Saturday, August 13, 2011

D&D 4e: Detriments

I caught myself wondering, earlier today: "What if I wanted to play a fat character in Dungeons and Dragons 4e? You know, like a chubby Santa Claus type of Cleric or something."

I am aware of Traits and Flaws; such mechanics have been utilized in many a Roleplaying Game. I'm also aware of at least one 3rd Party 4th Edition product of Traits and Flaws. But personally, I wanted something that felt a little less permanent; something that a character, if they wanted to, could make it a personal quest to see removed.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Detriments.

As of right now, I have only created two Detriments, which are linked together in a way. They offer no benefits, only penalties. The incentive is the XP rewarded by finally removing the problem.



































They are a bit wordy but not all that complex. I'm sure many players would rather not worry about the bookkeeping, but trying to stay healthy is difficult and takes a long time.

I'm treating these as a Level 5 Minor Quest. Most Detriments should be something that even non-heroic characters could achieve, so I foresee very few Detriments being of a higher level, let alone a higher tier. Of course the Temptation rolls are there to keep some players from claiming free XP. You have to work at it to get rid of it.

So, let me know what you think about these examples. Is there anything missing from them that you would like to see? Do you think you can do a better job with the wording to make it less...cluttered?

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