for what you can expect from good roleplaying/problem solving.
This even applies to personality Traits. Two sessions in you realize your character is a Klepto? Fine, just roleplay it, no math needed.
Sun, 2011-09-11 05:53
#3
GreyBrother
Re: RPs and Trait gains/losses
I view such things as a remnant from more... "balance oriented" games and as my groups tend to focus more on roleplaying i ignore the rule completely and traits come and go at the GMs discretion, usually after a petition from the player.
Mon, 2011-09-12 07:20
#4
Xagroth
Re: RPs and Trait gains/losses
I keep the cost of advantages only for those situations when they are gained off-the-screeen, or they want to get them after nearly no effort or with 100% security. Of course, morph traits are bough paying with credits.
However, the mental issues are something I think should be kept in the "pay to get rid of" list, not only because they are taken car of "off-screen", but because removing the difficulties related to them would effectively negate most of the horror the game can show.