ADVANTAGES

An “advantage” is a useful trait that gives you a mental, physical, or social “edge” over someone else who otherwise has the same abilities as you. Each advantage has a cost in character points. This is fixed for some advantages; others can be bought in “levels,” at a cost per level (e.g., Acute Vision costs 2 points/level, so if you want Acute Vision 6, you must pay 12 points). Advantages with “Variable” cost are more complicated; read the advantage description for details.

The GM has the final say as to whether a particular advantage suits a given character concept.

Acute Senses - 2 points/level
You have superior senses. Each Acute Sense is a separate advantage that gives +1 per level to all Sense rolls you make – or the GM makes for you – using that one sense. The available types are:*Acute Hearing
 * Acute Taste and Smell
 * Acute Touch
 * Acute Vision

Ambidexterity - 5 points
You can fight or otherwise act equally well with either hand, and never suffer the -4 DX penalty for using the “off” hand. Should some accident befall one of your arms or hands, assume it is the left one. ===Animal Empathy - 5 points=== You are unusually talented at reading the motivations of animals. When you meet an animal, the GM rolls against your IQ and tells you what you “feel.” This reveals the beast’s emotional state – friendly, frightened, hostile, hungry, etc. – and whether it is under supernatural control. You may also use your Influence skills (see p. 15) on animals just as you would on sapient beings, which usually ensures a positive reaction.

Catfall - 10 points
You subtract five yards from a fall automatically (treat this as an automatic Acrobatics success – don’t check again for it). In addition, a successful DX roll halves damage from any fall (see p. 32). To enjoy these benefits, your limbs must be unbound and your body free to twist as you fall.

Combat Reflexes - 15 Points
You have extraordinary reactions, and are rarely surprised for more than a moment. You get +1 to all active defense rolls (see Defending, p. 28) and +2 to Fright Checks (see Fright Checks, p. 24). You never “freeze” in a surprise situation, and get +6 on all IQ rolls to wake up, or to recover from surprise or mental “stun.

Danger Sense - 15 Points
You can’t depend on it, but sometimes Your body is unusually flexible. This you get this prickly feeling right at the back advantage comes in two levels: of your neck, and you know something’s wrong. . .The GM rolls once against your Perception, secretly, in any situation involving an ambush, impending disaster, or sim ilar hazard. On a success, you get enough of a warning that you can take action. A roll of 3 or 4 means you get a little detail as to the nature of the danger.

Flexibility
Your body is unusually flexible. This advantage comes in two levels:

Flexibility - 05 Points
You get +3 on Climbing rolls; on Escape rolls to get free of ropes, handcuffs, and similar restraints. You may ignore up to -3 in penalties for working in close quarters (including many Explosives and Mechanic rolls).

Double-Jointed - 15 points
As above, but more so. You cannot stretch or squeeze yourself abnormally, but any part of your body may bend any way. You get +5 on Climbing, Escape rolls, and on attempts to break free. You may ignore up to-5 in penalties for close quarters.

Daredevil - 15 points
Fortune seems to smile on you when you take risks! Any time you take an unnecessary risk (in the GM’s opinion), you get a +1 to all skill rolls. Furthermore, you may reroll any critical failure that occurs during such high-risk behavior.

Empathy - 15 points
You have a “feeling” for people. When you first meet someone – or are reunited after an absence – you may ask the GM to roll against your IQ. He will tell you what you “feel” about that person. On a failed IQ roll, he will lie! This talent is excellent for spotting imposters, possession, etc., and for determining the true loyalties of NPCs.

Enhanced Defenses - Variable
You are unusually adept at evading attacks! This may be due to careful observation of your foe, focusing chi, or anything else that fits your background. There are three versions:


 * Enhanced Block: You have +1 to your Block score with Shield skill. 5 points.


 * Enhanced Dodge: You have +1 to your Dodge score. 15 points.


 * Enhanced Parry: You have +1 to your Parry score. You may take this advantage for bare hands (5 points), for any one Melee Weapon skill (5 points), or for all parries (10 points). 5 or 10 points.

Fearlessness - 2 points/level
You are difficult to frighten or intimidate! Add your level of Fearlessness to your Will whenever you make a Fright Check or must resist the Intimidation skill or a supernatural power that induces fear. You also subtract your Fearlessness level from all Intimidation rolls made against you.

Flexibility - 05 Points
You get +3 on Climbing rolls; on Escape rolls to get free of ropes, hand-cuffs, and similar restraints. You may ignore up to -3 in penalties for working in close quarters (including many Explosives and Mechanic rolls).

Double-Jointed - 15 points
As above, but more so. You cannot stretch or squeeze yourself abnormally, but any part of your body may bend any way. You get +5 on Climbing, Escape rolls, and on attempts to break free. You may ignore up to-5 in penalties for close quarters.

Hard to Kill - 2 points/level
You are incredibly difficult to kill. Each level of Hard to Kill gives +1 to HT rolls made for survival at -HP or below, and on any HT roll where failure means instant death (due to heart failure, poison, etc.). If this bonus makes the difference between success and failure, you collapse, apparently dead (or disabled), but come to in the usual amount of time – see Recovering from Unconsciousness.

High Pain Threshold - 10 points
You are as susceptible to injury as anyone else, but you don’t feel it as much. You never suffer a shock penalty when you are injured. In addition, you get +3 on all HT rolls to avoid knockdown and stunning –and if you are tortured physically, you get +3 to resist. The GM may let you roll at Will+3 to ignore pain in other situations.

Jumper - 100 points
You can travel through time or to parallel worlds (sometimes known as “timelines”) merely by willing the “jump.” Decide whether you are a time-jumper or a world-jumper. To do both, you must buy Jumper (Time) and Jumper (World) separately, at full cost. To initiate a jump, you must visualize your destination, concentrate for 10 seconds, and make an IQ roll. You may hurry the jump, but your roll will be at -1 per second of concentration omitted. Regardless of IQ, a roll of 14 or more always fails. On a success, you appear at your target destination. On a failure, you go nowhere. On a critical failure, you arrive at the wrong destination, which can be any time or world the GM wishes! You appear at your destination at exactly the same place you left your previous time or world – or as close as possible. If there is no corresponding “safe” location within 100 yards of your destination, the jump will fail and you will know why it failed. This ability always costs at least 1 Fatigue Point to use, whether it succeeds or fails. Particularly “distant”times or worlds might cost more, perhaps up to 10 FP, at the GM’s discretion.

Language Talent - 10 points
You have a knack for languages. When you learn a language at a comprehension level above None, you automatically function at the next higher level.

Luck - Variable
You were born lucky! There are three progressively more “cinematic” levels of Luck:*Luck: Once per hour of play, you may reroll a single bad die roll twice and take the best of the three rolls! You must declare that you are using your Luck immediately after you roll the dice. 15 points. Your Luck only applies to your own success, damage, or reaction rolls, or on outside events that affect you or your whole party, or when you are being attacked (in which case you may make the attacker roll three times and take the worst roll!).
 * Extraordinary Luck: As above, but usable every 30 minutes. 30 points.
 * Ridiculous Luck: As above, but usable every 10 minutes! 60 points.

Night Vision - 1 point/level
Your eyes adapt rapidly to darkness. Each level of this ability (maximum nine levels) allows you to ignore -1 in combat or vision penalties due to darkness, provided there is at least some light.

Perfect Balance - 15 points
You can always keep your footing, no matter how narrow the walking surface (tightrope, ledge, tree limb, etc.), under normal conditions without having to make a die roll. If the surface is wet, slippery, orunstable, you get +6 on all rolls to keep your feet. In combat, you get +4 to DX and DX-based skill rolls to keep your feet or avoid being knocked down. Finally, you get +1 to Acrobatics and Climbing skill. ===Resistant - Variable=== You are naturally resistant (or even immune) to diseases or poisons. This gives you a bonus on all HT rolls to resist incapacitation or injury from such things.*Resistant to Disease: You may take a +3 bonus for 3 points or a +8 bonus for 5. ===Talent - Variable=== You have a natural aptitude for a set of closely related skills. “Talents” come in levels, and give a bonus of +1 per level with all affected skills, even for default use. This effectively raises your attribute scores forthe purpose of those skills only; thus, this is an inexpensive way to be adept at small class of skills. You may never have more than four levels of a particular Talent. However, overlapping Talents can give skill bonuses (only) in excess of +4. The cost of a Talent depends on the size of the group of skills affected. Some examples:*Artificer covers Armoury, Electronics Repair, Engineer, Mechanic, and others. 10 points/level. There are many other possibilities! GMs are encouraged to create their own Talents as needed.
 * Resistant to Poison: You have a +3 bonus, costing 5 points.
 * Outdoorsman covers Camoflage, Naturalist, Navigation, Survival, and Tracking. 10 points/level.
 * Smooth Operator covers all Influence skills, as well as Acting, Carousing, Leadership, and Public Speaking. 15 points/level.