Rapier Wit

Rapier Wit is a mundane mental advantage that gives you the ability to stun your foes in combat with witty repartee.

time to use

P154:

All other zero-time transient abilities (notably Rapier Wit and attacks with enough Reduced Time to work instantaneously) work only on the user’s turn

Fantasy and Affliction

F130 of GURPS Fantasy mentions "any of the special modifiers for Affliction" but with the drawback that it recovers as if a Mental Stun even if modifiers don't indicate that. This makes it less useful for long-term afflicting since those can recover once per second.

It probably also means you can't afflict unintelligent objects since they can't actually understand Rapier Wit.

Special Enhancements

• Words of Power (+100%): Kromm in 2006 stated that this gives you the ability to affect those who don't normally react to witticisms (i.e., those with Clueless, No Sense of Humor, or Unfazeable) and lets you ignore the requirement for a common language. Each is more-or-less a typical application of Cosmic, +50%, whence the overall cost of +100%. However, Mind Shield still protects, as does any defense that provides total silence (e.g., ear plugs).
  • Hexing uses this

General Enhancements

• Cosmic, +300% lets you ignore even these things, speaking your Words of Power in the vacuum of space, through a zone with Obscure (Hearing) 20, etc., and piercing any Mind Shield. In essence, the only defense is high enough Will to avoid succumbing.

Alternatives

• Penetrating Voice Perk

quotes

PK

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=222662&postcount=10

it's possible to make Rapier Wit the follow-up to a nice Will-reducing Affliction, of course. Get someone's Will down below 3 and they don't even get to roll (since it's not an active defense roll.)

Chris Rice

from http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=2464289&postcount=6

The equivalent build is something like:

Affliction (Accessibility, Only on sapient creatures, -20%; Area Effect, 32 yards, +250%; Aura, +80%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Nuisance Effect, -1 per extra target, -50%; Requires Public Speaking vs. Will roll, -20%; Sense-Based, Hearing, -20%) [29]

References

• GURPS Powers pg 70