This section describes all of the Quirks in the game.
They are listed alphabetically. Remember that Quirks are intended to be descriptors of major personality traits of a character. They should occasionally hinder or define a character’s actions, but they should not be as debilitating as Weaknesses. Because they have a limited mechanical effect on a character, the Director may allow players to come up with their own Quirks.
Age: The character is particularly old, perhaps even ancient, or else very young, such as a child. This has no specific game effects – fighting games are filled with spry old men and immensely powerful children – but it will affect the way other people perceive and relate to the character.
Arrogant: The character is convinced of his own superiority and has no problem sharing this self-knowledge with others. This perception may or may not be accurate. In any case, the perceptions and attitudes of other people towards the character will certainly be colored by this arrogance.
Attitude: Many characters in fighting games, both heroes and villains, are so cool as to radiate an “aura of attitude” when they are around. Characters with this Quirk may occasionally have difficulty hiding in crowds or appearing sincerely humble in their interactions with others. Others may be inclined to either challenge the character or to act subservient around them.
Brutal: Characters with this Quirk are harsh fighters in combat. They enjoy bullying the weak and using dirty tricks, and they have no compunctions against beating opponents who are already down. This may result in legal difficulties, a loss of respect and
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honor, a recognized bad reputation, and few friends.
Bumbling Friend: The character has a good friend who is always willing to help in any way he can.
However, despite this friend’s best intentions, he rarely proves to be of much help. Typically such a character is loud, clumsy, not too bright, and/or socially inept. While the friend may occasionally prove useful (more often by accident), he is usually a liability to the character when he is around.
Clueless: This Quirk is not an assessment of the character’s intelligence. Rather, a character with this Quirk is curiously unaware of his environment, the feelings of those around him, and the meaning of clues presented to him. While there are no specific game mechanics to reflect this, the Director may choose to withhold information from the character when describing a situation.
Cooking: Any food the character prepares will be horrible and will cause temporary illness in anyone who eats it. The character may be aware of this or instead believe that he is actually an excellent cook.
This Quirk is usually used as a source of comic relief in a story.
Dead Serious: Despite the occasional light-hearted scene in the plot of a fighting game, some characters seem to have no part whatsoever in it.
This character is one of them. The character never laughs, rarely appears noticeably happy, and is usually an extremely focused individual. This should be clear through the player’s role-playing. It may have an effect on the character’s social interactions.
Demure: This Quirk is in some ways the opposite of the Attitude Quirk. The character rarely makes eye contact or exalts himself in any way, and may regularly put himself at the service of others. This attitude persists, even after having beaten an
opponent in combat. In fact, the Demure character will often apologize for winning. In the source material, this Quirk is more common among female characters.
Disgraced: At some point in his past, the character was disgraced in some way. He may have been thrown out of his dojo, killed a friend accidentally, violated a vow, or felt his reputation or honor was ruined by a past fight. This character will be somewhat morose and/or angry and will usually be devoted to undoing the causes of his disgrace.
Distinctive Appearance: The character’s appearance makes him stand out, even beyond the normal standards of most fighting game characters.
The character is not frightening (see Fearsome Appearance) nor is he merely ugly (see Ugly). This would be an appropriate Quirk for a character that dresses in a way that makes him stand out in a crowd, even a crowd of Fighters. Penalties to Lost in the Crowd Skill checks are appropriate.
Fan Service: (females only) Many female fighting game characters fight exclusively in short skirts (often school uniforms). As such, when they fall or leap or kick high, the players are treated to a clear view of their underwear. Similarly, other characters walk, pose, stretch provocatively, and/or fall over frequently when they move, whether deliberately or accidentally, also revealing their underwear or at least acting in an overtly sexual manner. This is often intended for comic effect, albeit of a particularly lowbrow variety. This character is one of those characters. Apt descriptions of the character’s fan service, if it inconveniences the character in some way, could be worth a Story Point.
Glutton: This character will eat at every opportunity
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which presents itself, will eat a lot, and will often make an embarrassing display of himself while doing so. The character is not necessarily fat. This Quirk is best used for occasional comic effect and to perhaps provide a distraction to the character.
Greedy: The character is constantly in pursuit of material gain, whether through money or possessions. This is a primary motivation for the character’s actions and, unless the character makes an effort to keep it secret, will usually color the perceptions and reactions of people around him.
Immature: This is another common stereotype, usually among female characters. Despite being fully-grown in years, this character still acts like a child. This manifests in the character through high and/or loud voices, frequent temper tantrums, unusual moments of stupid courage or unreasonable fear, and making a general nuisance out of himself.
Impulsive: A character with this Quirk possesses boundless energy and an inability to stay in one place for too long. The character is bored with excessive planning and usually flies off on his own without proper discretion. As a result, the character often ends up in trouble. An Impulsive character is not necessarily Reckless; the Impulsive character may choose a prudent course of action, but only because it was the first idea he came up with.
In Love: Love relationships sometimes play a role in the plot of fighting games. A character who is In Love needs to first define whom he is In Love with.
This is usually another player character or a prominent NPC. In any case, the object of the lover’s affection should be around fairly frequently, but does not necessarily need to have reciprocal feelings. This Quirk may occasionally be played for
laughs. In this case, the character In Love will sometimes do stupid things. The player can earn a Story Point by suggesting that the beloved be endangered, but this story idea should be used sparingly, as it more properly falls under the Weakness Significant Other.
Lecherous: Characters with this Quirk will always be making inappropriate comments to members of the opposite sex, peeping in locker rooms and showers, and grabbing other characters in socially unacceptable ways. Such behavior often results in social ostracism and frequent beatings at the hands of those who have been ogled. The targets of lechery in the source material are almost always women, regardless of whether the lecher is male or female.
Loves Combat: A character with this Quirk thrills to the excitement and danger of combat. He is not necessarily brutal or violent. This may not seem like a liability in a fighting game, but this character will look for any excuse to fight, even when it would be better or more prudent not to.
Nosebleeds: (males only) This Quirk is also intended for more light-hearted campaigns. It is not well suited for serious games. A character with this Quirk often suffers sudden and embarrassing nosebleeds when he experiences something that would be sexually arousing. On rare occasions, the nosebleed may be severe enough to cause the character to pass out from blood loss.
Pacifist: This is a difficult Quirk for a fighting game.
The character will not willingly initiate combat and, if forced in some way, will seek to end combats as quickly as possible. While such sentiment is undoubtedly noble, this can prove to be a difficult Quirk for the player and the Director to work with. It might be worthwhile for the Director and the player
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to establish a set of circumstances or kinds of opponents toward which the character is “less pacifistic.”
Reckless: A character who is Reckless makes unnecessarily bold choices in his actions. Such characters are usually loud and enthusiastic and have little interest in caution. Because of their rashness, they usually get into trouble over their heads. This is not the same thing as Impulsive; a Reckless character may deliberate over his actions but will ultimately choose an action that will generate “big” results (whatever that may mean in a specific situation).
Revenge: A character with this Quirk has a need for revenge. The target of this revenge should be someone or some group that is accessible during the events of the campaign, and ideally is a person or group that is directly related to the main plot of the campaign. The character seeking Revenge will act irrationally when faced with an opportunity to get back at the offender. This may be a dominant component of the character’s reason for fighting.
Rivalry: A character with a Rivalry needs to define who the Rivalry is with and what the nature of the Rivalry is. The other character should ideally be a character that is around somewhat frequently, but if not, then the Rivalry should be even more intense and fierce when both characters are around. The other character may not share the sense of Rivalry, but this is much less interesting. The rival can be another player character, which can make for some great stories, but the Director should be aware of the possible danger of bad player dynamics.
Characters with rivalries will often do stupid things.
Common rivals are siblings or fighters from the same school.
Scarred: A character who is Scarred has a large scar
somewhere on his body or has numerous small scars all over (or perhaps both). This may make the character hideous or ruggedly attractive. In either case, however, he will have a harder time avoiding being noticed in public. Alternatively, the character may be Scarred in a psychological sense, as a result of some past trauma.
Secret: This Quirk can represent any number of things. The character might have a secret identity that needs to be maintained, he could be carrying the guilt of a secret crime committed in the past, he could be lying about his true identity, or he could be an undercover operative. In any case, the character must work diligently to maintain his Secret, as it would be bad (or at least the character is convinced that it would be bad) if the Secret were revealed.
The specific ramifications of this revelation are up to the Director and the player.
Short-Tempered: The character is prone to bouts of extreme anger and loses his temper with little provocation. This affects the way others perceive the character, as well as causing significant social inconvenience and lots of unnecessary fights.
Suspicious: A Suspicious character is unwilling to trust the motivations of others. As such, they are less willing to accept help from others and may be reticent in offering help. It should be noted that this Quirk is not paranoia, just a certain lack of trust in others. Because of this Quirk, such a character may also have problems persuading others.
Unworldly: The character is unaware of the workings of the world. He may have been raised in an isolated martial arts camp, sheltered by an excessively protective family, or may even be a stranger to the world (an alien or spirit). This
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character will not be able to relate well with modern technology, cultural mannerisms and slang. The Director may occasionally use this unfamiliarity to cause the character inconvenience at an important moment.