Advantages

## Character Advantages

These are innate abilities. In general, a character may only be given these advantages when he is first created. After that, there is no way to gain or "earn" them. A character may have as many advantages as he can afford.

### **Absolute Direction**

You always know which way is north, and you can always re-trace a path you have followed within the past month, no matter how faint it may be.
**COST:***5 points. +3 bonus to your Navigation skill.*
### **Acute Sense(s)**

You have better-than-average senses. *Acute Hearing* gives you a bonus to your IQ whenever you must roll to hear something. *Acute Taste/Smell*gives you a bonus when rolling to notice a taste or smell. *Acute Vision*gives you a bonus when rolling to see something.
**COST:***Each acute sense is a separate advantage, and costs 2 points for every +1 bonus to your roll.*
### **Alertness**

A general bonus you get on *any*sense roll.
***COST:**5 points for each +1 bonus to your roll.*
### **Animal Empathy**

You understand animals and like them, and they like you. You get +2 on any reaction roll by a wild animal, and +4 on any reaction from a tame animal. You man never kill an animal without a very good reason, and you should try to prevent others from doing so. Killing for food is perfectly acceptable, and in a hunting situation you will get a +3 bonus to find game.
**COST:** *5 points. +4 bonus on Animal Handling, Riding, and other "animal" skill rolls.*
### **Combat Reflexes**

You have extraordinary reactions and are very rarely surprised for more than a moment. You get a +1 to any Active Defense in combat. You never “freeze up” in a surprise situation, and you get a +6 on any IQ roll to wake up or to recover from surprise or a mental “stun.”
**COST:** *15 points.*
### **Common Sense**

Any time you start to do something that the GM feels is STUPID, he rolls against your IQ. A successful roll means he must warn you, “Hadn’t you better think about that?” This advantage allows an impulsive player to take the part of a thoughtful character
**COST:** *10 points*
### **Danger Sense**

You can’t depend on it, but sometimes you get this prickly feeling right at the back of your neck, and you know something’s wrong... If you have Danger Sense, the GM rolls once against your IQ, secretly, in any situation involving an ambush, impending disaster, or similar hazard. A successful roll means you get a warning that something’s wrong. A roll of 3 or 4 means you get a little detail as to the nature of the danger.
**COST:** *10 points*
### **Daredevil**

Fortune seems to smile on you when you take risks. Any time you take an unnecessary risk (GM’s option) you get a +1 to all skill rolls. Furthermore, you may reroll any critical failure that occurs while you are engaged in high-risk behavior.
**COST:** *15 points*
### **Double-Jointed**

Your body is unusually flexible. You get a +3 on any Climbing roll, on any roll to escape from ropes, handcuffs or other restraints, or on any Mechanic roll (to reach into an engine, of course)!
**COST**: *5 points*
### **Empathy**

You have a “feeling” for people. When you first meet someone, or when you are reunited after an absence, you may request the GM to roll against your IQ. He will then tell you what you “feel” about that person. (A failed roll means the GM may lie to you.) This talent, when it works, is excellent for spotting imposters, ghostly possession, and the like, and determining the true loyalties of NPCs. You can also use it to determine whether someone is lying... not what the truth really is, but just whether they are being honest with you.
**COST:** *15 points*
### **High Pain Threshold**

You are as susceptible to injury as anyone else, but you don’t feel it as much. If you are hurt in combat, you are not stunned and do not have a “shock” penalty on your next turn. (Exception: a head blow can still stun you.) If you are tortured physically, you are at a +3 to resist. The GM may let you roll at +3 to ignore pain in other situations.
**COST:** *10 points*
### **Immunity to Disease**

Your body naturally resists disease organisms. Virus and fungus invasions are also considered “disease,” though larger parasites (e.g., a tapeworm) are not. If you are Disease Resistant, you get +8 to HT to avoid catching any disease. **COST:** *5 points*
If you are Immune, you will never catch any infection or disease, even if you are forcibly injected with it! You may not take Immunity unless you start with a HT of 12 or better. However, it will remain even if HT is later reduced below 12. **COST:** *10 points*
### **Luck**

Some people are just born lucky. Once per hour of play, you may reroll a single bad die roll twice (this must be the last roll you made) and take the best of the three rolls! If the GM is rolling (e.g., to see if you notice something), you may tell him you are using your luck, and he must roll three times and give you the best result. **COST:** *15 points*
* *Extraordinary Luck* works the same way, but it is usable every 30 minutes, instead of every hour. **COST:** *30 points*
* *Ridiculous Luck*is usable every 10 minutes! **COST:** *60 points*

### **Musical Ability**

You have a natural talent with music and musical instruments. Your level of musical ability is a bonus when you study Singing or an instrument. That is, when you learn a musical skill, you learn it as though your IQ were equal to (IQ + Musical Ability). This bonus also adds to HT for the Singing skill.
**COST:** *1 point for each +1 bonus.*
### **Night Vision**

Your eyes adapt rapidly to the darkness. You cannot see in total dark – but if you have any light at all, you can see fairly well. Whenever the GM exacts a penalty because of darkness, except for total darkness, this penalty does not apply to you.
**COST:** *10 points*
### **Rapid Healing**

This advantage is only available if your basic HT is 10 or above. You recover rapidly from all kinds of wounds. Whenever you roll to recover lost HT, or when you roll to see if you can get over a crippling injury, add 5 to your effective HT. This ability does not help you get over stunning or similar incapacities. **COST:** *5 points.*
*Very Rapid Healing:* As above, but when recovering lost HT, a successful HT roll heals two hits, not one. **COST:** *15 points.*
### **Resistant to Poison**

Poison affects you less; +3 to HT to resist its effects.
**COST:** *5 points*
### **Single-Minded**

When you put your mind to something, you concentrate! You get a +3 bonus when working on lengthy tasks, but you may ignore other important tasks while obsessed (make a Will roll to avoid this). Roll at -5 to notice interruptions.
**COST:** *5 points*
### **Strong Will**

You have much more “willpower” than the average person. Your level of Will is added to your IQ when you make a Will roll for any reason, including any attempt to resist distraction, intimidation, seduction, torture, hypnosis, or mystical attempts to take over your mind. However, this advantage does not help against combat shock and the like. In questionable cases, the GM’s ruling is law.
**COST:** *4 points per +1 bonus.*
### **Toughness**

Your skin and flesh are tougher than the average human’s. Your body itself has a “Damage Resistance” (DR) score. This DR is treated just like the DR from armor: you subtract it from the damage done by any blow before you multiply the damage done by a cutting or impaling weapon. Toughness does not let your skin “turn” weapons. They still break the skin – they may even draw blood. But you’re not hurt. If a poisoned weapon breaks your skin, the poison will do its normal damage.
**COST:** *10 points for DR 1, or 25 points for DR 2. Higher bodily DRs are not possible for “natural” humans.*