Enhancements

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You can apply enhancements to advantages, and more rarely to basic attributes and secondary characteristics. The GM might even permit specific enhancements on certain skills, but this is difficult to justify unless the skill functions much as an advantage (which is sometimes true of racially innate skills possessed by non-humans).

Accurate

+5%/level

Your attack is unusually accurate. Each +1 to Accuracy is a +5% enhancement.

Affects Insubstantial

+20%

Your ability affects insubstantial targets in addition to normal, substantial things.

Affects Substantial

+40%

Your ability affects substantial targets even when you are insubstantial. It also affects insubstantial creatures normally. (Do not add this enhancement to magical or psi abilities; these can already affect the substantial world at -3.)

Note to GMs: This enhancement is very powerful. It lets insubstantial characters affect the material world with little fear of retribution. Feel free to disallow it, restrict it to NPCs, or to make sure that lots of foes have the Affects Insubstantial enhancement!

Area Effect

+50%/level

Your ability works as an area power instead of affecting a single target. Everything in the area suffers the attack's damage or other effects. On a miss, use the scatter rules to see where the area is centered. Active defenses don't protect against an area attack, but victims may attempt to dive for cover or dodge and retreat to leave the area. For more information, see Area and Spreading Attacks.

Radius Modifier

Radius	Modifier
2 yards	+50%
4 yards	+100%
8 yards	+150%
16 yards	+200%

Further levels continue to double the radius. If applied to an advantage that already covers an area, each level doubles the base radius.

Area Effect is a prerequisite for Mobile, Persistent, Selective Area, Bombardment, and Emanation.

Armor Divisor

Variable

Your attack can pierce more armor than its base damage would indicate.

Armor Divisor	Modifier
(2) +50%
(3) +100%
(5) +150%
(10) +200%

Only Innate Attacks and Afflictions can have this enhancement. Armor Divisor is a "penetration modifier"; you cannot combine it with other pen- etration modifiers, such as Contact Agent and Follow-Up.

Aura

+80%

Your attack takes the form of a malefic aura that affects anyone you touch (reach C) or who touches you. If a weapon strikes you, your aura affects the weapon. You can switch the aura on or off at the start of your turn (if not, take Always On. You must take Aura in conjunction with Melee Attack at the -30% level (reach C), and you cannot claim the extra -5% for "cannot parry" – an aura cannot parry in the first place.

The classic example of an Aura is the sheath of flame surrounding a fire elemental. See Body of Fire for how to write this up.

Based on (Different Attribute)

+20%

This enhancement is only available for abilities that allow a resistance roll against ST, DX, IQ, HT, Perception, or Will. It moves the resistance roll from the usual attribute or characteristic to a different one, specified when you buy the ability. This is considered an enhancement because it lets you fine-tune your ability to be more effective against targets with known weaknesses.

Blood Agent

+100%

On an attack with Area Effect or Cone, this is an enhancement. See the Blood Agent limitation for details.

Cone

Variable

Your attack spreads to affect everyone in a cone-shaped area. Cones use special rules; see Area and Spreading Attacks. Decide on the maximum width of the cone, in yards, at the attack's maximum range. Cone costs +50% plus +10% per yard of maximum width.

You cannot combine Cone with Area Effect, Aura, Jet, Melee Attack, Rapid Fire, or Emanation.

Contact Agent

+150%

On an attack with Area Effect or Cone, this is an enhancement. See the Contact Agent limitation for more information.

Cosmic

Variable

Your ability operates on a "higher level" than is usual in your game world. This allows it to work under all circumstances, and possibly even ignore opposing powers! The value of the enhancement depends on the underlying trait:

Ability other than an attack or a defense. Your ability is not subject to the usual built-in restrictions. For instance, your Healing might cure otherwise "incurable" diseases, your Insubstantiality might allow you to penetrate barriers that would block other insubstantial beings, or your Shapeshifting might be immune to negation by external forces. +50%.

Defense or countermeasure. Your defensive trait provides its usual benefits against offensive abilities modified with the Cosmic enhancement. +50%.

Attack with a lingering special effect. Your attack has an enduring effect that only another Cosmic power can counteract; e.g., a burning Innate Attack that sets fires that water cannot extinguish, or a toxic Innate Attack that inflicts Cyclic (below) damage that medical technology cannot halt. This does not negate the target's protection! DR still affects Innate Attack, a HT roll is still allowed for a Resistible attack, etc. +100%.

Irresistible attack. Your attack does negate the target's protection; e.g., an Innate Attack that ignores DR, or Mind Control that ignores Mind Shield. The target may still attempt an active defense against the attack, if applicable. You cannot combine this enhancement with other "penetration modifiers," such as Follow-Up. +300%.

Cyclic

Variable

This enhancement is only available for Innate Attacks that inflict burning, corrosion, fatigue, or toxic damage. It represents an attack that persists on the victim: acid, disease, liquid fire, poison, etc. (For attacks that linger in the environment, see Persistent.)

A Cyclic attack damages its target normally – but once the target has been exposed, the attack damages him again each time a set interval passes! All penetration modifiers (e.g., Contact or Follow-Up) continue to apply; for instance, a Cyclic attack with Follow-Up continues to ignore DR. Worst of all, the victim cannot recover HP or FP lost to a Cyclic attack until the attack stops damaging him!

You must specify a reasonably common set of circumstances that halt any further damage from your attack. For instance, to halt cyclic corrosion or burning damage, the victim might have to wash the acid off or roll on the ground to extinguish the flames, taking one or more seconds and a DX or IQ roll. Fatigue or toxic damage might require drugs or medical care (use Physician skill). Details are up to the GM.

The base value of Cyclic depends on the damage interval.

Interval	Modifier
1 second	+100%
10 seconds	+50%
1 minute	+40%
1 hour	+20%
1 day	+10%

Burning or corrosion attacks shouldn't have intervals longer than 10 seconds. At the GM's option, someone taking damage at one-second intervals might have to make a Fright Check!

Multiply the base value by the number of cycles after the first. The GM should consider limiting large numbers of cycles to attacks that do less than 1d damage.

Cyclic attacks are often Resistible; if so, an extra resistance roll is allowed for each cycle, with a success preventing any further damage. If the attack is Resistible, halve the value of Cyclic.

Some Cyclic attacks are contagious. While affected, the victim can inadvertently infect others, per Illness. This increases the final cost of the enhancement, after all other factors: +20% for a "mildly contagious" attack or +50% for a "highly contagious" one.

These factors are cumulative. For instance, a resistible disease with 31 daily cycles would cost +10% × 30 × 1/2 = +150%. If it were highly contagious, it would cost +200%.

Damage Modifiers

Variable

You may give an Innate Attack one or more of these modifiers to further qualify the way it does damage.

Double Blunt Trauma (dbt)

+20%

Available for Innate Attacks that do burning, corrosion, cutting, impaling, or piercing damage. Burning and corrosion attacks enhanced this way inflict 1 HP of blunt trauma injury per 10 points of basic damage resisted by flexible armor. Cutting, impaling, and piercing attacks with this enhancement inflict the same blunt trauma as a crushing attack: 1 HP of blunt trauma injury per 5 points of basic damage resisted by flexible armor.

Double Knockback (dkb)

+20%

This lets a crushing or cutting attack inflict twice as much knockback as usual; see Knockback.

Explosion (exp)

+50%/level

The attack produces an explosion at the point of impact (on a miss, check for scatter). The target takes damage normally; anything nearby receives "collateral damage" equal to basic damage divided (3 × the distance in yards from the blast). If the attack also has an Armor Divisor, it does not apply to this collateral damage.

You can take up to two additional levels of Explosion if you desire a blast that isn't as affected by distance. The second level divides basic damage by twice the distance in yards and is +100%; the third level divides damage by the distance in yards and is +150%. Explosion is usually limited to crushing and burning attacks, but the GM may permit other combinations.

For more on explosions, see Explosions.

Fragmentation (frag)

+15% per die

The attack scatters damaging fragments on impact. Decide on the dice of fragmentation damage and note this in brackets after the attack's basic damage. Everyone within 5 yards per die of fragmentation damage is attacked with effective skill 15, modified by range penalties from the point of impact; see Fragmentation Damage.

Fragments inflict cutting damage. If you add Fragmentation to a burning attack or one with the Incendiary enhancement (below), the fragments are Incendiary at no extra cost. If you apply it to an attack with Follow-Up, penetration indicates the fragments automatically hit the victim but no one else. Fragmentation often accompanies Explosion, but this is not required.

Fragmentation costs +15% per die of fragmentation damage. A damage of [2d] or [3d] is typical of a grenade-sized blast. Maximum fragmentation damage is [12d] or the attack's basic damage, whichever is less.

Hot Fragments: The fragments inflict burning damage with the modifiers Cyclic (Six 10-second cycles) and Armor Divisor (0.2) instead of cutting damage. Cost is unchanged.

Hazard

Variable

You may give an Innate Attack that inflicts fatigue damage one of these enhancements: Dehydration, +20%; Drowning, +0%; Freezing, +20%; Missed Sleep, +50%; Starvation, +40%; or Suffocation, +0%. Treat FP lost to the attack identically to FP lost to the relevant hazard for all purposes, notably recovery.

Traits that protect the target from the hazard in question also shield him from this damage. For instance, a Starvation attack would inflict FP that could only be recovered by eating a meal, but someone with Doesn't Eat or Drink would be immune.

Incendiary (inc)

+10%

An Innate Attack other than a burning attack may be Incendiary. This gives the damage a secondary flame effect that can ignite volatile material (fuel, dry tinder, etc.).

Radiation (rad)

+25% or +100%

The attack irradiates the subject. Roll damage normally, but whether or not the attack penetrates DR, it inflicts 1 rad per point of basic damage rolled. See Radiation for effects. For a toxic attack, this dosage is instead of regular damage, and the enhancement is worth +25%; this is typical of "ordinary" radioactivity. For a burning attack, the radiation dose is as well as regular damage, and the enhancement is +100%; use this for particle beams. Other damage types cannot have this enhancement.

Surge (sur)

+20%

The attack produces an electrical surge or pulse that can disable electronics or anything with the Electrical disadvantage.

Delay

Variable

This enhancement delays the attack's effects until sometime after you hit the target. This lets you simulate time bombs and the like. You must specify some way to neutralize the effect before it occurs. Work out this detail with the GM.

A fixed delay (e.g., 2 seconds) is +0%.

A variable delay is +10% if you can set it for any time from "no delay" to 10 seconds, or +20% if you can set it for longer (minutes, hours, days...). You must select the delay before you roll to hit.

Triggered Delay: Instead of a time delay, the effects are triggered by a simple action: a radio signal, touch, pressure, a metal object passing within a yard, etc. Specify the trigger when you buy the attack. +50%.

Drifting

+20%

You may add this enhancement to any attack with Delay (above) or Persistent. The initial attack roll places the effect. It then drifts from that point with the wind, water currents, solar wind, etc., as appropriate. Use this for poison gas, ball lightning, floating mines, and so forth.

Extended Duration

Variable

This enhancement increases the normal duration of your ability. "Multiple" applies to the original duration (or changes it to permanent).

Multiple	Modifier
3×	duration +20%
10×	duration +40%
30×	duration +60%
100×	duration +80%
300×	duration +100%
1,000×	duration +120%
Permanent*	+150%

*You must specify a reasonable set of conditions that will dispel the effect (or cure it, for abilities such as Affliction and Mind Control). The GM is the judge of what is "reasonable." If there is no way to end the effect, the enhancement is +300%. To keep PCs from granting each other free advantages, the GM may wish to forbid this level of Extended Duration on Afflictions with the Advantage modifier.

To add Extended Duration to an attack, the attack must either have Aura, Persistent, or Wall, or specifically allow this enhancement. You can also add Extended Duration to any advantage that has the Ranged enhancement.

If the modified trait has multiple facets with separate durations, you must specify which duration you are extending. For instance, a cloud of sleeping gas could have this enhancement to extend the duration of the sleep it induces or the length of time the cloud persists; to do both, buy this enhancement twice.