Adding Traits to Characters you don't control

[The Wah]

Is it possible to add a trait onto a character that you do not control? Or do you first have to take control with a coin and then spend more coins to add the traits?

[Christopher Weeks]

take control first unless the modification is the result of complication (e.g. adding wounds to Maria Sanchez after the rocket blows up).

Chris

[The Wah]

Would it be considered a rule gimmick to allow others to add traits?

Rule Gimmick - Other players can add traits to a character they do not control as long as they pay the coin cost and have permission from the controlling player.

Or do you think this would unbalance the game?

(and it is nice to see someone has read the Jack Phillips game write up :) )

[CPXB]

Rules gimmicks can be anything you want.

I don't think that would be unbalancing -- its trivially easy to take control of a character, anyway, if you want to add traits -- but what it will do is lessen the number of complications, potentially, which would change the game fairly radically.

[Christopher Weeks]

It's a fine and honestly, pretty mundane gimick.  The effect on complication frequency would only be significant if you guys chose to make it so, because you can still just initiate complications at will.

Why are you interested in veering this way?

Chris

[Mike Holmes]

From one POV, the coin it takes to take control of a character is the price you pay to ask. Then the player can take control right back, so there's his objection if you do take control.

That said, there Gimmick seems reasonable. Sometimes you just feel the need to tack something on to a component, but don't really want control, or think it needs a complication to accomplish. So I see no real problem with it. After all, the controling player still has complete veto it seems, and it doesn't void the other options.

Mike

[The Wah]

Why are you interested in veering this way?

Chris

Whilst we were creating charcters other players really wanted to throw in their own traits. When they told me the traits they wanted to add (and were willing to pay for them) I was more than willing to let them.

Of course they could just spend a coin and take control but all they wanted to do was add interesting traits.

[Mike Holmes]

I was thinking about it, and the gimmick would have no impact on Complication frequency. What drives complications, mechanically, isn't putting traits on things, you can do that to your own things. With this Gimmick, you just have more things available to put Traits on. Which will drain your Coins at the same rate or greater.

Meaning that you need to do Complications to get them back. Further there's just cases where it seems "right" to do something by Complication - and this is where I think refusals would occur. As such, I think that "inappropriate" additions of Traits would be unusual, and Complications would be used just as often.

I've seen this Gimmick before, and the more I see it, the more I like it.

Mike

[The Wah]

I've seen this Gimmick before, and the more I see it, the more I like it.

You have seen it before? Drat! I was hoping to have it named after me!

;)

[Mike Holmes]

You have seen it before? Drat! I was hoping to have it named after me!

Well, I can't remember where, if that helps.

What is your name, anyhow? :-)

Mike

[The Wah]

It be Greg!