GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks incorporates every perk published for GURPS as of spring 2008
Cost: 1
Perks are very minor advantages that cannot be modified with enhancements or limitations and can be added in play without upsetting game balance. Major advantages are listed elsewhere.
Table Key[]
* – The perk is cinematic and only suits larger-than-life heroes.
† – The perk requires specialization by advantage, piece of equipment, rule, skill, task, technique, etc., depending on exactly how it works.
‡ – The perk comes in levels, exactly like an advantage that comes in levels.
Appearance Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Features† | 4 | |
| Forgettable Face | 4 | |
| Honest Face | B101 | |
| Passing Appearance† | 4 | Androgynous, Passing Complexion |
| Photogenic | 4 |
Combat Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Acrobatic Feints | 4 | |
| Acrobatic Kicks | ||
| Akimbo*† | not restricted by having two hands full of weapons. Must specialize by one-handed weapon skill. | |
| Armor Familiarity†‡ | comes in levels | |
| Armorer’s Gift† | Must specialize by weapon skill. | |
| Biting Mastery | ||
| Clinch† | Integrate limited grappling moves into Boxing, Brawling, or Karate skill – choose one. | |
| Combat Vaulting*† | ||
| Jumping distance | ||
| Cotton Stomach* | A cinematic combat version of Hands-Free using the Stomach | |
| Dirty Fighting | +1 on success rolls for Dirty Tricks | |
| Drunken Fighting* | masters the mythical art of fighting while intoxicated | |
| Dual Ready† | ||
| Exotic Weapon Training† | A combat form of Exotic Equipment Training. | |
| Focused Fury* | ||
| Form Mastery† | ||
| Grip Mastery† | ||
| Ground Guard | ||
| Huge Weapons†‡ | ||
| Improvised Weapons† | ||
| Iron Body Parts*† | ||
| Naval Training | ||
| Neck Control | ||
| One-Armed Bandit*† |
(only A to O migrated as of 20 June 2022)
Equipment Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Better (Gear)† | ||
| Cheaper (Gear)† | Broad Category: 10% Large Subcategory: 20% Subcategory: 30% | |
| Doodad*‡ | ||
| Equipment Bond† | cumulative with any bonus inherent to the hardware If you lose that particular item, you lose the perk. | |
| Exotic Equipment Training† | ||
| Intuitive Repairman† | can maintain something of yours – typically electronics,
vehicles, or weapons – without needing formal repair. Must specialize by particular item; skills. | |
| Suit Familiarity† | compensates for the limitations of a bulky
environment suit and may ignore its DX penalties | |
| Supersuit* | Prerequisite: Superhuman abilities. | |
| Weapon Bond† | own a weapon that’s uniquely suited to you |
Exotic Perks[]
These perks are subject to the restrictions on exotic advantages
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Air Jet | 10 | |
| Burrower | 10 | |
| Cross-Species Surrogacy† | 10 | Prerequisite: Female. |
| Extreme Sexual Dimorphism | 10 | |
| Feathers | 10 | |
| Fur | 10 | |
| Generator | 10 | |
| Ignition | 10 | |
| Illumination | 10 | |
| Immunity to (Specific Poison)† | 11 | |
| Limited Camouflage† | 11 | +2 to Camouflage with a suitable backdrop |
| Long Fingers/Thumbs | 11 | incompatible/redundant with Talons or Long Talons |
| No Degeneration in Zero-G | 11 | immunity to loss of bone density in microgravity |
| No Visible Damage* | 11 | Prerequisite: Unkillable don’t look wounded until you reach -10 x HP. |
| Parthenogenesis | 11 | Prerequisite: Female your self generated fetus is a clone world 0-points if you can only reproduce this way. |
| Perfume | 11 | +1 on reaction rolls where a pleasant smell makes a difference |
| Periscope | 11 | |
| Pressure-Tolerant Lungs† | 11 | |
| Racial Gifts† | 12 | Strictly a racial perk. |
| Reproductive Control† | 12 | Prerequisite: Female Fertility Control/Reabsorption |
| Rinse | 12 | |
| Sanitized Metabolism | 12 | -1 to attempts to track you by scent and +1 to reaction rolls
in close confines |
| Scales | 12 | serves as an Unusual Background for Damage Resistance 1-5 |
| Striking Surface | 12 | Prerequisite: Damage Resistance 3+ without Flexible, Force Field, or Tough Skin. |
Mental Perks[]
These mundane perks are skill-like – learn them using the rules for skills. Where it matters, treat ordinary Cultural Familiarity as a mental perk, too.
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Accent† | 12 | Prerequisite: Relevant Language at Broken or better spoken comprehension. |
| Autotrance | 12 | |
| Call of the Wild* | 12 | Prerequisite: Animal Empathy |
| Controllable Disadvantage† | 12 | |
| Eye for Distance | 13 | accurately gauge distances within line of sight
without using tools. |
| Focused (Task)† | 13 | +3 on success rolls for a specific, lengthy noncombat task – at the cost of -5 to rolls for everything else, much as if you had Single-Minded |
| Good with (Animal)† | 13 | Animal Empathy for one specific species |
| Good with (Social Group)† | 13 | Sensitivity for one specific group “Men” and “women” are much too broad for this purpose! |
| Headhunter | 13 | +2 to the rolls for Finding a Hireling |
| Job Hunter | 13 | +2 to the rolls for Finding a Job |
| One-Way Fluency† | 13 | |
| One-Way Literacy† | 13 | |
| Patience of Job | 13 | |
| Rule of 15 | 13 | Fright checks fail at 15+ rather then 14+ |
Physical Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Acceleration Tolerance | 13 | +3 to HT rolls to resist the effects of high acceleration |
| Alcohol Tolerance | 13 | +2 on all HT rolls related to drinking |
| Carrier† | 13 | You have a non-disadvantageous form of Social Disease |
| Compact Frame | 13 | +1 to Escape when the goal is to fit through a narrow space |
| Controllable Disadvantage† | 13 | inflict one specific physical disadvantage on yourself
by making a HT roll, at -1 per additional attempt per hour |
| Deep Sleeper | 13 | |
| Extended Hearing† | 13 | you hear – barely – the sounds covered by Ultrahearing |
| Immunity to (Specific Disease)† | 13 | totally immune to one specific disease At high TLs, vaccines sometimes grant this perk |
| Low Rejection Threshold | 13 | |
| Natural Pockets | 13 | similar to one level of Payload |
| No Hangover | 13 | |
| Penetrating Voice | 13 | |
| Resistant to (Specific Poison)† | 14 | +3 to resist one specific Less effective than Immunity to (Specific Poison) (p. 11), but available to anyone |
| Robust (Sense)† | 14 | One of your senses is less prone to
overloading |
| Sea Legs | 14 | +3 to resist Seasickness and any similar form of motion sickness |
Power Perks[]
These perks that represent a super's powers’ most trivial abilities.[1]
Shticks[]
"A Shtick is a cool move or slick feature that occasionally gives minor benefits in play."
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing Shticks† | 14 | Cloaked*, High-Heeled Heroine*, Looks Good in Uniform, Masked*, Sartorial Integrity*, Skintight* |
| Combat Shticks† | 15 | Flourish, Follow-Through, Twirl |
| Influence Shticks† | 15 | trademark pose, stare, or walk that lets you use
a specific Influence skill without conversation, contact, or appreciable time |
| Standard Operating Procedure† | 15 | Back to the Wall, Energizer*, Full Tank*, Last Man Out,
Off-Screen Reload*, On Alert |
Skill Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Attribute Substitution† | 15 | You’ve trained a skill to use an attribute other than its usual controlling score for routine skill use. "DX-based skills with a complex technological aspect can shift to IQ (“Battlesuit based on IQ”), while those that involve fine work or hand-eye coordination can move to Per (“Driving based on Per”) IQ-based skills for small tools can go over to DX (“Lockpicking based on DX”), those used to find or follow things can move to Per (“Shadowing based on Per”), and those with a supernatural angle can shift to Will (“Ritual Magic based on Will”) HT-based skills for movement can shift to DX (“Swimming based on DX”), those with a social side can move to IQ (“Sex Appeal based on IQ”), and those for cinematic combat effects or resistance can become Will-based (“Body Control based on Will”) Will-based skills can generally drift to IQ (“Exorcism based in IQ”), and those with cinematic combat effects or that aid resistance can shift to HT (“Power Blow based on HT”). Per-based skills involving hand-eye coordination or fine manipulation can move to DX (“Search based on DX”), and most Per-based skills can shift to IQ (“Detect Lies based on IQ”)" |
| Background Knowledge† | 16 | |
| Cross-Trained*† | 16 | Familiar with all makes and models of equipment used with a particular skill. |
| Cutting-Edge Training†‡ | 16 | allows one specific technological skill above your personal TL can has multiple levels Five skills with Cutting-Edge Training can be replaced by one level of High TL Suggested Prerequisites: Duty or another social obligation as a prerequisite. |
| Dabbler† | 16 | eight skills with defaults have +1 to the usual
attribute default |
| Efficient† | 16 | allows one to ignore up to -2 for haste. |
| Hands-Free† | 16 | can use a body part other than the one
a particular skill usually assumes |
| Hyper-Specialization† | 16 | expert in an area far narrower than Optional Specialties Generally limited to IQ-based “knowledge” and “scientific” skills |
| No Nuisance Rolls*† | 16 | Prerequisite: Attribute or skill at 16+ Exempt from skill or attribute rolls to perform one specific background task not directly relevant to adventuring situations. |
| Off-Hand Training† | 16 | |
| One-Task Wonder† | 17 | can do one specific trick without knowing the relevant skill. This can’t be the skill’s primary use, a combat move, or anything done at a penalty |
| Skill Adaptation† | 17 | |
| Technique Adaptation† | 17 | |
| Technique Mastery† | 17 | "You’ve trained so intensively at a technique that you enjoy a
higher maximum level" |
| Unusual Posture† | 17 |
Social Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Base† | 17 | |
| Brotherhood† | 17 | Foes that doesn’t like you but remain neutral toward you if you stay out of their way |
| Citizenship† | 17 | |
| Courtesy Title†‡ | 18 | honorary Courtesy Rank advantage |
| Disposable Identity† | 18 | one time Alternate Identity |
| Friend† | 18 | 1-point Claim to Hospitality to one person |
| License† | 18 | Special |
| Office† | 18 | minor civil office |
| Permit† | 18 | allows the owning of a item that has a Legality Class lower then the Control Rating |
| Pet† | 18 | |
| Trivial Reputation† | 18 | |
| Vehicle† | 18 | You have an ordinary civilian vehicle separate from anything implied by your Status, and not bought with Signature Gear or money |
Supernatural Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Charms† | 19 | waives the spell and Magery prerequisites for one particular
spell but the spell cannot be cast unless the wielder Magery 0. |
| Chi Resistance*† | 19 | +3 to resist a specific, hostile chi-based effect. |
| Covenant of Rest | 19 | attempts to summon, reanimate, or resurrect you will fail but High-tech medicine can still resuscitate you |
| Dramatic Death* | 19 | a morbid but spectacular Destiny |
| Magical School Familiarity† | 19 | Special |
| Named Possession† | 19 | |
| Obscure True Name | 19 | |
| Purpose*† | 19 | inconsequential Higher Purpose |
| Rest in Pieces | 19 | anything that you, personally, slay can’t be resurrected or reanimated by external means, like Resurrection and Zombie spells. |
| Rule of 17 (Skill)†‡ | 20 | allows great resistance with a particular resisted supernatural skill |
| Spirit Contract† | 20 | see GURPS Thaumatology for
spirit-assisted casting |
| Trivial Destiny*† | 20 | very minor Destiny |
Unusual Background Perks[]
| Perk | Reference | Examples/summation |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Option† | 20 | |
| Rules Exemption† | 20 | |
| School, Style, or Template Adaptation† | 20 | |
| Secret Knowledge† | 20 | |
| Special Exercises†‡ | 21 | |
| Unique Technique† | 21 | |
| Unusual Training† | 21 |
Perks in works after Power-Ups 2[]
A lot of perks appeared in works after Power-Ups 2 came out:
Low-Tech[]
- Anachronistic Skill, Chariot Training, Two-Man Pike Training (also in Hot-Spots: Renaissance Florence)
- low tech companions ... Craft Secret ...
Thaumatology: Magical Styles[]
- Academic Rank, Adaptation, Area Spell Mastery*, Astrological Ceremonies, Attribute Substitution, Better Magic Items, Blocking Spell Mastery, Blood Magic, Brute-Force Spell, Combat Ceremony, Continuous Ritual, Convenience Casting, Covenant of Rest, Elixir Resistance, Enhanced Spell, Far-Casting, Fast Casting, Flagellant’s Blessing, Flexible Ritual, Frightening Side Effects, Guild Rank, Huge Subjects, Immunity to (Specific Hazard), Improvised Items, Improvised Magic, Intimidating Curses, Intuitive Cantrip (several), Kill Switch, Knower of Names, License, Life-Force Burn, Limited Energy Reserve, Magical Lawyer, Magical Style Adaptation, Magical Weapon Bond, Mana Compensation, Mass Magician, Mastery*, Melee Spell Mastery, Mighty Spell, Missile Spell Mastery, Mundane Magic, Mystic’s Stupor, Named Possession, No Gestures, No Incantations, Obscure True Name, Paraphernalia Pro, Permit, Power Casting, Precision Recharger, Psychic Guidance, Quick and Focused, Reduced Footprint, Rote Alchemy, Rule of 17, Sacrificial Blocking Spell, Sanctum, Scroll-Reading, Secret Mage, Secret Material, Secret Spell, Secret Words, Shaman’s Trance, Shortcut to Power, Special Exercises, Speedy Enchantment, Spell Bond, Spell Duelist, Spell Enhancement, Spell Hardiness, Spell Resistance, Spell Variation, Spirit Contract, Stabilizing Skill, Staff Attunement, Staff Bond, Super-Sympathy, Thaumatological Doublespeak, Willful Casting, Wizardly Dabbler, Wizardly Garb
Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies[]
- Corpse-Smart, Musk
Hot Spots: Renaissance Florence[]
- Two-Man Pike Training
Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game[]
- Immunity to Fast-Penta, Jump Pilot Aptitude
GURPS Psionic Powers[]
- Ecstatic Psi, Gestalt Familiarity, Weak Latency (Psi), Gaze Into the Abyss, Hostile Dampening, Nonthreatening, Personal Awareness, Simple Defense, Skeptic, Tolerance Astral Accessory, Astral Awareness, Near-Death Projection, Projection Clock, Retractable Cord, Subjective Navigator, EVP, Interface, Light Amplification, Phreaker, Power Source, Static Control, Universal Remote
- Card Sharp, Dowsing, Exposition Sense, Forecast, Insider Glance, Know-It-All, Visions (Aspected Dream), Good Neighbour, Karma Bank, Loaded Dice, Lucky Break, Misfire Master, Moneyclip Magnet, Shopper's Blessing, Healing Bond, Life Support, Natural Doctor, Pharmaceutical Probe, Postmortem, Psychic Surgery, Soothing Touch, Blood Healing, Controllable Lifebane, Invigoration, Pleasant Theft, Poison Charm, Schadenfreude, Social Vampire, Aerokinesis, Chill Factor, Gecko Grip, Hydrokinesis, Ignition, Small-Scale TK, Strong Blade, TK Tether, Umbrella,
- Avatar, Deep Study, I Know What You Mean, Intimidation Factor, Ping, Synchronize, Tactical Reading, Bamf, Castling, Coin Trick, Exo-Draw, Expulsion, Inertia Control, That Extra Inch.
Comment[]
As a general rule of thumb perks are so minor that they really don't deserve their own page or categories. Many perks are or can be viewed as lesser versions of advantages. For example, Fractional Magery can be viewed a perk version of Magery.
References[]
- ↑ pg 11