Advantages

Advantages

List of Advantages

An "advantage" is a useful trait that gives you a mental, physical, or social "edge" over someone else who otherwise has the same abilities as you. Each advan- tage has a cost in character points. This is fixed for some advantages; others can be bought in "levels," at a cost per level (e.g., Acute Vision costs 2 points/level, so if you want Acute Vision 6, you must pay 12 points). Advantages with "Variable" cost are more complicated; read the advantage description for details.

You can start out with many advantages as you can afford – although some advantages are forbidden to certain kinds of characters. You can also add advan- tages in play, if the GM permits. For instance, all the beneficial social traits (Status, Wealth, etc.) are advantages, and you could realistically acquire any of these in the course of the game. Magic and high technology can often grant advantages as well. For information on adding advantages in play, see Chapter 9.

Types of Advantages

Advantages fall into several broad categories, each of which has affects who can possess those advantages and how they work in play.

Mental , Physical , and Social

Mental advantages originate from your mind, or perhaps even your soul. They stay with you even if your mind ends up in a new body due to possession, a brain transplant, etc. Magical, psionic, and spiritual traits usually fall into this category. Most mental advantages work automatically, but a few require a roll against IQ, Perception, or Will to use. Mental advantages are marked .

Physical advantages are part of your body. You lose these traits if your mind moves to a new body – and if another mind takes over your body, the body's new owner gains your physical advantages. Advantages provided by bionics and similar implants usually fall into this category. Make a HT roll to activate any physical advantage that does not work automatically. Physical advantages are marked .

Social advantages are associated with your identity. Whether identity is a facet of mind or of body depends on the game world. In a fantasy setting, a demon might possess a duke and "become" a respected noble instead of a feared demon, while in a far-future society, people might routinely "upload" into new bodies with no effect on social standing. As with all things, the GM's word is final. Note that this category includes Rank, Status, Wealth, and related traits. Social advantages are marked .

Many exotic and supernatural advantages (see below) could belong to more than one of these categories. This is noted (e.g., as /) where especially appropriate. The GM has the final say. The , , and markers are meant to assist GM judgment, not replace it.

Exotic , Supernatural , and Mundane

Exotic advantages are traits that ordinary humans cannot have without ultra-tech body modification or similar tampering; for instance, extra arms or death-ray vision. Nonhumans will often have exotic advantages on a racial basis, but this does not entitle them to add such traits freely. You need the GM's permission to add exotic traits that do not appear on your racial template. Exotic advantages are marked .

Supernatural advantages are impossible in nature and cannot be justified by science – or even "superscience." They rely on divine intervention, magic, psionics, etc. The classic example is magical talent (see Magery). Supernatural traits differ from exotic ones in that anyone might be supernaturally gifted – even a "normal" human, if the GM permits. Having a trait like this does not automatically mark you as an alien or a mutant. Supernatural advantages are marked .

Mundane advantages are inborn or learned edges and knacks that anyone might have. There are normally no restrictions on who may possess a mundane advantage. Mundane advantages are not specially marked – if you don't see or , the advantage is mundane and available to anyone with the GM's permission. This last point is important! Some mundane traits are intended for cinematic campaigns (see The Cinematic Campaign); the GM may forbid them in realistic games. Cinematic traits are always clearly indicated in the text.

Potential Advantages

You will sometimes see an advantage you would like to have but that would not make sense at the start of your career – or that you cannot afford on your starting points! Or you might just want to start your adventuring career with unrealized potential, like countless fictional heroes. In either situation, the GM may choose to let you set aside 50% of the cost of an advantage as a "down payment" against acquiring the advantage later on.

When you take a potential advantage like this, sit down with the GM and work out the in-game conditions under which you will acquire the desired trait. When these conditions are met, you must use bonus character points to pay the other half of the price as soon as possible; see Improvement Through Adventure. The GM is free to assess partial or uncontrollable benefits befitting the trait until you finish paying for the full, controllable advantage.

Examples of potential advantages include:

Heir: You stand to inherit wealth or a title. The GM decides when you will come into your inheritance. At that time, you acquire Status, Wealth, or other social privileges worth twice the points set aside for this trait. Until then, you enjoy extra money, reaction modifiers, etc. equal to half what you stand to gain. For instance, if you stood to inherit +2 to Status [10] and Comfortable wealth [10], Heir would cost 10 points, and give +1 to Status and a 50% bonus to starting wealth.

Schrödinger's Advantage: You can specify that at some critical juncture in an adventure, just when all seems lost, you will suddenly discover a new ability – worth twice the points you have set aside – that will help you out of trouble. You must immediately pay the remaining points to use your new ability. This is a powerful option. To keep things fair, points set aside this way provide no benefit until you discover your hidden talent.

Secret Advantage: You have an advantage you don't know about! The GM picks an advantage or set of advantages worth twice the points you have set aside ... but he will not tell you what it is, or even give you a clue! The GM will reveal the truth at a suitably dramatic moment. Until then, the advantage provides the usual benefits – but it isn't under your control, so you won't be able to rely on it. The advantage functions normally once revealed and paid for.

Advantage Origins

See Also: Power Modifiers.

When you select exotic or supernatural advantages, you must also choose an in-game justification for those abilities: biology, high technology, a divine gift, etc. Explaining your capabilities in terms that have meaning in the game world will give you a better "feel" for your character and give the GM some additional "adventure hooks."

Origins are usually just special effects. For instance, if you can sprout claws, they use the rules under Claws whether they are natural, cybernetic, or a gift from the Tiger God. Sometimes, though, you will encounter things that can only affect or be affected by a specific class of abilities. Furthermore, the GM may rule that talents with certain origins are more or less effective in a particular situation. In those cases, it is important to know how your advantage works.

Most characters have only one origin for all of their abilities, but you may choose a separate origin for each of your advantages if you wish, subject to GM approval. The GM sets the origins available in his campaign. Examples include:

Biological

Inborn features (unique to you or part of your racial makeup) and mutations. Medical science can detect and analyze these traits, and – at higher tech levels – add or remove them through genetic engineering, implants, or surgery.

Chi

Powers that originate from the "inner strength" of martial artists and yoga masters (also known as ki and prana). Disease and similar afflictions can sometimes weaken such abilities – for instance, by throwing your yin and yang out of balance.

Cosmic

Abilities that emanate from the universe itself or otherwise defy explanation. This is reserved for gods, powerful spirits, supers, etc. If your ability produces effects that only other cosmic powers can counteract, this is an enhancement; see Cosmic.

Divine

Gifts from the gods (if you are a god, use Cosmic). In areas of low "sanctity" for your god – e.g., the temple of a rival god, or a foreign land where your god is unknown – you might find your abilities reduced or unavailable.

High-Tech

Nonbiological implants in biological characters, as well as all abilities of cyborgs, robots, and vehicles. Sensors can detect and analyze such traits, and certain high-tech countermeasures might be able to neutralize them.

Magic

Talents that draw upon magical energy, or mana. You need not be a wizard yourself; this category includes such lasting sorcerous effects as personal enchantments. If your gifts do not function at all in areas without mana, and function at -5 to die rolls in low mana (like spells), then this is a limitation: Mana Sensitive, -10%.

Psionic

Advantages that originate from the power of the mind. In most settings where psi powers exist, there are drugs, gadgets, and specialized anti-psi powers that can detect and defeat them. As a result, they are bought with a special limitation; see Psionics.

Spirit

Abilities enabled by invoking spirits. You only seem to be the focus of the effects; in reality, invisible supernatural beings are doing your bidding. Obviously, if the spirits cannot reach you, your abilities do not work.

Turning Advantages Off and On

An advantage that never inconveniences you (e.g., Intuition), that has to be on at all times to be of benefit (e.g., Resistant), or that reflects a permanent trait of your species (e.g., Extra Arms) is always on. You cannot turn it off.

Most other advantages are switchable: you can turn them off and on at will. To do so requires a one-second Ready maneuver, with activation or deactivation occurring as soon as you execute the maneuver. Unlike certain skills and magic spells, this does not require concentration; switching an advantage is second nature, and cannot be "interrupted." The default condition (while sleeping, unconscious, etc.) is "on."

Attacks – notably Affliction, Binding, and Innate Attack – are only “on” while you are attacking. An advantage like this requires a one-second Attack maneuver to use; you cannot switch it on continuously without a special enhancement.

Exceptions to these guidelines are noted explicitly.

What's Allowed

The GM determines which exotic and supernatural traits are allowed – and to whom – in his campaign. In a futuristic "transhuman" game world, the GM might declare that it is possible to add specific exotic advantages via surgery or genetic modification, but rule that supernatural advantages simply do not exist. In a 1920s horror game, the GM might allow many supernatural abilities, but no exotic ones. And in a supers campaign, the GM could let the players buy anything they have points for, vetting troublesome traits on a case-by-case basis. Players should develop the habit of reading and "requires GM permission."