GURPS Power-Ups 7: Wildcard Skills (2014) expands on Wildcard Skills.
Contents[]
- Information on how wildcard skills interact with such fundamental concepts as bonuses, controlling attributes, defaults, and techniques.
- Advice on how to define new wildcard skills in terms of high concept, skill count, and skill breadth, with extra detail on those that simplify character templates, martial-arts styles, and supernatural abilities.
- Optional rules for wildcard skills to relax penalties, combine multiple wildcards, grant bonuses that reach beyond skill rolls, enhance critical successes, and even bend the story itself!
- Discussion of how to use wildcard skills in your campaign, ranging from "no wildcards" all the way up to "wildcards only."
- Wild speculation, such as wildcard techniques and wildcard advantages
Other Wildcards[]
- Wildcard Techniques: 3x normal cost
- Wildcard Advantages: 3x normal cost; Wildcard Magery is a special case.
- Wildcard Languages: 3x normal cost - whole family of related languages
- Wildcard Powers: 4x normal cost
Template Wildcards[]
Template Wildcards takes all of a template's primary and secondary skill as well as any mandatory Talents and bundles them together. Depending on the template this can be several Wildcard skills (called building blocks) or just one.
Ultimate template wildcards take this to the next level by including all skills conceivably tied to the template. They are task driven rather then skill driven.
Ultimate template wildcard examples[]
- Contact!
- Flunky!
- Guard!
- Mugger!
- Orc!
- Sage!
- Samaritan!
- Thug!
List of Wildcard skills[]
This is a compilation of Wildcard skills that had appeared in GURPS supplements with those tailored for specific genres or settings generalized. Even with 70 listed more appeared later (These are in italic and do not appear in the book). Template Wildcards in the below list are in bold.
| Wildcard | Source | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Archery! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Bow! |
| Art! | Pyramid #2 (March 7, 2008) | None |
| Assassin! | Action 1: Heroes. | Originally a template wildcard |
| Barbarian! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | Compare Hunter! |
| Bard! | GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | None |
| Bioenhancement! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Blade! | Monster Hunters 1: Champions | Compare Katana! and Sword! Minor addition in Pyramid article. |
| Blunt! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Blade! |
| Boat! | Supers | Should be expanded from source; Compare Wheel Man! |
| Bow! | Supers | Compare Archery! |
| Burglar! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Thief! |
| Businessman! | Supers | Compare Money! |
| Cleaner! | Action 1: Heroes | None |
| Cleric! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers Supers |
Sources are slightly different. |
| College! | N/G | Collection; Has four options including Wildcard Magery |
| Computers! | Supers | Compare Hacker! |
| Courtier! | Pyramid #2 (March 7, 2008) | Originally intended for European Renaissance games; adjust accordingly for setting |
| Crook! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Thief!, Burgler! |
| Demolition Man! | Action 1: Heroes | None |
| Detective! | Basic Set Monster Hunters 1: Champions. |
building block; borderline ultimate; Compare Investigator! |
| Drive! | Supers | Needs expanding from source |
| Druid! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | None |
| Encyclopedist! | Supers | None |
| Explorer! | Supers | Might borrow elements of Barbarian!, Hunter!, or Scout! in a more action-oriented game. |
| Face Man! | Action 1: Heroes | Compare Negotiator! and Talker! |
| Fake! | Social Engineering; Supers | Compare Talker! |
| Fist! | Supers; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Building block; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV expands on Supers version; Compare Martial Artist! |
| Forceful Chi! | N/A | Wildcard Cinematic Skill; Compare Martial Artist |
| Grifter! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Crook! |
| Gun! | Basic Set, Gun Fu,
Monster Hunters 1: Champions |
Building block; Compare Shooter! |
| Hacker! | Action 1: Heroes | Compare Computer! |
| History! | Infinite Worlds | Compare Scholar! |
| Holy Warrior! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | Compare Lore! |
| Horseman! | Pyramid 3/53: Action | Will contain Martial Arts techniques related to mounted styles |
| Hunter! | Pyramid #2 (March 7, 2008) | In times and places where upper-class hunters use
chariots, Teamster might replace Riding. Compare Barbarian!, Explorer!, and Scout! |
| Infiltrator! | Action 1: Heroes | Thief! |
| Inner Balance! | N/A | Compare Martial Artist! |
| Inventor! | Monster Hunters 1: Champions; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV
Supers |
Compare Mechanism! which is better until mature TL5 |
| Investigator! | Action 1: Heroes | Building block; Compare Detective! |
| Katana! | Fantasy-Tech 1: The Edge of Reality | Compare Blade! and Sword! |
| Knight! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | For a “knight” in the mounted-combat sense, use Horseman! |
| Language! | N/A | Wildcard Advantage; Collection (whole family of related languages) |
| Lore! | Monster Hunters 1: Champions; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Building block; Compare Cleric!, Holy Warrior!, Magic!, Occult!, and Wizard! |
| Magic! | N/G | A close wildcard analogs to Ritual Magic; Narrower versions: Wizardry! (Magery) Theurgy! (Power Investiture) Contrast to Wildcard Magery |
| Map! | Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies | ultimate |
| Martial Artist! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | there is also the more limited Style!; Comare Fist! |
| Mechanism! | Pyramid #2 (March 7, 2008) | For mature TL5 and higher Inventor! is better |
| Medic! | Action 1: Heroes; Monster Hunters 1: Champions; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Building Block in Monster Hunters 2; Compare Medicine! |
| Medicine! | Bio-Tech, Reign of Steel: Will to Live, Supers | Compare Medic! |
| Memetics! | Transhuman Space: Changing Times | Compare Psychologist! |
| Money! | Creatures of the Night, Volume 1 | Businessman! |
| Monster-Hunting! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Move! | Supers | None |
| Mystic Knight! | Pyramid 3/60: Dungeon Fantasy III (Oct 2013) | Compare Knight! |
| Mysticism! | Pyramid 3/31: Monster Hunters | None |
| Negotiator! | Social Engineering | Face Man! and Talker! |
| Occult! | Horror | Originally called “The Occult!”. Compare Lore!, Magic!, and Wizard! |
| Outdoorsman! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Parapsychologist! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Path! (Ritualist) | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Effectively Magic! for Path and Book magic |
| Perform! | Supers | None |
| Pilot! | Supers | Needs to be expanded from source |
| Pirate! | Supporting Cast: Age of Sail Pirate Crew | Can be ultimate |
| Psychologist! | Social Engineering; Supers | Compare Memetics! |
| Recon! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Ritual Magic! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare Magic!, College!; Ritual Path spells at -6 to roll with Ritualist or -11 without). In either case, maximum effective skill is 12. |
| Scholar! | Supers | Compare History! |
| Science! | Basic Set; GURPS Monster Hunters 1: Champions; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Very different from Science! (Classic) |
| Scout! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | Building block |
| Scrapping! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | None |
| Security! | Supers | None |
| Servant! | Supers | None |
| Shooter! | Action 1: Heroes; Gun Fu | Compare Gun! |
| Spy! | Lair of the Fat Man | Ultimate |
| Stick! | Supers | Can be comparable to Blade! in a high-powered campaign |
| Swashbuckler! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | Compare Sword! |
| Sword! | Basic Set | Compare Blade!, Katana!, and Swashbuckler! |
| Talker! | Monster Hunters 1: Champions; Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Building block; Compare Face Man!, Fake!, and Negotiator! |
| Teamwork! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Only matters when working with one or more teammates |
| Techie! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | For using or fixing equipment; Compare Inventor! |
| Ten-Hut! | Monster Hunters 1: Champions | Building block |
| Thief! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers;
Supers |
Supers variant is narrower |
| Throw! | Supers | None |
| Throwing! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Broader version of Throw! |
| Transporter! | Pyramid 3/83: Alternate GURPS IV | Compare to Driver! |
| Wheel Man! | Action 1: Heroes | Compare Boat!, Drive!, and Pilot! |
| Whip! | Supers | Can be comparable to Blade! in a high-powered campaign |
| Wire Rat! | Action 1: Heroes | None |
| Wizard! | Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers | covers all of a fantasy wizard’s trade except magic – it doesn’t allow spellcasting.
Compare Lore!, Magic!, and Occult! |