Aberrant RPG - Rules Question: Taint, Social Penalties, and Aberrations.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Question: What causes social penalties, Taint or Aberrations?

Example(1): Nova "A" with taint 4, has strange eyes, but he wears dark glasses. Does he have social mods as long as he wears them?

Example(2): Nova "B" has a taint of 5 but has use Aberration Transfer + Perm to "give" his aberrations to a hapless victim. His taint is still 5, does he have social mods?

Example(3): Nova "C" has a taint of 0, but was given Nova "B"'s aberrations. Does he have social mods?

[Agnelli Celeste]

One, your aberrations have social mods, and so does your taint.

tain makes it so you, jsut od nto feel right.it makes people feel as if your not on the right wave legenth.Something like talking to someone who was a combat vet and seen a lot of battle, talking to them just feels uneasy.

[Cody]

Example(1): Nova "A" with taint 4, has strange eyes, but he wears dark glasses. Does he have social mods as long as he wears them?

People feel uncomfortable around him but can't quite put their finger on why. They'll describe him as creepy, eerie or weird. Folks tend to justify their own reactions so some may even go further by describing him as aggressive, unfriendly or mean.

Example(2): Nova "B" has a taint of 5 but has use Aberration Transfer + Perm to "give" his aberrations to a hapless victim. His taint is still 5, does he have social mods?

Yes. The alien or otherwordly 'aura' that humans sense Taint as doesn't change with or without the aberrations.

Example(3): Nova "C" has a taint of 0, but was given Nova "B"'s aberrations. Does he have social mods?

Maybe... but not necessarily.

This is going to sound like I'm jerking around but look at how many folks buy products like NOVA EYEZ. Lots of people would pay to have a nova give them glowing eyes, chalk white skin or some such. The social mods are going to be the same as the kid that walks around with a technicolor mohawk in our world. Different people will react in different ways including the person that's going to look at it and say, "COOOOOL!"

If you're dripping glow in the dark snot, the reaction is probably going to be more universally against you...

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Cody:
...Different people will react in different ways including the person that's going to look at it and say, "COOOOOL!"

Which in itself is a social problem.

If your aberation is that you inspire "True Love/Lust" in *every* baseline you meet, that is a major problem. Yes, people won't feel uncomfortable around you, but relating to anyone but a nova will be a real problem.

OK, so if your aberration is "blue hair" and you shave it off and wear a wig, then you still have a -1 to social mods? Why doesn't that sound right?

Thought just occured to me, how about, if you manage to get rid of your aberration, it comes back as something else?

[Sakurako Hino]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you try to make roleplaying a game mechanic.

Someone tries to find a dodge that louses a rules system designed to reign in such things, therefore killing any hope of real roleplay as the rules lawyers have at it.

I'm sorry, but this reminds me of several conversations I have had in several different games.

Quite frankly, The aberrations are a SYMPTOM of the underlying disease that is taint. You still have the modifiers, even if you have generally hideable aberrations.

That's at least the way I read and understand just how it works.