Let's Burn Up a Character - Printable Version

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Spoiler
This is one of my favorite parts of Burning Wheel, which is why I'm taking the time to explain it. Please forgive me if I rave on a bit - I'm hopelessly in love with this system.

Many tabletop roleplaying systems have character traits (generally, character flaws) as an option. These are usually a joke. The systems let you take flaws and get other bonuses as a result, which is really just a playground for rampant munchkinism. ("I have 'fidgety', 'unusually tall' and 'hates goblins' as my character flaws. This allows me to take '+3 to everything I do' and 'shockingly broken sword combo from an old, out-of-print sourcebook' for free!") Even when the players take the flaws in good faith, with every intention of incorporating them into gameplay, it's never very clear what they're supposed to do with the flaws. If the situation where the flaw is applicable never comes up, are they neglecting to play it? If it does come up, is it enough for them to just mention it and then move on? "Oooh, my guy is claustrophobic. He's uncomfortable this whole time!" But after he says that, the game proceeds exactly the same way it would have if he weren't claustrophobic? What if there is disagreement between the player and the GM? "You totally forgot to play your claustrophobia!" "What do you mean? My guy was standing in the back being quiet the whole time! He couldn't open his mouth for fear of barfing!" What if the GM takes control of the character to play the flaw - is that okay? "Your guy is claustrophobic, right? He turns and flees the room." "What!? No he doesn't! He's not THAT claustrophobic!" And if the flaw is ignored, assuming it's even possible to determine that reasonably, what's the punishment? How much does it have to be ignored before the punishment is triggered? What if the player just happened to forget? What if the player held back because he didn't want to disrupt an awesome scene - should he be penalized for that?

There are numerous problems here.

The issue is that the systems almost inevitably base their flaws system on punishment. Either you get punished for not using the flaw, or the GM punishes you for having it by invoking it himself. This is dumb and also stupid. It doesn't lead to fun gameplay or good roleplay, or if it does, it's only by accident. Being punished for not using the flaw just gives you something to worry about, not something you'll feel good about doing, and as for the GM taking control of your character - good grief! He already has control of everything else! Your character is the one thing you have control of. If the GM uses your flaws as an excuse to short circuit that, it certainly doesn't count as good roleplay on your part, and if it results in an entertaining time at the table, it will inevitably be at your character's expense. At best, you'll be good-natured enough to not feel resentment. Character traits of this sort are often mocked, and for good reason.

Enter Burning Wheel.

Burning Wheel has a currency called Artha that is super-important during gameplay and pretty much irrelevant during character creation, so we probably won't get into it much. It's sort of a combination between "Hero Points" and experience points. There are a number of ways to earn it, but one of the simplest is by invoking your own character's trait to alter the course of the story or get him in trouble. "I'm claustrophobic, remember? As soon as the king lowers his hood and opens his mouth to speak, I can't take it anymore. I run screaming from the secret meeting room, out into the marketplace." "Woah! Okay, you're going to attract some attention doing that. The guards will come and question you - and your character isn't there during the negotiations." "But I get a point of Artha, right? Sweet!"

You can do this whenever it is relevant, or choose to ignore the trait instead. If you ignore it, nobody thinks any less of you, except maybe that you're stupid for ignoring it and should have gone for the Artha. There are no punishments. It's pretty clear what the trait means, when it comes into play and what you have to do with it to earn the point. It's a button that you can push to trade an in-game situational disadvantage for a meta-game currency. And because of this, players are more likely to remember their traits and use them deliberately. They get rewarded for doing so!

Some traits in Burning Wheel give direct mechanical advantages, but even the ones that don't are valuable. Even the ones that give penalties. It costs 1 point to have bad eyesight and 4 points to be deaf!

This is, in my opinion, awesome.