GURPS Girl Genius

written by Ian Osmond

Part I: The World

The World

The Industrial Revolution has been hard-fought, and, so far, industry is winning.

The year is. . . well, ever since The Great Calendar Debacle of ???, nobody's been quite sure what year it is. But it's probably sometime in the eighteenth century. Or maybe the nineteenth. Possibly the seventeenth, but it's very unlikely to be in the sixteenth or twentieth. Unless it is. Anyway, that's not important.

The setting is a war-torn Europe. And when we say, "war-torn", we don't mean that there's just plain lots of devistation: we mean that people actually tore Europe. England, for instance, has sunk beneath the waves. The English people, of course, weren't terribly pleased about this, but, keeping a stiff upper lip is part of their tradition, and they don't complain about it. They see it as just one of those things. And, besides, the Dutch have been below sea level for centuries, and you don't see them whining about it, so the English certainly wouldn't.

There have always been people with The Spark-- that bit of madness and genius which allows ideas to fly with the speed of bullets, explode with the power of dynamite, and, generally, be quite a bit more dangerous than either. But it wasn't until alchemy evolved into science that the true power of The Spark was realized.

The Great Houses are those houses in which The Spark runs strong, burns brightly, and tends to set fire to most of the things around it. Sparks (that is, people with The Spark), tend to be drawn to each other, and, once faced with each other, tend to get along like a sack of wet cats.

Naturally, the Great Houses always fought with one another. And the nature of the Spark is such that the manners in which they fought tended to have. . . side effects. Sparks don't have a word for "collateral damage," the way that fish don't have a word for "water." When academic bickering is accomplished with seventy-foot tall clockwork human-shaped battlesuits and giant landwalking mutated squid, things get a little unusual. The byzantine interplay of who was allied with whom against whom eventually became so complex that, simply, everybody was fighting everyone else. This simplified matters greatly. That was the beginning of the Long War.

But, in the past ten years or so, Hope has flourished again. The Heterodyne Boys, Bill and Barry, and their band of stalwart adventurers have been travelling the land, righting wrongs, dispensing two-to-seven-fisted justice, and making the land safe for normal, decent people.

Of course, they can't be everywhere.

That's where you come in.

Characters

In this Tabletop Gaslight Adventure Entertainment, you, the "Players" will portray the roles of a band of stalwart adventurers, in some manners similar to the band led by the Heterodyne boys. You will create characters using the rules laid out later in this document, and will portray their actions using rules laid out even further along than that.

The characters you create will meet one another at Castle Heterodyne, where the co-operative storytelling will commence. If you wish, you may work with other characters to have "backstories" that mesh. But it's not necessary. Your characters should all be "adventurers" of some stripe, who have arrived at Mechanicsburg (the town in which Castle Heterodyne sits) to volunteer for the good work of protecting the downtrodden and righting wrongs, or, perhaps, simply to have a good excuse to blow things up.

You should create characters who have some reason to want to form an adventuring band: some examples of reasons could be, "to right wrongs", "to impress members of the appropriate sex(es)", "to wreak havok", "because somebody I obey told me to", "it might be interesting", and "travel is a broadening experience".

It would be a good idea for characters to have some way to survive in dangerous situations: having a tendency to hide is a perfectly acceptable method. A broad variety of skills, strengths, and approaches to problems is generally a good idea to have in an adventuring party.

As the GM, one of my jobs is to try to make sure that different charactes have different strengths, and that different challenges are presented, so that various characters can each have "time in the spotlight."

Part II: Character Creation

Character Creation Guidelines

1. Points

To create a character, you will spend 250 points. You spend points on Attributes, Advantages, and Skills. You get extra points for Disadvantages and Quirks. Since the world of Girl Genius generates strange, twisted characters, you may take up to 100 points of Disadvantages and 10 points of Quirks. In addition, you may take Maneuvers for your Skills.

2. Attributes

There are 4 Attributes: Strength (which is physical power), Dexterity (dexterity, agility, physical flexibility, balance, and so forth), Health (robustness and vitality), and IQ (pretty much everything mental).

A level of 10 is human average for an attribute. 12 is notably good, and 8 is notably bad. 15 is incredibly good, and 5 is cripplingly bad. An attribute of less than 8 does count as among the 100 points of Disadvantages you can take.

Attributes are bought according to the following schedule (numbers in [] will be explained later):

There are several secondary attributes which are based on the primary attributes, often modified by Advantages or Disadvantages. Two of them are Hit Points and Fatigue.

Hit Points are initially equal to Strength points, and Fatigue Points are initially equal to Health Points. Note: this is a change from the published GURPS rules. They may each be changed with Advantages or Disadvantages bought.

Besides those, you may find yourself rolling against Will. Strong and Weak Will are an Advantage and a Disadvantage, bought in levels. A Will test is rolled against an Attribute, with Will added or subtracted from it, or against 10 +/- Will. Most commonly, Will will be applied to IQ or Health. For instance, if you are attempting to stay conscious while badly hurt, you will generally roll vs. Health+/-Will. To avoid having your mind taken over with Mesmerism, you will generally use IQ+/-Will.

Attempting to resist the lure of one of your own Disadvantages is usually rolled against 10+/- Will. This is a change from the published GURPS rules.

3. Advantages

Advantages are nice perks that your character has. They can be special talents your character possesses, remarkable (advantageous) physical characteristics, or social traits that work in your character's favor, for instance. Among other possibilities. Occasionally, an Advantage will have a few minor drawbacks associated with it -- if you're Very Beautiful, you are in more danger of being kidnapped to be forced into a Turkish Sultan's serlagio, for instance. But, in general, an Advantage is advantageous, or it ain't an advantage. You pay character points to buy an Advantage.

Most Advantages can be bought by most any character. However, Clanks, Constructs, and Sparks operate by different rules than ordinary folks, so there are some Advantages that are restricted to them. Although, in theory, one could be more than one of these things (Klaus von Wolfenbach, for instance, is both a Construct and a Spark), PCs are limited to one. Of course, a player could choose to be none of the above: plenty of heroic adventurers lack the advantages of rusty metal construction, stitched-together secondhand body construction, or borderline insanity, and yet manage to function, in spite of that handicap.

Due to very careful balancing and design by the GM, Clanks, Constructs, and Sparks have just as many plusses as minuses, therefore, being one costs no points, and isn't an Advantage or Disadvantage. (Well, Sparks and Constructs do. Clanks, I'm still working on. But they're getting there.) Oh, if you must characterize them, I suppose you could call them "zero-point advantages", but there's really no point to doing so.

4. Disadvantages

Disadvantages are, of course, the converse of Advantages. Taking one, or twelve, gives you more points to spend on other things. Besides, Disadvantages are fun to play, and give you more interesting challenges and roleplaying opportunities. They are handicaps your character works under -- having lost a leg or two (or three!) in The Wars, being occasionally pestered by the innumerable vengeful brothers of that nice young lady back in Paris, flying into murderous rages whenever someone mentions daffodils, that sort of thing. Clanks, Constructs, and Sparks automatically have some Disadvantages just for being what they are.

5. Quirks

Quirks, it has been said, are something like little tiny Disadvantages. They're worth one point apiece. You get an extra point to spend for each Quirk you take, up to the ten that your GM allows you.

Quirks are little things that would be fun to roleplay, and help define your character further. They may be dislikes, preferences, favorite colors, catchphrases, and the like. They aren't limiting enough, or annoying enough, to count as Disadvantages -- they're just little things. If they do become annoying to the other players, the GM reserves the right to state that, instead of a Quirk, you now have an Odious Personal Habit, or some such, and declare that NPCs become annoyed at you, too. You gain no benefit from having an Odious Personal Habit; however, as soon as you cease annoying the other players with the Habit, it goes back to merely being a Quirk.

6. Skills

Skills are Things You Have Studied How To Do. Every skill a PC has has a level associated with it. Levels are based on a combination of the Attribute which controls the skill, and how many points you spend on the Skill.

Skills are bought on the following schedule:

Further increases cost 4 points per level.

A Skill level of 12 is Competent, 14 is Darned Good, 16 is Expert.

Most Skills are based on DX, for more physical skills, or IQ, for more mental ones. Skills with defaults default to Attribute-5 . Default skills are never higher than 10 even if the attribute is over 15. These are changes from published GURPS rules, and are an experiment in simplifying GURPS skills.

7. Maneuvers

Maneuvers are Parts of Skills You Are Particularly Good At. A PC does not spend real points on Maneuvers. Instead, every point you spend on buying a Skill gives you a Maneuver Point for that skill. So, if you have an Attribute at 10, and you spend 4 points to get a Skill based on that Attribute at 10, then you can spend 4 points on Maneuvers for that Skill.

Every Maneuver has a Default level based on the Skill on which it is based. For instance, the Maneuver "Kicking" defaults to Hand-To-Hand Combat-2. Everyone who can fight hand to hand can kick at slightly worse than they can punch.

However, someone who studies Hand-To-Hand Combat can put Maneuver Points into the Maneuver "Kicking", until they as good at kicking as they are at punching -- "buying off the -2". However, because I as GM decided it would work this way, they could not choose to be better at kicking than they are at punching.

So, we could write, "Maneuver:Kicking. (Defaults to Hand-To-Hand Combat-2, Max=Skill)

Maneuvers are bought on the following schedule:

Further increases are 2 points per level. Talk to the GM about Maneuvers you want. GURPS Martial Arts has a number of ideas of Maneuvers for combat skills, but the costs will be different in this game.

Sparks, Clanks, and Constructs

1. Sparks

Sparks are mad scientists, geniuses, people whose minds work far to rapidly for safe operation. As their minds are operating well outside of design parameters for human brains, they can achieve great things, at a certain cost.

Gadgeteering is the hallmark of the Spark, and, in fact, of the Girl Genius world. As such, all invention times by anyone are 1/10 of the time listed in the book! Instead of an Amazing gadget taking an average of 10 months for a "normal" Gadgeteer to invent, it will take 1 month.

Sparks automatically have the Gadgeteer advantage at the 25 point level. Sparks are the only people who can have this advantage. Other people can invent things, but only Sparks can use the Gadgeteering rules from GURPS Compendium I.

Sparks may spend an additional 25 points, and raise their Gadgeteering to the 50 point level, allowing them increased speed at developing creations.

In addition, Sparks are the only people that may buy the Science! skill, which is a prerequisite for the Weird Science skill -- only Sparks may have the Weird Science skill, as well. Having the Weird Science skill allows Sparks to create things far above the apparent Tech Level of the world.

For purposes of Gageteering, a Spark works at a Tech Level of 4+(Weird Science/8)+(Scientific Skill Used/8) (round down in both cases). So, a Spark with Mechanical Engineering-18 and Weird Science-16 makes Clanks which are, sort of, equivalent to TL-8 robots. Players of Sparks may use GURPS Vehicles, Robots, Biotech, or Mecha to create things they made, at those effective Tech Levels, if they have appropriate skills. They may also use 3G3 to create guns, at a slightly different TL calculation. Because Constructs are so fun to make, and everybody makes them, Biotech creations are created at 1 TL higher than other things (5+WS/8+SSU/8).

Sparks are required to take 30 points of Mental Disadvantages. These do not count against their 100 points of Disadvantages allowed for the campaign. Common choices include Bad Temper, Paranoia, Delusions, Megalomania, and Impulsiveness. These 30 points of Mental Disadvantages pay for the Gadgeteering and the access to other Sparky advantages -- the Sparky PC does not get to spend those 30 points!

Because all Sparks have at least 30 points of Mental Disadvantages and lots of power, people tend to fear them and avoid them as much as possible. Nonetheless, there are people who find themselves attracted to the danger, and Sparks may find themselves accumulating Minions much as rotting meat accumulates flies. For the most part, this counts as one of the disadvantages of playing a Spark -- but it is mitigated by the other Spark advantage, Voice Of Command. A Spark can order one of his or her minions to do something, and the minion will have to roll against Will to avoid complying. It is a philosophical argument whether this ability is an Advantage on the Spark's character sheet, or a Disadvantage of the Minion. I tend to favor the latter philosophy.

2. Constructs

A Construct is someone, made of flesh, who was put together by a Spark. Constructs can be intelligent animals, people stitched together from things found in graves, or giant vegetables. Constructs may also have started out as normal people on whom experiments were performed.

Generally, people can tell that someone is a Construct, by the stitching in their skin, their extra limbs, or the fact that they are a cucumber. If the average person can't tell that a PC is a Construct, that is a 5 point advantage. While Constructs aren't as feared as Sparks, a Construct, by definition, has spent its formative years, or maybe minutes, around a Spark, so people tend to treat them warily. They also tend to stand out in crowds. Other than that, there's no particular disadvantage to being a Construct. Many Constructs live out productive and useful lives as relatively sane members of society.

Constructs have access to a number of Advantages that normal people don't, and a few other things work differently from them.

Constructs and the Strength Attribute

Constructs have the "Enhanced ST Advantage". This means that very high strength costs less for them than for normal people. It's easy for a Spark to just slab on extra muscle tissue -- muscle tissue is cheap, and available in quantity for a song at most morgues, abattoirs, and knacker's yards. ST of up to 15 costs the same as for normal people. But after that, it changes. ST from 16 to 23 costs only 10 points per level, from 24 to 30 only 5 points per level, and from 31 up, only half a point per level. This also increases Hit Points. It doesn't help as much with skills. For ST based skills, pretend that the Enhanced ST advantage didn't exist, and base it on what the ST would be on that many character points worth of regular ST.

So, for Constructs, ST of 15 is 60 points, just like for other people. But ST 25 is 150 points, instead of 300, and ST 50 is 185 points instead of 925. But, if you have ST 50, your ST based skills are bought as if you had ST 20, instead. Still pretty good, but not unbalancing.

In general, Constructs may have most of the Advantages in GURPS Biotech, so long as the Spark who created him or her has the skills to do it. Constructs may also have most Racial advantages. Claws, Extra Limbs, Fangs, and the like are very popular.

Constructs may buy DR at 5 character points for 1 point of DR -- but they must first buy the two levels of Toughness for 25 points.

Jagermonstersare an example of a type of Construct. They have ST +5 (60 points), DX +2 (20 points), IQ -1 (-10 points), HT +3 (30 points), Combat Reflexes (15 points), Fearless +5 (10 points), Claws (15 points), Hard To Kill +4 (12 points), High Pain Threshold (5 points), Rapid Healing 2 (15 points), Toughness 2 (25 points), Bully (-10 points), Overconfidence (-10 points), Sense of Duty to Heterodyne Family (-5 points), Ugly (-10 points), Quirk: Love to Fight (-1), Quirk: That Wacky Accent. They also have the 0-point Feature "Can Identify Heterodyne Family Members by Smell." It costs at least 150 points to play an average Jagermonster, but many Jagermonsters have even higher ST, and extra hit points, and all of them have combat skills.

3. Clanks

Clanks are Mechanical Men, using modified Jaquard Looms and Steam-Powered Punch-Card Drivers for their Mechanical Brains. Basically, they're robots, and can be built with GURPS Robots. Most Clanks are not, actually, sentient, but a few are, and those few may be appropriate for PCs.

So far, Mechanical Brains have not been developed to be sentient, but, as per GURPS Robots, a Mechanical Brain of Complexity 7 or more may spontaneously "wake up". A PC may play a Clank to whom this has happened.

Most Clanks are equipment. Clanks can be Robot Soldiers, or Mecha, or other sorts of vehicles. To be absolutely fair about it, Clanks need not even really look like people, but what's the fun in that Oh, okay, I suppose a robot dog would be fun.

Non-sentient Clanks are built using GURPS Robots, Mecha, Vehicles, and so forth. The simplest way to do this is to make the GM build the Clank for you. But, if you like number-crunching and overly-complex and fiddly systems (and, let's face it, who doesn't?), you can do it yourself. To build a Clank, your characters just need the skills, equipment, time, and materials to do it.

Having the Spark helps a lot, too. While other people can invent and build Clanks, a Clank built by a Spark is just so far beyond what other people can do that it's just not fair. Most people, working on their own, are working at somewhere around Tech Level 4. They can implement and use Spark-designed components of much higher Tech Level, but, still, their base level is somewhere around TL 4. If I ever write up detailed Invention and Gadgeteering rules, I'll go into this a lot further, but for purposes of character creation, that's probably enough.

So, let's get back to sentient Clanks, which is the interesting thing, anyway.

Sentient Clanks are built as characters, with character points and so forth. Like Constructs, they have access to advantages not available to "normal" people, and some advantages are cheaper for them. And they get a bunch of advantages for free. But they have some disadvantages, too.

To start with, Clanks don't understand emotions, since they're all robotic and stuff. (This doesn't mean that they can't have emotions -- just that they can't understand them.) And they're very, very literal. This gives them Clueless, No Sense of Humor, and Low Empathy. Actually, sentient Clanks are therefore a lot of fun at parties. But it's a real good idea to give Clanks specific, simple instructions if you're going to be working with one. The only Empathy-type advantage they can have is Machine Empathy.

The other main disadvantage that Clanks have is that they have Social Stigma "Property". They don't count as people. Even Constructs count as people, most of the time. But, a Clank can be melted down for spare parts by the Spark who created it, and nobody will intervene!

Okay, maybe that's a bad example: if a Spark was going to go melting down normal townspeople for spare parts, it's unlikely that anyone would intervene, either. But you get the point.

Sentient Clanks do "sleep", sorta: they need to shut down for eight hours a night for maintenance and self-repair processes, and, if they put that off, they degrade in performance in a way that is, oddly, exactly the way that other folks accumulate Fatigue penalties. And they require oxygen for their power plants -- and, coincidentally, the way that they react when oxygen is cut off is exactly like the way that people suffocate.

On the other hand, you can't strangle a Clank, and they don't bleed. They do have vulnerable spots that are similar to "internal organs" in people.

Advantage Listing

Constructs, especially, may want advantages not on this list, but this is most of the most important ones. Note that a lot of them are changed from the published books. Several of them are from S John Ross's "Cinematic Advantage" List on the Blue Room

Mental Advantages:

Absolute Direction: 5 points, available to all

Absolute Timing: 5 points, Free for Clanks, available to all

Acute Sense: 2 points per level, available to all

Alertness: 5 points per level, available to all

Combat Reflexes: 15 points, available to all.

Common Sense: 10 points, not available to Sparks

Danger Sense: 15 points, not available to Clanks

Eidetic Memory: 15 points, 10 points for Clanks

You remember everything you've seen or heard. If you, the player forgets something, you may ask the GM or the players what happened, and they must tell you. You learn skills at twice the speed of most people, although it costs the same number of character points. You get a +3 bonus to any skill which consists of memorization of long lists of facts (largely "Lore" skills)

Fearlessness: 2 points/level

Gadgeteer: 25 or 50 points, available to Sparks only

This is the defining attribute of Sparks. Every Spark has at least the first level of it, and Sparks may buy the second level.

Intuitive Mathematician: 20 points, available to Sparks only

Your deep insight into the way that the world is made out of numbers gives you a +2 to all science skills. Includes Lightning Calculator and Mathematical Ability, so you also get +2 to Engineering rolls, and a total of +4 to Mathematics, Gambling, and Cryptography. In general, if it has to do with symbolic manipulation, you just plain know the answer, instinctively. Factoring large primes? Bah! Trivial!

Intuition: 15 points, 10 for Sparks, not available to Clanks

Language Talent: 15 points

You get a +3 to any language you attempt to learn. Besides helping with your vocabulary, this means that you will never have worse than a slight accent.

Literacy: 3 points per alphabet; 1 point per alphabet for Semi-Literate

Literacy is bought per alphabet. Everyone gets one alphabet for free.

Lightning Calculator: 5 points, free for Clanks, free for Sparks

Gives +3 to Indirect Fire with Gunner

Machine Empathy: 15 points (10 points for Clanks, 10 points for Sparks)

You have a feel for machines. This gives you a +3 to Engineering or Mechanic rolls to fix a machine that's having problems. Sentient machines react to you at +3. However, you cannot mistreat machines or watch others mistreat them -- considering just how most machines are treated in the Girl Genius world, this is pretty limiting.

Mathematical Ability: 10 points (Free for Clanks)

This gives you a +2 on any Math or Engineering roll. This makes it very valuable for Sparks who work with machines. Also gives +2 to Cryptography and Gambling.

Rapier Wit: 5 points

You can roll Bard vs. someone's IQ +/- Will in order to mentally stun them in combat!

Strong Will: 4 points/level, available to all

Added to IQ, HT, or 10, depending on what it's being used for. May occasionally be added to something else, instead

Unfazeable: 15 points, free for Clanks

Not uncommon among British citizens. Keeping a stiff upper lip and all, don'tcha know.

Physical Advantages:

Alcohol Tolerance: 5 points, free for Clanks

Ambidexterity: 10 points, available to all

Breath-Holding: 2 points per level, levels over 2 only available to Constructs

Cast Iron Stomach: 15 points, 10 points for Constructs

Catfall: 10 points, Construct only

Despite what it says in the book, this is cumulative with a successful Acrobatics check

Claws: 15/25/40/55 points -- Clank and Construct only

Damage Resistance: 5 points/level, Clank and Construct only.

Constructs must spend 25 points on Toughness to get their first two points of DR, then may buy as much more DR at 5 points a level as they wish. Clanks can just slab on the armor at 5 points a level, from the start.

Double Jointed: 5 points, available to all

Extra Arms: 10 points per arm, only available to Clanks and Constructs

Extra Fatigue: 3 points/level

Extra Hit Points: 3 points/level

If a Clank or Construct has very high strength, it can buy Extra Hit Points for ¼ the cost that a ST point would cost.

Fit: 5 points/15 points

At the first level, the character recovers Fatigue at twice the normal rate. At the second level, Fatigue is also lost to exertion at half the normal rate.

Hard to Kill: 5 points/level, 3 points/level for Constructs

Lots of Constructs are Hard to Kill. This explains Jaegermonsters.

High Pain Threshold: 10 points, 5 points for Constructs, free for Clanks

Increased Speed: 25 points/level

Iron Hand: 10 points, 5 points for Clanks or Constructs

You do +2 damage with one or more of your fists. On the other hand (heh, heh), you have a -4 to delicate work with any hand so modified

Immunity to Disease: 5 points, free for Clanks

Night Vision: 10 points, 5 points for Constructs, but their eyes will be funny-looking

Peripheral Vision: 10 points, 5 points for Constructs and Clanks, but their eyes will be funny-placed.

Rapid Healing: 5/15/25. 25 point level only available to Constructs. Prereq: HT 11/12/13

When someone is injured, they roll vs. HT once every 3 days to get a Hit Point back. At the first level of the advantage, a character rolls every day to get a point back. At the second, the character no longer has to roll, and gets a point back every twelve hours. At the third level, the character doesn't have to roll, and gets a point back every hour. As an aside, a Spark who studies medicine can vastly improve the healing of anybody injured. If you trust a mad scientist to muck around with your insides, that is.

Sharpshooter: 45 points, 35 points for Clanks

You never get a Snap Shot penalty with any handgun, and you automatically get the accuracy bonus of your weapon, even if you don't take any time to aim. You can also use any firearm at your DX, or at your highest gun skill-2. Also works for crossbows

Sound Sleeper: 5 points

You can sleep through anything non-threatening. If something actually threatening is happening, you get an IQ roll to wake up. If you have Combat Reflexes, you wake up immediately without a roll.

Temperature Tolerance: 1 point/level, only Constructs and Clanks can buy more than 3 levels

Toughness: 10/25 points

Clanks don't use Toughness; instead, they use the cheaper Damage Resistance advantage. Constructs also use the DR advantage, but must buy their first two points of DR as the 25 point Toughness

Social Advantages:

Animal Empathy: 15 points, not available to Clanks

Animals will always react positively to you. Tame or domestic animals flock to you, wild animals enjoy your presence, hostile animals will usually not bother you. If you are thrown into a gladiatorial pit with hostile lions, they will be inclined to let you be. Even giant mutant animals will tend to like you. Only the most hostile and vicious animals will be likely to attack you. In general, you are guaranteed a "Good" reaction roll from any animal. Even in the few cases where this is not so, you still have a +3 to the reaction roll that is made. You have +3 to any Animal-related skill. A character with Animal Empathy will avoid needless cruelty to animals, but need not be a vegetarian, or object to using animals to do work, so long as the animals are treated humanely.

Attractiveness: 5/15/25 points

Charisma: 5 points per level, not available to Clanks

Claim To Hospitality: 1 to 10 points, depending on extent

Clerical Investment: 5 points, available to all, but Sparks and Clanks need a good story

Empathy: 15 points, not available to Clanks

You have a feel for people. You get a +3 bonus to any skill which largely depends on "reading" people. In addition, even if you don't have the Body Language skill, you may roll vs. IQ to read someone's body language to determine his or her emotional state.

Fashion Sense: 5 points

Musical Ability: 15 points

You have a +3 on any musical skill you have -- instruments, singing, composing, analysis, criticism. In addition, you may attempt to play any instrument you come across at Attribute-1, if it's physically possible for you to play it. Also, you need not normally roll against a musical skill that you have in order to perform normally; you will simply be assumed to have done a reasonable job playing or singing. Finally, if you have the ability to play your instrument, you may use a musical skill as a reaction roll skill. Instead of rolling a reaction roll, a successful roll will count as a Good reaction, and an unsuccessful roll will count as Poor.

Rank, 5 points per level, 1 point per level for Courtesy Rank

There are many forms of Rank in the world of Girl Genius, but they're all basically equivalent. A Grad Student, a Sergeant, a Squire, and a Merchant are all Rank 1, and all recognize each other as the same thing: the people who actually do all the work . . . If someone has the right to use a title, but not the power that goes along with it, they have a Courtesy Rank, instead, which is much cheaper.

Reputation: available to all, as per pg 17 of the Basic Set

Savings: 1 point per level

Normally, people start out with 2 months of income to buy starting equipment, and to just have as "cash on hand" at the start of the game. Every level of Savings you have gives you an extra month's worth.

Voice: 10 points, available to all

Gives +2 Reaction, and +2 to Skill rolls involving speaking or singing attractively

Wealth: See Section on Jobs

Cinematic Advantages:

Boomer-Bullets; 5 points/level

Once per session (per level of this advantage), you can declare that any bullet you've successfully fired at a vehicle hits a vital fuel line, sparks a fume, cracks a capacitor bank, or otherwise triggers a devastating explosion. The vehicle is destroyed, and any nameless NPCs inside are automatically killed. Significant NPCs will somehow survive unless the GM rules otherwise. Any PCs near or in the blast must fend for themselves! If you also have Safety Bullets, however, and there are innocent bystanders in the car, even if you don't know about them, then the Boomer-Bullets will just plain not work, but the attempt won't count as a use of Boomer-Bullets. Your Boomer-Bullets can also ignite heavy machinery, barrels of fuel, or anything else that the GM rules is volatile. However, it's considered non-sportsmanlike to use Boomer Bullets to do things like blow up archery targets. Unless, y'know, it's funny.

Car-Crawler; 5 points

Any time you are required to make a DX, Acrobatics, Climbing or Jumping roll to safely leap onto or off of a moving vehicle, or simply to hang on to one, you will fail only on a Critical Failure, and may always roll, regardless of how ludicrously high the penalties are. This advantage doesn't protect you from the effects of failure in any way, and some effects of success can be dangerous, especially at high speeds.

Cinematic Ammo; 2/5/10 points

You do not follow the normal ammunition rules. This advantage comes in three varieties, any of which may be combined:

Safe Reload (2 points): Anytime you run out of ammo during a gunfight, you cease to be a valid target until you have a chance to reload your weapon. You must reload as quickly as possible (using Fast-Draw and Speed-Load skills if you have them), but no hostile action can be taken towards you while you're loading up (more often than not, the opposition will take the time to reload their weapons, since they can't aim or fire at you).

Guns Everywhere (5 points): Whenever you run out of ammo in a gunfight, roll one die. On a 1-5, there is another gun at hand (lying on a nearby table, for instance) which is at least half-full of ammo (more at the GM's whim); a Ready maneuver is all that's needed to be armed again (dropping your current weapon is a Free Move, as always). The guns can come from downed foes from earlier in the scene, your own prepared stashes, etc., as appropriate. What sort of gun it is is the GM's whim.

Cowboy Ammo (10 points): You never need to keep track of ammo; your guns almost never run out of bullets. This advantage applies to any weapon that normally has multiple shots (it doesn't apply to single-shot weapons like many holdout pistols, or muskets, but it does apply to all shotguns, including breechloaders). Whenever you roll a Critical Failure on a shot, however, there is a 50/ 50 chance that you are out of ammo, rather than the normal result. This advantage doesn't offer special protection from disadvantages that might result in lack of ammo, such as Unluckiness or Absent-Minded.

Daredevil: 15 points

When you are taking an action in not-the-safest-way, you get a +1 to it, and you get to reroll critical failures.

Fistfighter; 10 points

Whenever you are one-on-one with a foe, you can eliminate the possibility of a gunfight or blade-fight by simply putting up your fists in invitation (or taking a stylized stance, depending on how you fight). You don't have to say anything; just the gesture is enough. Your foe must make an Will roll, at a penalty equal to triple any reaction bonuses you have (penalties are ignored). If he fails, he holsters his weapon and raises his own fists, and the scene becomes a punch-and-kick match. If he critically fail, he sets his weapon down on a nearby table, bartop, etc., rather than holstering or sheathing it. You, of course, can maneuver to grab it during the fight. This only works mano a mano; if you face a group of armed soldiers, you can't coax them all into fighting you with their hands unless the GM rules that they are truly insipid. However, an entire group of PCs with this advantage could have that affect on an NPC group of equal or lesser size! If any NPC tries the "fistfight invitation" on you, you must roll at Will-4 to resist! The same one-on-one conditions apply.

"The Leap": 2 points

You cannot be killed in an explosion unless you are trapped with it, or you deliberately caused it. As long as there is a window, balcony, cliffside, or something else to leap over or through, you can throw up your arms and "ride" an explosive shockwave to safety - you're "thrown clear of the blast". You'll fall either a short distance, or a long distance ending in something soft. You take 1d-3 falling damage whenever you use this advantage (Toughness applies; see sidebar, p.B131, for location), but are otherwise immune to injury for the duration of the explosion.

Luck: 15, 30, or 60 points, available to everyone

Every hour/30 minutes/10 minutes of play, you may make up to 3 rolls for an action, and take whichever roll you prefer. After using your luck, you must wait 60/30/10 minutes to use it again. You may also have the GM make 3 rolls, if it's for something that would affect you: for instance, if someone was about to attack you, you could have the GM roll 3 times and take the worst result. It can be any type of roll: critical hit table, damage roll, reaction roll, skill roll. . . just about anything. You do have to declare your use of the advantage before dice are rolled, however.

Luck Type II: 3 or 5 points/level

For every level of this advantage you have, roll a d6 at the beginning of each game and record the result. These are "luck rolls" which may be substituted for die-rolls once the game begins. As each luck roll is used, it is erased. Luck rolls may be used to replace any required roll of the dice, provided at least one die remains random (exception: damage rolls). Luck rolls may not be saved between sessions. For example, if you have three levels of Type II Luck and roll a 2, a 3, and a 1 at the beginning of the game, and are then called upon to make a difficult skill roll, you could (instead of rolling 3d against your skill), roll 1d and use the 2 and the 1 to dictate the result of the other two dice! The 2 and 1 would then be erased and used up. You could not use the 2, 3 AND the 1, because at least one die must be random. Retroactive Type II Luck is also available, for 5 points/level. This advantage is identical to Type II Luck, except that you may roll the dice first, and then decide whether to "spend" any of your luck rolls to alter the roll. One of the dice rolled must remain unchanged, but the choice is yours. Type II Luck may be used to affect any die-roll that normal Luck can affect

Safety Bullets; 5 points

Whenever you make a ranged attack, innocent bystanders are ignored. They do not provide cover for your target, and cannot be hit by missed shots unless you critically fail your attack (incidental explosions can still frag them, though). Other Player Characters (and your foes!) receive no special protection.

Stunt Driver/Stunt Pilot; 15 points

You have an instinctive knowledge of vehicles. This comes in two forms: Stunt Driver covers ground vehicles (with wheels, skids, legs, treads, or whatever) and water surface vehicles -- basically anything that's designed to move in two dimensions. Stunt Pilot covers everything that moves in three dimensions: rockets, planes, ornothopters, submarines, Mole Machines, and the like. You get a +3 to Vehicle skills to handle your kind of vehicle, and you don't take familiarity penalties, no matter how weird the controls are. You can do amazing stunts with a simple skill roll, and, even if you screw up, you and your passengers will just be banged around and bruised, not killed.

Disadvantage Listing

Mental Disadvantages

Absent Mindedness: -15

Amnesia: -10/-25

Bad Temper: -10

Very common among Sparks

Berserk: -15

Also very common among Sparks.

Bestial: -10/-15, not available to Clanks

This happens mostly to Constructs, but could happen to anyone. After all, accidents happen, and just about anybody could lose track of a small child, leaving it to be raised in the jungle by wild beasts.

Bloodlust: -10

This is in here mainly for NPCs. I'd rather not have PCs who are this bent on killing their enemies.

Bully: -10

Callous: -6

Charitable: -15

Clueless: -10, automatic for Clanks

You just plain don't "get" people. You can't learn Social Skills, and are at rather a loss in social situations.

Code of Honor: -5 to -15

Compulsive Behavior: -5 to -15

Examples include Compulsive Carousing: -5, and Compulsive Spending. Other compulsive behavior examples exist.

Confused: -10

You react badly to lots of stimulation. You have skill penalties in noisy, unfamiliar environments.Not unknown among Sparks; Lazlo Holyfeld, for example. . .

Cowardice: -10

Possible for PCs, but makes it tough to be an Action Hero. Still, Doctor Smith from "Lost In Space" managed it.

Curious: -5 to -15

Very common among Sparks. And PCs in general. And a very dangerous disadvantage to have.

Delusions: -1 to -15

Highly appropriate for everybody. People who notice your delusion will react at -1 for every 5 points the Delusion is worth.

Dyslexia: -10

You can't read, and you can't learn how to read. You have trouble with other kinds of symbols, too.

Edgy: -5

Not uncommon among townspeople who live near Sparks. . . You have -1 to all Fright Checks, because you're so high strung.

Fanaticism:- 15

Minions often have Fanaticism of various sorts.

Flashbacks: -5 to -20

Under stress, you have sudden halucinations of other stressful events.

Glory Hound: -15

Gluttony: -5

Greed: -15

Gregarious: -1/-5/-10

At the Quirk level, you like other people. At -5 points, you need other people, and have a -1 to Mental skills when alone. At the -10 point level, you need lots more people, and have a -2 to Mental skills when alone, and a -1 when you're with fewer than five other people.

Guilt Complex: -5

Gullibility: -10, automatic for Clanks

Hidebound: -5, not available to Sparks

You have very little imagination, and have -2 to any roll involving creativity or imagination. Not uncommon among Clanks.

Honesty: -10

Illiteracy: -3 points

Impulsiveness: -10

Common among Sparks

Intolerance: Variable

Jealousy: -10

Kleptomania: -15

Laziness: -10

Lecherousness: -15

Loner: -5

Common among Sparks. Not recommended for PCs.

Low Empathy: -15, automatic for Clanks.

Megalomania: -10

Common among Sparks

Miserliness: -10

No Sense of Humor: -10, automatic for Clanks

Obsession: -5 to -15

Common among Sparks. EVERYTHING you do has to be at least tangentally related to the pursuit of one goal, the subject of your Obsession.

Overconfidence: -10

Common among Sparks

Pacifism: -15/-30

Paranoia: -10

Phobias: Variable

Pyromania: -5

Includes liking explosions

Sadism: -15

A "bad guy" disadvantage: does not refer to the simple, happy, fluffy sadism that we are all familiar with.

Sense of Duty: -5 to -20

Short Attention Span: -10

Shyness: -5 to -15

Stress Atavism: Variable, Constructs only

Although you were given intelligence by a Spark, under stress, you have a disturbing tendency to revert to type. . .

Stubbornness: -5

Trickster: -15

Truthfulness: -5

Weak Will: -8/level

Xenophilia: -5/-15

Physical Disadvantages:

Addiction: Variable, as per pg B30.

Albinism: -10

Appearance: -5/-10/-20

Bad Back: -15/-25

Bad/Poor Grip: -10/-5

Mostly for poorly-made Constructs, but other folks could end up with this, too.

Bad Sight: -10/-25

Glasses exist in the Girl Genius universe, as well as more exotic forms of repairing eyesight, but some people's eyes are just to strange to be helped that way. . .

Blindness: -50

Color Blindness: -10

Combat Paralysis: -15

Deafness: -10/-20

Partial or Total Deafness

Delicate Metabolism: -20/-40; Constructs only

You can't eat normal food. If you can, very carefully and with some difficulty, eat a couple types of normal food, it's -20 points; if you can only eat things created in a lab by someone familiar with how you're made, it's -40.

Dependency: Variable

You need some unusual substance to stay healthy. This is most likely to show up in Constructs, but could represent unusual minerals needed by a Clank, for instance.

Disembodied Brain: -100

While "Disembodied Brain," a.k.a. "Brain in a Jar", is available for PCs, it is not recommended, because, well, as a brain in a jar, you'll not be able to do much. 'Cept hope that somebody puts you into a Construct or something, at which point you'd have to buy off the disad anyway.

Disturbing Voice: -10

This is not merely an unpleasant voice, but one that's so unpleasant as to make communication actually difficult. It's most likely to show up in Clanks and Constructs, but a severe stutterer would have this, too.

Dwarfism: -15

Epilepsy: -30

Fat: -5/-10/-20

Gigantism: -10

Hemophilia: -30

Hunchback: -10, not available to Clanks, because that would be weird

Surprisingly common among Minions

Inconvenient Size: -10/-15, Construct or Clank only.

A Construct who still looks basically human should take Gigantism or Dwarfism instead of Inconvenient Size. One that looks like a giraffe or a cat should take this disadvantage instead.

Klutz: -5/-15

Things break around you. Don't be a lab assistant.

Lame: -15 to -35

Missing Digit: -2/-5

You're missing a finger, or a thumb. So it's much harder for you to use one of your hands.

Motion Sickness: -10

Mute: -25

No Sense of Smell/Taste: -5

One Arm: -20

One Eye: -15

One Hand: -15

Sterile: -2

You can't reproduce. It's not, usually, much of a disadvantage -- but then, it's not worth very many points. But, y'know, people might laugh at you and stuff.

Social Disadvantages:

Dependent: Variable

Duties: Variable

Enemy: Variable

Mistaken Identity: -5/-10/-20

There's someone out there who looks just like you, and you're mistaken for each other regularly. At the higher levels, this is the Evil Twin disadvantage.

Odious Personal Habits: -5 to -15

Common for EVERYBODY

Rank (Negative): -5/level

Social Stigma: -5 to -20

Youth: -2/level

Misc. Disadvantage

Cursed: -75

Also known as "Enemy: GM" Take it if you want it, but I'll make you earn those points. It's the same point value as "Terminally Ill", but less survivable.

Skill Listings

Animal Skills

Animal Handling: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: Specific Animal Type, Specific Task Type, Snake Charming)

Riding: DX (Suggested Maneuvers: Specific Animal, Specific Non-Horse Animal Type, Steeplechase)

When on a horse, physical skills performed at the lower of Riding and the skill in question

Teamster: IQ

Includes the Packing skill

Artistic Skills

Artist: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: media (charcoal, watercolors), subject (landscapes, portraits))

Painting, drawing, sketching, sculpting etc.

Dancing: DX

Used for both performance and social dancing

Musical Composition: IQ

Musical Instruments: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: Musical Styles)

Public Speaking: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: Storytelling/Entertaining, Stirring up Particular Emotions)

Singing: HT (Suggested Maneuvers: Musical Styles, Vocal Tricks (e.g. yodelling))

Writing: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: Poetry, Journalism, Song Lyrics)

Athletic Skills

Acrobatics: DX

Climbing: DX or ST

Jumping: DX or ST

Juggling: DX

Running: HT (Suggested Maneuvers: Terrain)

Sports: DX or ST

Swimming: DX

Combat/Weapon

Axe/Mace:DX

One handed weapons with weight near the head.

Bow: DX

Archery! Yay!

Cloak:DX

Using a Cloak to block weapons, entangle, and so forth

Fast-Draw:DX

Per weapon

Flail/Whip:DX

One or two handed weapons with a flexible component. Includes blackjacks.

Gunner: DX

Large weapons -- vehicle mounted, tripod mounted, etc. I'm not using the IQ bonus for Gunner. But Lightning Calculator gives +3 for Indirect Fire with this skill (artilery, mortars, etc.)

Long Guns: DX

Two-handed firearms or compressed air guns. Also, large crossbows. No IQ bonus.

Pistols: DX

One-handed firearms or compressed air guns. Also, small crossbows. No IQ bonus.

Hand-to-Hand Combat: DX

Punching, kicking, etc. All unarmed striking techniques

Knife: DX

All one-handed balanced weapons with striking surfaces under 18 inches long.

Shield: DX

Ability to use a shield or buckler to attack and to parry.

Sling: DX

Throwing rocks using tools.

Staff/Spear: DX

Ability to use a big stick as a weapon, whether or not it's pointy.

Sword: DX

Ability to use a one-handed balanced weapon longer than 18 inches.

Throwing: DX (Suggested Maneuvers: Specific Weapons)

Two-Handed Axe/Mace: DX

Two-Handed Sword: DX

Wrestling:DX

All unarmed locks, holds, and throws

Craft Skills

Blacksmithing; Carpentry; Cooking, Masonry, etc: DX or IQ

Each is a separate skill; others exist

Armory, Mechanic: IQ

These are the skills to fix things, keep things in good repair, and even to build them when provided with plans. They do not allow the user to create new models.

Language Skills

Language Skills are based on IQ; each language is a separate skill. Vocabulary and grasp of grammar is determined by raw skill level, with 10 being average for a native speaker of a language. Accent is determined by comparing the language skill level with IQ. A language known at IQ-3 is almost uninteligible. IQ-2 has a thick foreign accent, IQ-1, a distinct foreign accent, IQ, a slight foreign accent. A language known at IQ+1 or better is spoken with a native accent; the player may specify what native accent the langauge was learned at. At IQ+1 or better, a player may also specify additional accents known, with Maneuvers. As the Language Talent advantage gives +3 with languages, a half-point in a language will bring a character with Language Talent to IQ level with a skill, meaning that he or she will never have worse than a slight accent in any language learned.

Knowledge Skills

Area Knowledge: IQ

Per area

Bardic Lore: IQ

Knowledge of lots of songs and stories. You may roll vs. Bardic Lore to remember a song or story appropriate to what you want to do. A successful roll vs Bardic Lore can give a +2 to a roll vs. Public Speaking or Singing to have an effect

Other Knowledge skills exist

Liberal Arts Skills:

Archaeology: IQ

Study of Ancient Civilizations. May include the occasional Ancient Secret or Thing Man Was Not Meant to Know.

History: IQ

Study of Not-Quite-As-Ancient Civilizations. Sometimes, a History roll can give you insight into what is going on, or give you ideas of times when other people faced the same sort of thing

Literature: IQ

Knowledge of the Great Works of a culture. Manly useful for showing off.

Philosophy: IQ

Teaching: IQ

How to get ideas into other people's skulls, without using a bone saw.

Theology: IQ

Probably a good idea to have some of this if you have Clerical Investment.

Military Skills:

Soldier: IQ

How to stay alive, and even be effective, on a battlefield. Also, knowing all sorts of little useful things about being a soldier, like the uniforms of the people you're likely to fight with or against, simple gadgets you'd use as a soldier, the rules of discipline, and so forth.

Tactics: IQ

Knowing how to direct a smallish group of people to work together to achieve a specific, limited military goal -- taking a position, moving forward, clearing a room, etc.

Operations: IQ

Knowing how to direct and order a battle in order to win it. Placing the forces at your command, using terrain with different types of units, seeing what points of ground give you control of what other points of ground.

Strategy: IQ

In a large campaign, knowing what battles need to be fought where in order to win. Includes knowlege of supply lines and things like that. Operations is winning the battles; Strategy is knowing what battles to win.

Leadership: IQ

Convincing people to do things in dangerous situations

Outdoor Skills

Climbing: DX or ST

Fishing: IQ

Hiking: HT

Naturalist: IQ

Knowledge of the natural world, and of the unnatural world that has escaped and set up housekeeping (e.g. mimmoths). This does count as a prerequisite for Science!, but doesn't count as a skill a Spark can use to Create Things.

Navigation/Orienteering: IQ

Survival: IQ (Suggested Maneuvers: terrains)

Tracking: IQ

Professional Skills

Accounting, Administration, Farmer, Law, Merchant, Telegraphy, etc Mostly IQ or DX.

Mainly used for having jobs, but may have uses in adventuring.

Scientific Skills

Biology (Must Specialize): IQ

How Living Things Work. For inventing new living things. Used by Sparks to make Constructs. Because there are so many types of Constructs that are so different in the Girl Genius universe, one can't just take a general "Biology" skill -- for simple knowlege of the natural world, use Naturialist. But in order to make Constructs, or even understand how they work, one must take, for instance, "Biology (Intelligent Plants)", "Biology (Reanimating Dead Tissue)," or the like.

Chemistry: IQ

Cryptography: IQ

Creating, using, and breaking cyphers.

Engineering(Must Specialize): IQ

How Mechanical Things Work. For inventing new mechanical things. Used by Sparks to make Clanks, and other Mechanical Monstrosities. A Girl Genius world has so much mechanical gadgetry that a single "Engineering" skill is too broad to cover it. One must instead take "Engineering (Vehicles)," for instance, or "Engineering (Mechanical Brains)", if one wants to design and invent vehicles or brains. If one merely wants to know how to fix mechanical things, one may take "Mechanic", instead.

Mathematics: IQ

Mesmerism: IQ

The ability to hypnotize people. Works best on the ignorant and weak-willed. To mesmerize someone, roll a Quick Contest of your Mesmirism skill +/- Will, vs. their IQ +/- Will. What you can do to their mind depends on how much you succeed by.

Physics: IQ

Physician: IQ

The medical skill: covers everything from first aid to installing clockwork cybernetics into people. Maneuvers are important to define what kind of Physician skill you've got. . .

Research: IQ

How to Find and Analyze Information in a collection of information. Making Knowledge out of Data. And knowledge is power, so Fear Librarians. Also used to set up libraries, catalog things, and so forth.

Science!: IQ

Knowing a little bit about EVERY SINGLE KIND OF SCIENCE OUT THERE! A roll against Science! will let a character know any known scientific fact about anything, in any scientific field, but won't let him or her make up new theories. Prerequisites: Research, any other two Sciences. Your Science! skill can't be any higher than "Lowest Prerequisite-2". Only Sparks may take Science!.

Weird Science: IQ

Insights Into The Scientific World That The Human Mind Was Not Designed To Hold. Helps in Gadgeteering, Inventing, and so forth. Only avaliable to Sparks; Science! is a prerequisite, and Weird Science may not be higher than Science!.

Social Skills

Body Language: IQ

Reading people's intentions and emotions. Helps figure out what someone's about to do in combat, can tell if someone is lying, helps figure out someone's emotional state.

Carousing: HT

How To Party. Includes drinking, singing stupid songs off-key (one may still sing stupid songs on-key if one also has Singing, but one is not required to do so), knowing what types of lampshades set off one's hair best, and so forth.

Diplomacy: IQ

The art of letting someone else have your way. Explaining to people why doing what you'd like them to is in their own best interest. The art of saying "nice doggy" while you hunt for a big stick. In general: a way of interacting with people that's focused on showing them the benefits to themselves of what you'd like them to do, and building consensus.

Erotic Arts: DX

Fulfiling the promises that Sex Appeal makes.

Intimidation: ST

Lying: IQ

Hiding your emotions, pretending to be something you're not. If you're hiding your feelings from someone else, you and the other person roll a Quick Contest of Skills between Lying and Body Language.

Savior-Faire: IQ

Knowing the Right Thing To Do in social situations. Includes things like knowing which fork to use, and being able not to giggle when someone else farts.

Sex Appeal: HT

Making the promises that Erotic Arts is designed to fulfil.

Streetwise: IQ

Handling yourself appropriately in "seedy" or "underworld" situations. Having a feel for which bars will have criminals in them in a new city. Being able to go to those bars and not get rolled. Being able to talk to those criminals and fit in. Not getting mugged walking down bad streets.

Thief Skills

Locks and Traps: DX

Opening locks, disarming traps, setting traps. Stuff like that.

Hide/Sneaking: DX

Avoiding guards, moving silently, following someone without their knowledge

Pickpocket/Filching: DX

Taking things that are in other people's pockets, behind counters, and so forth. Using misdirection and swiftness-of-hand to snag small items.

Scrounging: IQ

Finding possibly useful things that other people have thrown out. One of the primary "Junkyard Wars" skills.

Vehicle Skills

Battlesuit: DX

If you are in a Battlesuit, any physical skills are performed at the lower of the Battlesuit skill or the skill in question

Boating: DX

Covers all small boats, whether rowed, sailed, motorized, or have rockets coming off the back. Also covers small submarines.

Crew Member: DX

Being an effective crew member of a large vehicle, like a giant dirigible, sailing ship, big submarine, or Iron Juggernaut. Each vehicle will take a good deal of time to get used to, and there are some differences between land, water, and flying vehicles. Still, if you can make yourself useful on a frigate, you are likely to be able to make yourself useful on a zeppln.

Driving: DX

Handling a motorized vehicle with wheels, treads, or legs. Each new vehicle will usually require some time to get used to: Sparks don't standardize their controls!

Piloting: DX

Handling Heaver-Than-Air Flying machines, dirigibles, ornothopters, rocketships, and so forth. Like with Driving, each new vehicle will normally require significant "getting-used-to" time.

Vehicle Handling: IQ

Directing and running a crew-serviced large vehicle like a dirigible, ship, or Juggernaut. Each vehicle is very different, and it's harder to switch from one type to another as Captain than as crew. Nonetheless, it's the same skill; it just takes longer to learn a new vehicle.

Wealth and Jobs

Wealth, in GURPS, has three components: how much material wealth you have when you start the game, how much money you get every month, and how much time you have to spend each week to get it. A "job" consists of an advantage -- how much money you get from the job, and a disadvantage -- how much time you have to spend each week on your job.

You may have as many jobs as you have the prerequisites for, and can afford the time for. Jobs are listed on the Job Table.

Some jobs are especially suited to adventuring, and time spent adventuring can count as part of the time commitment of the job. I've been going back and forth in my head about whether to make that sort of job more expensive in terms of points, but, right now, I think that I won't. It's just a reason to choose a character concept that fits well with adventuring. In any case, PCs should probably not take jobs that require them to spend more than, say, 30 hours a week doing non-adventuring stuff.

A Job on the Job table has the following format:

Under normal circumstances, once per month, one rolls against what's listed in the "Succ Roll" column, then, if one does not critically fail, one collects one's pay and proceeds from there. If one does critically fail, one suffers the consequences listed under "Crit Fail". If one has the singular misfortune to roll a natural 18, one suffers the consequence listed after the slash, normally a much more serious matter.

If the "Pay" column is listed with an asterisk, like this: "Musical Instrument x $1 *", then the job is "Freelance", and figuring pay is a little more complex. If the "Succ Roll" is made exactly, then one collects the pay as listed. If one fails the roll, but not critically, one's pay is reduced by 10% for each point by which the roll was missed. However, if one succeeds by more than "exactly", one's pay is increased by 10% for each point by which the point was made. If one is highly qualified for a "Freelance" job, one can expect to make quite a bit more than the "Pay" column would suggest. Also, since, in a "Freelance" job, you are your own boss, you can knock off early to go adventuring more easily than in other jobs (although, if you do this too frequently in a month, you don't get to roll for income during that month.) All in all, those little asterisks next to the "Pay" column are good things for PCs.

A Freelance job never has a negative point cost (even if the time-and-money calculation would have it be so), because you always have the option of walking away from it. Any person can decide to have any zero-point Freelance job for which they have the prerequisites and the time, that month. So a character may be a Scavenger one month, and a Mugger the next, and a Beggar the next.

If a job has a skill listed as a Prerequisite, the skill must be at 12+, unless otherwise stated.. Some jobs have "(None)" listed for prerequisites. Those are not neccessarily easy jobs; they're just ones that anyone can attempt to do.

Characters start out with two months' income with which to buy adventuring gear. Characters are assumed to have an additional eight months' worth of things "back home", but itinerant characters can use that money for a vehicle or some other such thing that they live in. If two months of income isn't quite enough to buy what you want to start with, you may trade in 1 character point for a month of income -- the "Savings" advantage.

Point Cost for Money and Time Committment of a Job

Exceptionally dangerous or unpleasant jobs may be -5 points cheaper than "normal" ones.

Job Table: Other Jobs Exist, Work Out Details With the GM

Created on ... December 26, 2002