GURPS - Compendium 1..

Secret Advantages
A character may have an advantage that
he is unaware of. This could be a latent
magical, psi or super ability, a secret
Patron, resistance to magic or psi,
Immunity to Disease or even secret social
advantages (the character will inherit a
million dollars from a distant aunt, or is the
long-lost Princess of Upper Fnordia).
In this case, the player sets a value for
the secret advantage, and the GM picks an
appropriate advantage worth 5 points more
than the cost of the secret. The player
should not be told the nature of the advantage.
Example: A player designs a character
with a 20-point secret advantage. The GM
determines that the character is the halfbreed
child of a human with an alien, and
is being watched over by a TL 12 Artificial
Intelligence - a secret 25-point Patron who
will intervene indirectly if the character
gets into serious trouble.
When the advantage is revealed (usually
determined by the GM's sense of dramatic
timing), the extra 5 points for the
advantage must be paid as soon as possible;
these points were effectively "on loan"
until the secret was revealed. The GM may
assign more than one advantage to a single
Secret Advantage, if desired.
The GM may also wish to treat the
Secret Advantage as a "Schrodinger's
Advantage." Instead of choosing an advantage
when the character is created, he waits
for some critical juncture in an adventure,
just when all seems lost. Then the character
suddenly discovers a new ability, which just
happens to be the ticket out of trouble. Of
course, the advantage, once revealed, is
"fixed."
INVENTING NEW
ADVANTAGES
There are hundreds of advantages in the GURPS system, but there will
come a time when you think of an advantage that doesn't seem to exist in the
published material. Here are some guidelines for creating new advantages. This
advice is intended chiefly for GMs; players may introduce new advantages only
with the GM's permission.
Lead Into Gold: New Advantages For Old
Sometimes, existing advantages can be tweaked into new ones with minimal
effort.
Rename
Sometimes, the advantage you're looking for exists, but it has a name you
dislike. Inventing an entirely new advantage in this situation is a waste of time, so
just rename it! For instance, exceptional bravery is called Fearlessness (p. 25) in
GURPS, but you may be looking for an advantage called "Bravery." If you think
that "Bravery" would be a better name for Fearlessness, then you can always call
it that.
Redefine
A lot of "new" advantages are really just existing advantages with new "special
effects." If an existing advantage would provide the ability you want, but the
explanation of how the advantage works does not fit the character or the game
world, then simply use the same game mechanics but come up with a different
game-world explanation for the advantage. For instance, the ability to see well in
partial darkness is called Night Vision (p. B22) when it's a natural advantage.
When the same game effects are achieved through cybernetics, however, the
advantage is called Light Intensification (p. CY35).
Combine
Other "new" advantages are simply combinations of existing advantages
(and, sometimes, disadvantages). If several existing advantages would - together -
cover the effects that you have in mind, then simply group them together, add the
costs and give the whole thing an appropriate name. For example, the "IST
Membership" advantage from GURPS Supers and International Super Teams is
really just a combination of a Duty, Legal Enforcement Powers, a Patron, some
Rank and several Reputations; however, IST members simply write "IST
Membership" on their character sheets to save space.
Modify
Certain new advantages are just variations on a theme. Quite often, the game mechanics
of an existing advantage are almost, but not quite, what you have in mind. In such a case,
the new advantage can often be created by starting with the nearest existing advantage and
applying the enhancements and limitations in Chapter 4 to achieve the desired effects.
For example, suppose you want a "Fearless Leader" advantage that allows a character
to inspire bravery in his allies. This effect can be achieved by taking Fearlessness +5 (for
10 points), applying the Affects Others, Area Effect and Selective Effect enhancements
(total +140%), and then charging 24 points for it. For simplicity's sake, though, just write
"Fearless Leader (24 points)" on the character sheet.
16