Shadowjack's GURPS House Rules

In my write-ups, I'll try to make sure to properly source traits that aren't in the core books (whether official or fan-made); in particular, I've adopted many of Reverend P. Kitty's cost adjustments. Meanwhile, below are my own house rules and rulings:

Appearance

General revision of Appearance traits as follows:

Negative appearance as written, plus Very Ugly (-3 reaction) [12 points]. Off-the-Shelf Looks may be applied to negative appearance traits.

Average and Attractive appearance as written.

The impressiveness traits run Very Attractive (+2 reaction) [8], Impressive (+3) [12], Very Impressive (+4) [16], and Extremely Impressive (+5, and obviously supernatural) [20].

The sexual attractiveness traits run Sexy (+2/+3 reactions) [8], Handsome/Beautiful (+2/+4) [12], Very Handsome/Beautiful (+2/+6) [16], and Transcendent (+2/+8) [20]. All give the -2 jealousy reaction for those with -4 or more in negative reactions to you.

Androgynous (+0%) may be applied to any of the sexual attractiveness traits. As you appeal sexually to any orientation, you get the higher bonus generally, but the penalty from those who dislike you is raised to -4 if they have a mere -2 or more in negative reactions.

Archaeology

This is a /TL skill, and is specifically the technical skill of identifying and recovering artifacts. It does not cover more than incidental knowledge of ancient cultures; for that, you'll want Anthropology, History, an appropriate Expert Skill, etc.

Astrobatics

This is a new Acrobatics variant, for zero-gravity stunts and landings.

Autohypnosis

Another use of this skill is in place of Will rolls for using extra effort. You may not use this for extra effort with supernatural powers; for that, use Meditation.

Boating

Appropriate Boating specialties can handle large ships as well as smallcraft, in the same way that one can use both Submarine and Shiphandling (Submarine) with subs, or both Pilot (Lighter-Than-Air) and Shiphandling (Airships) with airships.

Body Sense

This skill applies not only to teleportation, but to any unusual form of movement or transformation: Suddenly turned into a frog? Melded with a wall and just emerged? Picked up and thrown by a whirlwind? Just logged out of cyberspace? Body Sense will help you.

Bombardment

This modifier is compatible with Rapid Fire and recoil modifiers; each of the individual Bombardment attacks is treated as its own rapid fire attack. You may even give an attack two Rapid Fire modifiers, the first to disperse the area effects, and the second for the bombardments within those area effects.

Born Commander

Born Admiral and Born Tactician are combined in this Talent; simply specialize in a particular type of warfare (Land, Sea, Air, or Space).

Brakeman

This is a new Crewman variant, for working on trains. Yes, this is a different skill from Driving (Locomotive).

Can't Wear Armor

Replace this modifier with a new modifier and two new disadvantages:

Doesn't Stack (-40%), a modifier for Damage Resistance. Your DR doesn't stack with any other source of DR. (This could be thought of as Accessibility: Not While Wearing Armor.)

Cannot Wear Armor [-20]: You cannot wear normal armor or protective suits, due to alien body shape, supernatural emissions, or genre conventions. You can still wear breathing masks, eyewears, light clothing with pockets, etc. Custom-made equipment costs at least +100%, probably much, much more. Use this for animals and monsters.

Cannot Wear Anything [-40]: You cannot wear anything – not only armor, but clothing, jewelry, etc. This could be do incorporeality, extremely alien shape or size, or genre conventions. Use this for vehicles and beings without dimension or form.

Cartography

This is a /TL skill. To make pretty maps, apply Artist.

Childcare

This is a Professional Skill. You may take optional specialization in "Own Children".

Children

If your character has children, only take them as Dependents if you want frequent "rescue the baby" plots. Otherwise, consider a Nonhazardous Duty to represent the time and attention they require.

If another player character is your child, this is Ward [-1], a quirk to represent the legal obligation you hold toward them.

For characters who are children, see Parents, below.

Chronic Affliction

We can expand the Chronic Pain rules to cover a huge variety of chronic disorders:

Affliction:

• Choking, for severe asthma: -25 points, interval measured in seconds.
• Coughing/Sneezing: -5 points, interval measured in hours.
• Daze, for petit mal seizures: -12 points, interval measured in minutes.
• Drowsiness, for narcolepsy: -25 points, interval measured in hours.
• Drunkenness, for certain neural disorders: -5 points, interval measured in hours.
• Ecstacy: -25 points, interval measured in minutes.
• Euphoria: -8 points, interval measured in hours.
• Hallucinations: -12 points, interval measured in minutes.
• Heart Attack: -75 points. Always use the x1 interval cost.
• Itching: -2 points, interval measured in hours.
• Nausea: -8 points, interval measured in hours.
• Pain, Moderate: -5 points, interval measured in hours. (This replaces Mild Chronic Pain.)
• Pain, Severe: -10 points, interval measured in hours. (This replaces Severe Chronic Pain.)
• Pain, Terrible: -15 points, interval measured in hours. (This replaces Agonizing Chronic Pain.)
• Pain, Agonizing: -25 points, interval measured in minutes.
• Paralysis: -40 points, interval measured in hours.
• Retching: -12 points, interval measured in minutes.
• Seizures: -25 points, interval measured in minutes. This is another way to represent Epilepsy, but you can still take that trait instead.
• Tipsiness, for certain neural disorders: -3 points, interval measured in hours.
• Unconsciousness: -50 points. Always use the x1 interval cost.

Interval:

• 1 second/minute/hour: cost x0.5
• 2 seconds/minutes/hours: cost x1
• 4 seconds/minutes/hours: cost x1.5
• 8 seconds/minutes/hours: cost x2

Frequency:

• Roll of 6 or less: cost x0.5
• Roll of 9 or less: cost x1
• Roll of 12 or less: cost x1.5
• Roll of 15 or less: cost x2

Chronic Depression

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The reaction penalty is based on the self-control number:

• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Circus Performance

A new catch-all skill, covering all sorts of strange carnival acts; specialization is required in a particular act (e.g. Contortionist, Fire Eating, Sword-Swallowing). Generally IQ/A or DX/A.

Command

Command (+0%) is a new modifier for Patron. If you own and command an organization yourself (e.g. private corporation, personal army, your own ship), take both the highest level of Rank in the organization and the organization as your personal Patron, to represent your ability to use the company's assets for your own private purposes as you wish.

Common Sense

This advantage is merely a 1-point Perk. As a GM, I give advice anyway, and at 10 points, the people who really needed Common Sense weren't going to take it anyway…

Compulsive Generosity

Under the Abstract Wealth rules, reflect the cost of donating to beggars by making an extra purchase every so often:

• sc16- (Quirk): a Cheap purchase every four weeks
• sc15-: a Normal purchase every four weeks
• sc12-: a Normal purchase every three weeks
• sc9-: a Normal purchase every two weeks
• sc6-: a Normal purchase every week

Compulsive Spending

Under the Abstract Wealth rules, you always suffer a "tapped out" penalty based on your self-control number:

• sc16-: none
• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Computer Operation

At appropriate tech levels, this may serve as an Influence skill when giving orders to artificial intelligences, i.e. Savoir-Faire (Robots).

Cone

This modifier is compatible with Rapid Fire.

Cultural Familiarity

Cultural Familiarity penalties may range from -0 to -3, depending on similarity. Go ahead and be specific as you like.

Debt

Under the Abstract Wealth rules, the cost depends on the type of purchase you must make each month:

• Cheap [-1]
• Normal [-5]
• Expensive 1 [-10]
• Expensive 2 [-15]
• Expensive 3 [-20]

For another way to represent a character who's paying off debts, consider simply increasing Time Worked.

Default Skills

When calculating skill defaults off of an attribute, the Rule of 14 applies, i.e. if the attribute is higher than 14, treat it as 14 for the purposes of calculating the default.

Skill defaults off of another skill are calculated normally.

Ditz

A new disadvantage, based on Klutz. Same costs, but applies to IQ instead of DX.

Doesn't Breathe

Most of the various Doesn't Breathe modifiers are split off into their own traits, for cleaner cost scaling. Thus: Doesn't Breathe [20], Gills [10], Gills Only [0], Oxygen Absorption [15], Oxygen Combustion [10], and Oxygen Storage [10 to 18].

Dropping

This skill defaults at -4 from Artillery (Bombs).

Elderly

New disadvantage, adapted from Third Edition [-1/level, max. 3 levels]. For each level, you have already passed one of the aging thresholds.

Enemies

Remember that Enemies are after you specifically; those acquired due to your job or social standing are just part of the territory, and go away if you change careers. (i.e. Status 8: President comes with paparazzi and lone gunmen, and Social Stigma: Outlaw comes with police and bounty hunters.) The exception is if you are especially notorious (e.g. Most Wanted), or if one of them is after you for personal reasons.

Erotic Art

This skill is IQ-based, but defaults to HT. With alien species, Physiology modifiers apply.

Espionage/TL

This is a new Expert Skill, akin to Military Science: the understanding of the state and practice of intelligence operations around the world.

Exotic Ranged Attack

This is the Innate Attack skill, renamed for clarity.

Expert Skills

Expert Skills may be used for more than just raw knowledge; they're equivalent to any other knowledge/scientific skill.

Fighter

Fighter, a variant of Trickster, same cost and similar effect: You seek challenging battles. You need not kill your foes (unless you also have Bloodlust).

Fire Direction Controller/TL

This is a Professional Skill, used in the real world alongside Artillery and Forward Observer.

Fortune-Telling

Specialization is not required, as this skill is all about reading and leading on a mark, rather than actual prediction. The particular props you use are no more than a familiarity penalty.

Fragmentation

This Enhancement has been provisionally revised and expanded to make it possible to model claymore mines, video game danmaku, etc. (This is untested, sorry!) The modifier comes in two forms:

Fragmentation, Burst

New Attack Modifier, +50%, requires Bombardment and Follow-Up. When the first attack hits, the fragmentation rolls to hit each target within (5 yards per die of damage) using the Bombardment skill, modified by penalties for range and target size/posture.

(Example: The default fragmentation in GURPS Basic Set is a cutting attack with Bombardment 14, -5%; Extra Recoil 2, -20%; Follow-Up, cost varies; Fragmentation, Burst, +50%; Rapid Fire 5, +70%. Total modifier: +95%, not counting the Follow-Up cost.)

Fragmentation, Directional

New Attack Modifier, +50%, requires Bombardment and Rapid Fire. Lay the line of attack as for a Cone. The fragmentation attacks everyone within a 60° arc along that line, out to its maximum range, using the Bombardment skill, modified by penalties for range and target size/posture, and the RoF bonus. Calculate hits for the closer targets first, to see that any fragments that stop cannot move on to hit farther targets.

(Example: The claymore mine in GURPS High-Tech is a small piercing attack with Bombardment 8, -20%; Fragmentation, Directional, +50%; Increased 1/2D, x5, +10%; Increased MAX, x2, +5%; Rapid Fire 700, +350%. Total modifier: +390%.)

Greed

Under the Abstract Wealth rules, Trivial amounts do not tempt you, but Expensive amounts give a penalty equal to the level of expense (e.g. -2 for Expensive 2).

Guilt Complex

This disadvantage has a self-control number.

Hazardous Materials

This skill is IQ/H and does not require specialization, although those listed may be taken as optional specialties.

Hazard Suit

This is NBC Suit skill, renamed for better universality. (After all, these days it's called CBRN gear anyway…)

Historical Familiarity

This is a Perk, not a Technique.

Household Management

This is the Professional Skill of a butler, hotelier, steward, or family matriarch: the ability to keep a household or guest quarters provisioned and maintained.

Hydrosuit

This is a new Environment Suit variant, for water-filled suits that allow intrepid Deep One fishnauts to explore on land.

Hyperawareness

This is Sensitivity skill, renamed to avoid confusion with the Sensitive advantage.

Impudent

New disadvantage [-10 points], requiring a self-control number. Check self-control whenever you deal with those of higher Rank or Status to resist the urge to mouth off, doubling any penalty for having lower Rank or Status.

Interrogation

This skill is cinematic. For realistic interrogations, use good reactions or an Influence skill to convince the subject to talk to you, Interviewing to conduct the actual interrogation(s), and Criminology or Intelligence Analysis to figure out whether you learned anything useful. Torture assists Intimidation for inducing someone to talk, but it gives a penalty to the subsequent Interviewing roll due to the victim's distress.

Interviewing

New skill: IQ/A, defaulting to IQ-5, Detect Lies-4, Interrogation-3, Intelligence Analysis-6, Psychology-4, or Social Sense-4; Cultural Familiarity penalties apply. This is the practiced ability to question someone, whether in a formal interview or a casual social situation, to get them to admit more than they would knowingly volunteer, and to piece it together into a coherent narrative.

Kinship

Kinship (+0%), a new modifier for Claim to Hospitality. A normal claim to hospitality is no more than a friendly professional relationship, but kin relations can be very strong, and so include a reciprocal Sense of Duty. "Blood is thicker than water."

Languages

The level names have been renamed for better clarity.

For spoken languages, the tiers are None, Broken, Conversational, and Fluent. ("Accented" is a silly name, because everyone has an accent.)

For written languages, the tiers are Illiterate, Semi-Literate, Literate, and Educated.

You may revert to your Native spoken language when under great stress or in telepathic contact; to have multiple Native languages is a Perk, "Bilingual".

Law-Abiding

This is the Honesty disadvantage, renamed for clarity.

Laziness

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The job penalty is based on the self-control number:

• sc16- (Quirk): -1
• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Lifestyle

I do not use the Cost of Living rules. Instead, your Lifestyle is automatically determined by your Wealth (if you support yourself) or your Status (if another person, or society in general, provides for you). Look on the appropriate Cost of Living table for the description of what you have.

Reduce effective Wealth/Status by one for nomadic characters, to cover the costs of their vehicles and mounts, and of generally living on the road.

Reduce effective Wealth/Status by one for characters who are providing for a large family who do not themselves contribute to the household.

Literature

This skill requires specialization by period, culture, and/or subject, akin to History or Law. There are also similar variant skills for other artistic media: Art History, Cinema, Folklore, Ludology, Musicology, etc.

Logistics/TL

This is the Professional Skill of maintaining an organization's operational effectiveness in the field, keeping lines of supply and communication only.

Long-Lived

This is a variant of Reawakened, to represent immortal characters who are remembering skills they once had but have not used in ages.

Lover

A steady romantic relationship with an NPC who is not a Dependent is a [-1] Quirk, built as Sense of Duty (that person) plus Claim to Hospitality 1.

If your love is another PC, or your feelings are unrequited, this is merely a normal Sense of Duty.

Low-Light Vision

This is the name for Night Vision with a different baseline than usual, as for different species (e.g. orcs).

Lunacy

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The self-control penalty is based on the self-control number:

• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Manic-Depressive

This disadvantage has a self-control number.

Mathematics

This skill is IQ/VH and does not require specialization, although those listed may be taken as optional specialties.

Mechanic

One new specialty is Sapper, used to fortify positions and deploy (or sabotage) military equipment such as barricades and barbed wire, prefab bunkers, radio masts, etc. You may use this to lay mines, but not to disarm them.

Medical Care

This is Physician skill, renamed for clarity. (It seems silly to keep telling people "surgeons use Surgery, physicians use Diagosis, and nurses use Physician".)

Meditation

Use this skill to enter a trance or use extra effort for any supernatural power use, e.g. prayer, ritual magic, chi skills, etc. For your personal mundane abilities, use Autohypnosis instead.

Megalomania

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The reaction modifier is based on the self-control number:

• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Miserliness

Under the Abstract Wealth rules, Expensive purchases apply a penalty to the self-control roll equal to the level of expense (e.g. -2 for Expensive 2).

Mutable Appearance

A new [1] Perk: You can slowly alter your general appearance, over the course of years. This is intended for long-lived gods and youkai who aren't shapeshifters per se, but do appear differently over the centuries.

Natural Memeticist

This is the Memetics Talent, renamed to avoid confusion with Memetics skill.

Occultism

This is properly either an Expert Skill or a Folklore specialty, and therefore is IQ/H rather than IQ/A.

Off-the-Shelf Looks

This can be applied to negative Appearance, too.

Pacifism

Reluctant Killer has been split off into its own disadvantage; the others are equivalent to Codes of Honor or Vows. If you also have Guilt Complex or some level of Reluctant Killer, violating your Pacifism can trigger a mental breakdown, during which you must roll Will to offer any sort of violence toward anyone.

Paleontology

This is a /TL skill, with no specialization required, although those listed may be taken as optional specialties. This is specifically the technical skill of identifying and recovering fossils. It does not cover more than incidental knowledge of ancient species; for that, you'll want an appropriate Biology specialty or Expert Skill.

Paranoia

This disadvantage has a self-control number.

Parents

Parents [2] shows that your parents (or other childhood guardians) are alive and well and on good terms with you.

If you're living off your parents as a minor or shut-in, this is built as Patron (Ordinary Individuals, Appear 9-; Minimal Intervention, -50%) [3] plus Trivial Obligation: dumb shit my parents make me do [-1].

If you're an independent adult, this is simply Claim to Hospitality 2 (Kinship, -0%) [2].

If your character is a minor, and your parent is another player character, this is a 0-point feature for you.

If your character is a parent with children, see Children, above.

Patron

There is a 5-point level, for an ordinary person or small organization, intended mainly for juvenile adventures. While in the grand scheme of things your parents or school club are trivial, in your day-to-day life they can have tremendous impact.

Place of Power

Place of Power [1/level, max. 5 levels], a new advantage for use with the Ritual Path Magic rules. You control a consecrated ritual space that has a history or location that grants +level to all energy-gathering rolls. You are entirely familiar with the location and have placed wards upon it at your highest possible skill level against any category of threat that you are aware of. Others can use the space, but they have to get past you, first.

Planetology

This is Geology skill when specializing in planets other than Earth.

Politics

This is the skill of understanding political undercurrents and the art of deal-making, not making speeches; therefore, Voice gives no bonus to this skill.

Psychology

Psychology is explicitly Psychology (Experimental), and is a /TL skill.

Psychology (Applied) is renamed to Social Sense. When dealing with alien species, your other social skills are capped at your level in that species' Social Sense specialty.

Radiation Tolerance

This trait is eliminated. Instead, simply use Resistant to Radiation or Immunity to Radiation.

Reluctant Killer

Reluctant Killer has been split off from the other forms of Pacifism. Most people have this at base level.

• Hardened Killer [10]: No penalties or rolls needed; you may kill freely.
• Desperate Killer [5]: self-control 15, -2 penalty.
• Reluctant Killer [0]: self-control 12, -4 penalty.
• Very Reluctant Killer [-5]: self-control 9, -6 penalty.
• Extremely Reluctant Killer [-10]: self-control 6, -8 penalty.

You may buy off the attack penalty as a technique, Combat Training, but the self-control roll and Fright Check rules remain. If you eliminate the penalty entirely, then you may Aim at the target normally.

Roping

This is the Binding technique, renamed to avoid confusion with the Binding advantage.

Sailor

This is Seamanship skill, renamed for brevity.

Shyness

There is a -3 level, Very Severe Shyness [-15].

Side Effect

You may also apply the Irritant or Reduced Advantage modifiers with this modifier.

Skin

Perks such as Feathers, Fur, and Scales are redundant with DR (Natural), Spines, and any similar traits.

Social Stigma

A new type is Outlaw [-15], adapted from Third Edition. Either the police are actively after you, or it's no crime to kill you; in either case, it's also a crime to assist you. -2 reaction from noncriminals, -4 reaction from law enforcement, but occasional +1 reaction from admiring criminals.

Soothsaying

This skill does require specialization by method of divination.

Sophantology

This is Anthropology skill when specializing in non-human sapient species.

Soul of a Poet

This is Poet Talent, renamed to avoid confusion with Poetry skill.

Spacesuit

This is Vacc Suit skill, renamed for better universality. I like Traveller, too, but most people just call them spacesuits.

Stubbornness

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The reaction penalty is based on the self-control number:

• sc15-: -1
• sc12-: -2
• sc9-: -3
• sc6-: -4

Student of the Arcane

This is Occultist Talent, renamed to avoid confusion with Occultism skill.

Talents

Just making this explicit: Talents add to attributes for the purposes of calculating skill levels and defaults, they do not add to the skill directly. Basically, it's extra IQ or DX or whatever, but only for those skills.

Techniques

Use the "Average" pricing for ALL Techniques, whether Average or Hard. There's no difference now.

Terminally Ill

This trait is eliminated, except for use in Afflictions, Divine Curses, and the like.

Time Worked

Time Worked [±1 point per level, max. ±20 points] replaces Independent Income (and sometimes Debt). By default, you spend an average of 50 hours per week to maintain your lifestyle; this time is unavailable for adventuring without consequences. Each level of Time Worked adjusts this time by ±5% either direction. The minimum is 0 hours for 20 points, for a completely independent income with no obligations; the maximum is 100 hours for -20 points, where practically every waking hour must be devoted to your masters. In a military campaign, ignore this trait for most soldiers or crewmembers, as everyone is on duty all the time.

Tradecraft

New skill: IQ/A, defaults to IQ-5, Streetwise-3, and Expert Skill: Espionage-3. The professional skill of being a spy: dead-drops, contact and evasion, use of signals and codes, the basics of recruiting assets, etc.

Understanding Soul

This is Empath Talent, renamed to avoid confusion with the Empathy advantage.

Very Rapid Healing

This advantage doubles all healing rates, whether natural, supernatural, or technological.

Wealth

Use the Abstract Wealth rules from Pyramid 3/44.

Workaholic

This disadvantage has a self-control number. The added work time and the reaction penalty are based on the self-control number:

• sc15-: -1 penalty, +25% time
• sc12-: -2 penalty, +50% time
• sc9-: -3 penalty, +75% time
• sc6-: -4 penalty, +100% time

Xenolinguistics

This is Linguistics when specializing in alien species.

Yogi

This is Psientist Talent, renamed because I think "Psientist" sounds really dumb.