One Trick Pony

[chaosnet]

Should the Watcher penalize a player for repeating the same stunts over and over again? I understand once, twice and maybe thrice but beyond that...how would you handle it?

[Loxly]

I would probably says: "Dude! Can't you think of something else? How about ...?"

On the other hand, at least he's using his Plot Points on something. I've read posts where Watchers are asking for ways to get their plays to use them.

[babel2uk]

As long as they're spending the plot points and having fun I wouldn't worry about it overly.

If it bothers you that they are just using the same stunt description over and over again I'd just have a quiet chat with the player and ask why.

It may be that they've just not got any ideas, in which case you can brainstorm with them on new and cool ways to use their power. There's no mechanical bonus for creating a stunt the same way every time, so unless they're really lazy the problem is likely just their mind going blank when they're in the spotlight. A pre-generated list of possible options will work to solve either cause.

On the other hand, maybe they're just trying to establish a signature move for their character.

[EldritchFire]

What I would do if a player at my table kept doing the same stunt over and over again is play that into the fiction. If s/he stops using that stunt when fighting the big bad, the BBEG would mock them for getting tired, maybe even going so far as to cause emotional stress.

When the hero meets a villain for the first time and introduces themselves, the new villan would say something like, "You can't be [hero X]! He always uses [stunt Y]! You're an impostor!" and have them leave to find a "worthy" foe to face.

It's just like in the later Harry Potter books, the death eaters know that his favorite spell is expelliarmus. Have your hero start being known for his stunt!

-EF

[chaosnet]

So how would you all handle a repetitive Stunt being developed into an SFX?

The hero Fusion generally performs a Stunt called Rad Pulse, where he drains the nearby area of ambient radiation to overclock his Radiation Blast (d10) into a number of pulse blasts. The effect of this is that he glows a bright green as he charges and releases a "PAAAZZZOOOO! PAAAZZZOOOO! PAAAZZZOOOO! " blast at the villain, which mechanically is represented by him spending 1PP and gaining 1D8.

Fusion does this a lot and decides, hey...why not put that in my aresnal? He chooses the Burst SFX, renames it Rad Pulse an updates his datafile. Now the stunt that previously cost him 1 PP to get a bonus D8, now is a SFX that doesnt cost him any PP. In addition, he could add different stunts (i.e. Red Wave Pulse, Gamma Pulse, etc).

Does this sound about right?

[EldritchFire]

So how would you all handle a repetitive Stunt being developed into an SFX?

The hero Fusion generally performs a Stunt called Rad Pulse, where he drains the nearby area of ambient radiation to overclock his Radiation Blast (d10) into a number of pulse blasts. The effect of this is that he glows a bright green as he charges and releases a "PAAAZZZOOOO! PAAAZZZOOOO! PAAAZZZOOOO! " blast at the villain, which mechanically is represented by him spending 1PP and gaining 1D8.

Fusion does this a lot and decides, hey...why not put that in my aresnal? He chooses the Burst SFX, renames it Rad Pulse an updates his datafile. Now the stunt that previously cost him 1 PP to get a bonus D8, now is a SFX that doesnt cost him any PP. In addition, he could add different stunts (i.e. Red Wave Pulse, Gamma Pulse, etc).

Does this sound about right?

Spot on!

-EF

[MidnightBlue]

That's pretty much how TSR's Marvel Superheroes handled Power Stunts.

The more you tried a particular power stunt, the easier it got until it became a normal part of your character sheet.

Pretty slick.

[GabrielK]

Should the Watcher penalize a player for repeating the same stunts over and over again? I understand once, twice and maybe thrice but beyond that...how would you handle it?

I do have a player that is kind of known for that tendency. And yes it does get kind of boring after a while. The thing is that he realizes (after the fact) that it's not the best way to handle his character and actually WANTS to be more creative. And in between sessions, he readily acknowledges the problem and we end up discussing all kinds of things on how to avoid it.

Come game day though, he's back to his reliable old bag of tricks (or trick as the case may be). So umm...not much in the way of suggestions here...but just sharing the pain such.

[chaosnet]

I guess I should look at it from the stand point of trying to reward players for ingenuity and figuring out a new use of a power (via stunt description), maybe create a milestone that emphasizes expanding a power trait/set's repetoire.

Pushing Powers to the Limit!
1xp when you perform a previously unperformed stunt
3xp when you give a stunt a cool name
10xp when you turn the cool named stunt into an SFX, OR decide that the stunt is too dangerous to perform again.

This way, there is a reason to try 'new' applications of a power (via narrative, since in the end they will always be at D8 or D10) and move them along toward a permanent inclusion into the power set.

[Supplanter]

So this behavior stems from something, but we don't know which. (Or at least I don't know which.

1. Worst case: He's a griefer and it's a passive-aggressive show of his disrespect for the stunt rule or the game in general or you. Penalizing his chance of success within the game just perpetuates the cycle of passive-aggression.

2. He'd like to come up with different stunts but his creativity fails him. Applying a penalty ups the pressure on a situation he just may not be able to fix on his own, and increased pressure isn't known for increasing people's playful invention.

3. As a neurodiversity thing, he may have gotten "locked in" on that maneuver. Applying a penalty here isn't just likely to be counterproductive, it's genuinely disrespectful, possibly even anguishing to him.

4. Narrating stunts may not be what he's into, even though he likes the game as a whole just fine. That is, he may enjoy focusing on the plot, or "winning," or character development more than getting into a super-detailed blow-by-blow of this fight right here. Applying a penalty can "work" in this case, though it probably risks contaminating his outlook on the parts of the game he does like.

I would actually recommend a counter-intuitive second step to a productive approach. (The first step is the ever-popular "talk about it directly, human being to human being," offered up-thread. After that, if the behavior just doesn't go away . . .

Pay less attention to it. I don't just mean, "Try not to let it bother you." I mean, spend less game time on his stunt "choice." Not in a sneering, disrespectful way - that's paying more attention! It's also a dick move. Not in a way that reduces his character's effectiveness either. Just - here's your D8/D10, roll it.

If the guy can't do better at this aspect of the game, then it takes pressure off him (and everyone else). If he can't be bothered to do better at this aspect of the game, then there's no reason for the rest of you to care more about his stunt choice than he does. Hand him his die and spend the extra time enjoying what the other players come up with.


Jim