GURPS - Compendium 1..
GURPS - Compendium 1..
GURPS - Compendium 1..
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A character with the Iron Hand will do Thrust damage with<br />
that hand (rather than Thrust-2), plus any bonuses for Brawling,<br />
Boxing or Karate. The hand will gain a DR of 1 (cumulative<br />
with any levels of Toughness). This advantage also gives a +2<br />
bonus to the Breaking Blow skill (p. 138).<br />
However, any skill that requires delicate finger manipulation<br />
(such as Lockpicking, Sleight of Hand, Fast-Draw for small<br />
weapons and even Driving or Piloting) will be at -4 DX.<br />
Attempts to pull a punch (see p. B122) will require a DX-2 roll<br />
or full damage will be delivered anyway. This applies only to<br />
the hand modified by this advantage. If both hands are modified in<br />
this way, the character will make a very bad thief or juggler.<br />
Also, the Iron Hands are easy to spot (make a Vision roll), as<br />
they are covered by heavy calluses.<br />
Legal Immunity<br />
5, 10, 15 or 20 points<br />
You are a diplomat, a cleric, a privileged noble, or otherwise<br />
outside the traditional legal structures of your society. You cannot<br />
be arrested or charged with a crime by the "temporal authorities" -<br />
that is, by the normal government. Only your "own kind" -<br />
your own church, your own government, your own social class<br />
- can imprison or judge you.<br />
Cost of this advantage depends on how sweeping the immu nity<br />
is. For 5 points, the character is not subject to temporal<br />
authority, but the rules which govern his behavior are still strict, as<br />
determined by the GM. On the other hand, if the laws that<br />
apply to the character are less strict than the temporal ones, this is<br />
a 10-point advantage. And if the character can do pretty much<br />
what he pleases as long as he doesn't injure his own nation,<br />
church or organization, that is a 15-point advantage.<br />
For an extra 5 points, you also have "diplomatic pouch" privileges.<br />
You can send or receive mail or objects that may not be<br />
stopped or examined by the temporal authorities.<br />
Twentieth-century diplomats have the full 20-point version of<br />
this advantage, as Diplomatic Immunity (p. 24). Many<br />
medieval noblemen, and the very rich in some countries today,<br />
have this advantage at the 15-point level. Clerics will normally<br />
have this advantage only if their churches are so powerful that<br />
they have their own religious law outside the bounds of the<br />
state. The GM determines this when a religion is created, and<br />
may simply add the cost of this advantage to the value of the<br />
Clerical Investment.<br />
Less Sleep<br />
3 points/level<br />
You need less sleep than most people. Each level of this<br />
advantage lets a character get by with one hour less sleep per<br />
night. This will allow a few extra hours each day in which he<br />
can study, or work on other projects. A character can have a<br />
maximum of five levels of Less Sleep, at 3 points per hour less.<br />
Note: This advantage should be used only if the advanced rules<br />
for sleep and sleeplessness (pp. CII173-174) are being used.<br />
Light Hangover<br />
2 points<br />
You have hangovers, but they're not crippling. The duration<br />
of your hangover is figured normally, but you will never have<br />
worse than a flat -1 to DX, -1 to IQ for the duration, and hyperesthesia<br />
will not occur.<br />
Manual Dexterity<br />
3 points/level<br />
Each level of this advantage gives you a +1 to DX, or IQ in<br />
some cases, but only for tasks that require fine motor skills. This<br />
skill would help you repair a Swiss watch, for example, but not<br />
dodge thrown rocks.<br />
Mechanical Telepathy<br />
120 points<br />
This advantage has nothing to do with psionic telepathy; it's a<br />
"mundane" technological advantage. It is unlikely to be<br />
available in settings that are below TL9, however.<br />
Mechanical Telepathy is an ultra-tech invention using cybernetic<br />
implants that link the recipients to a huge communications<br />
network that spans the planet. This ability is a form of the<br />
Mindshare advantage (p. 60) enhanced with Secret Communication<br />
(p. 65). Each telepath is a sentient member of a huge net work<br />
that shares all the information and experiences of the group.<br />
Each agent can have his personality switched from one body to<br />
another.<br />
When a mechanical telepath character is created, his physical<br />
stats are bought for his original body. This body may never be<br />
"seen" again - although many telepaths tend to spend a large<br />
amount of time inside their old bodies. When inhabiting someone<br />
else's body, the telepath will retain his IQ and all mental<br />
advantages, disadvantages and skills, all unchanged. Physical<br />
skills will be based on the new body's ST, DX or HT.<br />
Note: When a character is designing a telepath, there might<br />
be some temptation to concentrate most points on IQ and skills,<br />
keeping physical stats at average or lower levels. Keep in mind<br />
that in most settings, Mechanical Telepathy is likely to be<br />
implemented and controlled by a military organization that will<br />
demand some minimum physical requirements from its members.<br />
A ST 6, HT 8 character, for instance, would never be<br />
allowed to receive the implants to begin with . . .<br />
Multimillionaire<br />
25 points/level<br />
A character with the Filthy Rich advantage can buy additional<br />
levels of Wealth, at 25 character points per level. Each level of<br />
the Multimillionaire advantage increases total wealth by a factor<br />
of ten (the first level would increase total wealth to 1,000 times<br />
the average, two levels would increase this to 10,000 times the<br />
average, and so on). For every level of Multimillionaire, the<br />
character also gets a free level of Status, to a maximum bonus of<br />
+2 over the free level already given for high Wealth (see p.<br />
B18).<br />
Neural Cyberdeck Interface<br />
Variable<br />
These advantages are only useful in campaigns where<br />
"netrunning" is possible, using "cyberdecks." See <strong>GURPS</strong><br />
Cyberpunk for more information.<br />
The point costs listed below are the prices charged when the<br />
device is first introduced. The price of "old technology" is<br />
reduced by 50% as each new level is brought into play. Thus, a<br />
Marquee Interface costs 20 points when first introduced, but<br />
drops to 10 points if Icon Interfaces are available and 5 points if<br />
Environmental Interfaces exist.<br />
All neural interfaces require the use of a "cyberdeck" to hook<br />
into a network. At early TL8, cyberdecks are not yet common,<br />
off-the-shelf technology; neural interface technology is reserved<br />
for the elite.<br />
Marquee Interface<br />
20 points<br />
This is the crudest form of neural interface. It connects to the<br />
optic nerve and the muscles surrounding it. The interface projects<br />
its data directly into the optic nerve; the user "sees" a scrolling<br />
line of text similar to that of a theater or bank marquee. All<br />
information is processed in text form, and all of the character's<br />
input must be subvocalized.<br />
Installation requires a major surgical facility and takes a minimum<br />
of two weeks.<br />
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