One of the most exciting aspects of table-top roleplaying is creating characters. Â The system I tend to use – GURPS - facilitates the creation of very three-dimensional characters rather than merely cookie-cutter heroes, which is one of the main things I like about it.
When creating characters with GURPS, not only do you select what your character can do and what your character is good at, you also have the option of selecting disadvantages, which when roleplayed well create a great sense that the character is more real. Â Why select a disadvantage? Well, a 100 point character with 40 points worth of disadvantages can spend 140 points on advantages and skills.
An example is my friend Tony’s character from our roleplaying sessions last year. Â He had selected “unlucky” as a disadvantage, which had allowed him to put more points into sword skills, and so on. Â The unlucky disadvantage requires the GM to ensure that something unfortunate happens to that character during each game session, and that if something unfortunate can happen then it specifically happens to that character.
Which explains why Tony’s character wound up falling down stairs, getting covered in blood, arrested and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and then later had to flee a burning building while covered in paraffin.