GURPS - Compendium 1..

Clerical Investment 5 points/level
of rank; see p. B19
A must-have for all clerical characters, Clerical Investment is
the social/political advantage of being invested as a cleric of
your religion. It represents your status and influence within the
church. This advantage does not confer any magical powers see
the entries under Blessed (p. 34), Clerical Magic (p. 35), Divine
Favor (p. 36) and Power Investiture (p. 42) for that.
Religions can have one or many ranks of clerics, representing
levels of investment, forming a hierarchy which determines the
levels of rank possible for that church.
Ranks may have associated prerequisites, such as skills that
must be learned, oaths that must be sworn and so forth.
Theology and/or Leadership skills are appropriate prerequisites, as
are other skills associated with the church. Minimum attribute
scores, certain advantages or disadvantages (or lack thereof),
race, sex, social status and so on, may also apply. Each rank in
the hierarchy will probably bear a title, as determined by the
GM, in addition to particular duties and responsibilities within
the church (treat as a Duty).
Each level of rank confers a +1 reaction bonus from followers
of your religion and those who respect your faith. If the person in
question is a fanatic believer, or your religion is the primary faith
in the area or culture, then all bonuses are doubled.
Each level of clerical rank above the first will add 5 points to
the cost of your church as a Patron.
Collected
5 points
You are very hard to panic, and tend to assume that events
are non-threatening unless there is clear proof of danger. This
can be a serious disadvantage at times! You have a +3 bonus to
Fright Checks.
Composed
5 points
You are very hard to panic, at least by events outside your
phobias. You keep calm under pressure, and are not given to
showing excitement. You are not, however, foolhardy - for that,
take Collected (above). You have a +2 to any Fright Check,
except one arising from a phobia.
Contacts
Variable
Note: The price of this advantage has been significantly
reduced from that given in earlier books.
A Contact is an NPC, like an Ally or a Patron. However, the
Contact only provides information. A Contact may be anything
from a wino in the right gutter to the chief of state of a country,
depending on the character's background. The Contact has
access to information, and he already knows the character and is
likely to react favorably. Of course, offering a price, in cash or
favors, is never a bad idea. The Contact is always played and
controlled by the GM, and any price he asks will be set by the
GM.
The GM may assume that a Contact is, in general, well-dis -
posed toward the PC. However, the Contact is not an Ally or
Patron, and is no more likely to give special help than any other
generally friendly NPC!
A Contact doesn't have to be created when the PC is first
developed. Contacts may be added later. When appropriate, the
GM can turn an existing NPC into a Contact for one or more
players, possibly in lieu of character points for the adventure in
which the Contact was developed and encountered. For
instance, the reward for an adventure in which the party helped
solve a bank robbery might be a knowledgeable, reliable police
Contact, shared by the whole party. He's worth 18 points more
than any one character earned on the adventure, but a fair reward
for the whole group.
Whatever the case, the Contact can provide information
only about his own area of expertise. The technician at the
forensics lab probably has no information about currency
transfers, and the VP of the local bank probably can't do a ballistics
comparison. The GM assigns a skill (Streetwise for a
minor criminal, Forensics for a lab tech, etc.) to the Contact.
All attempts to get information from him require a secret roll
by the GM against the Contact's "effective" skill. Note that the
effective skill is not necessarily the NPC's actual skill; the
actual skill can be set by the GM if the NPC comes into regu lar
play. For instance, the president of a local steel mill might
actually have business-related skills of 16-18, but he has an
effective skill of 21, making him worth 4 points, because he
himself has good connections!
Point values for Contacts are based on the type of information
and its effective skill, modified by the frequency with
which they can provide information and the reliability of the
information. Importance of information is relative and the list of
possible Contacts is virtually endless; a few are listed below as a
guide to help the GM determine value.
Type of Information
Street Contacts. These are minor criminals, derelicts, street
thugs, gang members, small-time fences and other streetwise
NPCs who provide information on illicit activities, local criminal
gossip, upcoming crimes and so forth. Base cost is 1 point for
"unconnected" Contacts (not part of the local criminal organization;
Streetwise-12) and 2 points for "connected" Contacts
(Streetwise-15). If the Contact is a major figure in a criminal
organization (the Don, clan chief, or member of the "inner circle"
of the family; Streetwise-21), the cost doubles to 4 points.
Business Contacts. Executives, business owners, secretaries -
even the mail room flunky - can provide information on businesses
and business dealings. Base cost depends on how much
the contact can be expected to know: 1 point for a mail boy or
typist (effective skill 12), 2 points for the president's secretary
(effective skill 15), 3 points for an accountant (effective skill
18) or 4 points for the president or chairman of the board (effective
skill 21).
Military Contacts. Anyone from enlisted grunts up to the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Military contacts can provide information
on troop movements and assignments, missions and goals,
details on secret weaponry and contractors, or Pentagon-level
strategy. Cost depends on the rank (and thus amount of access) of
the character: 1 point for a buck private or new recruit (effective
skill 12), 2 points for an NCO (effective skill 15), 3 points for
officers anywhere up to major (effective skill 18) or 4 points for
a general or member of the Joint Chiefs (effective skill 21).
Police Contacts. This includes anyone connected with law
enforcement and criminal investigations: beat cops, corporate
security, government agents, forensics specialists, coroners, etc.
Cost depends on access to information or services. Beat cops
and regular private security officers are 1 point (effective skill
12); detectives, federal agents, or record clerks are 2 points
(effective skill 15); administrators (lieutenants, captains, Special
Agents in Charge, Heads of Departmental Security, etc.) are 3
points (effective skill of 18) and senior officers (sheriffs, chiefs of
police, District Superintendents, Security Chiefs, etc.) are 4
points (effective skill 21).
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