GURPS - Compendium 1..

The GM may give a further +1 bonus for witty or frightening
dialogue, but should apply a penalty if the attempt is clumsy or
inappropriate. Fearlessness (p. 25) counts against intimidation
attempts. The GM may apply any level of penalty if the PCs are
attempting to intimidate somebody who, in his opinion, just
can't be intimidated. This includes anyone with the Unfazeable
advantage (p. 31).
Magical and Psionic Modifiers: Spells and psi talents can be
used to frighten people. If any such ability is used to supplement
an attempt to intimidate, allow +2 for a successful
attempt - +4 for a critical success. A failure has no effect unless
the GM wants to penalize a critical failure in some creative way.
Intimidating a Group: This skill may be used against several
people at once. For every five targets you attempt to intimidate
with a single roll, apply a -1 penalty to your skill - up to a maximum
of -5 (25 people). A single person cannot intimidate a
group of larger than 25 people. A group of characters may
attempt to intimidate a group of larger than 25 - 3 characters
could intimidate up to 75 people! Use the bonuses of the best
intimidator in the group, and the penalties of the toughest target in
the enemy group.
Specious Intimidation: If the PC can make both a Fast-Talk
and an Intimidation roll, and roleplays it well, he can appear to be
intimidating even when he can't back it up. This is the only way
to intimidate some people (martial arts masters, world leaders,
bellicose drunks). Success on both rolls gives a Very Good
reaction. Success on one and failure on the other gives a Poor
reaction. Failure on both gives a Very Bad reaction.
Note that Interrogation skill can default to Intimidation-3. It
will not help you tell a good answer from a bad one, but it can
get people to talk.
Performance/Ritual (Mental/Average)
Defaults to IQ-5, Acting-2, Bard-2
See p. 147 under Knowledge Skills.
THIEF/SPY SKILLS
Brain Hacking (Mental/Very Hard) Defaults to Will-6
Prerequisite: Psychology
This is the skill of using a neural interface for interrogation,
brainwashing and mind control. It is only available in campaigns
where cyberpunk-style "neuro-tech" exists, and only
works on those with neural cyberdeck interfaces.
Brain hacking uses specialized hardware. Any computer or
cyberdeck with a neural interface can be modified by installing
an altered "piggyback" board (originally intended to allow one
netrunner to accompany another on a run through cyberspace).
Preparing the card takes $5,000 and one week, and knowledge
that is not easily available. The number of brain hacking cards
that can be installed is equal to the Complexity of the computer.
The most basic form of brain hacking is based on a Contest of
Brain Hacking skill between the hacker and the victim. Each round of
the Contest takes one-tenth of a second. Each time the hacker wins
the Contest, he learns the answer to one yes/no question.
If ten Contests are won in a row, and the hacker has been
asking about a single subject (GM's discretion as to what constitutes
a single subject), the victim's defenses have completely
collapsed concerning that subject, and the hacker learns everything
the victim knows about it.
Savoir-Faire (Dojo) (Mental/Easy) Defaults to IQ-4
This skill will tell you the correct way to behave in a martial
arts dojo, fencing salle, etc. For Japanese martial arts, this
means removing footwear and bowing on the edge before entering
the wooden mat, when to bow to an opponent, traditional
greetings, etc. Failure to follow these traditions will at best earn a
reaction penalty, and at worst invite violent retribution.
Characters must specialize in the practices of one particular
culture. This skill defaults to any appropriate Tournament Law-3.
Savoir-Faire (Military) (Mental/Easy)
Defaults to IQ-4
Savoir-Faire for a soldier includes a knowledge of the customs,
traditions and regulations of his own service. It also
includes a knowledge of the unwritten rules: what is acceptable
even if not regulation, and what is forbidden although there is
nothing in writing against it.
Savoir-Faire (Servant) (Mental/Easy) Defaults to IQ-4
This is the knowledge of how to serve the upper class. There
are certain procedures that are always done just so (the salad
fork goes outside the dinner fork, the Duke is announced before
the Earl, etc.), and certain attitudes in a servant are unacceptable.
Someone with the regular Savoir-Faire skill is mildly
acquainted with the servant's skills, but most upper-class people
don't know exactly what a servant does - they only notice their
servants when things go wrong.
When the Savoir-Faire skill is taken, it must be labeled
"(Servant)" or it is assumed to be normal Savoir-Faire. They
default to each other at -2. A Savoir-Faire (Servant) roll is
needed to successfully pass as a trained servant, a useful role
for a spy.
Tea Ceremony (Mental/Hard)
See p. 147 under Knowledge Skills.
Defaults to
IQ-6 or Meditation-2
Knowledge gained in this way consists of raw facts, unconnected
by reasoning ability. Hacking a molecular biologist gives
no skill in Biology (Molecular). The hacker would learn the
names of several good reference texts.
The hacker obviously has a tremendous advantage: even if
the victim wins the Contest of Skills, he has only temporarily
held off the assault - he can neither damage the hacker nor learn
anything. He is in serious trouble; it is only a matter of time
before he slips.
This skill can also be used to drive the victim insane, alter his
personality or memories, insert delayed-action viruses that will
trigger and control his actions at a later date, and even use his
brain as a storage medium for sensitive data! Each of these feats
requires a specialized program, preparation time and one or
more Brain Hacking rolls, perhaps at a penalty. The GM can
flesh these out himself, or use the rules on pp. WT114-117.
Computer Hacking (Mental/Very Hard) Defaults to
Computer Operation-8 or
Computer Programming-4
See p. 155 under Scientific Skills.
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