GURPS Basic Set: Characters, 4th Edition

unreasonable, unreasoning, morbid although this is at +4. If your enemies being underground if possible; if some-
fear. The point value depends on how actually inflict the feared object on thing happens to your flashlight or
common the object of your fear is – you, you must make an unmodified torch, you might well lose your mind
fear of darkness is far more trouble- self-control roll, as described above. If before you can relight it. -15 points.*
some than fear of left-handed you fail, you might break down, Death and the Dead (Necrophobia):
plumbers. depending on the Fright Check You are terrified by the idea of death.
Make a self-control roll whenever results, but you won’t necessarily talk. Make a self-control roll in the pres-
you are exposed to the object of your Some people can panic and fall apart, ence of any dead body (animals don’t
Phobia. If you fail, roll 3d, add the but still refuse to talk – just as some count, but portions of human bodies
amount by which you failed your self- people do not talk under torture. do). Roll at -4 if the body is that of
control roll, and look up the result on A phobic situation is by definition someone you know, or -6 if the body is
the Fright Check Table (p. 360). For stressful. If you have other mental dis- unnaturally animated in some way. A
instance, if your self-control number advantages that are triggered by ghost (or apparent ghost) also requires
is 9 but you rolled a 13, roll 3d+4 on stress, you are likely to have these a roll at -6. -10 points.*
the table. The result from the table reactions if you fail to resist a Phobia. Dirt (Mysophobia): You are death-
affects you immediately! Some common phobias: ly afraid of infection, or just of dirt
If you succeed, you have success- and filth. Make a self-control roll
fully mastered your Phobia (for now), Being Alone (Autophobia): You can- when you must do something that
but you are still shaken, and have a not stand to be alone, and do anything might get you dirty. Roll at -5 to eat
penalty to all DX, IQ, and skill rolls in your power to avoid it. -15 points.* any unaccustomed food. You should
while the cause of your fear persists. Blood (Hemophobia): The sight of act as “finicky” as possible. -10
The penalty depends on your self- blood gives you the screaming willies! points.*
control number. You need to make a self-control roll Dogs (Cynophobia): This includes
during most combats . . . -10 points.* all canines: foxes, wolves, coyotes,
Self-Control Number Penalty Cats (Ailurophobia): -5 points.* wild dogs, etc. -5 points.*
6 -4 Crowds (Demophobia): Any group Enclosed Spaces (Claustrophobia):
9 -3 of over a dozen people sets off this fear A common, crippling fear. You are
12 -2 unless they are all well known to you. uncomfortable any time you can’t see
15 -1 The self-control roll is at -1 for over 25 the sky – or at least a very high ceiling.
people, -2 for a crowd of 100 or
You must roll again every 10 min- more, -3 for 1,000, -4 for 10,000, and In a small room or vehicle, you feel the
utes to see if the fear overcomes you. so on. -15 points.* walls closing in on you . . . You need
Even the mere threat of the feared Darkness (Scotophobia): A common air! This is a dangerous fear for some-
object requires a self-control roll, one who plans to go underground. -15
fear, but crippling. You should avoid
points.*







































DISADVANTAGES 149

Fire (Pyrophobia): Even a burning Oceans (Thalassophobia): You are Post-Combat Shakes 2
cigarette bothers you if it comes with- afraid of any large body of water. -5 points*
in five yards. -5 points.* Ocean travel, or even air travel over
Heights (Acrophobia): You may not the ocean, is basically impossible for You are shaken and sickened by
voluntarily go more than 15 feet above you, and encounters with aquatic combat, but only after it’s over. Make a
ground, unless you are inside a build- monsters are also upsetting. -10 self-control roll at the end of any bat-
ing and away from windows. If there points.* tle. It is up to the GM to determine
is some chance of an actual fall, self- Open Spaces (Agoraphobia): You when a battle has truly ended, and he
control rolls are at -5. -10 points.* are uncomfortable whenever you are may apply a penalty if the combat was
Insects (Entomophobia): You are outside, and actually become fright- particularly dangerous or gruesome. If
afraid of all “bugs.” Large or poison- ened when there are no walls within you fail, roll 3d, add the amount by
ous ones give -3 to self-control rolls. 50 feet. -10 points.* which you failed your self-control roll,
Very large ones, or large numbers, Psionic Powers (Psionophobia): and look up the result on the Fright
give -6. Avoid hills of giant ants. -10 You are afraid of those with known Check Table (p. 360). For instance, if
points.* psionic powers. An actual exhibition your self-control number is 12 but you
Loud Noises (Brontophobia): You of power in your presence requires a rolled a 14, roll 3d+2 on the table. The
avoid any situation where loud noises self-control roll. You do not voluntari- result from the table affects you
are likely. A sudden loud noise ly allow anyone to use a psionic power immediately!
requires an immediate self-control on you. The power does not have to be Pyromania 2
roll. A thunderstorm is a traumatic real – all that matters is that you
experience for you! -10 points.* believe it is! -15 points if psi powers are -5 points*
Machinery (Technophobia): You common, -10 if they are uncommon, -5 You like fires! You like to set fires,
can never learn to repair any sort of if they are essentially unknown.* too. For good roleplaying, you must
machine and refuse to learn to use Reptiles (Herpetophobia): You never miss a chance to set a fire, or to
anything more complicated than a come unglued at the thought of rep- appreciate one you encounter. Make a
crossbow or bicycle. Any highly tech- tiles, amphibians, and similar scaly self-control roll whenever you have an
nological environment calls for a self- slimies. A very large reptile, or a poi- opportunity to set a fire.
control roll; dealings with robots or sonous one, gives -2 to self-control
computers require a roll at -3, and rolls; a horde of reptiles (such as a Quadriplegic 3
hostility from intelligent machines snake pit) gives -4. -10 points.* -80 points
requires a roll at -6. -5 points at TL4 or Sex (Coitophobia): You are terri- You are paralyzed in all your arms
below, -15 points at TL5 or above.* fied by the idea of sexual relations or and legs, or lack limbs entirely. You
Magic (Manaphobia): You can the loss of your virginity. -10 points* can neither manipulate objects nor
never learn to use magic, and you Sharp Things (Aichmophobia): You move yourself without assistance. You
react badly to any user of magic. Make are afraid of anything pointed. suffer all the bad effects of Paraplegic
a self-control roll whenever you are in Swords, spears, knives, and hypoder- (see Lame, p. 141) and No
the presence of magic. This roll is at -3 mic needles all give you fits. Trying to Manipulators (see No Fine
if you are to be the target of friendly use a sharp weapon, or being threat- Manipulators, p. 145). If the GM is
magic, and -6 if you are the target of ened with one, requires a self-control enforcing a disadvantage limit,
hostile magic. (The magic does not roll at -2. -15 points at TL5 or Quadriplegic counts against the limit
have to be real, if you believe in it!) -15 below, -10 at TL6 or above.* – but you may reduce ST and DX by
points in a setting where magic is com- Spiders (Arachnophobia): -5 up to four levels each without the
mon, -10 if it is known but uncom- points.* resulting disadvantage points count-
mon, -5 if “real” magic is essentially Strange and Unknown Things ing against the limit (points gained
unknown.* (Xenophobia): You are upset by any from further reductions count nor-
Monsters (Teratophobia): Any sort of strange circumstances, and in mally).
“unnatural” creature sets off this fear. particular by strange people. Make a For rules governing prosthetic
You have -1 to -4 on the self-control self-control roll when surrounded by limbs and surgical cures, see Lame
roll if the monster seems very large or people of another race or nationality; (p. 141) and One Arm (p. 147) for legs
dangerous, or if there are a lot of roll at -3 if the people are not human. and arms, respectively.
them. Note that the definition of If you lose control, you might well
“monster” depends on experience. An attack strangers out of fear. -15 Reprogrammable 21
American Indian would consider an points.* -10 points
elephant monstrous, while an African Sun (Heliophobia): -15 points.*
pygmy would not! -15 points.* Weapons (Hoplophobia): The pres- You can be programmed to obey a
Number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia): ence of any sort of weaponry is stress- master. If you have Slave Mentality
You must make a self-control roll ful. Trying to use a weapon, or being (p. 154), you must obey slavishly, and
whenever you have to deal with the threatened with one, requires a self- remain strictly within the letter of
number 13 – visit the 13th floor, buy control roll at -2. -20 points.* your master’s commands. If you lack
something for $13.00, etc. Roll at -5 if Slave Mentality, you may interpret his
Friday the 13th is involved! -5 points.* orders creatively, as long as you



150 DISADVANTAGES

remain within either their letter or attention. Critical failure means an your only “front” hex is the one
spirit (your choice). If you are nonsen- incapacitating reaction (GM’s deci- directly ahead of you. The hexes to
tient (IQ 0), you have no interest in sion): severe immune response, either side of this are “side” hexes: you
doing anything but following your engine failure, etc. Those who lack are at -2 to defend against attacks
programming! this limitation but for some reason from these hexes, and can only attack
You may have both Duty and attempt substitution derive no suste- into those hexes with a Wild Swing.
Reprogrammable. If so, you must do nance at all and must still make the Everything else is a “back” hex, as
your best to fulfill both obligations. HT roll above; treat success as failure above. -30 points.
Should the two come into conflict, and failure as critical failure. -50%.
your programming always comes Revulsion 35
first. Restricted Vision 3 -5 to -15 points
This trait is most appropriate for -15 or -30 points You have an incapacitating super-
golems, mindless undead, robots, and You have an unusually narrow natural reaction to an ordinarily
similar automata. It is rarely suitable field of vision. A normal character can innocuous substance. If you touch or
for PCs, and the GM may choose to see a 120° arc in front of him without breathe the substance, you must
forbid it entirely. turning his head, and has 30° of immediately make a HT roll. On a
peripheral vision to either side, giving failure, you are at -5 to all skills and
Reputation him a 180° “arc of vision” for observa- attributes for the next 10 minutes. If
see p. 26 tion and ranged attacks. On a battle you ingest the substance, you are at -5
A negative reputation counts as a map, this means he has three “front” to attributes and -10 to all skills and
disadvantage. Note it as such on your hexes, two “side” hexes (“left” and Sense rolls for 10 minutes. Point
character sheet! “right”), and a single “back” hex. Your value depends on the rarity of the sub-
vision is considerably more restricted. stance:
Restricted Diet 3 This comes in two levels:
Occasional (leather, soap): -5
-10 to -40 points No Peripheral Vision: Your arc of points.
You require a specialized food or vision is a 120° wedge to the front. On Common (smoke, wood): -10
fuel that is hard to come by. Unlike a map, your “left” and “right” hexes points.
Dependency (p. 130), you do not take become “back” hexes – that is, you Very Common (grass, metal): -15
damage if you go without . . . you just have three “back” hexes, and get no points.
can’t eat or refuel, which will eventu- defense against attacks originating
ally incapacitate you. Point value from these hexes! -15 points. This reaction is physical in nature.
depends on the rarity of the item you Tunnel Vision: Your arc of vision is For mental aversions, see Dread
consume: a 60° wedge to the front. On a map, (p. 132).
Rare: Dragon’s blood, exotic nutri-
ent mixture, weapons-grade urani-
um. -40 points.
Occasional: Virgin’s blood, rocket
fuel, babies, radioactives. -30 points.
Common: Human flesh, gasoline,
liquid hydrogen. -20 points.
Very Common: Fresh meat, any
hydrocarbon fuel (gasoline, diesel,
etc.), electric batteries, fresh
blood. -10 points.
Restricted Diet is appropriate for
normal humans with chronic gas-
trointestinal disorders.
Special Limitations
Substitution: You can try to con-
sume a food or fuel similar to the one
you require. For instance, a cyborg
that requires exotic nutrients could try
ordinary human food, or a machine
that requires gasoline could try diesel.
This sustains you, but you must make
a HT roll after each meal or refueling.
Failure means your HT attribute
drops by one until you receive appro-
priate medical or mechanical


DISADVANTAGES 151

Sadism 2 Secret 4 relatives, or the press will harass
you. -10 points.
-15 points* -5 to -30 points
Imprisonment or Exile: If the
You delight in cruelty . . . mental, A Secret is an aspect of your life or authorities uncover your Secret, you’ll
physical, or both. Make a self-control your past that you must keep hidden. have to flee, or be imprisoned for a
roll whenever you have an opportuni- Revelation would result in lasting neg- long time (GM’s discretion). -20
ty to indulge your desires and know ative consequences. The point value points.
you shouldn’t (e.g., because the pris- depends on the severity of those con- Possible Death: Your Secret is so
oner is one who should be released sequences: terrible that you might be executed by
unharmed). If you fail, you cannot the authorities, lynched by a mob, or
restrain yourself. Those who become Serious Embarrassment: If this assassinated (by the Mafia, CIA, etc.)
aware of your problem react at -3 information gets around, you can for- were it revealed. You would be a hunt-
unless they are from a culture that get about ever getting a promotion, ed man. -30 points.
holds life in little esteem. getting elected, or marrying well.
This is a particularly “evil” trait, Alternatively, revelation of your Secret Frequency of Appearance
more appropriate to villainous NPCs might simply attract unwelcome pub- In general, a Secret appears in a
than to heroic PCs. The GM may com- lic attention. -5 points. particular game session if the GM rolls
pletely prohibit Sadism if he does not Utter Rejection: If your Secret is a 6 or less on 3d before the adventure
want anyone roleplaying it in his cam- revealed, it will change your whole begins. However, as for all other dis-
paign. life. Perhaps you will lose your job and advantages of this type, the GM need
It is possible, though despicable, to be rejected by friends and loved ones. not feel constrained by the appear-
possess both Bully (p. 125) and Sadism. Perhaps admirers, cultists, long-lost ance roll. If he thinks that the Secret
should come into play, it does!
When a Secret appears in play, it is
not automatically made public. The
GM will give you a chance to prevent
your Secret from being revealed. This
might require you to cave in to black-
mail or extortion, steal incriminating
documents, or even silence the person
who knows the Secret. Regardless of
the solution, however, it’s only tempo-
rary – the Secret will appear again and
again until either you buy it off with
earned character points or it is finally
revealed.
Effects of Revelation
If a Secret is made public, there is
an immediate negative effect ranging
from serious embarrassment to possi-
ble death, depending on the severity of
the Secret (see above). There is also a
lasting effect: you suddenly acquire
new, permanent disadvantages – or
lose advantages – worth points equal
to twice what the Secret was worth!
These new disadvantages replace the
Secret on your character sheet, and
reduce your point value accordingly.
The GM chooses the new disadvan-
tages and lost advantages, which
should always be appropriate to
the Secret. Most Secrets turn
into Enemies (p. 135), negative
Reputations (p. 26), and Social
Stigmas (p. 155), or reduce or remove
advantages described under Wealth
and Influence (pp. 25-30). Some could
even turn into mental or physical dis-
advantages.




152 DISADVANTAGES

Example: A city guardsman has Selfish 2 whether they trust you in a dangerous
a -20-point Secret: at night, he is a -5 points* situation. However, if you go against
thief. When he is finally caught and your Sense of Duty by acting against
brought to justice, his Secret is You are self-important and status- the interests of those you are supposed
revealed and immediately replaced conscious, and spend much of your to be looking out for, the GM will
with -40 points in disadvantages and time striving for social dominance. penalize you for bad roleplaying.
lost advantages! The GM rules that he Make a self-control roll whenever you The GM will assign a point value to
is stripped of his 5-point Legal experience a clear social slight or your Sense of Duty based on the size
Enforcement Powers (-5 points), gains “snub.” On a failure, you lash out at of the group you feel compelled to aid:
Social Stigma (Criminal Record) (-5 the offending party just as if you had
points), and is punished by having his Bad Temper (p. 124) – likely resulting Individual (the President, your
right hand chopped off (One in a bad reaction (-3 to the target’s wingman, etc.): -2 points.
Hand, -15 points) and being forced to reactions toward you) and putting you Small Group (e.g., your close
pay reparations that reduce his in an awkward social situation. friends, adventuring companions, or
Wealth from Average to Poor (-15 Selfish NPCs react to perceived squad): -5 points.
points). slights at a penalty: Large Group (e.g., a nation or reli-
gion, or everyone you know personal-
Self-Control Number Penalty
Secret Identity 4 6 -5 ly): -10 points.
Entire Race (all humanity, all elves,
Variable 9 -4 etc.): -15 points.
A Secret Identity is a special kind 12 -3 Every Living Being: -20 points.
of Secret (above): it is another persona 15 -2
that you use for deeds that you don’t You cannot claim points for a
want connected with your “public” Selfless 2 Sense of Duty toward Allies,
self. Only your closest family and -5 points* Dependents, or Patrons. The point
friends know, and you are willing to You are altruistic and self-sacrific- costs of these traits already take such a
go to great lengths to keep your priva- ing, and put little importance on per- bond into account.
cy. This is a disadvantage because it sonal fame and wealth. You must You can take a Sense of Duty
limits your behavior. It is difficult make a self-control roll to put your toward adventuring companions. If
(and often illegal) to maintain a Secret needs – even survival – before those of you do, you must share equipment
Identity. someone else. A Selfless race will have with and render aid to the other mem-
The GM will roll to see whether a “hive mentality.” bers of your adventuring party, and go
your Secret Identity factors into a along with majority decisions. The
game session, just as for any Secret. If Semi-Upright 31 GM might make this mandatory in
it does, this usually takes the form of -5 points games where the party needs to get
someone who threatens to expose You have a semi-upright posture, along. This gives everyone a “free” 5
your real identity. Anyone with Status like a chimpanzee. You can stand up points to spend . . . but if you start
3 or higher gets an extra -10 points for more-or-less comfortably, allowing backstabbing, running off on your
a Secret Identity, because of the atten- you to use your forelimbs to bash ene- own, etc., the GM is free to overrule
tion the media and public pay to his mies, hold babies, or even manipulate your actions and point to these bonus
every move, but the GM will introduce objects. You can manage a clumsy gait points as the reason why.
a challenge to his identity on a roll of while upright (-40% to Move), but you
7 or less instead of the usual 6 or less. must use all of your limbs to run at Shadow Form 31
A Secret Identity otherwise works full Move. If you have DX 12 or more, -20 points
just like any other Secret, its point you can carry a small object or two See p. 83. If you cannot turn this
value depending on the severity of the while walking. ability off, it is a disadvantage.
consequences should it be exposed.
Sense of Duty 2 Short Attention Span 2
Self-Destruct 31 -10 points*
-10 points -2 to -20 points You find it difficult to concentrate
You feel a strong sense of commit-
As soon as you reach your aging ment toward a particular class of peo- on a single task for longer than a few
threshold (age 50 for a normal ple. You will never betray them, aban- minutes. Make a self-control roll
human), your organs and immune don them when they’re in trouble, or whenever you must maintain interest
system begin to fail. You start to age let them suffer or go hungry if you can in something for an extended period
rapidly, making aging rolls every day help. This is different from a Duty of time, or whenever a distraction is
at -3 to HT. (p. 133), which is imposed upon you. offered. If you fail, you automatically
You cannot get points for both this A Sense of Duty always comes from fail at the task at hand. The GM might
disadvantage and Terminally Ill within. give you a small bonus to the self-con-
(p. 158). If you are going to self- If you are known to have a Sense of trol roll in situations where concentra-
destruct soon, take Terminally Ill Duty, the GM will adjust the reactions tion is crucial, such as when your
instead of Self-Destruct. survival is at stake.
of others by +2 when rolling to see


DISADVANTAGES 153

Short Lifespan Level Maturity Aging [Frequency of Aging Rolls]
31 0 (Human) 18 years 50 years [1 year] 70 years [6 months] 90 years [3 months]
1
35 years [3 months]
25 years [6 months]
9 years
45 years [45 days]
-10 points/level 2 4 years 12 years [3 months] 17 years [45 days] 22 years [22 days]
Your lifespan is 3 2 years 6 years [45 days] 8 years [22 days] 11 years [11 days]
much shorter than the 4 1 year 3 years [22 days] 4 years [11 days] 5 years [5 days]
human norm. Each
level of this disadvan-
tage halves your lifespan (round that success might be possible, in rough ground – if this happens, you
down). This affects the age at which which case you roll at -6. wake up suddenly and are mentally
you reach maturity, the ages at which This doesn’t necessarily imply low stunned.
aging rolls begin and increase in fre- IQ or Will. You might be intelligent You are considered to be in a hyp-
quency, and the interval between enough to obey the command, nagogic state while sleepwalking, and
aging rolls; see the table (above right). “Program the computer to detect thus are very susceptible to telepathic
No more than four levels are possible. quarks,” but if you were starving and influences. If you possess supernatu-
Short Lifespan is often found in con- found $10, you would have to roll vs. ral abilities, you might use these while
junction with Self-Destruct (p. 153). IQ-8 to decide to pick up the money sleepwalking (e.g., if you have Warp,
and go buy food without being told to you might “sleepwarp” instead).
Shyness 2 do so. Similarly, you might be strong-
-5, -10, or -20 points willed enough to make all your Fright Sleepy 31
Checks in the presence of terrifying Variable
You are uncomfortable around
strangers. Roleplay it! This disadvan- monsters, yet roll at Will-6 to resist the This is a racial trait. Members of
tage comes in three levels; you can buy unsubtle manipulations of an obvious the race need to sleep more than the
it off one level at a time. con man. human norm of 1/3 of the time. Point
This disadvantage is rarely appro- value depends on the fraction of the
Mild: You are uneasy with priate for PCs, and the GM may time they must spend asleep:
strangers, especially assertive or choose to forbid it entirely.
attractive ones. You have -1 on skills Time Spent Asleep Cost
that require you to deal with people, Sleepwalker 2 1/2 of the time -8 points
including Acting, Carousing, -5 points* 2/3 of the time -16 points
Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Intimidation, You walk in your sleep (“somnam- 3/4 of the time -20 points
Leadership, Merchant, Panhandling, bulate”). This is merely annoying or 7/8 of the time -26 points
Performance, Politics, Public embarrassing under most circum- The race’s precise schedule is a
Speaking, Savoir-Faire, Sex Appeal, stances (unless you fall down the “special effect.” For instance, a race
Streetwise, and Teaching. -5 points. stairs), but it can be very dangerous to that sleeps 3/4 of the time might be
Severe: You are very uncomfortable sleepwalk while encamped in awake and active for three days
around strangers, and tend to be quiet hostile territory! straight and then sleep for a full nine
even among friends. -2 the skills listed days.
above. -10 points.
Crippling: You avoid strangers
whenever possible. You may not learn
the skills listed above at all, and are
at -4 on default rolls on such skills. -20
points. Sleepwalking is merely annoying or
embarrassing under most circumstances,
Skinny but it can be very dangerous to sleepwalk
see p. 18
while encamped in hostile territory!
Slave Mentality 2
-40 points
You have no initiative, and become
confused and ineffectual without a
“master” to give you orders. You must If sleepwalking would matter dur- This trait can also represent hiber-
make an IQ roll at -8 before you can ing an adventure, the GM will make a nation. For instance, if a race is awake
take any action that isn’t either obey- self-control roll for you whenever you and active on a human schedule for
ing a direct order or part of an estab- go to sleep. If you fail, you sleepwalk six months, and then hibernates for
lished routine. As well, you automati- sometime during the night. You wake two months straight, then on the aver-
cally fail any Will roll to assert your- up after walking for 1d minutes, or if age, that’s equivalent to sleeping 1/2 of
self or resist social influence except in someone awakens you. The GM will the time.
circumstances where the GM rules make DX rolls to see if you trip while
going down stairs or walking over


154 DISADVANTAGES

Slow Eater 31 speech; or easily learned by anyone Ignorant: You have not learned a
who cares to check up on you (only skill required of all responsible adults
-10 points
valid in societies with free and easy in your society (that is, you have no
You spend a lot of your time eating. access to information); or the result of points in the skill). Others look down
Each meal takes about two hours, as public denouncement (e.g., by a pow- upon you as a slacker or a fool. This
opposed to about 1/2 hour for most erful leader or media figure) that gives -1 on reactions for each “expect-
humans. This reduces the time avail- ensures that everyone you meet knows ed” skill you lack, up to a maximum of
able for study, long tasks, and travel that you, personally, belong to the dis- four skills. This is only worth points in
on foot by 4 1/2 hours per day.
dained group. highly structured societies, or in prim-
Slow Healing 3 A Social Stigma gives you a reac- itive ones where individuals depend
tion penalty (-1 per -5 points of Social on one another for survival. -5
-5 points/level Stigma), restricts your social mobility, points/skill.
Your body heals very slowly. Each or both. Examples include: Minor: You are underage by your
level (maximum three levels) doubles culture’s standards. You suffer -2 on
the interval between HT rolls to regain Criminal Record: You have been reaction rolls whenever you try to deal
lost HP: roll every two days for Slow convicted of a crime that your society with others as an adult; they might
Healing 1, every four days for Slow considers serious. You may be prohib- like you, but they do not fully respect
Healing 2, and every eight days for ited from legally acquiring certain you. You might also be barred from
Slow Healing 3. Take Unhealing items (e.g., weapons), taking certain nightclubs, vehicle operation, war par-
(p. 160) if you heal even more slowly. kinds of employment, receiving secu- ties, guild membership, etc., depend-
Each level also doubles the time rity clearances, or even traveling out- ing on the culture and setting. You
allowed between Physician rolls side your country. Many noncriminals must buy off this trait when you reach
when under the care of a competent who learn of your past react at -1; “legal age” (usually 18) for your time
physician (see Medical Care, p. 424). police, judges, vigilantes, and other and place. -5 points.
Normal humans may take no more law-and-order types usually react Minority Group: You are a member
than one level of Slow Healing. at -2. If you are also wanted, take an of a minority that the dominant cul-
appropriate Enemy. -5 points. ture around you regards as “barbar-
Slow Riser 3 Disowned: Your family has pub- ians” or “inferior.” You get -2 on all
-5 points licly snubbed you. This is only worth reaction rolls made by anyone except
points in settings where family ties
You are not a “morning person.” play a significant social role, and your own kind. In an area, profession,
For one hour after you awaken from never applies to those who voluntarily or situation where your minority is
any sleep longer than a one-hour nap, part ways with their family. This especially rare, you get +2 on reaction
you have -2 on all self-control rolls Social Stigma comes in two levels: rolls made by your own kind. -10
and -1 to IQ and IQ-based skills. points.
Furthermore, whenever the GM • You would normally be an heir in Monster: You are a large carnivore,
assesses attribute penalties for missed your culture, but someone else has magical abomination, or other being
sleep, you suffer an extra -1. been named in your stead. This is that is hated or feared regardless of
embarrassing, but you may still count actual appearance or disposition. This
Social Disease 3 yourself as part of the family. This gives you -3 on all reaction rolls, and
-5 points gives -1 on reaction rolls. -5 points. you are liable to be hunted on sight.
• The head of your family – or your However, you get +3 to Intimidation
You have contracted a contagious, rolls in situations where you have the
antibiotic-resistant bacteria, retro- entire clan – has wholly and publicly upper hand (GM’s opinion). Examples:
virus, or similar disease. This is only disowned you. This gives -2 on reac- a bear or a vampire. -15 points.
transmitted by close, unprotected tion rolls. -10 points. Second-Class Citizen: You belong to
physical contact. Those who know Excommunicated: Your church has a group that receives fewer rights and
about it react to you at -1 and auto- cast you out. Followers of your faith privileges than “full citizens.” This
matically resist your seduction react to you at -3. This is only a disad- gives -1 on all reaction rolls except
attempts. The disease isn’t fatal – at vantage if you are excommunicated by from others of your own kind.
least not immediately – but may pro- a powerful and widespread religion Examples: a woman in 19th-century
duce physical symptoms (left to the (most likely state-backed) that plays a America, or members of some reli-
imagination of the player or GM). significant role in day-to-day life. -5 gions. -5 points.
points.
Subjugated: You are a member of a
Social Stigma 4 If your religion has true supernatu- slave nation or race. Within the over-
-5 to -20 points ral power, and you are surrounded by lords’ culture, you have no rights, and
You belong to a race, class, sex, or an aura that conveys your shame to suffer the negative effects of Second-
other group that your society deems co-religionists, angels, and anyone Class Citizen and Valuable Property. If
inferior. To be worth points, this must else who would care, no matter how you manage to escape to freedom, you
be obvious from your physical appear- well you disguise yourself, your Social acquire the entire overlord nation or
ance (a visible brand, tattoo, or magi- Stigma is worth twice as much. -10 race as an Enemy. -20 points.
cal mark counts), dress, manner, or points.



DISADVANTAGES 155

Uneducated: You are from a class, Split Personality 2 Squeamish 2
race, or subculture that lacks a cultur- -15 points* -10 points*
al repository of wisdom, eschews for-
mal schooling, and takes a dim view of You have two or more distinct per- You dislike “yucky stuff”: little bugs
activities that do not relate directly to sonalities, each with its own set of and crawly things, blood and dead
survival or procreation. You receive -1 behavior patterns. They may interpret bodies, slime, etc. When exposed to
to reactions from more sophisticated their memories differently, and even such things, you react just as if you
folk in any situation where your lack use different names. had a Phobia; see Phobias, p. 148.
of schooling would be apparent, and For each personality, select a Note that you do not suffer from the
you may not start with any “book- “package” of mental disadvantages standard fears of insects, reptiles, dirt,
learned” skills (GM’s discretion; most and up to five quirks. The GM may and the dead! What bothers you isn’t
IQ/Hard skills qualify). You may buy also permit variations in IQ, huge bugs or reptiles, ordinary “clean”
off this trait once you have lived in Perception, Will, and mental advan- dirt, and ghosts; it’s nasty creepy
“civilized” parts for long enough tages, where these would make sense. things, filth, and bits of grue.
(GM’s decision). -5 points. Each package of mental traits must be Status
Valuable Property: Your society worth the same number of points.
regards you as somebody’s property When calculating the value of your see p. 28
rather than as a “legal person.” This character, count the “package price” Status below 0 is a disadvantage.
takes the form of limited freedom or once – not once for each personality. Almost everyone reacts negatively to
lack of intellectual respect more than All your personalities have the same you!
as a reaction modifier. Examples: a physical traits and skills (although
woman in 18th-century America or some personalities might not use cer- Stress Atavism 21
16th-century Japan. -10 points. tain skills), and share any mental Variable*
trait that is not part of one of these
Social Stigmas must bind those packages. This disadvantage is normally
who take them. For example, a available only to characters who are
medieval Japanese lady must pay for Example: Bob Smith has three per- members of races “uplifted” from an
her 10-point bonus by giving up her sonalities. “Col. Smith” is a stern dis- animal state.
freedom of movement in many cases, ciplinarian with Delusion (“I am a mil- You temporarily “regress” when
and must defer to older male relatives itary officer”) [-10], Code of Honor frightened, angered, fatigued, or
when they are present. A black slave in (Soldier’s) [-10], and the quirk “Stands injured. Make a self-control roll in
19th-century America is allowed to on ceremony” [-1]. “Bobby” is a party those situations. On a failure, you
learn very little and own almost no animal with -2 to Will [-10], behave like an animal, acting on
property, and has little freedom of any Compulsive Carousing (6) [-10], and impulse and instinct.
kind unless he manages to escape. (If the quirk “Sleeps all day and goes out Once the stressful situation has
he does escape, he has traded his at night” [-1]. “Smitty” is a trouble- passed, make a self-control roll every
Social Stigma for a powerful Enemy!) maker with Overconfidence (12) [-5], minute. If friends comfort you, roll at
It is possible to have multiple Trickster [-15], and the quirk “Steals +2. If one of these people has Animal
Social Stigmas, provided they do not for fun” [-1]. All three personalities Empathy or Empathy, apply an addi-
significantly overlap (GM’s decision). share all of Bob’s other traits. Each tional +2. On a success, the attack
For instance, a teenager who drops package totals -21 points. Bob’s player ends and you return to normal. If you
out of school and joins a street gang claims the -21 points once. With -15 pass out from fatigue or injury before
could believably end up with Minor, points for Split Personality (12), the you succeed, you recover automatical-
Uneducated, and Criminal Record. total point value is -36 points. ly when you wake up.
You must make a self-control roll Point value depends on the severity
Space Sickness 3 in any stressful situation (but no more of the attacks:
-10 points than once per hour of game time). On
Mild: You have trouble speaking,
You are miserable in free fall. You a failure, one of your other personali- and must roll vs. IQ to utter a sen-
can never learn Free Fall skill; you ties emerges, and you behave accord- tence. You cannot operate complicat-
must always roll at default. In addi- ing to its mental disadvantages and ed machinery, although you may
tion, you are at -4 on your HT roll to quirks. If there are several possibili- attack wildly with weapons (-4 to
avoid “space adaptation syndrome” ties, the GM should either choose a hit). -10 points.*
(see p. 434) – and if you fail the first personality appropriate to the situa- Moderate: You suffer from all of the
HT roll, the only way for you to recov- tion or roll randomly. above problems, and have trouble
er is to return to normal gravity. All your personalities are some- understanding commands from oth-
This trait is only allowed in what shallow and affected, which ers as well: roll vs. IQ to understand a
campaigns that feature regular space gives -1 to reactions at all times. Those sentence spoken by someone else. If
travel. who witness a personality change will you are attacked or challenged, you
feel (possibly with justification) that
you are a dangerous nutcase, and must make a self-control roll to avoid
react at -3. acting “on instinct.” -15 points.*



156 DISADVANTAGES

Severe: You cannot speak or under- Appearance, p. 21). You cannot get soul! -2 on reaction rolls made by
stand others, or use tools (except pos- points for Supernatural Features if those who notice; +2 on all rolls to
sibly as clubs), and automatically act you are Monstrous or Horrific, howev- deduce your secret. -10 points.
on instinct at all times. You behave er. If you look that scary, you’re not
like your primitive ancestors! -20 hiding any secrets!
points.*
Stress Atavism may result in addi-
tional troublesome behavior. Pick a
suitable mental disadvantage, halve its
value (drop all fractions), and add this
point cost to the above costs before
applying the self-control multiplier.
Stubbornness 2
-5 points
You always want your own way.
Make yourself generally hard to get
along with – roleplay it! Your friends
may have to make a lot of Fast-Talk
rolls to get you to go along with per-
fectly reasonable plans. Others react
to you at -1.
Stuttering 3
-10 points
You suffer from a stammer or
other speech impediment. This
gives -2 on any reaction roll where
conversation is required, and -2 to
Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Performance,
Public Speaking, Sex Appeal, and
Singing. Certain occupations (inter-
preter, newsreader, etc.) are always
closed to you.
Supernatural Features
35
Variable
You have disturbing features that
mark you as a demon, vampire, or
other supernatural being. You can
pass for a normal mortal to casual
observers, but closer inspection
reveals that you are not quite right.
This might give away your secret to
the trained eye. No Body Heat: You are cold to the No Shadow: You produce no shad-
Supernatural Features differ from touch. -1 on reaction rolls made by ow, regardless of the intensity or
Unnatural Features (p. 22) in that they those who touch you, shake your direction of the light source. -2 on
aren’t usually obvious; they only hand, kiss you, etc.; +1 on all rolls to reaction rolls made by those who
become apparent under a specific set deduce your secret. -5 points (-1 point notice; +2 on all rolls to deduce your
of circumstances. When they are if you can gain warmth temporarily; secret. -10 points.
noticed, though, they result in a reac- e.g., after feeding, for a vampire). Pallor: You look like a corpse, with
tion penalty. They also give those who No Reflection: You produce no bloodless skin, sunken eyes, etc. -2 on
know what to look for a bonus to any reflection. You do not show up in mir- reaction rolls made by anyone who
skill roll (against Hidden Lore, rors, still water, and similar reflective can see you without makeup in good
Occultism, etc.) made to identify your surfaces, and technological devices light; +2 on all rolls to deduce your
true nature. such as cameras do not display your secret. -10 points (-5 points if you can
Supernatural Features can accom- image. In some places and times, gain the flush of life temporarily; e.g.,
pany appearance levels Hideous people will assume that you have no after feeding, for a vampire).
through Transcendent (see Physical

DISADVANTAGES 157

Supersensitive 25 Point cost depends on the item’s More than two years is worth noth-
rarity in the environment: ing. Anyone might be hit by a truck in
-15 points that time!
You are telepathically sensitive to Very Common (e.g., Disease, If you acquire a “miracle cure,”
the presence of others all the time. You Poison): -4 points/-1 to HT rolls. upload yourself into a new body, or
experience a constant, irritating buzz Common (e.g., Bacteria, Gases): -2 otherwise extend your life past your
of low-level psychic noise. This does points/-1 to HT rolls. termination date during the course of
not imply any kind of useful telepath- Occasional (e.g., Intestinal Disease, the campaign, you must buy off this
ic ability – the thoughts and emotions Ingested Poison): -1 point/-1 to HT disadvantage. If you cannot afford to
you receive remain just below the rolls. do so, the GM is free to make up the
threshold of conscious understanding. You may not take more than five difference with new disadvantages
If there are any sapient beings (IQ levels of Susceptible to a given item, or related to your illness or its cure (e.g.,
6+) with 20 yards, you suffer -1 to DX more than two separate Susceptible Chronic Pain, Dependency, Mainten -
and IQ. This becomes -2 for 10 or more disadvantages, without the GM’s per- ance, or Susceptible).
people, -3 for 100 or more, -4 for 1,000 mission. You cannot take more levels If the GM is running a one-shot
or more, and so on. If DX or IQ drops of Susceptible than would reduce your adventure or short campaign, he
below half its original score because of effective HT to 3. For instance, if your should disallow this disadvantage as
this penalty, you collapse and can take HT is 7, you are limited to four levels meaningless.
no action until the “noise” goes away. of Susceptible. If you have any form of
Machine intelligences and individuals
behind telepathic shielding (psionic,
technological, or otherwise) do not
bother you.
There is one beneficial side effect
to Supersensitive: the psychic noise A Trademark is an action separate from
you receive warns you if there are peo-
ple within 20 yards, and the noise level capturing the crooks, committing the
tells you roughly how many. The noise
is too diffuse to let you determine their crime, etc. Destroying files on a computer
locations, however.
is not a Trademark; trashing them by
Susceptible 3 substituting a “7” for each “5” is.
Variable
You are extremely sensitive to a
particular class of noxious items or
substances; e.g., disease or poison.
You have a penalty to all HT rolls to
resist the negative effects of these Resistant (p. 80) that protects against
things. You do not suffer extra dam- a given item, you cannot also be Timesickness 3
age, however; for that, see Susceptible to that item. -10 points
Vulnerability (p. 161). This trait can simulate many com- Time travel, dimension travel, and
If you are exposed to trace quanti- mon health problems. Use Susceptible teleportation make you ill. You cannot
ties of an item to which you are to Disease for a weak immune system, have psionic talents, magic spells, or
Susceptible – a dose so tiny that it Susceptible to Ingested Poison for a technological skills that have to do
would not affect most people – you tendency not to vomit up noxious sub- with this kind of travel, nor can you
must roll against HT+1, modified by stances (a “weak vomit reflex”), etc. learn the Body Sense skill. You must
your usual penalty for this disadvan- make a HT roll whenever you journey
tage. If you fail, you suffer half the Terminally Ill 3 through time or across dimensions,
effects (fatigue, injury, attribute loss, -50, -75, or -100 points and whenever you teleport. On a fail-
period of incapacitation, etc.) you You are going to die . . . soon. This ure, you are effectively stunned for 1d
would suffer from a full dose. For could be due to a nasty disease, a hours (doubled on a critical failure!).
instance, Susceptible to Poison would potent curse, an irremovable explosive On a success, you are only stunned for
require a roll if you ingested highly device embedded in the base of your 1d¥10 minutes.
diluted industrial waste in drinking skull, or something else that will result Timesickness is only allowed if
water, while Susceptible to Disease in certain death. Point cost depends dimension travel, teleportation, or
would require a roll if you received a on how much time you have left: time travel occur regularly in the
“live” vaccine (one that contains weak- campaign. The GM may wish to per-
ened microbes). Should there be any Time Until Death Cost mit a variation on this trait in settings
doubt as to exposure or effects, the Up to one month -100 points with faster-than-light hyperdrives
GM’s decision is final. Up to one year -75 points (“Hypersickness”) or jump drives
Up to two years -50 points (“Jump Sickness”).



158 DISADVANTAGES

Total Klutz minimum of 30 seconds. Anyone Trademark; trashing them by substi-
see Klutz, p. 141 searching the scene receives +2 to tuting a “7” for each “5” is.
Criminology and Forensics rolls to
Trademark 2 trace or identify you. -10 points. Trickster 2
Elaborate: Your trademark is so -15 points*
-5 to -15 points elaborate – dousing the captured You crave the excitement of out-
You have a special symbol – some- thugs with a certain cologne, painting witting dangerous foes. This is not
thing that you leave at the scene of the entire crime scene pink, writing a ordinary practical joking. Playing sim-
action, as a way of “signing your long poem to the police – that it virtu- ple tricks on innocent or harmless folk
work.” The classic fictional example is ally ensures your eventual capture. is no fun at all – it has to be perilous!
the carved initial “Z” of Zorro. The GM may give investigators clues There may be no need for this at all (in
without a successful Criminology or
Simple: Your Trademark takes very fact, there probably isn’t), but you
little time to leave and cannot be used Forensics roll! -15 points. need the thrill of a battle of wits and
to trace your identity, but you You may have only one dexterity.
absolutely must leave it. You cannot Trademark. Multiple actions (e.g., Make a self-control roll each day. If
leave the scene until you do, even if binding your victims with purple you fail, you must try to trick a dan-
your enemies are breaking down the phone wire, painting a frog on the gerous subject: a skilled warrior, a
door. A typical example is something wall, and wrecking every computer in dangerous monster, a whole group of
left at the scene – a playing card, a the building) simply give you a higher reasonably competent opponents, etc.
small stuffed animal, etc. – as long as level of Trademark – they are not mul- If you resist, you get a cumulative -1
it can’t be traced and takes little tiple Trademarks. per day to your self-control roll until
time. -5 points. Note also that a Trademark is an you finally fail a roll!
Complex: As above, but leaving action separate from capturing the
your Trademark measurably increases crooks, committing the crime, etc. It’s Truthfulness 2
your chances of being caught – initial the particular way that it is done. -5 points*
carving, notes, traceable clues, etc. Destroying files on a computer is not a You hate to tell a lie – or you are
Leaving this sort of Trademark takes a just very bad at it. Make a self-control
roll whenever you must keep silent
about an uncomfortable truth (lying
by omission). Roll at -5 if you actually
have to tell a falsehood! If you fail, you
blurt out the truth, or stumble so
much that your lie is obvious. You
have a permanent -5 to Fast Talk skill,
and your Acting skill is at -5 when
your purpose is to deceive.
Uncontrollable Appetite
25
-15 points*
You consume something that you
must obtain from other sapient beings
through force or guile, and you have
difficulty controlling your appetites.
You must specify what it is you crave.
This could be blood, “life force,” sex,
or anything else the GM permits.
Whenever you have an opportunity
to indulge, you must make a self-con-
trol roll. Roll at -2 if someone deliber-
ately tempts you, or if the item you
feed on is available in large quantities
within range of your senses. If feeding
would restore lost HP, this roll is at -1
per missing HP. If you fail, you must
feed. Make a second self-control roll to
stop feeding once you have had your
fill. If you fail, you go into frenzy and
overindulge, which could kill your
victim.


DISADVANTAGES 159

Unfit 3 Depending on your nature, you is fine. (For lethally bad luck, see
might be able to regain lost HP and Cursed, p. 129.)
-5 or -15 points
the use of crippled limbs unnaturally If you wish, you may specify a
You have worse cardiovascular through surgery, repairs (if you’re a recurring “theme” for your
health than your HT alone would indi- machine), or exotic means (healing Unluckiness – for instance, your
cate. This comes in two levels:
spells, alchemy, psionics, etc.). weapons tend to break, you’re always
Unfit: You get -1 to all HT rolls to 5 minutes late, or objects have a nasty
remain conscious, avoid death, resist Unique 25 habit of falling on your head. The GM
disease or poison, etc. This does not -5 points should do his best to make your
reduce your HT attribute or HT-based You exist only in one timeline. If a Unluckiness work this way. However,
skills! As well, you lose FP at twice the time paradox occurs, you have no this is a characterization tool and not
normal rate. -5 points. memory of it. If it is particularly a hard-and-fast game mechanic. Bad
Very Unfit: As above, but the penal- severe, you are likely to vanish. In luck can always manifest in other
ty to HT rolls is -2. In addition, you most settings, you would be unaware ways if the GM wants to keep you on
recover FP at only half the normal rate. of this danger until it happened . .. your toes!
You may not purchase any level of and then nobody would even remem-
Resistant (p. 80). -15 points. ber you! Thus, this disadvantage is Unnatural Features
usually inappropriate for PCs. see p. 22
Unusual Biochemistry
31
You have rotten luck. If the plot of the -5 points
adventure calls for something bad to happen You can subsist on human food,
to someone, it’s you. The GM may not kill you but your biochemistry is sufficiently
different from that of humans that
outright with “bad luck,” but anything less than drugs intended for humans don’t work
that is fine. or have unpredictable effects. Drugs
that are specific to your biochemistry
work normally, but cost 10 times as
much as usual.
In an alternate-world campaign, When you receive a drug intended
In both cases, this disadvantage for humans, roll 1d:
applies only to FP lost to exertion, being Unique means that you do not
heat, etc. It has no effect on FP “spent” exist in any form in an alternate world, 1-3 – Normal effect.
to power psi or magic spells. even one very much like your own. 4-5 – Normal effect, plus an addi-
This deprives you of the chance to tional harmful effect of the GM’s
Unhealing 31 befriend “yourself” when you visit such choosing: lose 1d FP (sickness and
-20 or -30 points a world. There is one benefit, though: nausea), suffer an amplified version of
you are effectively Zeroed (p. 100) at
You cannot heal naturally. You get no point cost in any alternate world. the drug’s usual negative side effects,
no daily HT roll to recover lost HP, Unique is only a disadvantage in etc.
and you cannot recuperate from crip- campaigns in which paradoxes or 6 – No effect at all.
pling injuries on your own. The First changes in history – erasing past Very Fat
Aid skill can stop your bleeding, but events or whole timelines – are possi-
neither it nor the Physician skill can ble. See Temporal Inertia (p. 93) for the see p. 19
restore missing HP. Technologies that opposite of this trait.
accelerate natural healing (including Very Unfit
herbs, drugs, etc.) are useless. This Unluckiness 2 see Unfit, above
trait comes in two levels:
-10 points Vow 2
Partial: You can heal naturally if a You have rotten luck. Things go
rare condition is met (e.g., when you wrong for you – and usually at the -5 to -15 points
are immersed in blood or bathed in worst possible time. Once per play ses- You have sworn an oath to do (or
lava). You can also heal yourself by sion, the GM will arbitrarily and mali- not to do) something. Whatever the
stealing HP from others using ciously make something go wrong for oath, you take it seriously; if you didn’t,
Vampiric Bite (p. 96), magic, or psion- you. You miss a vital die roll, or the it would not be a disadvantage. This
ics. -20 points. enemy (against all odds) shows up at trait is especially appropriate for
Total: You can never heal naturally, the worst possible time. If the plot of knights, holy men, and fanatics.
and you cannot steal HP from others. the adventure calls for something bad The point value of a Vow should be
-30 points. to happen to someone, it’s you. The directly related to the inconvenience it
GM may not kill you outright with causes you. The GM is the final judge.
“bad luck,” but anything less than that Some examples:


160 DISADVANTAGES

Minor Vow: Silence during daylight Use the categories under Limited Common (e.g., smoke, nearby
hours; vegetarianism; chastity (yes, for Defenses (p. 46) to assess rarity. The magic, horses, loud noises): ¥2.
game purposes, this is minor). -5 GM has the final say on the rarity of a Very Common (e.g., sunlight, living
points. given attack form. You may not take plants): ¥3.
Major Vow: Use no edged weapons; more than two types of Vulnerability
keep silence at all times; never sleep without GM permission. Example: An anaerobic organism
indoors; own no more than your horse You cannot have Vulnerability to takes 1d per minute from oxygen. The
can carry. -10 points. anything against which you have a base value of a Weakness that inflicts
Great Vow: Never refuse any specific defense: Resistant, Damage 1d per minute is -20 points. Since oxy-
request for aid; always fight with the Resistance limited to work only gen is “Very Common,” final cost
wrong hand; hunt a given foe until you against that attack form, etc. You can is -60 points.
destroy him; challenge every knight have both Vulnerability and You may not take more than two
you meet to combat. -15 points. Supernatural Durability (p. 89), but types of Weakness without GM
this reduces the utility of Supernatural permission.
Note that if you could represent Durability.
your Vow using another disadvantage, Special Limitations
you only get points for one of the two Special Limitations Fatigue Only: Your Weakness
disadvantages (your choice). No one Fatigue Only: You are vulnerable to drains FP instead of HP. -50%.
may get points for Vow (Poverty) and an attack that drains FP instead of HP, Variable: Your Weakness is sensi-
Wealth (Dead Broke), Vow (Never kill) or to some form of mundane fatigue tive to received intensity. You may
and Pacifism (Cannot Kill), etc. loss (e.g., ¥2 FP from hot weath- specify one relatively common class of
Many Vows end after a specified er). -50%. barriers that halves the rate at which
period of time. You must buy off such you take damage (e.g., heavy clothing
a Vow when it ends. Vows for a period Weak Bite 31 or sunscreen, for sunlight). On the
of less than a year are frivolous! If you -2 points other hand, intense sources (GM’s
want to end a Vow before its stated Your jaw is not structured to make decision) double the rate at which you
time, the GM may exact a penalty; for full use of your strength while biting. suffer harm! -40%.
instance, in a medieval world, you Calculate biting damage normally,
might have to undertake a quest by then apply an extra -2 per die. This Wealth
way of penance. trait is common for large herbivores see p. 25
(e.g., horses), uncommon for small Below-average levels of Wealth are
Vulnerability 31 herbivores and omnivores, and very a disadvantage; be sure to note them
Variable rare for carnivores. on your character sheet.
You take extra damage from a par-
ticular attack form. Whenever this Weakness 31 Weirdness Magnet 25
type of attack hits you, the GM applies Variable -15 points
a special wounding multiplier to dam- You suffer injury merely by being Strange and bizarre things happen
age that penetrates your DR. Regular in the presence of a particular sub- to you with alarming frequency. You
wounding multipliers (for cutting, stance or condition (which cannot be are the one demons stop and chat
impaling, etc.) further multiply the a food item or something equally easy with. Magic items with disturbing
damage. to avoid). This injury comes off your properties find their way to you. The
HP directly, regardless of your DR or only talking dog on 21st-century Earth
Example: A werewolf with
Vulnerability (Silver ¥4) is nicked with defensive advantages. The more comes to you with his problems.
a silver knife for 1 point of cutting quickly you take damage, the more Dimensional gates sealed for centuries
damage. The GM multiplies this by 4 points your Weakness is worth: crack open just so that you can be
for Vulnerability, giving 4 points of Frequency of Damage Value bathed in the energies released . . . or
damage, and then multiplies by 1.5 for 1d per minute -20 points perhaps the entities on the other side
a cutting attack. The final injury is 6 1d per 5 minutes -10 points invite you to tea.
HP. 1d per 30 minutes -5 points Nothing lethal happens to you, at
least not immediately, and occasional-
Point value depends on the wound- Multiply the base value to reflect ly some weirdness is beneficial. But
ing multiplier and the rarity of the the rarity of the damaging substance most of the time it is terribly, terribly
attack: or condition: inconvenient. People who understand
what a Weirdness Magnet is (and that
Vulnerability Table Rare (e.g., exot- you are one) react to you at -2. The
ic radiation or
Rarity of Wounding Multiplier exceptions are parapsychologists,
Attack ¥2 ¥3 ¥4 minerals): ¥1/2. fringe cultists, unhinged conspiracy
Rare -10 points -15 points -20 points O c c a s i o n a l theorists, and thrill-seekers, who
Occasional -20 points -30 points -40 points (e.g., microwave follow you around!
Common -30 points -45 points -60 points radiation, intense
Very Common -40 points -60 points -80 points normal cold, air-
borne pollen): ¥1.

DISADVANTAGES 161

Workaholic 2
-5 points
You tend to drive yourself past Example of Character Creation (cont’d)
your limits, and find it hard to relax Dai believes he can steal anything and escape any situation. He defi-
and turn away from your work. You nitely suffers from Overconfidence (p. 148)! This trait is worth “-5
always work at least half again as long points*.” The “*” indicates a trait that requires a self-control number. To
as a normal working day. This often avoid crippling Dai, we decide that he can set his attitude aside to weigh
results in missed sleep (see Missed risks “quite often,” or on a 12 or less. Overconfidence (12) is worth the list-
Sleep, p. 426). Most people regard you ed cost: -5 points.
with respect at first (+1 to reaction To play up Dai’s twitchy, catlike side, we decide that because of his
rolls), but you eventually suffer -1 or -2 high Perception and Danger Sense, almost any little disturbance wakes
to reactions – especially from friends him up. This gives him Light Sleeper (p. 142), for -5 points.
and loved ones who rarely get to spend Finally, since an overconfident thief isn’t a typical team player, Dai
time with you.
needs a reason to stay with ISWAT. We decide that he has come to see
Wounded 3 those in his squad as a replacement for the “family” slain by the Thieves’
Guild. Although he’d never admit it, he would die rather than let anything
-5 points bad happen to this family. We represent this with a Sense of Duty (p. 153)
You have an open wound that will to his squad – a small group – for -5 points.
not completely heal, for whatever rea- These disadvantages come to -15 points. This lowers Dai’s running
son (botched surgery, backfired heal- point total to 208 points.
ing spell, etc.). You are not missing Note that when we looked at Dai’s wealth and influence, we chose
any HP, but your wound serves as a Duty (ISWAT; 15 or less; Extremely Hazardous) and Wealth (Poor) –
path for infection and toxins, and may another -35 points of disadvantages. And Dai also got -20 points for ST 8
complicate new injuries. and -6 points for FP 10. In a campaign with a disadvantage limit, the
A foe who knows about your entire -76 points from these traits would count against the limit.
wound may deliberately target it, at -7
to hit. Such attacks have a wounding
multiplier of 1.5 (that is, you take 50%
more damage). Blood agents that
reach your wound affect you as if car- Xenophilia 2 Man Was Not Meant To Know while
ried on a weapon that broke your skin. -10 points* his companions are pointing weapons
You must carefully dress your wound or running the other way . ..
each day (requires a First Aid or You are instinctively fascinated As partial compensation, you get a
Physician roll) or get -3 to all HT rolls and attracted by strangers and aliens, bonus to Fright Checks when meeting
to resist infection in a plague-ridden no matter how dangerous or strange creatures
area. frightening they appear to be. Make a Self-Control Bonus
At the GM’s option, you may self-control roll whenever you meet Number
acquire a wound like this in play due someone (or something) like this. If 6 +4
to torture, scalping, etc. Certain you fail, you assume that this person 9 +3
wounds have other effects; for is interested in interacting with you 12 +2
instance, scalping would cost you a socially. A xenophile finds himself 15 +1
level of appearance. offering drinks to glaring foreign sol-
diers, making passes at cute vampires, NPCs with this trait will react to
and shaking tentacles with Things
exotic PCs at a similar bonus.

QUIRKS



A “quirk” is a minor feature that spend. You can also “buy off” a quirk
sets you aside from others. It has a later on by paying 1 point, but as a MENTAL QUIRKS
negative point value, but it is not nec- rule, you shouldn’t do that. Quirks Mental quirks are minor personali-
essarily a disadvantage. For instance, might have a small cost, but they are ty traits. They are a contract between
a major trait like Greed is a disadvan- a big part of what makes a character you and the GM: “I agree to roleplay
tage. But if you insist on being paid in seem “real”! these character foibles. In return, you
gold, that’s a quirk. Quirks can be either mental or agree to give me a few extra points to
You may take up to five quirks physical. This distinction implies for spend.” However, you must roleplay
at -1 point apiece . . . and if you do, quirks exactly what it implies for them. If you take the quirk “Dislikes
you will have five more points to advantages and disadvantages. heights,” but blithely climb trees and




162 DISADVANTAGES

cliffs whenever you need to, the GM out in the course of the game; it cannot Broad-Minded
will penalize you for bad roleplaying. be totally passive. A trivial form of Xenophilia (p. 162).
The points you lose this way will cost • It gives you a small penalty very You get along well with other races and
you much more than you earned for occasionally, or to a narrow set of species, and strange looks rarely bother
taking the quirk. So don’t choose a actions. Negotiate the game effects you.
quirk you aren’t willing to roleplay! with the GM. You may take almost any Careful
This doesn’t mean the GM should be mundane mental disadvantage at
inflexible about mental quirks. A player quirk level, in which case the rules for A quirk-level version of Cowardice
should be allowed to change a quirk if that disadvantage are used as guide- (p. 129). You are naturally cautious,
something happens during play to jus- lines, although the effects will be much always on the lookout for danger. You
tify a noticeable change in his charac- less severe. dedicate extra time and money to
ter’s personality. The GM should also preparations before venturing into a
allow players to leave a few of their five Example: “Wears black” is not a dangerous situation.
“quirk slots” open during character cre- valid quirk – it is completely passive, Chauvinistic
ation and fill them in after the first cou- and there are no negative side effects. An extremely low level of Intolerance
ple of play sessions. The most interest- “Dresses like the stereotypical necro- (p. 140). You are always aware of differ-
ing quirks often emerge as the result of mancer” is a permissible quirk if the ences in sex, skin color, etc. even if you
roleplaying! player and GM agree that it gives -1 to do not actually react poorly to others.
To qualify as a mental quirk, a reactions from unusually pious folk. Thin-skinned individuals might occa-
personality trait must meet one of two Attentive sionally react to you at -1 as a result.
criteria: You tend to stick to one task until Code of Honor
it’s done. You get a +1 bonus when
• It requires a specific action, working on lengthy tasks, but -3 to You may take a minor Code of
behavior, or choice on your part from notice any important interruption! Honor (p. 127) as a quirk. For instance,
time to time. This need not take hours, you might insist on exhibiting “gentle-
or be especially inconvenient, but it manly” behavior toward all females, or
must be something that you can act spurning “chauvinistic” behavior from
all males.

















































DISADVANTAGES 163

Congenial Incompetence goal. For instance, you hope to get just
This is a milder version of Chummy You are inept at one specific skill. enough money to buy a farm (or boat,
(p. 126). You like company and you You cannot learn that skill, and your or spaceship, or castle) of your own.
work well with others. You always default is at an extra -4. You cannot be Personality Change
choose group action over individual incompetent in a single specialty of a This is quirk-level Split Personality
action. skill; if you are incompetent with (p. 156). You suffer from a full-blown
Guns, for instance, you are incom -
Delusions mental disadvantage, but only in cir-
You may take a completely trivial petent with all guns. The GM may dis- cumstances that are normally under
Delusion (p. 130) as a quirk. This does allow Incompetence if the skill would your control; e.g., Bully when you
not affect your everyday behavior, and be irrelevant to a given character, or is drink too much, or Pyromania when
is unlikely to be noticed by casual unlikely to play a role in the campaign. you cast your Create Fire spell.
acquaintances, but you must believe it! Likes Proud
Examples: “The Earth is flat.” “The If you like something, you will seek This is Selfish (p. 153) at quirk
Pentagon controls the Boy Scouts and it out whenever possible. Gadgets, kit- level. Individual success, wealth, or
the health food stores.” “Socks cause tens, shiny knives, ceramic owls, fine social standing concerns you greatly.
diseases of the feet.” art . . . whatever. This is not a compul- NPCs with this quirk react at -1 to
Dislikes sion – just a preference. orders, insults, or social slights.
You can have any of the Phobias on Minor Addiction Responsive
p. 148 at the level of a mere “dislike.” If You may take Addiction (p. 122) as A mild case of Charitable (p. 125).
you dislike something, you must avoid a quirk, if you are addicted to a drug You are able to imagine the feelings
it whenever possible, but it does not that causes psychological dependency and motivations of others – and all
actually harm you as a Phobia would. and works out to 0 points under the other things being equal, you are
Dislikes don’t have to be watered-down Addiction rules. inclined to help them.
Phobias. There is a whole world full of Nosy
things to dislike: carrots, cats, neckties, A lesser version of Curious (p. 129). Staid
violence, telephones, telephone You are always poking your nose into You may take this very low level of
solicitors, income tax . .. Incurious (p. 140) as a quirk. You are
corners and everyone else’s business likely to ignore matters that don’t
Distractible (which is likely to result in a small immediately affect you.
Quirk-level Short Attention Span reaction penalty once in a while).
(p. 153). You are easily distracted, and Obsessions Trademark
don’t do well on long-term projects. You may take an almost-rational A quirk-level Trademark (p. 159)
You are at -1 when rolling to accom- and not especially unusual Obsession takes almost no time to leave, cannot
plish long tasks. be used to trace your identity, and can
(p. 146) as a quirk, to reflect a minor be overlooked when inconvenient.
Dreamer
You have a -1 on any long task,
because you tend to spend time think-
ing of better ways to do it, rather than
working.
Dull Example of Character Creation (cont’d)
You are not quite Hidebound Now it’s time to define Dai’s quirks – five minor character traits that
(p. 138), but you tend to stick with help to define his personality. We choose the following:
tried and true methods.
1. “Dislikes deep water.” Thieves’ Guild enforcers threw the young Dai
Habits or Expressions
Saying “Jehoshaphat!” or “Bless off a pier, and he nearly drowned. To this day, he is leery of deep water.
my collar-button” constantly. . . or car- 2. “Loves high places.” Given Dai’s gifts, he can get to some very high
rying a silver piece that you flip into places indeed. When he cases a joint, he always wants a view from the top.
the air . . . or never sitting with your 3. “No drugs or alcohol.” Dai is no Puritan, but growing up on the
back to the door. streets he saw too many people destroy themselves that way.
4. “Sensitive about his height.” Dai is self-assured, but he cannot deny
Humble one physical shortcoming: he isn’t very tall. This is a topic best avoided in
A weak form of Selfless (p. 153). conversation . ..
You tend to put the concerns of oth- 5. “Showoff.” Dai isn’t quietly overconfident. He has more than his fair
ers, or of the group, before your own. share of natural talents, and is all too happy to demonstrate them.
Imaginative Dai’s quirks are worth -1 point apiece, or -5 points total. As a result, his
You are a font of ideas, and are point total becomes 203 points.
more than willing to share them with
others! They may or may not be good
ideas, of course . ..



164 DISADVANTAGES

Uncongenial Bowlegged and works out to 0 points under the
A lesser version of Loner (p. 142). You are bowlegged. This doesn’t Addiction rules.
You prefer to be alone. You always normally affect Move, but you have -1 Minor Handicaps
choose individual action over group to Jumping skill. This quirk may elicit You may take most mundane phys-
action. a -1 reaction from those who think it ical disadvantages at quirk level; for
looks funny.
Vow instance, you could use a watered-
A trivial Vow (p. 160) – e.g., never Cannot Float down version of Lame for a “bum
drink alcohol, treat all ladies with You always sink in water. This is knee.” Difficulties rarely crop up, but
courtesy, or pay 10% of your income most applicable to machines, but it are genuinely inconvenient when they
to your church – is a quirk. might also afflict fantasy races or do. If you have this kind of handicap,
result from a curse. the GM may give you -1 to attribute,
skill, or reaction rolls, as appropriate,
PHYSICAL Distinctive Features in situations where it would logically
You have a physical feature – e.g.,
QUIRKS “Brilliant blue hair” – that makes you interfere.
Physical quirks are physical disad- stand out in a crowd. This gives -1 to Nervous Stomach
vantages that are only mildly or rarely your Disguise and Shadowing skills, You have -3 to HT rolls to avoid ill-
limiting. They do not require roleplay- and +1 to others’ attempts to identify ness (typically in the form of attribute
ing, but they give specific, minor or follow you. Some Distinctive penalties or vomiting) brought on by
penalties in play. Features may stem from full-blown rich or spicy food, strong drink, etc.
Unlike mental quirks, you cannot disadvantages. For instance, an albino Neutered or Sexless
normally change physical quirks – (someone with no natural body pig- You are missing sex organs that
that would make no more sense than ment, resulting in pink eyes and pink- someone of your race, sex, and age
exchanging One Eye for One Hand, white hair and skin) would also have would normally possess – or perhaps
under most circumstances. Also, you Weakness (Sunlight). Compare you are a genuinely sexless being that
must define physical quirks when you Supernatural Features (p. 157) and only looks like someone of a particular
create your character; you cannot use Unnatural Features (p. 22). race and sex. This might qualify you
them to fill open “quirk slots” once the Horrible Hangovers for reduced appearance, Social
campaign begins. You suffer an additional -3 to any Stigma, or Unnatural Features in
Acceleration Weakness penalties the GM assesses for exces- some settings. However, there are
You are susceptible to the bad sive drinking the previous evening, minor benefits: you are immune to
effects of extreme acceleration, and and add three hours to hangover seduction and will never accidentally
get -3 to HT rolls to avoid them. duration. become a parent. This is more than
simple sterility (which is a feature
Alcohol Intolerance Minor Addiction worth 0 points).
Alcohol “goes right to your head.” You may take Addiction (p. 122) as
You become intoxicated much more a quirk, if you are addicted to a drug
quickly than normal. You get -2 on that causes physiological dependency
any HT roll related to drinking.


NEW DISADVANTAGES



The GM is welcome to develop new points to note when doing this kind of
disadvantages. The guidelines given MODIFYING thing.
under New Advantages (p. 117) apply EXISTING Some existing disadvantages are
here as well – but note that it is easier essentially “user-defined.” This proper-
to abuse disadvantages than advan- DISADVANTAGES ty makes them particularly useful for
tages. A badly designed advantage building “new” disadvantages. The
might be too powerful, but it costs You can turn existing disadvantages most versatile traits of this kind are
points, so it isn’t a free lunch. On the into new ones using the processes rec- Addiction, Code of Honor, Compulsive
other hand, a disadvantage that does ommended for advantages: rename, Behavior, Delusions, Dependency,
not restrict the character gives away redefine, combine, modify, and fine- Destiny, Disciplines of Faith, Dread,
points. It is a free lunch! Remember the tune. For instance, you could combine Fanaticism, Increased Life Support,
“golden rule” of disadvantage design: the modified disadvantage Weakness Intolerance, Maintenance, Obsession,
(Sunlight; 1d/30 minutes; Variable, Odious Personal Habits, Phobias,
A “disadvantage” that does not limit -40%) [-9] with the quirk Distinctive Restricted Diet, Revulsion, Sense of
the character is not a disadvantage. Features [-1] and rename it “Albinism,” Duty, Susceptible, Unnatural Features,
giving you a new disadvantage worth Vows, Vulnerability, and Weakness.
-10 points. There are a few additional



DISADVANTAGES 165

Price a blanket penalty to an entire
group of related skills exactly as if you
were pricing a Talent (p. 89), but with
minus sign in front of the cost. This
makes a penalty to a group of skills a
far more serious disadvantage than a
penalty to one skill. This reflects the
fact that it is difficult to work around
ineptitude with every skill in a large,
useful category.
3. Penalties to reaction rolls.
Reaction penalties use the Reputation
rules on p. 26. As explained for new
advantages, these modifiers need not
be actual Reputations – they could as
easily be due to looks, a supernatural
aura, etc.
4. Unique disabilities. You can only
price unique disadvantages by com-
parison. Look at comparable disad-
vantages in the system and assign a
similar point value, and then adjust it
if the new disadvantage is more or less
limiting than the existing one.

Finalizing the Cost
The final cost of a disadvantage
equals the sum of the costs of its com-
When combining multiple disad- for designing entirely new advantages ponent parts, modified for rarity as
vantages to create new ones, remem- (p. 118): the GM sees fit. A rare disadvantage is
ber that advantages can be added to sometimes worth more points because
the mix, reducing the value of the com- 1. Situational penalties to attributes. it is less likely to be treatable, or
posite disadvantage. For instance, a Assume that each -1 to an attribute is because it is more likely to generate
positive Reputation can be associated worth a basic -10 points for ST or HT, shock and disgust on a bad reaction
with a “good” personality trait (such as or -20 points for DX or IQ, and then roll. A common disadvantage may be
Honesty or Sense of Duty) that is con- reduce the final cost to reflect the lim- worth fewer points by the same logic –
sidered a disadvantage in GURPS ited circumstances under which the that is, it is easy to circumvent using
because it restricts the hero’s choice of penalty applies. For instance, technology, or its social ramifications
actions. If the restrictions outweigh Susceptible to Poison (-2) is -2 to HT are mitigated by others’ indifference.
the reaction bonus, the overall trait is (base cost -20 points), reduced to 40% In general, though, the point value
still a disadvantage. its normal value because it applies of a disadvantage won’t be that of the
Finally, when you apply limitations only to rolls to resist poison – which “opposite” advantage with a minus
(pp. 110-116) to a disadvantage, are common enough but still a spe- sign in front. This is mainly because
remember that they reduce the points cialized use of HT – for a net value most traits in GURPS are asymmetric,
gained from the disadvantage. For of -8 points. skewed toward the human norm and
instance, if you apply an Accessibility 2. Penalties to skill rolls. Handle biased toward adventuring heroes.
limitation worth -40% to a -15-point skill penalties using the Incompetence For instance, One Arm is a serious dis-
disadvantage, it becomes a -9-point quirk (p. 164). This gives -1 point for advantage worth -20 points because
disadvantage. See the “special limita- each -4 to a specific skill. These skill having only one arm severely limits
tions” throughout this chapter for penalties are not symmetrical with the skill use, while Extra Arms are a mere
examples of suitable limitations. (A skill bonuses given on p. 118. This is 10 points apiece because additional
few disadvantages have special intentional! It reflects the reality that arms rarely benefit most skills. It is
enhancements that increase disadvan- most players select skills for which also important to realize that for
tage value, but these are less common.) their characters have an aptitude and adventurers, there are many qualities
ignore those at which their characters where either extreme is an effective
are inept. The Incompetence penalty disadvantage (for instance, Curious
BRAND-NEW can be changed to -3 or -5 without and Incurious) or advantage (consider
much effect on game balance, but it Common Sense and Daredevil).
PROBLEMS must apply to a reasonably common
The guidelines for creating totally skill to be worth points at all.
new disadvantages are similar to those


166 DISADVANTAGES

CHAPTER FOUR


SKILLS













A “skill” is a particular kind of knowledge; for instance,
judo, physics, auto mechanics, or a death spell. Every skill
is separate, though some skills help you to learn others.
Just as in real life, you start your career with some skills
and can learn more if you spend time training.
A number called “skill level” measures your ability with
each of your skills: the higher the number, the greater your
skill. For instance, “Shortsword-17” means a skill level of 17 with
the shortsword. When you try to do something, you (or the GM) roll
3d against the appropriate skill, modified for that particular situ-
ation. If the number you roll is less than or equal to your mod-
ified score for that skill, you succeed! But a roll of 17 or 18
is an automatic failure. For more on skill rolls, modi-
fiers, success, and failure, see Chapter 10.
Each skill is qualified in several ways to indicate what
basic attribute represents talent with that skill, how easy
the skill is to learn, any special restrictions on who can learn
the skill, and whether the skill is broad or narrow in focus.

CONTROLLING ATTRIBUTE
Each skill is based on one of the four basic attributes or,
more rarely, on Perception or Will. Your skill level is calcu-
lated directly from this “controlling attribute”: the higher
your attribute score, the more effective you are with every skill
based on it! If your character concept calls for many skills based
on a given attribute, you should consider starting with a high
level in that attribute, as this will be most cost-effective in
the long run.



Choosing Your

Beginning Skills
Like attributes and advantages, skills cost points. You should spend
at least a few of your starting character points on skills. It would be
extraordinarily unusual for anyone – even a young child – to have no
skills at all!
Your starting skills must suit your background. The greater your
Wealth and Status, the more leeway the GM will allow you in skill
choice – the rich and powerful can arrange to learn the most surpris-
ing things. You cannot start with inappropriate skills, however. The
GM is free to forbid any skill that simply would not be available to
someone of your background. For instance, a stone-age hunter could
not be a jet pilot, a Victorian gentleman would need an excellent expla-
nation (and an Unusual Background) to start out as a skilled sorcerer,
and a futuristic adventurer would have difficulty finding training in
“archaic” weapon skills . . . though a military background would help.






SKILLS 167

ST-based skills depend wholly on You learn technological skills at
brawn, and are very rare. ST deter- TECHNOLOGICAL your personal TL. You may also
mines the power you can bring to bear SKILLS choose skills from a lower TL. You can
with DX-based skills far more often only learn skills from a higher TL in
than it affects skill levels directly. Certain skills are different at each play – and only if you have a teacher
DX-based skills rely on coordina- tech level (see Technology Level, p. 22). and the skill is not based on IQ. To
tion, reflexes, and steady hands. This These “technological skills” are desig- learn IQ-based technological skills
is representative of athletic and com- nated by “/TL.” This means that when from a higher TL, you must first raise
bat skills, and most vehicle-operation you learn the skill, you must learn it at your personal TL.
skills. a specific tech level (TL). Always note Technological skills rely on lan-
IQ-based skills require knowledge, the TL when you write down such a guage, tool use, or both. This means
creativity, and reasoning ability. This skill; e.g., “Surgery/TL4” for the TL4 that only sapient characters – those
includes all artistic, scientific, and version of Surgery skill. Surgery/TL4 with IQ 6 or higher – may learn them.
social skills, as well as magic spells. (cut his arm off with an axe) is noth- Exception: Robots and the like can
HT-based skills are governed by ing like Surgery/TL9 (graft on a have IQ 5 or less and perform such
physical fitness. This includes any replacement arm from his clone)! skills by running programs . . . but of
activity influenced by hygiene, pos- course programming isn’t learning.
ture, or lung capacity.
Perception-based skills involve spot-
ting subtle differences. This is typical
of skills used to detect clues and hid-
den objects. Tech-Level Modifiers
Will-based skills hinge on mental Technological skills work best with the specific artifacts and tech-
focus and clarity of thought. Most niques of their own TL. When you work with equipment or concepts of a
allow one to resist mental attacks, TL different from that of your skill, you suffer a penalty to your skill roll.
bring about an altered mental state, or
focus “inner strength.” IQ-Based Technological Skills
IQ-based technological skills represent a studied technical under-
DIFFICULTY standing of the specific methods and tools common at a particular TL.
There is a penalty to your skill roll when you use these skills with the
LEVEL equipment of a higher TL (which relies on scientific and engineering prin-
ciples unknown to you) or a lower TL (which depends on principles that
Some fields demand more study
and practice than others. GURPS uses were, at best, a “historical footnote” during your training).
four “difficulty levels” to rate the effort
required to learn and improve a skill. Equipment’s TL Skill Penalty
The more difficult the skill, the more Skill’s TL+4 or more Impossible!
points you must spend to buy it at a Skill’s TL+3 -15
given skill level. Skill’s TL+2 -10
Skill’s TL+1 -5
Easy skills are things that anyone Skill’s TL 0
could do reasonably well after a short Skill’s TL-1 -1
learning period – whether because they Skill’s TL-2 -3
are second nature to most people or Skill’s TL-3 -5
because there isn’t a whole lot to learn. Skill’s TL-4 -7
Average skills include most combat Per extra -1 to TL -2
skills, mundane job skills, and the
practical social and survival skills that
ordinary people use daily. This is the
most common difficulty level. Other Technological Skills
Hard skills require intensive formal Technological skills based on attributes other than IQ let you use tech-
study. This is typical of most “acade- nology; they do not assume any real understanding of the science or engi-
mic” skills, complex athletic and com- neering behind the tools. For instance, a TL5 gunslinger accustomed to
bat skills that require years of training, firing a Colt Peacemaker might find a TL7 Colt Python a bit strange, but
and all but the most powerful of magic he would have little difficulty shooting it.
spells. For skills like this, apply a flat penalty of -1 per TL of difference
Very Hard skills have prodigious between the skill and the equipment. For instance, a TL5 gunman would
scope, or are alien, counterintuitive, or be at -2 to shoot a TL7 revolver. It is irrelevant whether the equipment is
deliberately shrouded in secrecy. The more or less advanced – a TL7 policeman would be at -2 to fire a TL5
most fundamental of sciences, and revolver, too.
many potent magic spells and secret
martial-arts techniques, are Very Hard.


168 SKILLS

(see Skill Defaults, p. 173), which may
let you purchase additional specialties
more cheaply.
Grouped Skills
A set of distantly related skills that use identical rules may appear Optional Specialties
under a single heading to avoid repetition. If a skill description does not Many IQ-based skills – notably
say that you must specialize, and indicates that it represents a collection “academic” skills such as Literature
of skills, then the subentries represent stand-alone skills – not specialties. and Physics – have countless subfields
Use only the name of the relevant subentry when you refer to such skills. but do not require you to select a spe-
cialty. As written, if you learn a skill
Example: Hand-to-hand weapon skills are grouped under Melee like this, you are a generalist, knowl-
Weapon (p. 208), but if you learn to use a shortsword, write “Shortsword,” edgeable about every aspect of the
not “Melee Weapon (Shortsword).” skill. However, you may opt to special-
ize in a single, narrow area. You may
only do this with an Average or harder
IQ-based skill, and only if the GM
agrees that the chosen subfield is
PREREQUISITES logical given the skill and your TL.
Some skills have other skills as pre-
requisites. This is the case when an
advanced skill is based on, and in
some ways an outgrowth of, a basic
one. To study the advanced skill, you Familiarity
must have at least one point in the pre- Any skill used to operate equipment – e.g., Beam Weapons/TL11
requisite skill. (Pistol) or Driving/TL7 (Automobile) – takes a penalty when you are faced
Certain skills also require that you with an unfamiliar type of item. For instance, if you were trained on a
know a prerequisite skill at a mini- laser pistol, a blaster pistol would be “unfamiliar.” Assume that an unfa-
mum skill level. Where this is the case, miliar piece of equipment gives -2 to skill except where an individual skill
you must spend the points required to description specifies otherwise.
learn the prerequisite skill at the spec- In general, if you have the skill to use a piece of equipment, you are
ified level before you can learn the considered familiar with a new make or model after you have had eight
advanced skill. hours of practice with it. Some skills require more or less practice than
A few skills have advantages as pre- this, so be sure to read the skill description.
requisites. In order to learn such a There is no limit to the number of types of gun, car, plane, etc. you can
skill, you must possess the required become familiar with. Each of these items is called a “familiarity.” If you
advantage. If you do not have the have at least six familiarities for a given skill, the GM may roll against
advantage, and cannot acquire it in your skill when you pick up a new piece of equipment. On a success, you
play, you can never learn that skill. are already familiar with something similar and may use the new device
at no penalty. The GM may also rule that a new item is so similar to a
SPECIALTIES known one that it is familiar – for instance, two similar models of Colt
revolver should be considered identical.
An entry on the skill list may repre- Equipment from another tech level will usually be unfamiliar. This
sent an entire category of closely relat- gives both TL and familiarity modifiers. Practice can eliminate unfamil-
ed skills that share a single skill name. iarity penalties, but to shed TL penalties, you must relearn the operation
Examples include Armoury (p. 178) skill at the equipment’s TL. Exception: Improved or obsolete versions of
and Survival (p. 223). Skills like this items with which you are already familiar do not give unfamiliarity penal-
are marked with a dagger (†) in the list ties.
on pp. 174-228. The skills within such
a category are called “specialties.” Familiarity for Beginning Characters
When you buy a general skill of this Starting characters may specify two familiarities per point spent on a
kind, you must specify which special- skill. For instance, if you have four points in Guns (Pistol), you can be
ty you are learning. On your character familiar with up to eight handguns.
sheet, note the name of the specialty Both specialization and familiarity come into play with many skills,
in parentheses after the general skill but they are not the same thing. Driving (Automobile) is a specialty of
name; e.g., “Armoury (Small Arms)” Driving: it is a separate skill from Driving (Locomotive), and to know
or “Survival (Arctic).” both, you must pay points for both. “Volkswagen Bug” is a familiarity of
You may learn skills like this any Driving (Automobile): you can select it for free as one of your starting
number of times, with a different spe- familiarities.
cialty each time, because each specialty
is a different skill. There is usually a
favorable “default” between specialties


SKILLS 169

When you choose an optional spe- roll against this whenever you must could learn the optional specialty
cialty, write down the skill and its spe- answer questions outside your field. Chemistry (Analytical) as if it were
cialty just as if you were selecting a Any skill that defaults to the general one level easier, or IQ/Average.
required specialty. You learn the spe- skill also defaults to all of its optional Your general Chemistry skill would
cialized skill as if it were one level eas- specialties, but at an additional -2. default to Chemistry (Analytical)-2.
ier. Unless otherwise noted, prerequi- Metallurgy, which normally defaults
sites are unchanged. The general skill Example: Chemistry is IQ/Hard to Chemistry-5, would default to
defaults to the specialized one at -2; and does not require a specialty. You Chemistry (Analytical)-7.

BUYING SKILLS



In order to learn or improve a skill,
you must spend character points. When
you spend points on a skill, you are get-
ting training to bring that skill up to a
useful level. Skills are easy to learn at Skill Notation
first – a little training goes a long way! When you write down a skill with a single specialty, either required or
But added improvement costs more. optional, do so in the form “Skill Name (Specialty)”; e.g., Artist (Painting).
The point cost of a skill depends on If such a skill has multiple qualifiers, follow these guidelines:
two things: its difficulty and the final
skill level you wish to attain. Use the Technological skills: Place the tech level after the skill name and before
Skill Cost Table (below) to calculate a the specialty; e.g., Engineer/TL8 (Civil).
skill’s point cost. Skills with both required and optional specialties: If a skill that requires
The first column shows the skill you to specialize also allows an optional specialty, write the required spe-
level you are trying to attain, relative to cialty before the optional specialty and separate the two with a comma;
the skill’s controlling attribute – DX for e.g., Artist (Painting, Oil).
DX-based skills, IQ for IQ-based skills, Skills that require two specialties: In the rare case where a skill requires
and so forth. For instance, if your DX you to select two specialties, separate them with a slash; e.g.,
were 12, a level of “Attribute-1” would Geography/TL7 (Physical/Earth-like).
be DX-1, or 11; “Attribute+0” would be
DX, or 12; and “Attribute+1” would be
DX+1, or 13.
The next four columns show the There is no limit (except lifespan) to adventuring on new or better skills, or
character point costs to learn skills of the amount of improvement possible dedicate game time to study, which
different difficulties – Easy, Average, with any skill. However, the useful gives you points you can use to add or
Hard, and Very Hard – at the desired maximum for most skills is between 20 improve the skills you studied. In either
skill level. Harder skills cost more and 30. Problems to challenge a greater case, the cost to improve a skill is the dif-
points to learn! skill are rare! ference between the cost of the desired
skill level and the cost of your current
Example: A warrior with DX 14 skill level. For more information, see
wishes to learn Shortsword IMPROVING YOUR Chapter 9.
(DX/Average) at level 17. Since skill 17 SKILLS
is equal to his DX+3, he goes to the Free Increases in Skills
“Attribute+3” row. Then he reads along There are two direct ways to There is one way to increase many
the row to the “Average” column to find increase your skills in play: spend the skills at once: pay the points to improve
the point cost: 12 points. bonus points you earn for successful an attribute (see Chapter 9). If you do
this, all your skills based on that attrib-
Skill Cost Table ute go up by the same amount, at no
Your Final Difficulty of Skill extra cost. For instance, if you raise DX
Skill Level Easy Average Hard Very Hard by one level, all of your DX-based skills
Attribute-3 – – – 1 also go up by one level. Further
Attribute-2 – – 1 2 improvements are based on the new
Attribute-1 – 1 2 4 DX value.
Attribute+0 1 2 4 8 You can also base skills on
Attribute+1 2 4 8 12 “defaults” from other skills; see
Attribute+2 4 8 12 16 Defaulting to Other Skills (p. 173). Any
Attribute+3 8 12 16 20 skill bought up from such a default is
Attribute+4 12 16 20 24 likely to enjoy a free increase when you
Attribute+5 16 20 24 28 raise the skill to which it defaults.
Extra +1 +4 +4 +4 +4


170 SKILLS

MEANING OF SKILL LEVELS


So you have Literature-9, Savoir- Base Skill vs. this bonus at mundane tasks, even if
Faire-22, and Shortsword-13. What Effective Skill they are working from default skill!
does that mean? What is good, bad,
and average? That’s very important Your unmodified skill level is Example: An airline pilot has
when you create a character. It’s also called your base skill. It measures your Piloting-12 – normally a 74% chance
important if you’re converting charac- odds of success at an “average” task of success. For day-to-day flying, how-
ters from another system into under adventuring conditions – in ever, he rolls at +4. This makes his
GURPS, or vice versa. There are two other words, in a stressful situation effective skill 16, for a 98% chance of
equally valid – but different – ways to where the consequences of failure are success.
make skill-level comparisons. significant. Some examples: On the other hand, especially
tough adventuring situations can
result in penalties. See Culture (p. 23),
Language (p. 23), Tech-Level Modifiers
(p. 168), Familiarity (p. 169),
Your base skill measures your Equipment Modifiers (p. 345), and
Task Difficulty (p. 345) for some com-
odds of success at an “average” mon modifiers. Be sure to take these
factors into account when buying
task in a stressful situation where your skills.
the consequences of failure are RELATIVE SKILL

significant. LEVEL

Skill level reflects a combination of
talent and training. For instance, a DX
17 warrior has a lot of raw talent. He
could quickly learn Shortsword-17, as
• Battles and chase scenes.
PROBABILITY OF • Races against the clock. this is only DX level for him. A DX 10
fighter would need considerably more
SUCCESS • Situations where your health, practice to become that skilled, as
freedom, finances, or equipment is at
The easiest way to get a feel for risk. Shortsword-17 is DX+7 level for him.
your skill levels is to look at your odds Such details are often unimpor-
of success. To use a skill, you must roll The GM may modify your skill tant; two warriors with Shortsword-17
3d against your skill level. This is level to reflect the difficulty of a task. are equally good at smiting foes,
called a “success roll” (see Chapter Your final skill level, after applying all regardless of whether their skill is due
10). For instance, if your skill is 13, modifiers for the task at hand, is your to talent or training. However, there
you must roll 13 or less on 3d to suc- effective skill for that task. are times when you need (or want) to
ceed. The table below shows the prob- In nonadventuring situations when know the difference.
ability of success at each skill level – you have lots of time to prepare and It is easy to compare talent – just
that is, your chance of rolling less than face minimal risk, the GM may give look at the controlling attribute for the
or equal to a given number on 3d. you +4 or more to skill. (The GM skill. In the example above, the DX 17
Note that skill levels can be over 18, might even declare such actions suc- swordsman is clearly more talented
but a roll of 17 or 18 is automatically cessful instead of wasting time on a than the DX 10 fighter.
a failure. Nobody succeeds 100% of skill roll; see When to Roll, p. 343). To compare training, you must
the time! Ordinary people almost always receive look at relative skill level. You can cal-
culate it quickly by subtracting con-
trolling attribute from skill level. In
our example, the DX 17 warrior has a
Skill Probability Skill Probability relative skill level of 0, while the DX 10
Level of Success Level of Success fighter has a relative skill level of +7,
3 0.5% 10 50.0% and is better trained.
4 1.9% 11 62.5% Relative skill level becomes impor-
5 4.6% 12 74.1% tant when using the next two rules;
6 9.3% 13 83.8% therefore, you might opt to note it in
7 16.2% 14 90.7% parentheses after your skill level; e.g.,
8 25.9% 15 95.4% “Shortsword-17 (+7).”
9 37.5% 16+ 98.1%


SKILLS 171

Some skill descriptions present sit-
uations where skill rolls using other
Choosing Your Skill Levels attributes would be appropriate. The
GM is encouraged to dream up more!
Gauging what skill levels you need to survive is no easy task. A few examples:
Determining how much skill is realistic can be tricky as well. When cre- • DX-based rolls against IQ-based
ating a PC (or an NPC), bear the following guidelines in mind.
repair skills to reach into tight cor-
Ordinary Folks ners; ST-based rolls against these
For an “average” person, it is reasonable to assume attributes between skills to manhandle engine blocks and
9 and 11, and from 20 to 40 points in “life skills” (varying with education other heavy parts into place.
and dedication). Most people spread these points fairly evenly over rough- • IQ-based rolls against DX-based
ly a dozen skills. This will result in skill levels between 8 and 13. Skills combat skills to feint an opponent,
used to earn a living tend toward the upper end of this range (12 or 13), formulate tactics, or perform minor
while little-used skills and those originating from long-forgotten college maintenance on weapons; ST-based
courses are at the lower end (8 or 9). rolls against these skills to disarm
someone using brute strength rather
Experts than finesse.
Once your skill level reaches 14, additional levels of skill don’t improve • IQ-based rolls against DX-based
your odds of success much. Furthermore, it can cost a lot of points to vehicle-operation skills to recall traffic
acquire higher skill levels. If you are an adventurer, though, the invest- regulations, remember to change the
ment is worthwhile, to help you overcome the penalties for difficult tasks. oil, or identify the make and model of
For instance, if you have Lockpicking-23, ordinary locks are no easier for a vehicle; HT-based rolls against these
you – you fail on a 17 or 18, no matter what. But when you run into a hard skills to stay awake at the wheel.
lock that gives -6 to skill, your effective skill is 17 and you still only fail on Your relative skill level will some-
a 17 or 18! times modify ST for a specific task
Masters (e.g., kicking in doors). Only modify
If you are a “master” in your field, you might be tempted to increase ST if your relative skill level is positive
– you get a bonus for high skill, but
your skill levels ad infinitum. However, a true master has a detailed you never get a penalty for low skill.
understanding of every aspect of his calling, best represented by stopping
at a masterful level (20 to 25) in the “main” skill and branching out into Using Skills Without
several “subsidiary” skills. An extreme level (anything over 25) in one skill
tends to be excessive and unbelievable – and is frequently less useful than Attributes
a lesser level combined with one or more subsidiary skills. The GM might occasionally want
two people with identical training to
Example: Instead of improving Karate skill to 30, a kung fu master have similar odds of success regardless
would be better off using those points to buy Karate at 25 and decent lev- of their attributes, in a situation where
els of Acrobatics, Judo, Meditation, etc. training really does matter more than
Masters should also consider putting some points into advantages that innate talent. In this case, just add rel-
negate skill penalties for adverse conditions. For instance, a kung fu mas- ative skill level to a flat number –
ter might buy Trained By A Master (reducing his penalties for multiple usually 10 – and roll against the result.
attacks and parries) and Combat Reflexes (improving his chances of Example: Two accountants are
defending himself), extending his capabilities in ways that high skill alone vying for a promotion. One is talented,
cannot. with IQ 14 and Accounting-18 (+4).
To encourage players to develop their characters laterally instead of The other is dull but experienced, with
sinking all their points into just one or two skills, the GM might wish to IQ 8 and Accounting-15 (+7). The GM
consider limiting PCs to skill levels somewhere in the 20-25 range. decides to handle this as a Quick
Contest: each accountant must
attempt his Accounting roll, and the
one who succeeds by the most will get
Using Skills With Other attribute you wish to use and make a the promotion. However, the boss
success roll against the total. cares about seniority above all, so the
Attributes GM applies relative skill level – which
The GM will sometimes find it use- Example: A warrior with DX 10, IQ reflects experience – to a flat base of
ful to ask for a skill roll based on an 14, and Shortsword-17 has a relative 10. This leaves IQ out of the picture!
attribute other than the controlling skill level of +7 in Shortsword. If the The talented accountant rolls
one for a skill. This is realistic; few GM asked for an IQ-based Shortsword against 10 + 4 = 14, while his rival rolls
skills really depend just on brains, just roll, the swordsman would roll against against 10 + 7 = 17. Sometimes, life
on agility, etc. To make a roll like this, 14 + 7 = 21 instead of his Shortsword isn’t fair . ..
simply add the relative skill level to the skill of 17.



172 SKILLS

SKILL DEFAULTS: USING


SKILLS YOU DON’T KNOW




Most skills have a “default level”: Defaulting to from 13 to 14 (from DX+1 to DX+2).
the level at which you use the skill if Does your Broadsword skill also go
you have no training. A skill has a Other Skills up a level? No. Your new default
default level if it is something that Some skills default to another skill from Shortsword is now 12
everybody can do . . . a little bit. As a instead of or as well as an attribute. (Shortsword at 14, minus 2), but to
general rule, a skill defaults to its Example: Broadsword defaults to go from level 12 to level 13 (from DX
controlling attribute at -4 if Easy, -5 if Shortsword-2, because the two skills to DX+1) with Broadsword costs 2
Average, or -6 if Hard. There are are very similar. A Shortsword skill of points, and you’ve only spent 1 point
exceptions to this, but not many. 13 gives you a “default” Broadsword on Broadsword. Keep track of that
Example: The “default” for skill of 11. point, though. When you spend one
more point on Broadsword, it goes
Broadsword (DX/Average) is DX-5. If up a level, too.
your DX is 11, and you have to swing Double Defaults
a broadsword without training, then A skill can’t default to another skill When two skills default to one
your “default” skill at Broadsword is known only by default. If Skill A another and you have improved both,
11 - 5 = 6. You need a roll of 6 or less defaults to Skill B-5, and Skill B you may switch the “direction” of
to hit. defaults to IQ-5, does Skill A default to your default if this would give you
IQ-10? No. better skill levels. Redistribute the
Some skills have no default level. points spent on both skills as needed.
For instance, Alchemy, Hypnotism, Improving Skills You may never decrease either skill
and Karate are complex enough that from Default level this way, however; you must
you cannot use them at all without always spend enough points to keep
training. If your default level in a skill is each skill at its current level.
Regardless of your default skill high enough that you would normal-
level, you do not get the special bene- ly have to pay points for that level, Example: Keeping Shortsword at
fits of a skill – especially combat you may improve the skill past its 14, you spend a total of 22 points on
bonuses such as improved damage, default level by paying only the differ- Broadsword, improving your skill
special defenses, and unpenalized ence in point costs between your new from its default of 12 (DX) to 18
off-hand use – when you use a skill at level and your default level. (DX+6). You’d like to default
default. To enjoy these benefits, you Example: Suppose you have DX 12 Shortsword from Broadsword now,
must spend at least one point on the and Shortsword at 13. Since rather than vice versa. Taking the 8
skill. Broadsword defaults to Shortsword- points you spent on Shortsword and
2, your default Broadsword skill is the 22 points you spent on
The Rule of 20 11. Skill 11 is equal to DX-1 for you. Broadsword, you have 30 points to
If a skill defaults to a basic attrib- This would have cost 1 point had you work with. First, buy Broadsword at
ute that is higher than 20, treat that bought it directly. The next level (DX) 18 (DX+6) for 24 points. Then default
attribute as 20 when figuring default costs 2 points. The difference is 1 Shortsword from Broadsword, get-
skill. Superhuman characters get point; to raise your Broadsword skill ting 16 (that is, Broadsword-2).
good defaults, but not super ones. from its default level of 11 (DX-1) to Finally, spend the remaining 6 points
12 (DX), you need only pay 1 charac- on Shortsword. This will be enough
Who Gets a Default? ter point. You do not have to pay the to raise Shortsword skill to 17 (and 2
Only individuals from a society full 2 points for DX level! more points will make that 18).
where a skill is known may attempt a This feels like an abstract number
default roll against that skill. For If you increase a skill, skills that shuffle, but it works. You’re
instance, the default for Scuba skill default to it go up as well. However, if no better off than if you
assumes you are from a world where you have spent points to improve had started out with
scuba gear exists and where most these defaults, you may not see an Broadsword skill, and you
people would have some idea – if only increase when you raise the skill to aren’t penalized for learn-
from TV – of how to use it. A which they default. This is best illus- ing Shortsword first.
medieval knight transported to the trated with our running example:
21st century would not get a default Example: Suppose you spend the
roll to use scuba gear the first time he point to raise Broadsword to 12 (DX).
saw it! Now you spend 4 more points on
Shortsword, improving that skill


SKILLS 173

SKILL LIST


The skill list is sorted alphabetically Acrobatics successful Acting roll lets you pretend
by skill name. Each entry gives the DX/Hard to feel something that you do not. The
following information: GM may also require an Acting roll
Default: DX-6. whenever you try to fool someone, play
Name: The skill’s name. Technologi- dead in combat, etc.
cal skills are noted as such; e.g., This is the ability to perform gym- Impersonation is a special type of
“Machinist/TL.” Skills marked with a nastic stunts, roll, take falls, etc. This acting. To impersonate someone, you
dagger (†) require you to choose a spe- can be handy on an adventure, as must first successfully disguise yourself
cialty (see Specialties, p. 169). tightrope walking, human pyramids, (see Disguise, p. 187) – unless your vic-
Type: The skill’s controlling attribute and trapeze swinging all have useful tims cannot see you!
and difficulty level; e.g., “IQ/Average.” applications. Each trick requires a sep- Note that Acting is not the same
Defaults: The attributes or other arate skill roll, at whatever penalties the Fast-Talk (the art of the “quick con”) or
skills to which the skill defaults if you GM sees fit. If you are performing Performance (the skill of screen and
have not studied it. Where there is stunts on a moving vehicle or mount, stage acting).
more than one possible default, use the roll against the lower of Acrobatics and
most favorable. Some skills have no the appropriate Driving or Riding skill. Modifiers: +1 for every point of IQ
default – you cannot attempt to use You may substitute an Acrobatics you have over the person you are trying
these skills if you don’t know them. roll for a DX roll in any attempt to to fool (or the smartest one in the
Prerequisites: Traits you must pos- jump, roll, avoid falling down, etc. As group), or -1 for every point of differ-
sess before you can spend points on the well, you may attempt an Acrobatic ence if your victim is smarter than you;
skill. If the prerequisite is another skill, Dodge in combat – a jump or roll that -3 for Low Empathy (p. 142); -1 to -4
you must have at least one point in that avoids an attack in a flashy way (see for Shyness (p. 154); -5 for Truthfulness
skill. Not all skills have prerequisites. Acrobatic Dodge, p. 375). Finally, a suc- (p. 159), but only if you are trying to
Description: An explanation of what cessful Acrobatics roll will reduce the deceive someone. For impersonation
the skill is for and how it works in play. effective distance of any fall by five only: -5 if you are not well acquainted
Modifiers: A list of common bonuses yards (see Falling, p. 431). with your subject; -5 if those you wish
and penalties for use of the skill. The Two special versions of Acrobatics to fool are acquaintances of the subject
GM decides whether a particular mod- are also available: (-10 for close acquaintances).
ifier applies in a given situation. If an Aerobatics: The ability to execute
advantage or disadvantage permanently tight turns, loops, power dives, etc. in Administration
modifies base skill level rather than flight. You must be able to fly to learn IQ/Average
simply giving a bonus or a penalty for a this skill – although how you fly (magic, Defaults: IQ-5 or Merchant-3.
specific task, add this permanent mod- wings, jet pack, etc.) is irrelevant.
ifier to the skill level listed on your Natural fliers might find flight to be as This is the skill of running a large
character sheet. effortless as humans find walking, but organization. It is often a prerequisite
they must still learn Aerobatics in order for high Rank (p. 29). A successful
Accounting to engage in complex acrobatics. Add Administration roll gives you a +2 reac-
IQ/Hard +2 to skill if you have 3D Spatial Sense tion bonus when dealing with a
Defaults: IQ-6, Finance-4, (p. 34). bureaucrat, and allows you to predict
Mathematics (Statistics)-5, or Aquabatics: The ability to engage in the best way to go about dealing with a
Merchant-5. underwater acrobatics. Prerequisites: bureaucracy.
Swimming, or the Amphibious advan-
This is the ability to keep books of tage (p. 40) or the Aquatic disadvantage Aerobatics
account, to examine the condition of a (p. 145). see Acrobatics, above
business, etc. A successful Accounting
roll (requires at least two hours of Acrobatics, Aerobatics, and Airshipman/TL
study, and possibly months to audit a Aquabatics default to one another at -4. see Crewman, p. 185
large corporation) can tell you whether Add +1 to these three skills if you have
financial records are correct, and possi- Perfect Balance (p. 74). Alchemy/TL
bly reveal evidence of forgery, tamper-
ing, and similar criminal activity. Acting IQ/Very Hard
IQ/Average Defaults: None.
Modifiers: The time modifiers under
Time Spent (p. 346) often apply; the Defaults: IQ-5, Performance-2, or This is the study of magical trans-
Talents (p. 89) of Business Acumen and Public Speaking-5. formations and transmutations. In a
Mathematical Ability both provide a This is the ability to counterfeit magical game world, an alchemist
bonus. moods, emotions, and voices, and to lie would be able to identify concoctions
convincingly over a period of time. A with magical effects (“elixirs”), such as



174 SKILLS

love potions and healing unguents, This is the science of evolution and specialization by species (if left
and prepare them from suitable ingre- culture. An anthropologist is knowl- unspecified, assume the anthropolo-
dients. This is a mechanical process, edgeable in the ways of primitive gist’s own species). Specialties usually
using the mana inherent in certain (and not-so-primitive) societies. An default to one another at -2 to -5,
things; therefore, those without Anthropology roll might explain, although there may be no default for
Magery can learn and use Alchemy, or even predict, unusual rituals and completely alien species.
and Magery confers no benefit. folk customs. This skill requires

Animal Handling†
IQ/Average
Default: IQ-5.
Optional Rule: Wildcard Skills
This is the ability to train and work The professor who has studied every science, the swordsman who can
with animals. You must specialize in a fight with any blade . . . cinematic fiction is full of heroes who know a lit-
category of animals – the more intelli- tle bit about everything in one broad area. The time required to list every
gent the animals, the narrower the last skill such a hero might need, and the difficulty of figuring out which
category. Examples of interest to skills to take (and which to use), might discourage many gamers from
adventurers: Big Cats (jaguars, lions, playing cinematic experts. Such broad expertise doesn’t exist in real life,
tigers, etc.), Dogs, Equines (horses but it is all part of the fun in cinematic games!
and donkeys), and Raptors (eagles, A solution to this problem is “wildcard skills” or “bang skills”: skills
falcons, and hawks). The default that cover extremely broad categories of ability. The names of these skills
between specialties is -2 within the end in an exclamation point in order to distinguish them from normal
same order (e.g., Dogs to Big Cats), -4 skills; e.g., “Science!” is the skill of “all science.” Wildcard skills include and
across orders (e.g., Dogs to Equines), replace all specific skills within their area. For instance, a hero could
and -6 for larger differences (e.g., Dogs attempt a Science! roll whenever the adventure calls for a roll against
to Raptors). Chemistry, Physics, or another science skill.
To train an animal, make an Wildcard skills that cover mainly intellectual pursuits are IQ-based,
Animal Handling roll once per day of while those that pertain chiefly to physical actions are DX-based. Such
training. A failed roll means the ani- skills have no default; to use them, you must spend points on them. Buy
mal learned nothing; a badly failed wildcard skills as Very Hard skills, but at triple the usual point cost. For
roll means you are attacked. The time instance, it would normally cost 8 points to buy an IQ/Very Hard skill at
it takes to train an animal depends on IQ level, so Science! skill at IQ level would cost 24 points.
the beast’s intelligence and tractability The GM might choose to limit wildcard skills to those with a suitable
(see Chapter 16). Unusual Background – perhaps “Cinematic Hero.” This Unusual
When working with a trained ani- Background should never be available to sidekicks and random thugs! To
mal, roll against skill for each task you give each hero a well-defined dramatic niche, the GM might wish to limit
set the animal. This roll is at -5 if the PCs to one or two wildcard skills apiece (preferably those that emerge nat-
animal is not familiar with you, -5 if urally from their character stories).
the circumstances are stressful to the Some examples:
animal, and -3 or more if the task is a
complex one. To put on an entertain- Detective! (IQ). Replaces Criminology, Detect Lies, Electronics
ing circus act, snake-charming show, Operation (Security and Surveillance), Forensics, Interrogation, Law,
etc., you must make a separate Observation, Research, Savoir-Faire (Police), Search, Shadowing,
Performance roll! Streetwise, etc.
This skill can also (sometimes) be Gun! (DX). Replaces all specialties of Beam Weapons, Gunner, Guns,
used to quiet a wild, dangerous, or and Liquid Projector, as well as all related Fast-Draw skills. Make an IQ-
untrained animal. This roll is at -5 if based roll for Armoury pertaining to these weapons.
the creature is wild or very frightened, Science! (IQ). Replaces Astronomy, Bioengineering, Biology,
or -10 if it is a man-eater or man-killer. Chemistry, Engineer, Geology, Mathematics, Metallurgy, Meteorology,
Finally, this skill gives an advantage Naturalist, Paleontology, Physics, Psychology, etc.
in combat against animals within your Sword! (DX). Replaces Broadsword, Force Sword, Jitte/Sai, Knife,
specialty. If you have Animal Handling Main-Gauche, Rapier, Saber, Shortsword, Smallsword, and Two-Handed
at level 15, an animal’s attack and Sword, as well as related Fast-Draw skills. Use in place of such skills as
defense rolls are at -1 against you, Acrobatics and Jumping for physical stunts while fighting.
because you can predict its behavior. Wildcard skills are useful for omniproficient characters. Someone
At skill 20, the animal’s rolls are at -2. who can pick up and play any instrument, or sight-read any choral work,
would have the Music! skill. If he’s gifted with several instruments and
Anthropology† can pick up others easily (but does have to learn them first), that’s the
IQ/Hard Musical Ability Talent.
Defaults: IQ-6, Paleontology (Paleo -
anthropology)-2, or Sociology-3.


SKILLS 175

Aquabatics Architecture/TL * You have an IQ default only for
see Acrobatics, p. 174 IQ/Average Area Knowledge of a place where you
live or once lived. Geography only
Defaults: IQ-5 or Engineer (Civil)-4. gives a default for Area Knowledge of
Archaeology
This is the ability to design build- the specialty region.
IQ/Hard
ings, and to deduce the design of build-
This skill represents familiarity
Default: IQ-6. ings from their function (and vice with the people, places, and politics of
This is the study of ancient civiliza- versa). A successful Architecture roll a given region. You usually have Area
tions. An archaeologist is at home with lets you learn things about a strange Knowledge only for the area you con-
excavations, old potsherds, inscrip- building, find a secret room or door, sider your “home base,” whether that’s
tions, etc. An Archaeology roll lets you etc. a single farm or a solar system. If
answer questions about ancient histo- Modifiers: -2 if the building is of a information about other areas is avail-
ry, or identify artifacts and dead lan- strange type; -5 if it is alien. able, the GM may allow you to learn
guages. It might even reveal informa- additional Area Knowledge skills.
tion relating to the occult; e.g., Ancient Area Knowledge† The GM should not require Area
Secrets and Things Man Was Not IQ/Easy Knowledge rolls for ordinary situa-
Meant To Know . .. tions; e.g., to find the blacksmith, tav-
Defaults: IQ-4 or Geography
(Regional)-3* ern, or your own home. But he could
require a roll to locate a smith to shoe



Geographical and Temporal Scope


Skills such as Area Knowledge, Current Affairs Area Class
(Regional) (p. 186), Geography (Regional) (p. 198), and “Area classes” are defined under Area Knowledge
History (p. 200) require specialization to specific places skill: Neighborhood; Village or Town; City; Barony,
and times. In reality, this kind of knowledge is never County, Duchy, or Small Nation; Large Nation; Planet;
“clear cut,” and tends to spill over into related areas. Interplanetary State; and Galaxy. Area class becomes
The following penalties apply when you wish to use important in campaigns that involve a lot of travel. We
such a skill outside your specialty. assume here that the smaller areas are contained with-
in the larger ones.
Distance If you have specialized in a larger area and want
For an area far from your “stomping grounds,” use information about a smaller area within it, the penalty
the penalties under Long-Distance Modifiers (p. 241). is -2 for one class of difference, -4 for two, -8 for three,
However, the speed at which knowledge propagates and so on, doubling each time.
increases as progressively more powerful tools for man- If you have specialized in a smaller area and want
aging information appear: printing press, telephone, tel- information about a specific locale within the larger
evision, computers, faster-than-light radio, etc. To area containing it, the most appropriate solution is usu-
reflect this, at TL5 and above, the GM may choose to ally to use the distance penalties described above.
roll 3d against TL+1 (e.g., 9 or less at TL8) to determine However, questions having to do with the entire large
whether you are familiar with the distant region from area use a flat -2 per difference in levels.
TV, the Internet, etc. On a success, you may ignore all
distance penalties. (The GM might also wish to use this Example: Someone with Area Knowledge (Earth)
rule to determine whether a character’s Reputation is would be at -8 – due to three classes of difference – to
known far from home in a high-tech setting.) know the mayor of Los Angeles. However, someone
with Area Knowledge (Los Angeles) would be at -4 to
Time know the location of Mount Rushmore. The same per-
Time is usually only a concern for History skill – but son would be at -10 to know the location of the Library
it could also apply to Area Knowledge skill in a time- of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Library of
travel game, or if someone has been away from home Congress has more to do with Washington than with
for a long time. Use the Long-Distance Modifiers once the United States as a whole, and it’s more appropriate
again, substituting years for miles. For each point of to resolve the question by considering distance.
tech-level difference, double the time modifier (a two- Note that in a setting with multiple planes of exis-
TL difference would be ¥4, etc.). This is because soci- tence, Area Knowledge skills for one reality can be dan-
eties change drastically on all levels when technology gerously unreliable in another. The GM decides the
increases.
penalty that he will apply when you try to apply your
knowledge of your San Francisco to his version.




176 SKILLS

your horse at 3 a.m., or to find the best
ambush spot along a stretch of road.
“Secret” or obscure information might
give a penalty, require a Hidden Lore
skill (p. 199), or simply be unavailable
– GM’s decision. For instance, Area
Knowledge of Washington, D.C. gives
you the location of the Russian
Embassy, but not the KGB’s current
safe house.
The information covered by Area
Knowledge often overlaps such skills
as Current Affairs, Geography,
Naturalist, and Streetwise. The differ-
ence is that Area Knowledge works for
a single area: you know the habits of
this tiger or gang boss, but have no
special insight into tigers or gangs in
general.
You can learn Area Knowledge for
any sort of area. The larger the territo-
ry, the less “personal” and more gen-
eral your knowledge becomes. Almost
everyone will have Area Knowledge of
some type. The “canonical” area
classes are:
Neighborhood: For an urban area:
the residents and buildings of a few
city blocks. For a rural area: the inhab-
itants, trails, streams, hiding places,
ambush sites, flora, and fauna of a few
hundred acres.
Village or Town: All important citi-
zens and businesses, and most unim-
portant ones; all public buildings and
most houses.
City: All important businesses,
streets, citizens, leaders, etc.
Barony, County, Duchy, or Small
Nation: General nature of its settle-
ments and towns, political allegiances,
leaders, and most citizens of Status 5+.
Large Nation: Location of its major
cities and important sites; awareness
of its major customs, ethnic groups,
and languages (but not necessarily
expertise); names of folk of Status 6+;
and a general understanding of the homeworlds of major races; general default for every level up to “Village or
economic and political situation. awareness of all major races; knowl- Town,” while a TL8 student would
Planet: As for a large nation, but edge of individuals of Status 8; gener- have defaults up to “Planet” level. You
more general; knowledge of people of al understanding of relations between must live in an interplanetary or inter-
Status 7+ only. interplanetary states. stellar state to have defaults for levels
Interplanetary State: Location of Area Knowledge for anything larg- above “Planet.”
major planets; familiarity with all er than a galaxy would be meaning- In some game worlds, Area
known races (but not necessarily lessly vague. Knowledge specialties may exist for
expertise); knowledge of people of parallel realities and other dimensions
Status 7+; general understanding of Your IQ-4 default applies to any of – Area Knowledge (Cyberspace), Area
the economic and political situation. these classes, as long as you have lived Knowledge (Dream Realms), etc. The
Galaxy: Location of the capitals in the area. Defaults are limited by knowledge such skills provide is left to
of interplanetary states and the “common knowledge” at your tech the GM’s judgment.
level! A TL0 hunter would have a


SKILLS 177

Armoury/TL† (Bronze)-3 at TL1, to Smith (Iron)-3 at Artillery/TL†
IQ/Average TL2-4, and to Machinist-3 at TL5+. IQ/Average
Missile Weapons: Man-portable,
Defaults: IQ-5 or Engineer (same)- pre-gunpowder projectile weapons of Default: IQ-5.
4.
all kinds – bows, crossbows, slings, etc. This is the ability to use a heavy
This is the ability to build, modify, Small Arms: All weapons used with weapon, such as a trebuchet or a how-
and repair a specific class of weapons the Beam Weapons and Guns skills. itzer, for indirect fire – that is, to put
or armor. (It does not include skill at Also defaults to Machinist-5 at TL5+. fire onto a target area via a high bal-
design; for that, see Engineer, p. 190.) Vehicular Armor: All kinds of listic arc or similar path. For direct
A successful roll lets you find a prob- armored vehicle hulls. fire, use Gunner skill (p. 198). Roll
lem, if it isn’t obvious; a second roll Most specialties default to one against Artillery skill to bombard the
lets you repair it. Time required is up another at -4 – but above TL4, there is target.
to the GM. no default between Armoury special- Loaders can make ST-based
You must specialize in one of the ties dealing with armor and Armoury Artillery rolls to improve the rate of
following fields: specialties dealing with weapons. The fire of certain crew-served heavy
technologies covered by each specialty weapons. See the appropriate weapon
Battlesuits: All kinds of powered vary with TL. For instance, Armoury description for details.
armor, along with any built-in (Small Arms) covers black-powder You must specialize by weapon
weaponry. small arms at TL4, repeating small type. The available specialties vary by
Body Armor: Any kind of unpow- arms that fire cartridges at TL6, TL, but include one or more of:
ered personal armor (but not shields). “smart” infantry weapons at TL8, and
Also defaults to Smith (Bronze)-3 at portable beam weapons at TL10. Beams: Any kind of heavy energy
TL1, to Smith (Iron)-3 at TL2-4, and to The GM should strictly enforce weapon that is fired from orbit,
Machinist-3 at TL5+. penalties for unfamiliarity. bounced off a mirror, or otherwise
Force Shields: Any kind of force Armoury/TL10 (Small Arms) might used against targets you cannot see.
screen or deflector – be it personal or cover both beam weapons and Bombs: All kinds of unpowered,
vehicular. This is the same skill as portable railguns, but going from one free-falling munitions.
Electronics Repair (Force Shields). to the other gives you -2 to skill until Cannon: Any kind of heavy projec-
Heavy Weapons: All weapons used you familiarize yourself with all the tile weapon – bombard, howitzer,
with the Artillery and Gunner skills. differences. naval gun, etc.
Catapult: Any kind of indirect-fire
mechanical siege engine, such as a tre-
buchet.
Guided Missile: Any kind of seeking
or remotely piloted missile.
Torpedoes: Any kind of powered
underwater projectile.
There is no default between spe-
cialties, some of which (e.g.,
Torpedoes) cover weapons that bear
little or no resemblance to true
artillery. Artillery is a single skill only
because all the weapons it covers use
the same rules.
The weapons covered by each spe-
cialty will vary by TL. For instance,
Artillery (Cannon) would cover primi-
tive bombards at TL3, brass cannon at
TL4, breech-loading howitzers at TL6,
and orbital railguns at TL9+.
Familiarity is crucial here! Artillery
(Cannon) covers both 81mm infantry
mortars and 406mm naval guns, but
going from one to the other will give -2
for weapon type (81mm vs. 406mm),
-2 for fire-control (visual spotting vs.
Melee Weapons: Any weapon used Modifiers: -2 for an unfamiliar item fire-direction center), and -2 for
with a Melee Weapon or Thrown within your specialty (e.g., plate mount (bipod vs. naval turret), for a
Weapon skill, as well as all kinds of armor when you’re used to mail); total of -6 to skill until you familiarize
shields. Also defaults to Smith equipment modifiers (p. 345). yourself with all the differences.



178 SKILLS

Note that Forward Observer skill paint, or something more exotic (like period of (20 - skill) seconds, mini-
(p. 196) is generally required to desig- blood). mum one second. You cannot talk or
nate targets for Artillery skill. Pottery: Working with various sorts move during the initiation of the
of ceramics – especially clay. trance state. A successful skill roll
Modifiers: All relevant combat Scene Design: Designing sets for the allows you to do one of the following:
modifiers; -2 for an unfamiliar fire- stage. Default: Architecture-3.
control system (e.g., map coordinates Sculpting: Creating three-dimen- Improve Concentration. You get +2
when you’re used to satellite imagery) sional art from ivory, stone, metal, etc. to skill to perform a specific, lengthy
or mount (e.g., a naval turret when Woodworking: All forms of fine mental task (e.g., break a code or write
you’re used to emplaced guns), or for woodwork, including cabinet-making a computer program), but -2 to all
an unfamiliar weapon of a known type and decorative carving. Default: unrelated IQ, Perception, and skill
(e.g., 155mm when you are used to Carpentry-3. rolls. The task must be a relatively
203mm); -4 or more for a weapon in sedate one, done in a quiet place
bad repair. Calligraphy, Drawing, Illumina - (library, lab, monastery, or placid
tion, and Painting default to one wilderness).
Artist† another at -2, and to or from Body Art Increase Will. You get +2 to Will (+5
IQ/Hard at -4. Interior Decorating, Scene on a critical success) for one hour.
Default: IQ-6. Design, and Woodworking default This applies to all attempts to resist
among themselves at -4. All other interrogation, torture, or magical or
This skill represents talent at a Artist specialties default to one anoth- psionic attack. This roll is at -2.
visual art. A successful roll might let er at -6. Negate Pain/Fatigue. Cancels the
you create a recognizable likeness of a An artist of any kind can take a fur- negative effects of being reduced to
person or an object, or a work beauti- ther optional specialty (p. 169) in a less than 1/3 of your FP or HP (but not
ful enough to sell (the GM should not particular medium or technique. the fatigue or injury itself). This roll is
allow a default roll for this use!). Time Many Artist specialties are used to at -4, and you may only make one
required is up to the GM. earn a living rather than to create fine attempt per hour.
Artist is based on IQ, but there are art, and some people regard them as
many situations in which the GM “craft” skills, not “art” skills. It is up to Axe/Mace
could logically ask for a DX-based roll, you whether you focus on beauty, real- see Melee Weapon, p. 208
in which case modifiers for High ism, or functionality.
Manual Dexterity (p. 59) or Ham- Battlesuit/TL
Fisted (p. 138) would apply. In rare Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p.
cases, even a ST-based Artist roll might 345); -2 if the medium is unfamiliar see Environment Suit, p. 192
make sense – for instance, to work (e.g., tempera when you are used to
with a physically tough material. oils); -5 if the medium is difficult (e.g., Beam Weapons/TL†
You must specialize in an art form. marble, for a sculptor). DX/Easy
Common specialties include: Default: DX-4.
Astronomy/TL
Body Art: Tattooing, piercing, and IQ/Hard This is the ability to use beam
scarification. Both this specialty and Default: IQ-6. small arms. You must specialize by
Painting suffice for henna or tempo- Prerequisite: Mathematics weapon type:
rary tattoos, but cosmetic surgery (Applied).
requires Surgery skill (p. 223). Pistol: Any handgun that fires an
Calligraphy: Beautiful and decora- This is the study of stars and other energy or particle beam.
tive handwriting. You need not be lit- extraplanetary objects. An astronomer Projector: Any energy weapon that
erate! could answer questions about the emits an area-effect cone or field.
Drawing: All forms of charcoal, ink, Sun, the planets of the solar system, Rifle: Any long arm that fires an
pastel, and pencil work. etc. An amateur who can locate stars energy or particle beam.
Illumination: Decorating written and use a telescope, but not perform These specialties default to one
text with miniature paintings and pic- involved calculations, has an optional another at -4. Treat specific beam
tures. specialty (p. 169): Astronomy types (blaster, laser, stunner, etc.) as
Illusion: Creating believable or (Observational). This specialty does familiarities. Other modifiers are as
evocative illusions. Prerequisite: magi- not require Mathematics as a per Guns (p. 198). In settings with
cal or psionic illusion ability of some prerequisite. both beam and projectile weapons,
kind. the Pistol and Rifle specialties of
Interior Decorating: Creating pleas- Autohypnosis Beam Weapons default to the similar-
ing building interiors by selecting Will/Hard ly named Guns specialties at -4, and
appropriate paints, fixtures, and Default: Meditation-4. vice versa.
furniture. Default: Architecture-3. See Artillery (p. 178) and Gunner
Painting: All forms of painting, This skill allows you to tap reserves (p. 198) for heavier beam weapons.
whether on paper, canvas, or a wall, of inner strength by entering a trance-
and whether with tempera, oil-based like state. It requires a concentration



SKILLS 179

Bicycling
DX/Easy
Defaults: DX-4 or Driving Planet Types
(Motorcycle)-4. Biology, Geology (p. 198), and Meteorology (p. 209) require you to spe-
This is the ability to ride a bicycle cialize by “planet type,” as does the “Physical” specialty of Geography
long distances, at high speeds, in ral- (p. 198). If you do not specify a planet type, your native planet type is
lies, etc. Roll at +4 if all you want to do assumed – so if the campaign will never leave your home world, save
is struggle along without falling off. space and just write “Geology,” “Biology,” etc. GURPS sorts planets into
An IQ-based Bicycling roll allows you six broad categories for these purposes.
to make simple repairs, assuming Earthlike: Essentially, all habitable worlds.
tools and parts are available. Gas Giants: Jupiter/Uranus types.
Bioengineering/TL† Hostile Terrestrial: Venus types.
Ice Dwarfs: Comets and small moons composed almost entirely of
IQ/Hard snow or ice.
Default: Biology-5. Ice Worlds: Rock worlds covered by a frozen “ocean.”
Rock Worlds: Most moons, asteroids, etc.
This is the ability to engineer living
organisms with specific characteris- Unless otherwise specified, all planet-type specialties for a given skill
tics, or to create biotechnological default to one another at -4.
products. You must specialize:
Cloning: The creation and growth
of clones.
Genetic Engineering: The manipu- Blind Fighting area or heavy machinery, -4 for a full
lation and modification of genes. Per/Very Hard football stadium, or -5 in the middle of
Tissue Engineering: The manufac- an artillery barrage. If you cannot hear
ture of organs and tissues. Defaults: None. at all, the roll is at -7, but you may still
Prerequisites: Trained By A Master attempt a roll, as the skill is not com-
These specialties default to each or Weapon Master. pletely based on hearing. Add your
other at -4.
You have learned to fight blind- level of Acute Hearing to the roll. Add
Biology/TL† folded or in absolute darkness. As a the higher of your ESP Talent (p. 256)
result, you can “sense” your targets or Telepathy Talent (p. 257).
IQ/Very Hard
without having to see them.
Defaults: IQ-6 or Naturalist-6. This skill enables you to use senses Blowpipe
This is the scientific study of the other than vision – mainly hearing, but DX/Hard
structure, behavior, and habitats of also touch and even smell – to pinpoint Default: DX-6.
living organisms. You must specialize exactly where your opponents are. A This is the ability to use a blow-
in the life of a particular planet type successful roll allows one melee attack pipe. You can use this weapon to
(see box). If you do not specify a plan- or active defense without any penalties shoot small, usually poisoned, darts.
et type, your native planet type is for lighting (even total darkness), You can also use it to blow powders at
assumed. The IQ default applies only blindness (temporary or permanent), targets within one yard. Treat this as a
to the planet type you grew up on. The or an invisible foe. However, attacks melee attack, not as a ranged attack.
default between different planet-type made in total darkness, while blind, or Such attacks are always at +2 to hit.
specialties is -4. against invisible enemies have an
At TL6+, most biologists have an extra -2 to target specific hit locations. Modifiers: -2 and up for wind, if
optional specialty (p. 169) as well. The If you also know Zen Archery outdoors.
most common options are biochem- (p. 228), you can shoot targets without
istry (the study of the chemical reac- seeing them by making rolls on both Boating/TL†
tions that sustain life), botany (the skills at -6. DX/Average
study of plants), ecology (the study of An opponent who knows you pos- Defaults: DX-5 or IQ-5.
environments), genetics (the study of sess this ability can foil it by winning a
heredity and genomes), marine biolo- Quick Contest of Stealth-4 vs. your This is the ability to handle a spe-
gy (the study of ocean life), microbiol- Blind Fighting each turn. If he wins, cific type of small watercraft. For large
ogy (the study of microscopic organ- you cannot detect him. However, vessels that require multiple crewmen
isms), and zoology (the study of ani- Invisibility Art (p. 202) never works on on a “bridge,” use Seamanship (see
mals), but more obscure specialties you; it is completely useless against Crewman, p. 185) and Shiphandling
are possible. this skill. (p. 220).
Make a roll to get underway, to
Modifiers: Background noise gives
a penalty: -1 for rain, -2 for heavy rain dock, and whenever you encounter a
or a storm, -3 for a crowded, noisy hazard. If using this skill at default,


180 SKILLS

also roll when you first enter the boat flushes the poison in 1d hours, after and a mask gives -5 (and makes it
– to avoid falling in the water! which it has no further effect. impossible to use this skill if you
You must specialize: Finally, you may use the higher of cannot see the rest of the body!).
this skill and basic HT to resist any
Large Powerboat: Any boat with an Affliction, magic spell, or psionic Body Sense
enclosed cabin and an inboard motor. attack that is normally resisted by HT.
Includes cabin cruisers, houseboats, DX/Hard
and patrol boats. Defaults: Motorboat- Body Language Defaults: DX-6 or Acrobatics-3.
2, Sailboat-4, or Unpowered-4. This This is the ability to adjust quickly
specialty (only) also defaults to Per/Average after teleportation or similar “instant
Seamanship-4. Defaults: Detect Lies-4 or movement.” A successful roll lets you
Motorboat: Any open powerboat – Psychology-4. act normally on your next turn. A
notably speedboats and any of the This is the ability to interpret a failed roll means disorientation: you
boats used with the Sailboat or person’s facial expressions and body may take no action other than defense
Unpowered specialty when outfitted posture in order to gauge his feelings. for one turn. A critical failure means
with an outboard motor. Defaults: You can use it like the Empathy you fall down, physically stunned!
Large Powerboat-2, Sailboat-3, or advantage (p. 51) or Detect Lies skill
Unpowered-3. (p. 187), but only on a subject you can Modifiers: +3 for either level of
Sailboat: Any small watercraft see. You can also use it to get a rough Absolute Direction (p. 34). -2 if you
moving under sail. Defaults: Large idea of what a party member is doing changed facing, or -5 if you went from
Powerboat-4, Motorboat-3, or or about to do in a situation where he vertical to horizontal or vice versa
Unpowered-3. cannot communicate with you direct- (you cannot change posture during a
Unpowered: Any small watercraft ly (for instance, when using Stealth). teleport – only orientation).
that relies on muscle power, whether You can only observe one subject at a
it is paddled, rowed, or poled. time. Bolas
Includes canoes, rowboats, and rafts. The ability to read body language DX/Average
Defaults: Large Powerboat-4, in combat is a standard part of any Defaults: None.
Motorboat-3, or Sailboat-3. Melee Weapon or unarmed combat This is the ability to throw the

Modifiers: -2 for an unfamiliar boat skill; see Feint (p. 365). bolas: a length of cord with two or
within your specialty (e.g., a kayak Modifiers: All Vision modifiers; more weights attached. Its primary
when you’re used to a rowboat); -3 or physiology modifiers (see box); +4 if uses are to stop herd animals and to
worse for foul weather, navigational your subject is Easy to Read (p. 134). hunt small game, but it can also
hazards, etc. Anything that makes the subject hard- entangle opponents in combat. See
er to “read” gives a penalty: Special Ranged Weapons (p. 410) for
Body Control baggy clothing gives -1, a shield or a bolas rules.
HT/Very Hard voluminous cloak gives from -2 to -4,
Defaults: None.
Prerequisites: Trained By A Master,
Breath Control, and Meditation.
This ability lets you affect involun- Physiology Modifiers
tary bodily functions such as heart
rate, blood flow, and digestion. One The following skills deal with the health, function, or vital points of liv-
use of this skill is to enter a deathlike ing beings: Body Language, Diagnosis (p. 187), First Aid (p. 195),
trance, during which only those who Physician (p. 213), Pressure Points (p. 215), Pressure Secrets (p. 215), and
can win a Quick Contest of Diagnosis Surgery (p. 223). These skills work as written when working with mem-
vs. your Body Control skill even real- bers of your species. When dealing with a member of another species,
ize that you are alive. This requires (30 apply the following modifiers:
- skill) seconds of concentration, min-
imum one second. Species with similar physiology: -2 (human vs. Elf) to -4 (human vs.
You can also use this skill to flush troll).
poisons from your body. To do so, you Species with very different physiology, but still from your world: -5. This
must first roll against Poisons (or includes all normal animals.
Alchemy, Pharmacy, etc., as appropri- Utterly alien species: -6 or worse (GM’s option).
ate) to identify the poison. You cannot Machine: No roll possible! These skills do not work at all on creatures
attempt this roll until you know you with the Machine meta-trait (p. 263).
have been poisoned. In most cases, A successful roll against a suitable skill lets you avoid these penalties.
you only discover this when the first This roll is usually against the relevant racial specialty of Physiology,
symptoms show! A successful Body although Biology-4 suffices for common animals.
Control roll – adjusted by any modifi-
er to the HT roll to resist the poison –



SKILLS 181

Bow deprivation, sleep deprivation, social When you defend with bare hands,
DX/Average pressure, subliminal messages, or sur- Brawling allows you to parry two dif-
gery . . . and most likely a combination ferent attacks per turn, one with each
Default: DX-5.
of several of these. hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) + 3,
This is the ability to use the long- Regardless of the techniques rounded down. Brawling parries are
bow, short bow, and all similar bows. employed, brainwashing is handled as at -3 vs. weapons other than thrusting
It also covers the compound bow, a Regular Contest (not a Quick attacks. For more on barehanded par-
although a person who had never seen Contest) between Brainwashing skill ries, see Parrying Unarmed (p. 376).
a compound bow would suffer a -2 and the victim’s Will. Roll once per
unfamiliarity penalty. day. Obviously, the brainwasher has a Breaking Blow
tremendous advantage: even if the vic- IQ/Hard
Boxing tim wins this time, it is only a matter Defaults: None.
DX/Average of time before he slips. Prerequisite: Trained By A Master.
Results depend on how effective
Defaults: None.
the GM deems brainwashing to be, This skill allows you to find the
This is the skill of trained punch- but might include insanity, personali- weakest spot in any object when mak-
ing. Roll against Boxing to hit with a ty alteration, or suggestions that can ing a barehanded attack. Each attack
punch. Boxing does not improve kick- be triggered by future events. In game requires a separate Breaking Blow
ing ability – use Brawling (p. 182) or terms, the victim can acquire almost roll. Roll against skill after you hit.
Karate (p. 203) for that. any mental quirk or disadvantage. Breaking Blow costs 1 FP per attempt,
Boxing improves damage: if you In settings where neural interfaces whether or not you hit.
know Boxing at DX+1 level, add +1 per exist, it might be possible to “hack” the On a success, your attack gains an
die to basic thrust damage when you victim’s brain using a computer. This armor divisor of (5) against any
calculate punching damage. Add +2 takes only a fraction of a second per braced, inanimate, homogenous tar-
per die if you know Boxing at DX+2 or attempt! Brain Hacking should be get (see Injury to Unliving,
better! Work out damage ahead of treated as its own skill, with Computer Homogenous, and Diffuse Targets,
time and record it on your character Hacking instead of Psychology as a p. 380), and you may treat the target
sheet. prerequisite. as if it were Fragile (Brittle) (p. 136)
When you defend with bare hands, This skill normally has no default. for this one attack.
Boxing allows you to parry two differ- However, GMs who wish to explore In a cinematic game, you are not
ent attacks per turn, one with each the gory details can specify the tech- limited to inanimate targets. Your
hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) + 3, niques used in their campaign and armor divisor affects any artificial
rounded down. Boxing parries are have Brainwashing default to one or armor or force field (not natural DR),
at -2 vs. kicks and -3 vs. weapons other more of Electronics Operation (Med- and you may treat homogenous oppo-
than thrusting attacks. Boxing also ical)-6, Hypnotism-6, Interroga- nents as if they were Fragile (Brittle)!
gives an improved retreating bonus tion-6, Pharmacy-6, Psychology-6, or On a failure, your attack gains no
when you parry; see Retreat (p. 377). Surgery-6, as appropriate. special benefits. On a critical failure,
For more on barehanded parries, see you do the damage to your own hand
Parrying Unarmed (p. 376). Brawling or foot.
DX/Easy Modifiers: -10 if used instantly,
Brain Hacking Defaults: None. dropping to -5 after 1 turn of concen-
see Brainwashing, below tration, -4 after 2 turns, -3 after 4
This is the skill of “unscientific” turns, -2 after 8 turns, -1 after 16
Brainwashing/TL unarmed combat. Roll against turns, and no penalty after 32 turns. -1
IQ/Hard Brawling to hit with a punch, or if your target is wood or plastic, -3 if
Brawling-2 to hit with a kick.
Defaults: Special. Brawling can also replace DX when brick or stone, or -5 if metal or high-
Prerequisite: Psychology. you attack with teeth, claws, horns, or tech composites.
This is the “black art” of technolog- other “natural weapons.” Breath Control
ical personality alteration and mind Brawling improves damage: if you HT/Hard
control. Only intelligence, military, know Brawling at DX+2 level or bet-
and security services teach it – and ter, add +1 per die to basic thrust dam- Defaults: None.
only to individuals with suitable Rank age when you calculate damage with This is the ability to breathe at
or Security Clearance. Even then, it is Brawling attacks – punches, kicks, maximum efficiency. On a successful
rare outside police states (except per- claws, bites, etc. Work out damage skill roll, you can increase the time
haps during wartime). ahead of time and record it on your you can hold your breath for any rea-
Brainwashing encompasses many character sheet. son (e.g., underwater) by 50%, or
techniques – some proven, others little Brawling includes the ability to use regain one FP in only two minutes
better than witchcraft. Depending on the blackjack or sap. An attack with (you cannot combine this with magic
the setting, these might include drugs, such a fist load is considered a punch spells that restore FP).
electroshock, hypnotism, sensory at +1 to damage.


182 SKILLS

Broadsword Size Modifier of a large object (e.g., -5 Modifiers: Up to +3 for buying
see Melee Weapon, p. 208 for a tank with SM +5). This makes it drinks or other entertainment for
difficult to camouflage large objects, your fellow carousers; -3 for Killjoy
Camouflage but remember that distant observers (p. 140); -3 for Low Empathy
suffer large Vision penalties for range (p. 142); -1 to -4 for Shyness (p. 154).
IQ/Easy – see Vision (p. 358).
Defaults: IQ-4 or Survival-2. Carpentry
Captivate IQ/Easy
This is the ability to use natural
materials, special fabrics and paints, see Enthrallment, p. 191 Default: IQ-4.
etc. to hide yourself, your position, or This is the ability to build things
your equipment. To see through your Carousing out of wood. A successful roll lets you
camouflage, an observer must win a HT/Easy do one hour’s worth of competent car-
Quick Contest of Vision or Observation Default: HT-4. pentry. A failed roll means the work
skill (p. 211) vs. your Camouflage skill. was bad. The GM may require DX-
Depending on the circumstances, This is the skill of socializing, par- based Carpentry rolls for certain kinds
successful camouflage might hide its tying, etc. A successful Carousing roll, of fine work.
subject entirely or merely blur its out- under the right circumstances, gives
lines to make it harder to hit (-1 to you a +2 bonus on a request for aid or Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
attacker’s skill). Camouflage will not information, or just on a general reac- (p. 345); +5 if you are being supervised
improve your Stealth roll, but if you tion. A failed roll means you made a or assisted by someone with skill 15 or
fail a Stealth roll while camouflaged, fool of yourself in some way; you get better.
those who heard you must still see a -2 penalty on any reaction roll made
through your camouflage to see you. by those you caroused with. If you do Cartography/TL
your carousing in the wrong places, a IQ/Average
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers failed roll can have other dangers!
(p. 345). Apply a penalty equal to the Defaults: IQ-5, Geography (any)
-2, Mathematics (Surveying)-2, or
Navigation (any)-4.
This is the ability to create and
interpret maps and charts. Roll
against this skill to map any location
as you move through it. At TL7+, this
skill includes knowledge of computer
mapping techniques and generating
maps from sensor information.
Chemistry/TL
IQ/Hard
Default: IQ-6 or Alchemy-3.
This is the study of matter. A
chemist can identify elements and sim-
ple compounds (but not necessarily
drugs, magical substances, etc.). Given
proper equipment, he could conduct
complex analyses and syntheses.
Climbing
DX/Average
Default: DX-5.
This is the ability to climb moun-
tains, rock walls, trees, the sides of
buildings, etc. See Climbing (p. 349)
for details.
Modifiers: +2 for Brachiator (p. 41);
+3 for Flexibility or +5 for Double-
Jointed (p. 56); +1 for Perfect Balance
(p. 74); a penalty equal to encum-
brance level (e.g., -1 for Light
encumbrance).


SKILLS 183

Cloak with Staff at 15 would have default games, etc. It is the only computer
DX/Average Staff Art and Staff Sport skills of 12, skill needed by most end users. Learn
while an athlete with Staff Sport at 15 Computer Programming (below) to
Defaults: DX-5, Net-4, or Shield would have Staff and Staff Art skills at write software and Electronics Repair
(any)-4.
12 by default. (Computers) (p. 190) to troubleshoot
This is the skill of using a cloak or hardware.
a cape as a weapon. It covers the use Computer Hacking/TL This skill only exists in game
of two types of cloak: the waist-length IQ/Very Hard worlds with computers. Individuals
“light cloak” (any cloak, cape, or coat Defaults: None. from settings without computers can-
weighing less than 5 lbs.) and the full- Prerequisite: Computer not even use it by default until they
length “heavy cloak” (any cloak weigh- Programming. have had time to gain familiarity with
ing 5 lbs. or more). computers! In settings where it is pos-
Offensively, you can use a cloak to This is the skill of gaining illegal sible to “jack” your brain into a com-
entangle an opponent – see Special access to a computer system – usually puter, Computer Operation includes
Melee Weapon Rules (p. 404) for using another computer over a com- the ability to use a neural interface,
details. You can also snap a cloak in munications network. A successful but new users initially suffer a -4
your opponent’s face or simply use it Computer Hacking roll allows you to penalty for unfamiliarity (see
to block his vision, either of which gain surreptitious access to a system, Familiarity, p. 169).
counts as a Feint maneuver. or to find (or change) information on Modifiers: -2 or more for an unfa-
Defensively, a cloak works much a system you have already broken miliar computer, operating system, or
like a shield. It provides a Defense into. On a critical failure, you fail to program.
Bonus (+1 if light, +2 if heavy) and gain access and leave some sort of
gives a Block defense equal to (skill/2) incriminating evidence of your Computer
+ 3, rounded down. A cloak is not as attempt.
robust as a shield, though! A light This skill is cinematic, and simu- Programming/TL
cloak has only DR 1 and 3 HP, while a lates the way computer intrusion IQ/Hard
heavy cloak has DR 1 and 5 HP. works in many movies and novels. It Defaults: None.
does not exist in realistic settings!
Combat Art or Sport Realistic “hackers” should learn a This is the ability to write and
DX/Varies combination of Computer Operation debug computer software. A success-
ful roll lets you find a bug in a pro-
(to exploit OS loopholes and run
Defaults: Special.
intrusion software), Computer gram, determine a program’s purpose
You can opt to learn most combat Programming (to write intrusion soft- by examining the code, answer a ques-
skills in nonlethal forms aimed at ware), Cryptography, Electronics tion about computer programming, or
either exhibition (Combat Art skill) or Operation (Communications or write a new program (time required is
competition (Combat Sport skill). Surveillance), Electronics Repair up to the GM).
Combat Art skills emphasize (Computers), Fast-Talk (to convince In settings where artificial intelli-
graceful movements and perfect legitimate users to reveal passwords), gence (AI) exists, those who wish to
stances. Since these skills still give a Research (to find documented securi- work with AI must learn Computer
default to full-fledged, lethal combat ty holes), and Scrounging (to Programming (AI). There is no default
skills (see below), they are a logical “Dumpster dive” for manuals, pass- between this skill and regular
choice for Pacifists who want some words on discarded sticky notes, etc.). Computer Programming. When using
combat ability. Modifiers: Equipment modifiers Detect Lies, Fast-Talk, Psychology,
Combat Sport skills concentrate on (p. 345). -1 to -10 if you have been Teaching, and similar “social” skills
speed of movement and nondamaging away from the field for a long time on an AI, roll against the lower of
attacks. A failed skill roll means a foul and have not had a chance to become Computer Programming (AI) and the
that might disqualify you from a tour- familiar with the changes. Security relevant skill.
nament! You can make an IQ-based measures give a penalty, from -1 for Modifiers: -2 or more for an unfa-
roll against Combat Sport to recall the cheapest commercial security soft- miliar programming language (see
basic tournament rules, but to become ware to -15 for the latest technology. Familiarity, p. 169). The time modi-
a qualified judge or referee, learn the Some measures resist your intrusion fiers under Time Spent (p. 346) will
relevant Games skill (p. 197). attempt; treat this as a Quick Contest often apply. When writing a program
Combat Art and Sport skills are of Hacking vs. the effective skill of the that deals with a specialized field of
DX-based, with the same difficulty defenses. knowledge, the GM may require a roll
level and defaults as the correspon- against the lower of Computer
ding combat skill. A combat skill, its Computer Operation/TL Programming and your skill in that
Art form, and its Sport form default IQ/Easy field (e.g., a Mathematics specialty for
among themselves at -3. For instance, a complex mathematical program, or
Staff Art and Staff Sport are Default: IQ-4. the lower of Teaching skill and a “sub-
DX/Average skills that default to DX-5, This is the ability to use a comput- ject” skill for an expert system that will
just like Staff skill (p. 208). A fighter er: call up data, run programs, play assist users with a particular subject).



184 SKILLS

Connoisseur† An ordinary success means that meteorology, or to recall laws and reg-
IQ/Average your work is good but not perfect. ulations that pertain to your vehicle.
Whenever you try to pass the counter- This skill also lets you steer the ves-
Defaults: IQ-5 and others.
feit money, the GM makes a second sel. It is easier than Piloting,
This skill represents an educated skill roll for you, with all the same Submarine, and similar skills because
understanding of art and luxury items. modifiers. If this roll fails, the recipi- it only includes knowledge of how to
It is vital to art dealers, critics, master ent spots your handiwork. To success- steer. Specialists handle such activi-
thieves, and anyone who wishes to fully pass bogus currency to someone ties as plotting courses and operating
appear cultured. A successful roll lets who has reason to be suspicious, you sensors. These experts report to the
you predict what critics will think of a must win a Quick Contest of captain, who in turn tells you how to
piece of art, assess how much it will Counterfeiting vs. the highest of his maneuver. Make a DX-based skill roll
fetch on the market (+1 to Merchant Perception, Forensics, and Merchant. whenever you take the helm – but note
skill when trading it), or impress the Any failure on the initial Coun - that your effective skill cannot exceed
culturally literate (may give +1 to terfeiting roll means that the first per- your captain’s Shiphandling skill
Savoir-Faire or reaction rolls, at the son to receive the money immediately (p. 220).
GM’s option). realizes that it is bogus. Critical failure The average Crewman skill of an
You must specialize. Specialties – on the initial roll or any subsequent entire crew can be used as a measure
include Dance, Literature, Music, roll – has other ramifications: the of overall crew quality. The GM rolls
Visual Arts, and Wine. Each specialty recipient is an undercover cop, an against average skill whenever the
defaults to skills used to study or create armed and angry citizen, etc. vehicle arrives or departs, in unfavor-
the art at -3: Connoisseur (Literature) Modifiers: Equipment modifiers able conditions, or in battle. Failure
defaults to Literature, Poetry, or (p. 345). Materials – ink, paper, and critical failure results depend on
Writing at -3; Connoisseur (Music) presses, etc. – stolen from the legiti- the circumstances.
defaults to Group Performance mate mint can give from +1 (a few There is a separate skill for each
(Conducting), Musical Composition, rolls of paper) to +10 (actual plates or class of vessel:
or Musical Instrument at -3; and so molds). You must have a sample of the Airshipman/TL: The skill of han-
on.
real thing or you cannot make the dling ballast, gas valves, mooring
Modifiers: Cultural Familiarity attempt at all! lines, etc. on a blimp, zeppelin, or
modifiers (p. 23); -3 for Killjoy (p. 140). other large airship.
Crewman/TL Seamanship/TL: The skill of operat-
Cooking IQ/Easy ing anchors, hatches, mooring lines,
IQ/Average Default: IQ-4. pumps, sails, windlasses, etc. aboard a
large surface ship (but not a subma-
Defaults: IQ-5 or Housekeeping-5.
This is the ability to serve as crew rine).
This is the skill of being a chef – aboard a specific type of large vehicle. Spacer/TL: The skill of working
you do not need it to heat water and It includes familiarity with “shipboard with airlocks, docking clamps, hull
open boxes, or to cook rat-on-a-stick life,” knowledge of safety measures, patches, pressure doors, etc. on a large
over your campfire. A successful skill and training in damage control (the spacecraft or space base.
roll allows you to prepare a pleasing use of emergency equipment to con- Submariner/TL: The skill of han-
meal. Many chefs have an optional trol flooding, fight fires, patch the dling pressure doors, pumps, valves,
specialty (p. 169), such as baking, bev- hull, and so forth). Make a skill roll for etc. aboard a submarine or in an
erage making, or a particular variety basic map or chart reading, practical undersea base.
of ethnic cuisine (e.g., Chinese or
Martian).
Counterfeiting/TL Team Efforts
IQ/Hard
Defaults: IQ-6 or Forgery-2. When every PC must roll against a vital skill that some party mem-
bers lack, the GM may allow the skilled to cover for the unskilled. If the
This is the art of duplicating bank - players agree, roll once for the entire team. Start with the group’s best
notes and coins. It is only taught by skill level, add a bonus equal to the number of people who know the skill
the underworld and government agen- (at least one point – no defaults!), and subtract a penalty equal to group
cies (although this is rare outside of size. The results of success or failure apply equally to everybody.
rogue states, except in wartime). Time This is advisable only when the high-skill character is leading (usu-
required varies from days to weeks ally from the front) and able to communicate, if only via gestures. It
(GM’s option). The GM secretly rolls best suits tasks that affect everyone, like using Climbing when the
against your Counterfeiting skill for group is roped together, or sneaking en masse with Stealth. The GM
each “batch” of money. should forbid it if the PCs aren’t in contact or are behaving selfishly,
A critical success means that the and for such personal challenges as resistance rolls.
fakes in that batch are as good as the
real thing.


SKILLS 185

The code-breaker is at +5 if he has a
sample of the code with translation,
and -5 if the message to be decoded is
shorter than 25 words. The code-
maker receives a bonus for the time
taken to create the code: consult the
Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 550),
look up the time in days in the
Range/Speed column (substituting
“days” for “yards”), and use the corre-
sponding bonus.
Current Affairs/TL†
IQ/Easy
Defaults: IQ-4 or Research-4.

This is the ability to assimilate
quickly whatever qualifies as “news” in
your world, and to recall it as needed.
You must specialize in one of the
following areas:
Criminology/TL Knowledge of a specific system, code, Business: Exchange rates, invest-
or cipher depends on your Security ment performance, etc.
IQ/Average
Clearance (p. 82) and allegiances Headline News: Usually bad news,
Defaults: IQ-5 or Psychology-4.
(national, administrative, or both). In such as assassinations, plagues, and
This is the study of crime and the many settings, some level of Security wars.
criminal mind. A successful skill roll Clearance is a prerequisite to learning High Culture: Information on gal-
allows you to find and interpret clues, this skill at all. leries, operas, symphonies, and so
guess how criminals might behave, Treat an attempt to break an forth.
etc. Though this skill does not actually unknown code as a Quick Contest of People: The names of and gossip on
default to Streetwise, the GM might Cryptography skill between the code- celebrities, heads of state, and the like.
allow a Streetwise roll instead in cer- breaker and code-maker. The code- Politics: Election results, interna-
tain situations – especially to predict or breaker must win to break the code. tional treaties, etc.
outguess a criminal. Repeated attempts are possible, but Popular Culture: Hit songs, cool
each attempt takes a day. The code- fashions, and hot products, among
Modifiers: -3 for Low Empathy maker rolls only once, when he first other things.
(p. 142). Regional: News of all kinds for a
creates the code.
Those with Cryptography skill may specific region (pick one). This is the
Crossbow
take an optional specialty (p. 169) in definitive “town crier” skill at low TLs.
DX/Easy making or breaking codes. (The code- Science & Technology: New discov-
Default: DX-4. breaking specialty is often called eries and inventions.
“cryptanalysis.”) Sports: Scores for recent matches,
This is the ability to use all types of names of star athletes, etc.
crossbows, including the pistol cross- Cryptography normally has no IQ Travel: Where the “beautiful peo-
bow, prodd (which fires pellets or default, with two exceptions. Anyone ple” are going this year, and how
stones), repeating crossbow, and high- can devise a trivial code or cipher by much it all costs.
tech compound crossbow. making an IQ-5 roll. This won’t stall a
professional for long, of course. These specialties default to one
Cryptography/TL Likewise, anyone can make an IQ-5 another at -4. It is hard to bone up on
IQ/Hard roll to attempt to break such a trivial one kind of news without learning
code (but not a code devised by some-
Default: Mathematics (Cryptology)- one with Cryptography skill), using about all the others!
On a successful Current Affairs
5. the Quick Contest system described roll, the GM will inform you of any
This is the ability to create and above. news within your specialty that per-
defeat encryption systems, codes, and Modifiers: Mathematical Ability tains to the current adventure (possi-
ciphers. It is of use in wartime, espi- (p. 90). A computer with appropriate bly including clues, on a good roll) or
onage, and even business dealings. It software gives a bonus (provided you give you a small skill bonus (e.g., a
covers all the techniques of your TL, know Computer Operation skill): +1 success on Current Affairs (Sports)
which can range from unsophisticat- for a home computer, +2 for a mini- might give +1 to Gambling skill when
ed substitution ciphers to state-of-the- computer, +3 or +4 for a mainframe, betting on a boxing match).
art tactical encryption schemes. and +5 or more for a supercomputer.



186 SKILLS

Modifiers: -1 per day that you have This is the ability to tell what is requires a Disguise roll and 30
been unable to access news media; -3 if wrong with a sick or injured person, minutes to an hour of preparation.
you only have one source; +1 or more or what killed a dead person. A suc- Roll a Quick Contest of Disguise
for “inside” access to the news (a sub- cessful roll gives some information skill vs. the Perception of each person
scription to an ordinary wire service is about the patient’s problem – limited your disguise must fool. Individuals
worth +1, while a job at an intelligence to realistic knowledge for your tech with Criminology or Observation skill
agency might give +3 or more). level. It might not determine the exact may substitute those skills for
problem (if the GM feels the cause is Perception when rolling to penetrate a
Dancing totally beyond your experience, for disguise. The GM may allow other
DX/Average instance), but it always gives hints, skills to be of use – for instance,
Default: DX-5. rule out impossibilities, etc. No Physician skill might help spot a rub-
Diagnosis roll is required for obvious ber nose.
This is the ability to perform things, like open wounds and missing When combining Acting (p. 174)
dances appropriate to your own cul- limbs! with Disguise (that is, when you must
ture, and to learn new dances quickly. change your face and your personali-
Note that certain physical handicaps Modifiers: Equipment modifiers ty), you need only make one roll for
make this skill effectively impossible! (p. 345); physiology modifiers each person or group – but it must be
Exotic dances abound in fiction (p. 181); -5 for internal injuries; -5 or the harder of the two rolls.
and history: blade dancing, bull danc- more for a rare disease. If there is more than one sapient
ing, fire dancing, snake dancing, etc. species in your world, you must spe-
The GM may decide that each is a sep- Diplomacy cialize by race – Disguise (Human) is
arate DX/Average skill that defaults to IQ/Hard nothing like Disguise (Bug-Eyed
Dancing-5. Defaults: IQ-6 or Politics-6. Monster). Disguise specialized in your
own species is the most common
Modifiers: Cultural Familiarity This is the skill of negotiating,
modifiers (p. 23); -5 if the dance is compromising, and getting along with form; just list this as “Disguise” on
unfamiliar (a dance is familiar once others. You may substitute a your character sheet. Disguise skills
you have successfully performed it Diplomacy roll for any reaction roll in for physically similar species default
three times). a noncombat situation, as described to one another at -2 to -4.
under Influence Rolls (p. 359). Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
Detect Lies Unlike other Influence skills, (p. 345). +4 for Elastic Skin (p. 51).
Per/Hard Diplomacy never gives a worse result You are at -1 to -5 to disguise yourself
Defaults: Perception-6, Body than if you had tried an ordinary reac- as someone very different from you
Language-4, or Psychology-4. tion roll. Failure with Fast-Talk or Sex (GM’s discretion). Distinctive appear-
Appeal alienates the subject, but ance also gives a penalty – see Build
This is the ability to tell when Diplomacy is usually safe. (p. 18), Unnatural Features (p. 22),
someone is lying to you. It is not the A successful roll also allows you to and specific disadvantages (e.g.,
same as Interrogation (p. 202); Detect predict the possible outcome of a Hunchback, p. 139) for details.
Lies works in a casual or social situa- course of action when you are negoti- Differences in Size Modifier usually
tion. When you ask to use this skill, ating, or to choose the best approach make Disguise impossible.
the GM rolls a Quick Contest of your to take.
Detect Lies skill vs. your subject’s IQ If you know Diplomacy at level 20 You can also learn Disguise
(or Fast-Talk or Acting skill). If you or better, you get a +2 bonus on all (Animals) to deceive nonsapient crea-
win, the GM tells you whether the sub- reaction rolls! tures. This involves wearing animal
ject is lying. If you lose, the GM may skins, smearing your body with musk
lie to you about whether you were lied Modifiers: +2 for Voice (p. 97); -3 or dung, etc. There is no default
to . . . or just say, “You can’t tell.” for Low Empathy (p. 142); -1 for between this and other Disguise spe-
Oblivious (p. 146); -1 to -4 for Shyness cialties. Use the following modifiers
Modifiers: +1 for Sensitive or +3 for (p. 154); -2 for Stuttering (p. 157). instead of those given above.
Empathy (p. 51), or -3 for Low
Empathy (p. 142); +4 if your subject is Disguise/TL† Modifiers: +2 if approaching from
Easy to Read (p. 134). If the subject is IQ/Average downwind; -1 for each animal over one
of a different species, the GM may Defaults: IQ-5 or Makeup-3. of the same type being approached (-1
assess a penalty – see Physiology for every 10 in the case of herd ani-
Modifiers (p. 181). This is the art of altering your mals); -1 to -3 if the skins are old or in
appearance using clothing, makeup, poor condition. Make a Naturalist roll
Diagnosis/TL and prosthetics. You do not need this to recall the habits of the animal being
IQ/Hard skill to don a quick disguise – e.g., to imitated; success gives +1 to +3, while
Defaults: IQ-6, First Aid-8, put on a lab coat when you enter a lab- failure gives -1 to -3.
Physician-4, or Veterinary-5. oratory – but such disguises only fool
the inattentive! A good disguise Diving Suit/TL
see Environment Suit, p. 192



SKILLS 187

Dreaming Driving/TL† Hovercraft: Any kind of air-cushion
Will/Hard DX/Average vehicle. Default: other Driving at -5.
Locomotive: Any vehicle that
Default: Will-6. Defaults: DX-5 or IQ-5.
moves on conventional or maglev
This is the skill of controlling and This is the ability to drive a specif- rails. Default: other Driving at -5.
remembering your dreams. A success- ic type of ground vehicle. Mecha: Any kind of legged, bounc-
ful skill roll lets you experience vivid Make an IQ-based Driving roll for ing, rolling, or slithering vehicle.
dreams about a subject of your choos- basic map reading, to diagnose simple Defaults: Battlesuit-3 or other Driving
ing. Use the Fortune-Telling (Dream malfunctions, or to recall rules of the at -5.
Interpretation) skill to interpret your road. Motorcycle: Any powered one- or
dreams. In some game worlds, this You must specialize: two-wheeled vehicle, including those
might be a useful divinatory technique with sidecars. Large motorcycles often
(GM’s decision). Automobile: Any vehicle with three have a Minimum ST, just like a
A Dreaming roll can also help you or more wheels that weighs less than 5 weapon (see p. 270). Default:
recall a previously forgotten piece of tons and does not move on rails. Bicycling-4.
information, or something you wit- Defaults: Heavy Wheeled-2 or other Tracked: Any vehicle that moves on
nessed but did not consciously note. Driving at -4. tracks. Defaults: Halftrack-2 or other
Construction Equipment: Any kind
This technique is much less reliable of bulldozer, crane, plow, etc. Default: Driving at -4.
than Eidetic Memory (p. 51), though. Note that the ability to “drive” a
The GM will describe your dreams to other Driving at -5. team of animals is not Driving, but
you, working clues into the narrative. Halftrack: Any vehicle that moves Teamster (p. 225).
It is up to you, the player, to spot these on tracks and either wheels or skids.
hints! Defaults: Tracked-2 or other Driving Modifiers: -2 or more for bad driv-
Finally, you can use this skill to at -4. ing conditions; -2 or more for a vehicle
combat malign supernatural influ- Heavy Wheeled: Any vehicle with in bad repair; -2 for an unfamiliar con-
ences on your dreams. Resolve this as three or more wheels that weighs 5 trol system (e.g., an automatic when
a Quick Contest between your tons or more and does not move on you are used to a manual); -4 or more
Dreaming skill and your harasser’s rails. Defaults: Automobile-2 or other for a vehicle of an unfamiliar type
skill at dream control. If you win, you Driving at -4. within your specialty (e.g., a race car
shut out the external influence. when you are used to stock cars).













































188 SKILLS

Dropping Make a skill roll in an emergency situ- any scientific skill on which you have
DX/Average ation or for “abnormal” use of equip- spent at least one point.
ment – not for ordinary, everyday use. Security: Both operating and cir-
Defaults: DX-3 or Throwing-4.
(Exception: Unskilled users must cumventing all forms of alarms, secu-
This is the skill of dropping heavy always attempt their default roll!) rity sensors, and area-surveillance
objects on your foes while flying. Treat You must specialize. Available spe- technology.
this as a ranged attack made from cialties vary by game world, but might Sensors: Most forms of long-range
above. Learn Dropping if you wish to include: detection gear, from air-defense radar
drop boulders and similar projectiles Communications (Comm): All to starship sensor suites. Certain high-
on individual opponents while on the forms of electronic communications ly specialized sensors (such as sonar,
wing. Use Artillery (Bombs) to attack technology: radios, satellite uplinks, below) have their own specialties.
areas with explosive ordnance, etc. Sonar: All types of acoustic detec-
laser communicators, etc. Includes tion and ranging gear (normally used
Economics knowledge of any standard, current underwater).
communications codes appropriate to
IQ/Hard your background. These do not Surveillance: All forms of conceal-
Defaults: IQ-6, Finance-3, Market require a skill roll – although attempts able or remote surveillance gear:
Analysis-5, or Merchant-6. to understand or use an unfamiliar “bugs,” hidden cameras, long-range
microphones, wiretaps, etc.
code do require a roll. At TL5-7, this
This is the study of the theory of Temporal: All manner of time
money, markets, and financial sys- includes telegraphy: you can send or machines. Critical failures can be dis-
tems. It is mainly an academic skill, receive 2 words per minute (wpm) per astrous for the time travelers! Make
but a successful skill roll allows you to point of skill at TL5, 3 wpm per point separate rolls to “lock onto” and trans-
predict the economic impact of events of skill at TL6-7. fer the travelers.
in the game world: the assassination Electronic Warfare (EW): All sig-
of a political figure, the demolition of nals-intelligence and jamming equip- These specialties default to one
a power plant, the introduction of a ment, including electronic counter- another at -4; however, the GM is free
new invention, etc. Adventurers with measures (ECM) and electronic to rule that in his campaign, there is no
intelligence and military backgrounds counter-countermeasures (ECCM). In default between exotic specialties
frequently have some training in this most game worlds, only intelligence (Parachronic, Psychotronics, etc.) and
skill. agencies and the military teach this mundane ones (Media, Security, etc.).
specialty – and only to individuals The technologies covered by a particu-
Electrician/TL with suitable Military Rank (p. 30) or lar specialty vary with TL. For instance,
Security Clearance (p. 82). Electronics Operation (Comm) covers
IQ/Average
Force Shields: Portable, vehicular, telegraphs at TL5, telephones and
Defaults: IQ-5 or Engineer base, and starship force shields and radios at TL6, and digital communica-
(Electrical)-3. deflectors. tions systems at TL8 . . . and might
This is the skill of building, main- Matter Transmitters (MT): All mat- cover faster-than-light or telepathic
taining, and repairing electrical sys- ter transmitters and teleporters. communicators at higher TLs.
tems. Make a skill roll to diagnose an Critical failures can be disastrous, Familiarity (p. 169) is crucial here!
electrical fault, wire a building or vehi- especially when transmitting living Electronics Operation/TL8 (Sensors)
cle, etc. Adventuring uses include beings! covers both thermographs on fighter
damage control in combat (e.g., to Media: All forms of audio, film, and jets and ground-penetrating radars on
restore power to a damaged vehicle video editing equipment. If three- satellites, but going from one to the
system) and cutting the power to a dimensional video (“holographics”) or other gives you -2 for type (thermo-
building prior to clandestine activities. sensory recordings (“sensies”) exist in graph to radar) and -2 for implemen-
Note that electrical and electronic the setting, this specialty includes the tation (jet to satellite), for a net -4 to
systems are not the same thing. The ability to operate the relevant equip- skill until you familiarize yourself
equivalent skill for electronics is ment. Treat different media as mutu- with all the differences.
Electronics Repair (p. 190). ally unfamiliar technologies. Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
Medical: All manner of electronic
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers diagnostic and life-support equip- (p. 345); -2 for an unfamiliar technol-
(p. 345). ment. ogy of a known type (e.g., radar when
Parachronic: Technological means you are used to thermograph) or an
Electronics of travel between dimensions or time- unfamiliar implementation of a famil-
Operation/TL† lines. iar technology (e.g., air-defense radar
when you are used to weather radar);
IQ/Average Psychotronics: Psionic technology, -1 to -10 if you have been away from
such as telepathic shields and ampli-
Defaults: IQ-5, Electronics Repair the field for a long time (this varies by
(same)-5, or Engineer (Electronics)-5. fiers. field) and have not had a chance to
Scientific: Laboratory electronics
This skill lets you use all electronic and survey gear. You are automatically become familiar with the changes.
equipment within a known specialty. familiar with the equipment used with



SKILLS 189

Artillery: Designing whatever
passes for artillery at your TL, from
trebuchets to smart missiles. Default:
Skills for Design, Repair, and Use Armoury (Heavy Weapons)-6.
When choosing technological skills for your character, it can be Civil: Planning highways, aque-
helpful to bear in mind that such skills govern three distinct classes of ducts, buildings, etc. Default: Architec-
activity: ture-6.
Clockwork: Designing wind-up
Design. An inventor, gadgeteer, or mad scientist requires skills that
let him design and build new inventions, redesign existing ones, and gadgetry – watches, mechanical men,
deduce the function of (and reverse-engineer!) unknown technologies. and the like. Default: Mechanic
The key skill here is Engineer – specialized in the inventor’s fields of (Clockwork)-6.
interest – but Bioengineering (for biotechnology) and Computer Combat: Building or removing for-
Programming (for software) are equally appropriate. tifications, trenches, etc. Default:
Repair. A craftsman or technician needs skills that enable him to Explosives (Demolition)-6.
troubleshoot and repair known devices, perform major overhauls and Electrical: Designing electrical sys-
upgrades, install new equipment, and customize existing gear. The tems, such as power cells and trans-
most important skills of this type are Armoury, Electrician, Electronics mission lines. Default: Electrician-6.
Repair, Machinist, and Mechanic. Electronics: Designing and building
Use. A detective, soldier, spy, or similar professional needs skills that electronic apparatus, from computers
let him operate specialized equipment, conduct routine maintenance to starship sensor arrays. (The specific
on his gear, and identify common makes and models (and their technologies involved – vacuum tubes,
strengths and weaknesses). Such skills include Computer Operation, transistors, photonics, etc. – will
Electronics Operation, Environment Suit, Explosives, vehicle skills depend on the tech level.) Default:
(Crewman, Driving, Shiphandling, etc.), and weapon skills (Artillery, Electronics Repair (any)-6.
Guns, etc.). Materials: Concocting new struc-
tural materials. Prerequisites: Chem -
These skills form “design-repair-use triads”; e.g., Engineer istry or Metallurgy. Defaults:
(Electronics)-Electronics Repair-Electronics Operation for electronic Chemistry-6 or Metallurgy-6.
devices, Engineer (Vehicle)-Mechanic-Driving for vehicles, and Microtechnology: Designing micro-
Engineer (Small Arms)-Armoury-Guns for firearms. Cinematic adven- machines. Default: Mechanic (Micro -
turers with great depth of knowledge often have all three skills in a triad! machines)-6.
Mining: Designing underground
structures. Defaults: Explosives (Dem -
olition)-6 or Geology (any)-6.
Nanotechnology: Designing nano -
Electronics Repair/TL† Engineer/TL†
machines. Default: Mechanic (Nano -
IQ/Average IQ/Hard machines)-6.
Defaults: IQ-5, Electronics Oper - Defaults: Special. Parachronic: Designing apparatus
ation (same)-3, or Engineer (Elec - Prerequisites: Mathematics for crossing dimensions or timelines.
tronics)-3. (Applied) at TL5+, plus others as Prerequisite: Physics. Default: Elec -
noted. tronics Operation (Parachronic)-6,
This is the ability to diagnose and
repair known types of electronic This is the ability to design and but there is no default if your soci-
equipment. Time required for each build technological devices and sys- ety has not discovered dimensional
attempt is up to the GM. You must tems. A successful roll lets you design travel.
specialize in one of the areas listed a new system, diagnose a glitch, iden- Psychotronics: Designing psionic
under Electronics Operation (above), tify the purpose of a strange device, or technology, such as telepathic shields
or in Computers (Electronics Repair improvise a gadget to solve a problem. and amplifiers. Default: Electronics
(Computers) defaults to Computer Time required for each attempt is up Operation (Psychotronics)-6, but
Operation-5). These specialties default to the GM. there is no default for individuals from
to one another at -4. Note that engineers are designers backgrounds where psionics do not
and inventors; they are not necessarily exist.
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers skilled at the routine operation or Robotics: Designing robotics and
(p. 345); -2 without plans or schemat- maintenance of the things they cybernetics. Default: Mechanic
ics; -2 for an unfamiliar technology or design! For instance, Engineer (Small (Robotics)-6.
implementation (just as for Elec - Arms) lets you design a new assault Small Arms: Designing personal
tronics Operation); -4 to modify a rifle, but you need Armoury skill to firearms, such as guns and portable
device away from its intended maintain it and Guns skill to shoot it. rocket launchers. Default: Armoury
purpose. (Small Arms)-6.
You must specialize. Possible fields
include: Temporal: Designing time
machines. Prerequisite: Physics.
Default: Electronics Operation



190 SKILLS

(Temporal)-6, but there is no default your Enthrallment skill vs. the Will of asleep, you become unconscious or fall
for individuals from backgrounds each audience member. If you win, asleep, you attack the subject, or the
without time travel! you affect your audience – see the subject loses half his HP to injury.
Vehicle Type: Designing a single, individual skill description for effects. Persuade
broad class of vehicle. Examples If you lose or tie, there is no effect.
include Engineer (Automobiles), However, if you critically fail, your Will/Hard
Engineer (Ships), and Engineer (Star- audience instantly turns hostile! Defaults: None.
ships). Default: Mechanic (same vehi- You may never learn these skills at This ability allows you to bring an
cle type)-6. a skill level higher than your Public audience over to your point of view,
Speaking skill.
Engineer specialties normally granting you a bonus to your reaction
default to one another at -4; however, Audience Size: An “audience” can rolls with them. You may use this skill
the GM is free to rule that in his cam- be one listener or a hundred – as many whenever a reaction roll is called for.
paign, there is no default between as can hear the tale. However, the If you win the Quick Contest, add
exotic specialties (Nanotechnology, number of audience members that your margin of victory to any reaction
Parachronic, Psychotronics, etc.) and you can enthrall at one sitting is limit- roll those in the audience make
more mundane ones (Civil, Combat, ed to your Charisma level squared, to a regarding you – for any reason – to a
Mining, etc.). maximum of 25 people at Charisma 5. maximum of +3 (+4 on a critical suc-
cess). If you critically fail, the best pos-
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers Modifiers: All four Enthrallment sible reaction is Poor (see p. 560).
(p. 345). Up to +5 to build a gadget if skills are at -3 for Low Empathy
you can give the GM a good descrip- (p. 142). If the player actually tells a Time: 1 minute.
tion of what you want it to do. good tale, the GM should reward him Fatigue Cost: 2 FP, whether suc-
with +1 to +3 to the Public Speaking cessful or not.
and Enthrallment rolls! Duration: Until you do something
to change the audience’s opinion!
Suggest
“Kill the king!” is acceptable; “Kill the king if Will/Hard
he doesn’t accede to our demands!” is not. Defaults: None.
Prerequisite: Persuade at 12+.
This ability lets you give your audi-
Enthrallment Captivate ence a single, simple suggestion. A
Will/Hard Will/Hard suggestion should have no complex
Defaults: None. Defaults: None. grammatical clauses – just a subject,
verb, object, and at most two modi-
Prerequisites: Charisma 1 and Prerequisite: Suggest at 12+. fiers. “Kill the king!” is acceptable;
Public Speaking at 12+. This skill allows you to tell a story “Kill the king if he doesn’t accede to
Bards in fantasy can often influ- so skillfully that those listening lose our demands!” is not. A given subject
ence others through storytelling. The their will and do whatever you want gets +5 to resist if your suggestion
GM may choose to represent this abil- them to do. In effect, they believe goes against his personal safety, and
ity using the four Enthrallment skills themselves to be in the tale, and are +3 if it goes against his beliefs, convic-
described below. Depending on the vulnerable to being manipulated by tions, or knowledge.
setting, these skills might be magical, you, the teller of the tale. If you win the Quick Contest, the
psionic, or a cinematic form of hypno- If you win the Quick Contest, the audience members try to act on the
tism. Each has a time requirement, FP audience becomes intensely loyal to suggestion to the best of their abilities
cost, and duration, and requires two you. They follow any direct order you – each assuming that the idea was his
skill rolls to use. give. In the absence of a direct order, own.
At the outset of the tale, roll vs. they act in your best interest, as they Time: 20 minutes of uninterrupted
Public Speaking skill; if you can’t grab understand it. If you tell someone to storytelling.
your audience’s attention early on, you do something very hazardous, or that Fatigue Cost: 6 FP, whether suc-
won’t have much of a chance of con- goes against his usual code of behav- cessful or not.
trolling them by the end. On a success, ior (GM’s decision), he gets a Will-5 Duration: 10 minutes – or longer, if
proceed to the Enthrallment skill roll; roll to break the captivation. you continue to talk to the audience
critical success gives +1 on that roll. On Otherwise, he is your loyal supporter and can make a successful Suggest roll
a failure, you may still attempt the for all intents and purposes. every 10 minutes! Once the suggestion
Enthrallment roll, but at a penalty Time: 30 minutes of uninterrupted lapses, audience members only won-
equal to your margin of failure. Critical storytelling. der why they acted the way they did if
failure means your Enthrallment Fatigue Cost: 8 FP, whether suc- the suggestion was something they
attempt fails automatically. cessful or not. would never have done normally.
After the time required to enthrall Duration: Captivation lasts until the
has passed, roll a Quick Contest of subject becomes unconscious or falls


SKILLS 191

Sway Emotions Each suit type requires its own Escape
Will/Hard skill. Examples include: DX/Hard
Defaults: None. Battlesuit/TL: All kinds of powered Default: DX-6.
Prerequisite: Persuade at 12+. battle armor and exoskeletons. Battle
armor and exoskeletons are similar This is the ability to slip out of
This ability allows you to instill the ropes, handcuffs, and similar
audience with any one emotion. but not identical. If you only have restraints. The first attempt to escape
Allowed emotions include anger, bore- experience with one, you are at -2 to takes one minute; each subsequent
dom, depression, disgust, fear, greed, operate the other until you gain attempt takes 10 minutes.
hate, jealousy, joy, love, lust, patriot- familiarity (see Familiarity, p. 169). The GM may apply a penalty for
ism, peace, sadness, and unrest. Diving Suit/TL: All types of hard particularly secure bonds. For
If you win the Quick Contest, your diving suits (as opposed to the wet- instance, modern police handcuffs
audience experiences the emotion you suits and drysuits used with Scuba would give -5 to Escape. You suffer
select. How they act as a result is up to skill). This includes “open dress” gear only half these penalties if you dislo-
the GM. at TL5 and “hard hat” gear at TL6, cate the restrained limb (usually an
both of which use a sealed helmet and
Time: 10 minutes of uninterrupted supplied air, but not always a full, arm). This requires (20 - skill) minutes
storytelling. sealed suit. At TL7+, this skill covers of concentration, minimum one
Fatigue Cost: 4 FP, whether suc- true underwater “hardsuits.” The GM minute and a Will roll. However, if
cessful or not. may require Swimming rolls to you fail your Escape roll by 3 or more
Duration: One hour. maneuver while wearing such a suit. when dislocating a limb, the limb suf-
Default: Scuba-2. fers 1d damage. On a critical failure,
Environment Suit/TL NBC Suit/TL: All forms of haz- you automatically take enough
DX/Average ardous materials (“HazMat”) gear – damage to cripple the limb!
Defaults: DX-5 and others. including sealed, unpowered body Modifiers: +3 for Flexibility or +5
armor that can be buttoned down for Double-Jointed (p. 56); any bonus
This is training in the use of a spe- against nuclear-biological-chemical for Slippery (p. 85).
cific class of protective suit. Suits (NBC) threats. Without this skill, you
designed to shield the wearer from run the risk of misusing the equipment Esoteric Medicine
environmental or battlefield hazards and being exposed to contamination.
frequently incorporate gadgets (such To improvise NBC gear, make an IQ- Per/Hard
as autoinjectors and sensors) and life- based skill roll at -5 to -15 to skill. Default: Perception-6.
support equipment. Some suits even Vacc Suit/TL: Any kind of spacesuit. This is the skill of treating illness
contain motors to enhance ST or In addition to true vacuum suits, this and injury with techniques grounded
Move. As a result, you do not merely includes suits intended for use in high- in esoteric theory rather than analyti-
wear such gear – you operate it. pressure, corrosive, and poisonous cal science. It is usually associated
Roll against Environment Suit skill atmospheres. with a magical or spiritual tradition.
to get into or out of your suit quickly. The particulars vary by tradition, but
A successful roll halves the time Battlesuit, NBC Suit, and Vacc Suit might include acupuncture, massage,
required. To activate a specific subsys- default among themselves at -2. alchemical or herbal preparations, or
tem of a suit, or to gauge whether a Diving Suit defaults to or from any such exercises as breath control and
suit is in good repair, make an IQ- other Environment Suit skill at -4. meditation.
based skill roll instead. Note that unpowered, unsealed The effectiveness of Esoteric
When rolling against DX or any body armor never requires an Medicine relative to Physician (p. 213)
DX-based skill while suited up, use the Environment Suit skill. is up to the GM. It might be more
lower of your Environment Suit skill effective (especially if it can channel
and your actual skill level. For Erotic Art real supernatural power), equivalent
instance, if you have DX 14, Stealth- DX/Average but different, or less effective. It
15, and Vacc Suit-13, you will func- Defaults: DX-5 or Acrobatics-5. should always be at least as good as
tion at DX 13 and Stealth-13 while First Aid (p. 195) – the attentions of a
wearing a spacesuit. Particularly This represents general knowledge trained healer of any kind are prefer-
ungainly suits might give -1 or more to of advanced sexual technique. IQ-, able to bleeding to death! In TL5+ set-
DX on top of this, regardless of skill HT-, and even ST-based rolls are com- tings, Esoteric Medicine is often per-
level. On the other hand, some sleek, mon. Precise game effects are left to ceived as “quack” medicine, regardless
ultra-tech suits might not limit skills the GM’s discretion. of actual effectiveness.
at all! Modifiers: +3 for Flexibility or +5 This skill might represent Ayurvedic
However, Environment Suit is for Double-Jointed (p. 56); -3 for medicine, chi treatment, Hermetic
strictly the skill of donning and operat- Killjoy (p. 140). medicine, yin/yang healing, or any
ing the suit. Familiarity with and other historical or fictional healing dis-
knowledge of dangerous environments cipline. In settings where multiple
is covered by other skills: Free Fall, forms of treatment exist, healers must
Hazardous Materials, Survival, etc. specialize in one specific tradition.


192 SKILLS

Exorcism When fighting a spirit in a living host, An Expert Skill represents cross-
Will/Hard add higher of the ST or Will of the pos- disciplinary knowledge of a single,
session victim to your Exorcism skill narrow theme. When answering fac-
Defaults: Will-6, Religious Ritual as he tries to “push the spirit out.” tual questions on that theme, you may
(any)-3, Ritual Magic (any)-3, or If the spirit wins or ties, it retains substitute a roll against your Expert
Theology (any)-3.
its current status and you must wait at Skill for any IQ-based roll against any
This is the ability to drive a spirit least a week before you can repeat the skill that has a default. Expert Skills
from a possessed person or haunted ritual. If you win, you drive the spirit do not exempt you from Cultural
location. It is not a magical skill, but a from its haunt or victim. The spirit of Familiarity (p. 23) or Language
religious ritual. Exorcism is not specif- a deceased mortal is laid to rest. For (p. 23) requirements, and never pro-
ic to any one religion. A Malay witch demons and similar entities, make a vide the ability to do practical tasks.
doctor and a Catholic priest can both reaction roll. On a “Poor” or better Experts sometimes complement
perform exorcisms; their relative effec- reaction, the spirit flees in humilia- Expert Skills with related Area
tiveness depends on the originating tion. On a “Bad” or worse reaction, the Knowledge skills (p. 176), but you
culture of the spirit. spirit immediately uses whatever must learn these separately.
The length of the ritual is 15 min- resources it has to take vengeance on You must specialize by theme, and
utes ¥ the spirit’s HT. Some spirits you and those nearby. the GM is free to forbid any theme he
wait patiently through the ritual, If the exorcism fails at any stage, feels is too broad. Some examples:
anticipating the combat to come; oth- make an IQ roll afterward. A success Computer Security: Expertise at
ers try to distract or even attack you means that you learned something combating computer intrusion
before you can complete the ritual. about the spirit that will help you in (“hacking”). Can stand in for
Once the ritual is complete, roll your next attempt to banish that foe, Computer Operation, Cryptography,
against Exorcism skill. giving you +2 on later skill rolls. You or Electronics Operation to spot
On a failure, the spirit remains and may only claim this bonus once for a “holes” in the security of a computer
you must wait at least a week before particular spirit. system. Use Computer Programming
you can repeat the ritual. On a critical Modifiers: -4 if you do not have one to patch or exploit such holes.
failure, immediately roll 3d+10 on the or more of Blessed (p. 40), Power Conspiracy Theory: The study of
Fright Check Table (p. 360). Even if you Investiture (p. 77), or True Faith interlocking networks of conspiracies.
keep your sanity, you may never (p. 94); you might understand the rit- Can substitute for Anthropology,
attempt to exorcise this particular ual, but you lack holy support. Geography, History, Literature, or
spirit again. Occultism to answer questions about
On a critical success, you immedi- Expert Skill† conspiracies, and can also work as
ately banish the spirit. On a regular IQ/Hard Intelligence Analysis for this purpose
success, you meet your opponent in a (only). This does not include hidden
Quick Contest: your Exorcism skill vs. Defaults: None. inner secrets, which are the province
the higher of the spirit’s ST or Will.
of Hidden Lore (p. 199).


SKILLS 193

Egyptology: The study of ancient Demolition: The ability to prepare You usually need Scuba skill – or at
Egypt. Can function as Anthropology, and set explosives in order to blow least Swimming skill – to get into a
Archaeology, History, Linguistics, or things up. Make a roll whenever you position where you can use this skill.
Occultism for that purpose. use explosives in this way. A failure
Epidemiology: The study of the indicates an error. The gravity of the These specialties default to one
spread of disease. Can serve as error depends on the amount by another at -4 except for Demolition
Biology, Diagnosis, Forensics, which you failed; a badly failed roll in and UD, which default to one another
Geography, or Mathematics when close quarters can blow you up! Time at -2, and EOD and NOD, which also
deducing how a disease was spread. required varies – it takes only a cou- default to one another at -2.
Hydrology: The study of a planet’s ple of seconds to set a prepared Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
water. Can be used in place of Biology, charge, but it might take hours to (p. 345); -1 to -5 for distractions (e.g.,
Chemistry, Geography, Geology, or demolish a large bridge or a sky- enemy fire or swarms of biting ants)
Meteorology to answer questions scraper. When setting an explosive or physical motion (e.g., a rocking
about precipitation, flooding, trap, use this skill rather than Traps. boat or speeding bus). The time mod-
irrigation, etc. Rolls to set a “trap” fuse (e.g., a land ifiers under Time Spent (p. 346) will
Military Science: General expertise mine) instead of a timed fuse are often apply.
on military capabilities. Can substi- at -2. Defaults: Engineer (Combat) or
tute for Artillery, Armoury, Strategy, (Mining) at -3. Falconry
or Tactics to answer questions about – Explosive Ordnance Disposal IQ/Average
but not use – weapons or strategies. (EOD): The ability to disarm and dis- Defaults: IQ-5 or Animal Handling
Natural Philosophy: A general skill pose of bombs and other explosives. (Raptors)-3.
that usually replaces specific science When disarming a trap, roll a Quick
skills (which might not even exist yet!) Contest of your Explosives (EOD) This is the skill of “hawking”: hunt-
for scholars at TL1-4. Can be used in skill vs. the Explosives (Demolition) ing small game with a trained hawk. It
place of any science skill (e.g., Biology skill of the person who created the includes knowledge of hunting and
or Physics) to answer questions about device. A failure (or even a critical training techniques, as well as how to
how the universe is believed to work. failure) does not necessarily mean an care for a falcon. Finding a wild fal-
Political Science: The academic explosion – the GM can be much con’s nest in spring requires a week’s
study of politics. Can substitute for more creative than that! Sudden hiss- search and a successful Falconry roll;
Geography, History, Law, Politics, or ing noises, mysterious parts falling a nest has 1d-3 chicks.
Sociology when performing political off, cramps, itches, and alarm bells
analysis. are all possible in the right circum- Farming/TL
Psionics: The study of the psionic stances. It is best if the GM rolls the IQ/Average
mind and brain. Can function as dice and describes the physical cir- Defaults: IQ-5, Biology-5, or
Biology, Diagnosis, Physician, cumstances to the victim. Fright Gardening-3.
Physiology, or Psychology when deal- Checks are appropriate for the sur-
ing with psi phenomena in living vivors of a failed EOD attempt! This is the skill of growing things.
beings. Cannot substitute for Prerequisite: DX 12+. It is usually used to earn a living, but
Electronics Operation, Electronics Fireworks: The skill of making you can also use it to answer theoreti-
Repair, and Engineer specialties that pyrotechnic devices – fireworks, cal questions about or solve problems
deal with psychotronics. flares, smoke bombs, flash grenades, related to agriculture.
Thanatology: The esoteric study of etc. Most of these things can be used
death. Can stand in for Anthropology, by anyone. Default: Chemistry-3. Fast-Draw†
Archaeology, Occultism, or Theology Nuclear Ordnance Disposal DX/Easy
when dealing with death and the dead. (NOD): The equivalent of Explosives Defaults: None.
Xenology: General knowledge of (EOD) for nuclear devices. Disarming
the known races in your setting. Can a military nuclear weapon is straight- This skill lets you quickly draw a
substitute for Anthropology, History, forward; disarming a homemade ter- weapon from its holster, sheath, or
Physiology, or Psychology to identify a rorist bomb might be more difficult. hiding place. A successful roll means
member of a race different from your Only a critical failure verified by a sec- you ready the weapon instantly. This
own, or to answer general questions ond critical failure will result in a does not count as a combat maneuver;
about the race and its culture. nuclear detonation. Any lesser failure you can use the weapon to attack on
will – at worst – detonate the high- the same turn. On a failure, you ready
Explosives/TL† explosive trigger and contaminate the your weapon normally but may do
IQ/Average immediate area with radioactive nothing else on your turn. A critical
failure means you drop the weapon!
Defaults: IQ-5 and others. material . . . not that this is a great You must specialize in one of these
deal of consolation to those nearby.
This is the skill of working with Underwater Demolition (UD): The weapon types: Force Sword, Knife,
explosives and incendiaries. ability to prepare and set explosives Long Arm (rifle, shotgun, submachine
You must specialize: underwater. This is otherwise gun, etc.), Pistol, Sword (any one-
identical to Explosives (Demolition). handed blade larger than a knife), or



194 SKILLS

Two-Handed Sword. The GM may However, there are situations in This is the performance skill of
add Fast-Draw skills for other which the GM could allow a roll on extinguishing flames in your mouth
weapons (or even tools) that one could either skill. without burning yourself. Make a skill
reasonably draw quickly. roll for each item you wish to extin-
In addition to the above specialties, Modifiers: +2 for Voice (p. 97); -3 guish. On a success, you put out the
there are two Fast-Draw skills that for Low Empathy (p. 142); -1 for flames. On a failure, you take 1d-3
allow you to reload missile weapons Oblivious (p. 146); -1 to -4 for Shyness damage (minimum 1) to your mouth.
quickly: (p. 154); -2 for Stuttering (p. 157); -5 This skill also includes fire breath-
for Truthfulness (p. 159). The GM may ing: igniting a stream of fuel blown
Fast-Draw (Arrow): Lets you ready ask you for details of the story you are from the mouth. At the GM’s option,
a single arrow, bolt, or dart instantly. using, rather than just let you say, “I’m you may use this as an attack (1d-3
This reduces the time required to using Fast-Talk.” Your approach and damage).
reload a bow, crossbow, or blowgun the plausibility of the story may fur-
by one second. ther modify the roll, at the GM’s dis- First Aid/TL
Fast-Draw/TL (Ammo): Reduces cretion.
the time required to reload any kind of IQ/Easy
gun or beam weapon. The exact bene- Filch Defaults: IQ-4, Esoteric Medicine,
fits depend on your weapon, but a suc- DX/Average Physician, or Veterinary-4.
cessful roll always shaves at least one Defaults: DX-5, Pickpocket-4, or This is the ability to treat medical
second off the reload time. This skill Sleight of Hand-4. emergencies in the field (see Recovery,
varies greatly with TL! At TL4, it cov- p. 423). Make a skill roll to bandage a
ers powder-and-shot drills; at TL6+, it This skill lets you steal objects that wound, treat shock, give CPR, save
includes speed-loading techniques for are sitting in plain sight . . . without someone from choking, etc. Unusual
detachable magazines; and at higher being spotted. Roll against skill to problems must be identified using
tech levels, it involves quickly replac- shoplift, snatch documents off a desk, Diagnosis skill first.
ing energy cells and attaching power etc. If someone is actively watching
cables. the item you wish to snatch, you must Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
win a Quick Contest of Filch vs. his (p. 345); physiology modifiers (p. 181).
For the Arrow and Ammo special- Vision roll (or Observation skill,
ties, failure means you drop the arrow p. 211) to perform the theft unnoticed. Fishing
or bolt, or accidentally discard one Filch only covers the theft itself. Per/Easy
round of ammunition. On a critical The GM might require rolls against
failure, you drop the entire quiver, Stealth to get close enough to make Default: Perception-4.
powder horn, ammo box, magazine, the attempt and Holdout to conceal This is the ability to catch fish –
etc., scattering loose ammunition stolen objects afterward. with a net, hook and line, or whatever
everywhere! method is used in your culture. If you
Modifiers: +3 if the light is dim; +3
Modifiers: Combat Reflexes (p. 43) if you have a confederate to distract have proper equipment and there are
gives +1 to all Fast-Draw specialties; attention. fish to be caught, a successful roll
Ham-Fisted (p. 138) gives -3 per level. catches them. If you lack equipment,
Finance you can improvise.
Fast-Talk IQ/Hard Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
IQ/Average Defaults: Accounting-4, (p. 345).
Defaults: IQ-5 or Acting-5. Economics-3, or Merchant-6. Flail

This is the skill of talking others This is the skill of managing see Melee Weapon, p. 208
into doing things against their better money. It is a practical application
judgment. It is not taught (intentional- of Economics (p. 189), much as Flight
ly, that is) in school; you study it by Engineer skill is a practical applica-
working as a salesman, confidence tion of Physics. A successful skill roll HT/Average
man, lawyer, etc. In any situation that lets you broker a financial deal, raise Default: HT-5.
calls for a reaction roll, you may make capital for a new corporation, balance Prerequisite: Flight advantage
an Influence roll against Fast-Talk a budget, etc. (p. 56).
instead; see Influence Rolls (p. 359). This skill represents training for
If you have Fast-Talk at level 20 or Modifiers: Business Acumen and endurance flying. Use the better of
better, you get +2 on all reaction rolls Mathematical Ability both provide a Flight or HT when rolling to avoid
where you’re allowed to talk! bonus. fatigue due to flying. When traveling
Note that Fast-Talk differs from long distances, a successful Flight roll
Acting (p. 174). In general, Fast-Talk is Fire Eating increases the distance traveled by
used to get someone to make a snap DX/Average 20%. If a group of fliers is traveling
decision in your favor, while Acting is Defaults: None. together, all must make the Flight roll
used for long-term dissimulation.
in order to get the increased distance.


SKILLS 195

Flying Leap Forensics/TL tea leaves, etc. – can enhance the illu-
IQ/Hard IQ/Hard sion. Knowledge of traditional occult
or religious beliefs (especially those of
Defaults: None. Defaults: IQ-6 or Criminology-4. your subject) can also lend an air of
Prerequisites: Trained By A Master legitimacy.
or Weapon Master, and both Jumping This is the ability to apply the prin- With the GM’s permission, you can
and Power Blow. ciples of forensic science and crimi-
nalistics, such as the computation of sometimes use Fortune-Telling in
This skill allows you to make bullet paths and the microscopic or place of Fast-Talk (by making predic-
incredible leaps. It costs 1 FP per chemical analysis of clues. Some dis- tions that guide the subject toward a
attempt, successful or not. ciplines require other skills. For particular course of action), or
On a success, you may immediate- instance, a forensic pathologist per- Interrogation or Psychology (by ask-
ly attempt a jump. Use the standard forming an autopsy would roll against ing the subject leading questions
jumping rules (see Jumping, p. 352), Surgery skill. under the pretense of telling his for-
but triple your jumping distance. On a tune). This is only possible if the sub-
failure, you may still attempt the Forgery/TL ject believes you are a genuine for-
jump, but you receive no bonus and IQ/Hard tune-teller and you take the time to do
make all jumping-related rolls at -5. Defaults: IQ-6 or Counterfeiting-2. a full “reading” for him.
On a critical failure, you fall down! You must specialize in a particular
You may use Flying Leap to jump This is the ability to create falsified mantic art. Available specialties
into someone as part of an attack. documents (identity cards, passports, include Astrology, Augury (interpreta-
Such attacks are at an extra -2 to hit, etc.). It is not taught except by intelli- tion of natural omens, such as flocks
but if you do hit, triple your ST for gence agencies and the underworld – of birds), Crystal Gazing, Dream
damage and knockback purposes. In although you can always study it on Interpretation, Feng Shui, Palmistry,
a slam or collision, calculate Move your own. and Tarot.
from jumping distance as described The time required to create a for- This skill is not a paranormal tal-
for Super Jump (p. 89), and use this gery ranges from days to weeks (GM ent, and the GM is under no obligation
velocity to calculate damage. decides). When you use a forged doc- to supply you with hints of future
ument, make your Forgery roll each events. You might wish to learn this
Modifiers: -10 if used instantly, time it is inspected – unless you roll a skill if you have actual divinatory abil-
dropping to -5 after 1 turn of concen- critical success on your first attempt. ities, though, as it enables you to pres-
tration, -4 after 2 turns, -3 after 4 Failure means someone spots the for- ent your predictions in a culturally
turns, -2 after 8 turns, -1 after 16 gery. acceptable way. “I saw it in the stars”
turns, and no penalty after 32 turns. Some tasks require DX-based skill may be less likely to get you burned as
rolls, in which case modifiers for High a witch than “I cast a spell”!
Force Sword Manual Dexterity (p. 59) or Ham-
see Melee Weapon, p. 208 Fisted (p. 138) apply. The GM may Modifiers: +1 for Sensitive or +3 for
allow Forgery to default to a suitable Empathy (p. 51); any Charisma
Force Whip Artist specialty at -5 if you are doing bonus; -3 if using Fortune-Telling in
see Melee Weapon, p. 208 the work entirely by hand. place of Fast-Talk, Interrogation, or
Psychology.
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers
Forced Entry (p. 345); +3 if you merely altered a gen- Forward Observer/TL
DX/Easy uine document; -5 if you did not have IQ/Average
Defaults: None. a sample to copy. The GM may also Defaults: IQ-5, Artillery (any)-5,
assign modifiers based on the severity
This is the ability to kick in doors of the inspection; a routine border and others.
and windows, or demolish them with check, for instance, would give a +5 This is the skill of being a “spotter”
a crowbar, ram, or sledgehammer, bonus. for artillery. It includes locating tar-
without necessarily being adept at gets (with map and compass at TL6-,
melee combat. Make a skill roll to hit Fortune-Telling† global positioning systems and satel-
an inanimate object with your foot or lite imagery at TL7+), marking targets
an impact weapon. Add +1 per die to IQ/Average (using smoke, a laser designator, etc.),
basic thrust or swing damage if you Defaults: IQ-5, Fast-Talk-3, or matching ordnance to target for best
have this skill at DX+1, +2 per die if Occultism-3. effect, and calling in corrections to
you know it at DX+2 or better. Add a This is the art of interviewing any fire you personally observe.
similar bonus (+1 or +2) to ST rolls someone in order to learn more about Failure means the ordnance miss-
made for forced entry. The damage his lifestyle and personality, and then es the target; critical failures result in
bonus also applies when you use using this information to make an severe “collateral damage” or “friend-
Melee Weapon skills to wreck inani- “educated guess” about his future that ly fire” incidents. The very worst crit-
mate objects out of combat. you can pass off as supernatural div- ical failures (GM’s decision) drop the
For subtle break-ins, use ination. Suitable props – star charts, ordnance on your position!
Lockpicking skill (p. 206).


196 SKILLS

At higher tech levels, Forward Gambling disputes. In a fantasy world, a power-
Observer is less about observing tar- IQ/Average ful monster or wizard might even
gets and more about operating spe- challenge a hero to a game – with his
cialized technology such as drones, Defaults: IQ-5 or Mathematics life or the lives of his companions at
GPS, and laser designators. To (Statistics)-5. stake!
remotely pilot a drone or use a laser This is skill at playing games of Knowledge of the rules of a given
designator to direct “smart” muni- chance. A successful Gambling roll sport is also a Games skill, but unlike
tions onto a target, make a DX-based can (among other things) tell you if a other Games skills, sports specialties
skill roll. At TL7+, Forward Observer game is rigged, identify a fellow gam- only allow you to judge an event. To
defaults to Electronics Operation bler in a group of strangers, or “esti- play, learn the associated Sports
(any)-5. mate the odds” in any tricky situation. (p. 222) or Combat Sport (p. 184) skill.
When you gamble against the house, As a referee, roll against skill to adju-
Modifiers: Equipment modifiers dicate a match, spot a subtle foul,
(p. 345); -2 if you are unfamiliar with make a skill roll (the GM will secretly determine the winner in a “photo fin-
the artillery (e.g., aircraft bombs when modify this roll if the odds are poor!). ish” situation, etc. As an athlete, you
you are used to naval guns); -3 per 500 When you gamble against someone can use Games to make an Influence
yards between you and the target – but else, roll a Regular Contest (p. 349) of roll (see Influence Rolls, p. 359) when
divide the actual range by the magnifi- Gambling until one of you wins. dealing with a referee or judge, but
cation of any vision aid first.
this use is always at -3 or worse.
When you take a sports specialty,
specify both the sport and the league
People often stake vast sums on games, or tournament type; e.g., Games (NFL
and it might be possible to earn a living Football) or Games (Olympic Judo).
The rules of different leagues within
as a professional gamer. the same sport default to one another
at -2.
Modifiers: Cultural Familiarity
Free Fall Sleight of Hand skill (p. 221) is modifiers (p. 23). Long-lived games
DX/Average helpful if you want to cheat! To spot a have a body of knowledge that grows
Defaults: DX-5 or HT-5. cheater, roll a Quick Contest of your through time; therefore, when gamers
from different times compete, the
Gambling or Vision roll, whichever is
This is the ability to operate in a player from later in the timeline gets
free-fall (zero-gravity) environment. higher, vs. your opponent’s Sleight of +1 to effective skill.
Roll against the higher of HT or Free Hand skill (for card or dice tricks) or
Fall when you first enter free fall; see IQ (for other kinds of cheating). Gardening
Space Adaptation Syndrome (p. 434) Modifiers: +1 to +5 for familiarity IQ/Easy
for the effects of failure. In addition, with the game being played; -1 to -5 if Defaults: IQ-4 or Farming-3.
whenever you make a DX or DX-based the game is rigged against you; -3 for
skill roll in free fall, use the lower of Killjoy (p. 140), since you don’t care if This is the ability to care for plants
Free Fall and your DX or skill. For you win or lose. on a small scale. (For large-scale
instance, if you had Free Fall-14 and crops, use Farming skill, p. 194.) A
Karate-16, you would roll at 14 or less Games† skill roll lets you grow food, medicinal
to land a punch. IQ/Easy herbs, attractive flowers and trees, etc.

Modifiers: +2 for 3D Spatial Sense Default: IQ-4. Modifiers: -2 to -4 for an unfamiliar
(p. 34). method (e.g., hydroponics or bonsai
This is the ability to play a game when you’re used to your back yard),
Freight Handling/TL well. It includes knowledge of rules, crop (herbs, trees, and vegetables all
etiquette, and tournament regula-
IQ/Average tions. You must specialize in a partic- differ), or geographical region. These
Default: IQ-5. ular game; possibilities include tradi- three penalties are cumulative!
tional board games (such as chess, Go,
This is the skill of supervising the Garrote
loading and unloading of vehicles hnefatafl, and mankala), card games, DX/Easy
(laborers do not require this skill – just war games, and computer games. Default: DX-4.
their foreman). A successful skill roll Many cultures regard the ability to
cuts the time required by 20%. Also play one or more games skillfully as a This is the ability to strangle a vic-
roll against Freight Handling skill any worthwhile social accomplishment. tim with a rope or a wire. See Special
time there is doubt as to whether an People often stake vast sums on Melee Weapon Rules (p. 404) for
item of cargo was lost or damaged; on games, and it might be possible to details. Note that you cannot use a
a success, it made the journey intact. earn a living as a professional gamer. garrote to parry.
Games may also be played to settle



SKILLS 197

Geography/TL† understand one simple idea he is Make an IQ-based skill roll to take
IQ/Hard attempting to get across to you. immediate action (e.g., clear a stop-
Gesture is not suited to complex com- page or restart a crashed targeting
Defaults: IQ-6 and others.
munication, however. computer), should your weapon fail.
This is the study of the physical, Modifiers: Cultural Familiarity Loaders can make ST-based skill rolls
political, and economic divisions of a modifiers (p. 23) definitely apply! to improve the rate of fire of certain
planet, and how they interact. It is Different cultures develop distinct ges- crew-served weapons; see individual
part physical science, part social sci- ture vocabularies. weapon descriptions for details.
ence. You must specialize: You must specialize by weapon
Physical: The study of the physical Group Performance† type. The available specialties vary by
TL, but include one or more of:
properties of a planetary surface. A IQ/Average
physical geographer could answer Defaults: IQ-5 and others. Beams: Any kind of heavy directed-
questions about climate, terrain, and energy weapon: laser, particle beam,
so forth. You must further specialize This is the ability to arrange a per- etc.
by planet type; see Planet Types formance and direct a group of per- Cannon: Any kind of heavy projec-
(p. 180). Defaults: Geology (same formers in its execution – in rehearsal, tile weapon – e.g., the main gun of a
planet type)-4 or Meteorology (same in a studio, or before a live audience. A tank or an ultra-tech railgun on a star-
planet type)-4. successful roll means the performance ship – that fires single shots.
Political: The study of political is pleasing. You must specialize in a Catapult: Any kind of large, direct-
regions – their borders, natural particular performing art. All special- fire mechanical bolt-thrower, such as
resources, industries, etc. A political ties have prerequisites: the specific a ballista.
geographer could answer questions skills listed below, plus any one of Machine Gun: Any kind of heavy
about land claims, overpopulation, Diplomacy, Intimidation, or projectile weapon capable of firing
regional economic disparities, trans- Leadership. bursts.
portation networks, etc. Default: Choreography: The ability to Rockets: Any kind of free-flight
Economics-4. instruct and lead a group of dancers. rocket fired from a mount.
Regional: The study of all of the Prerequisite: Dancing. Default: These specialties default to one
above, but specific to a single region: Dancing-2. another at -4. The weapons covered by
New York, the United States, planet Conducting: The ability to coordi- each specialty vary by TL. For
Earth, etc. The depth of knowledge nate a group of musicians. Choirs, instance, Gunner (Machine Gun) cov-
decreases with the size of the region swing bands, symphony orchestras, ers hand-cranked Gatling guns at TL5,
(see Area Knowledge, p. 176). Default: etc. are different familiarities; see automatic machine guns at TL6, auto-
the relevant Area Knowledge skill at -6. Familiarity (p. 169). Prerequisites: Any cannon at TL7, and electromagnetic
These specialties default among two Musical Instrument skills, or one machine guns at TL9+.
themselves at -5. Musical Instrument and Singing. Familiarity is crucial here!
Defaults: Musical Instrument-2 or Gunner/TL7 (Machine Gun) covers
Geology/TL† Singing-2. both tripod-mounted machine guns
Directing: The ability to direct a
IQ/Hard group of actors. Film, opera, televi- and aircraft autocannon, but going
Defaults: IQ-6, Geography sion, and theater are different famil- from one to the other gives you -2 for
(Physical)-4, or Prospecting-5. weapon type (machine gun to auto-
iarities. Prerequisite: Performance. cannon), -2 for aiming system (open
This is the science dealing with the Default: Performance-5. sights to HUD), and -2 for mount (tri-
structure of planets – their crust, man- Fight Choreography: Similar to pod to hull mount), for a net -6 to skill
tle, and core. A geologist knows about Choreography, but for Stage Combat until you familiarize yourself with all
minerals, oil, ores, etc.; about earth- (p. 222) instead of Dancing. the differences.
quakes and volcanoes; and about fos- Prerequisite: Stage Combat. Default:
sils. In the field, he can attempt to find Stage Combat-2. Modifiers: All applicable ranged
water by using an “eye for country” combat modifiers; -2 for an unfamiliar
(see Survival, p. 223). Gunner/TL† aiming system (e.g., a camera when
You must specialize by planet type. DX/Easy you’re used to open sights) or mount
See Planet Types (p. 180) for details. Default: DX-4. (e.g., a tripod when you’re used to a
turret), or for an unfamiliar weapon of
Gesture This is the ability to use a heavy a known type (e.g., .30-cal when you
weapon, usually one mounted on a tri- are used to .50s); -4 or more for a
IQ/Easy pod or a vehicle, to make a direct-fire weapon in bad repair.
Default: IQ-4.
attack – that is, to aim and fire at a tar-
This is the ability to communicate get to which you have a line of sight. Guns/TL†
through improvised hand signals. A For indirect fire, use Artillery skill DX/Easy
successful skill roll will let you convey (p. 178). Roll against Gunner skill to Default: DX-4.
one simple idea to another person, or hit the target.



198 SKILLS