"This is what it means to go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!!" -- All-Might, My Hero Academia
Through sheer force of will, you can push your body past its usual limits when you perform physical tasks. You can use Extra Effort to increase Basic Lift, hiking distance, Move when running or swimming, distance when jumping, and ST for throwing, single attacks, etc.[1] You may roll the better of your Will or a relevant Will-based skill roll.
This is a fundamental mechanic usable in many settings, and can be very useful for dramatic moments. Shonen anime and Supers comics are full of characters breaking past their limits, if only for a second!
Going Beyond in Combat[]
Extra Effort has in-combat variations that let the fighter go beyond their normal limits, while burning FP for the effort. On a critical failure, the sheer force actually damages the fighter themselves, damaging the limb used in the effort (such as an arm for a block or parry).[1]
- Feverish Defense: If you take any maneuver other than All-Out Attack, you can spend 1 FP to get +2 to a single active defense roll. (You can use this bonus to offset the penalty for parrying multiple times with one hand; see Parrying)
- Flurry of Blows: If you take an Attack maneuver, you can halve the penalty for Rapid Strike (see Rapid Strike) by spending 1 FP per attack.
- Mighty Blows: If you take an Attack maneuver in melee combat, you can spend FP to gain the damage bonus of an All-Out Attack (Strong) without sacrificing your defenses. This costs 1 FP per attack. You cannot use Flurry of Blows and Mighty Blows at the same time!
Modifiers[]
- -1 per 5% increase in abilities
- If you are fatigued, apply a penalty equal to missing FP
- Add a whopping +5 if motivated by fear, anger, or concern for a loved one!
- This can be the result of a failed Fright Check!
On a success, you gain the desired increase in physical capabilities. On a critical success, you don't have to pay the FP for the extra effort!
On a failure, you achieve only what you would have accomplished without extra effort. On a critical failure, you lose HP equal to the FP to the spent on the attempt.
Go beyond!
Powers[]
"You think you can live with it? Take it! TAKE IT ALL!" -- Bruce Banner, shortly before boiling a lake
Powers expands with Stunts.[2] This includes Super-Effort, which allows Extra Effort lifts to be much higher (Spider-Man does this a lot when he's stuck under a building or stopping a train!). This is partly balanced by not affecting chokes or grapples, which Lifting ST would normally apply.
In Supers settings, ignore the usual penalty for spent FP![2] You might even trade FP for skill (to a maximum of +4),[3] or even to improve a resistance roll (for instance, against mind-control)[4] if such is appropriate.
Some powers that use self-sacrifice may burn HP instead of FP.[5]
Designer Notes[]
Sean Punch in http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=5782 designer notes mentioned:
- Another common option is a reduction to the FP cost to use the power's abilities under the right conditions.
- This lowers all FP expenditures for any reason: regular use, extra effort, stunts, and anything else the GM comes up with.
- This is conditional Reduced Fatigue Cost, which is a basic +20% per level, so FP reduction is +16%/level if Very Common, +12%/level if Common, +8%/level if Occasional, or +4%/level if Rare.
Note that this is very powerful, because it allows the user to use extra effort for free in some situations.
Crippled Powers[]
If thematically appropriate, it's possible to injure a superpower after a heroic use of extra effort! As written: Roll against HT if the power modifier is Biological, Elemental, Nature, or Super, or against Will if it’s Chi, Divine, Magical, Moral, Psionic, or Spirit. The GM chooses for other powers. Cosmic powers are immune to crippling.[6]
You may need a bit of bed rest after using your powers above and beyond what they can normally do. Who knows, maybe they'll be stronger when they heal!
Power-Ups[]
Power-Ups 3: Talents mentions:
- p.13 under Natural Athlete
- p.14 under Pickaxe Penchant
- p.18 Alternative Benefits overview
Energy Reserves[]
Energy reserves (such as those used by wizards and psis) can be used to pay for FP costs for Extra Effort,[7] although typically this should apply only to extra-effort attempts that use magic, psi, etc.
Mentions[]
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer24/ExpandedExtraEffort.html was a 1991 expansion from Jumping and Lifting to also include Running and Throwing, as well as Extra Effort and Extra Effort in Combat (inc Extra Effort in Active Defense and MA expansion)
Quotes[]
PK[]
Note to below: Stunts Only is a limitation for ER valued at -10% on P119 and applies both to stunts AND to extra effort. PK's pricing the discount higher for Will is likely because Will has more multifaceted use than FP does.
2008 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=628192&postcount=5
- Originally Posted by Molokh
- Buy Will limited to extra effort only. Accessibility rules would probably dictate about -35%, but given that Will is useful for lots of stuff, I'm wondering if it might be as low as -80% (remember, will costs 5/level while many Will-based skills are 4/level).
I'd call it 1/level for simplicity. Extra Effort is a very small subset of Will.
- Spend HP instead of FP to fuel Extra Effort when it is preferable.
Perk. I've used this in my custom V:TM conversion.
- Ignore the penalty to the Will roll for having less than full FP (as on P160).
Perk, again.
- Use Trading Fatigue for Skill for stuff like contests of ST/Judo/etc. (also P161).
Hrm... compared to Mighty Blows, Feverish Defense, etc., this seems pretty underpowered, so I'd say Perk again.
- Make her ER fuel mundane extra effort, not just boost 'powers'.
+20% to the cost of the ER, much as for the Extended enhancements for various advantages.
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=628829&postcount=7
- Spend HP instead of FP: Emergency Reserves
- Ignore penalty for low FP: Indefatigable
- Trading FP for skill/ST: Potential Power