Author Topic: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."  (Read 2184 times)

StuartYee

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Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« on: 28 April 2014, 18:54:57 »
I just started running a SW era Merc campaign where the players are currently shopping for war materiel and finding new recruits to build up their unit.

I'm running the campaign as a pretty traditional RPG (as opposed to playing Total Warfare with a sprinkling of ATOW rules).

The premise for our last session was pretty mundane on paper - buy stuff, recruit people. However, adding classic RPG elements from ATOW added a lot of laughs.

ALEX HANSON (PC with Compulsion/Alcoholism trait): Okay, we're going to pay a visit to Jordan Smith's 'Mech yard and see what he has.
GM (me): Okay, make a WILLPOWER check.
HANSON: What for?
GM: Just roll for it, what did you get?
HANSON: Passed with a MoS of 3.
GM: As you pass a bar, you start to feel thirsty, but resist temptation for now...
OTHER PCs: We also grab his arms and drag him along....
(LAUGHTER ENSUES)

Later that day...

HANSON: Let's schedule an interview with David Jackson, he seems like he'd be a good addition to the team.
GM: Great, make a WILLPOWER check.
(LAUGHTER)
HANSON: Passed again, MoS 1.
GM: You schedule an interview with David Jackson and manage to arrive to the meeting not dead drunk.
HANSON: Alright, I'm sober!
GM: Well I didn't say sober...
(LAUGHTER ENSUES)

The players as Mechwarriors are currently deciding on callsigns, and "Boozer" seems to be a running favorite for Alex Hanson.

What RPG elements/sessions have you found to be amusing if not outright hilarious in your games?
"I can't save his life, it's too embarrassing!" - Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC SSC

Deadborder

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #1 on: 29 April 2014, 23:51:31 »
From the newly rebooted Tuesday Night Mechwarrior game, the following conversation between Joseph (myself) and new PC, Doctor Julia O'Reily

Julia: You're a smoker?
Joseph: Just a little (Note: Compulsion/Addiction to Coffee and Cigarettes)
Julia: How's your lung capacity?
Joseph: Its okay
Julia: Have you ever considered the advantages of an extra set of lungs?
Joseph: Such as?
Julia: Increased lung capacity, for starters. You could smoke more and do more. And you could breathe underwater

(I make and fail a medtech roll)

Joseph: Well breathing underwater would be useful...
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Mohammed As`Zaman Bey

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #2 on: 30 April 2014, 08:58:00 »
  Everybody in the unit I'm GMing has addictions, from smoking to pain killers, to gain more points in development. Others have severe emotional effects, such as hatred for Capellans. When fighting Capellans, the unit never takes prisoners.
  One character, experimented with bionic parts and needed drugs to offset the effects. He would hold frequent conversations with a unit member who was killed months earlier...

  The players don't make checks -I make them and determine the effects before anyone could react to them or prevent them.

hive_angel

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #3 on: 30 April 2014, 11:34:53 »
Little tidbits and scripts like this from one point of view to another really gives me ideas and helps me understand aspects better.

Would love to compile some examples of things which are better to explain by players then the book itself.
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Col Toda

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #4 on: 06 May 2014, 17:20:28 »
Such negative traits are more acceptable in some eras over others.  Addictions outside a mercenary outfit make the character a critical liability .  The more sensitive the information the client requires the less suited the unit with troops with substance problems are for a contract ; ( at least one in which the client does not intend to eliminate the unit afterwards . )  During the Clan Invasion it was common as lone Mech Warriors with survivors guilt move from unit to unit . During the Jihad depending on the combat theatre the character may get eliminated as a security liability . Any age before the Clans were life is cheap and mechs are not will get the pilot discharged from a regular unit and become available as a mercenary because of it . During and after the Clan Invasion pilot Qualitative excellence was prioritized and keeping your pilots so they could get better became very important that many would overlook a substance problem that they would not have before .

StuartYee

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #5 on: 06 May 2014, 17:38:57 »
Such negative traits are more acceptable in some eras over others.  Addictions outside a mercenary outfit make the character a critical liability .  The more sensitive the information the client requires the less suited the unit with troops with substance problems are for a contract ; ( at least one in which the client does not intend to eliminate the unit afterwards . )  During the Clan Invasion it was common as lone Mech Warriors with survivors guilt move from unit to unit . During the Jihad depending on the combat theatre the character may get eliminated as a security liability . Any age before the Clans were life is cheap and mechs are not will get the pilot discharged from a regular unit and become available as a mercenary because of it . During and after the Clan Invasion pilot Qualitative excellence was prioritized and keeping your pilots so they could get better became very important that many would overlook a substance problem that they would not have before .

That's a good point!

During eras in which alcoholism might be less tolerated, it would add an element to gameplay- how is the PC going to conceal his or her compulsion? Maybe a more realistic question- how long can they conceal their addiction?
"I can't save his life, it's too embarrassing!" - Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC SSC

Mohammed As`Zaman Bey

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #6 on: 07 May 2014, 20:45:38 »
That's a good point!

During eras in which alcoholism might be less tolerated, it would add an element to gameplay- how is the PC going to conceal his or her compulsion? Maybe a more realistic question- how long can they conceal their addiction?
  One of my best Army buddies recently died of lung cancer. I knew him for four years in active duty service and another five years working for the federal government, kept contact for decades, and I never had a clue that he smoked cigarettes. I never saw him smoke once, never saw evidence in his home, such as ash trays, matches, etc. He only smoked when he was alone and was meticulous about concealing the fact. He told me of his habit after he found out he was dying of lung cancer.
I'll miss my buddy Rick, he was a good soldier, a scholar and a loyal friend.

  The above being said, over the years, I have known addicts of all kinds and some are obvious, others, not so obvious and you have to know what to look for.  That belligerent soldier could just be a jerk or high on cocaine. That drowsy clerk could just need a nap or is coming down from a dose of crystal meth.
  I can count on both hands the people I've know who have died drug-related deaths and almost as many who died due to alcohol. When I was stationed in Germany I met my first severe alcoholics -These people were drunk whenever they were off duty and sometimes on duty. The unit First Sergeant was caught smuggling several bottles of alcohol in a military truck and fined a month's pay. Since I was known as a non-drinker, when out in the field, all the alcohol was hidden under my cot...BTW, I just didn't like beer -I drank ouzo. ;)

StuartYee

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Re: Compulsion/Alcoholism aka "Make a WILLPOWER check..."
« Reply #7 on: 09 May 2014, 13:02:43 »
  One of my best Army buddies recently died of lung cancer. I knew him for four years in active duty service and another five years working for the federal government, kept contact for decades, and I never had a clue that he smoked cigarettes. I never saw him smoke once, never saw evidence in his home, such as ash trays, matches, etc. He only smoked when he was alone and was meticulous about concealing the fact. He told me of his habit after he found out he was dying of lung cancer.
I'll miss my buddy Rick, he was a good soldier, a scholar and a loyal friend.

  The above being said, over the years, I have known addicts of all kinds and some are obvious, others, not so obvious and you have to know what to look for.  That belligerent soldier could just be a jerk or high on cocaine. That drowsy clerk could just need a nap or is coming down from a dose of crystal meth.
  I can count on both hands the people I've know who have died drug-related deaths and almost as many who died due to alcohol. When I was stationed in Germany I met my first severe alcoholics -These people were drunk whenever they were off duty and sometimes on duty. The unit First Sergeant was caught smuggling several bottles of alcohol in a military truck and fined a month's pay. Since I was known as a non-drinker, when out in the field, all the alcohol was hidden under my cot...BTW, I just didn't like beer -I drank ouzo. ;)

Next time I have one, I'll raise my drink to your buddy, Rick.  [cheers]

"I can't save his life, it's too embarrassing!" - Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC SSC

 

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