Re: New perks
 

Definitely handy to have. I can bet a lot of settings have one particular drug that sticks out that you'd want to know about.

Then again, being immune to one specific thing is 1pt... but that's an exotic perk, this one sound somewhat plausible, if cinematic.

Re: New perks
 

And one might not actually want to be immune to some drugs, yet want to be able to precisely monitor the quantity in one's body. I can imagine this being true of both alcohol and caffeine, for instance.

Re: New perks
 

You can also combine them. I could see like 4 1pt traits combine to 'reverse' the drug; immunity, this perk, blow dart perk, and a perk to let you 'remove' a drug from your system into your blowdart (probably still needs the regular amount of time first aid or whatever would have but lets you do it tool free).

I definitely like the alcohol idea. You might even be able to track how much it is affecting you despite the IQ penalty so you never hit 'drunk'.

Re: New perks
 

Reading the "Silly Perks" thread, I started thinking about creating new perks based on Smooth Talent pricing, but with non-talent advantages. These perks all have prerequisites and are a way of embellishing existing advantages. Because they have sometimes expensive prerequisites, they are sometimes a bit more powerful than standard perks. Thoughts?


I Have a Bad Feeling About This

Prerequisite: Danger Sense or Intuition and Strategy or Tactics

This perk gives +1 to either your Strategy or Tactics skill. You may buy this perk once for each skill.


Great Body ‡

Prerequisites: Fit or Very Fit and Sex Appeal.

You're in great shape, and people can tell. If you are Fit and have spent at least one point on Sex Appeal, you may buy one level of Great Body for an additional +1 to Sex Appeal. If you are Very Fit, you may buy a second level of Great Body for +2 to Sex Appeal.


An Instant Faster

Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes and Fast-Draw.

Once per session, you may preempt the Wait maneuver of an opponent by spending 1 FP and beating him in a Quick Contest of your Fast-Draw -4 vs. his DX. (The +1 to Fast-Draw from Combat Reflexes counts as usual, and any Fast-Draw skill will work - i.e. you may roll against Fast-Draw Sword without being armed with a sword.) If you win this Contest, you may act before your Waiting opponent.


Vacation Home †‡

Prerequisite: Wealthy.

You have an additional home somewhere: a beach house, a lake house, a cabin in the mountains, etc. You must specify the location for each extra home when you buy the perk. The house matches your Status level and is not secret, like the Base perk from Power-Ups 2; anybody who investigates can easily find out that you are the owner. You may buy your first Vacation Home for one character point if you have at least 20 points in Wealth advantages, and you may buy additional Vacation Homes for each 5 extra points your character has invested in Wealth. If you are Filthy Rich, you may spend as many CP as you like on Vacation Homes. Because you have spent CP instead of in-game money to acquire these houses, treat them as Signature Gear. If, for some reason, your character loses points in Wealth, you may opt to lose the points spent on Vacation Homes before losing points in the Wealth trait. The GM must approve each Vacation Home should require an in-game explanation of how the house was acquired, as with Signature Gear (i.e. this perk should not be used to circumvent game challenges - "I just happen to have a cabin right here in the Carpathian Mountains!").


The Power of Love †‡

Prerequisite: at least 5 CP invested in Allies or an Ally with a FoA of 15 or better.

For every level of The Power of Love, you may get a +1 per session to any single roll to give direct assistance to your Ally. Any roll that will benefit your Ally qualifies: from a complementary roll to a damage roll against a foe in combat with the Ally. You may buy as many levels of this perk as you wish, but buying more than 4 levels for the same Ally changes the trait to Buddy Bond from Pyramid 3/53, which is useable any time you assist your Buddy.


I Knew This Would Happen

Prerequisite: Intuition or Common Sense.

Once per session you may use an unspent character point (or Impulse Buy point or Destiny point) to buy a roll against IQ-4 to get a single use of Foresight from Pyramid 3/53. If you fail the IQ roll, you lose the character point. At the GM's discretion, a complementary roll against an appropriate skill may improve your IQ roll.


Extra Mental Cage *‡

Prerequisite: Mind Trap

If you have spent any points on the Mind Trap technique, you may buy extra mental cages - up to as many levels as half your Mind Shield level. You must spend 1 FP to activate an Extra Mental Cage, and it will work for only a limited time - as many minutes as your margin of success on a Mind Trap roll; at that point, you must roll to trap your opponent again, though at a +3 for being restrained, as per "Additional Contact" in Psionic Powers.


Spare ID ‡

Prerequisites: Alternate Identity and Forgery.

You have passable fake identification documents to use for emergencies. Once per session per level of this perk, you may use fake documents unconnected to any of your identities to satisfy authorities for one situation or scene. Each use of Extra Documents requires a successful Forgery roll, modified by BAD level or by the difficulty of the situation. A success means the identity works without problems; any failure must be roleplayed. A critical failure on this roll threatens to expose your Alternate Identity. Each time you use this perk, it must be renewed by spending 1/20 starting wealth between sessions, though these funds may come from a budget supplied by a Patron or the like.


Daring Skill †‡

Prerequisite: Daredevil

For any single risky skill you may always reroll a critical failure, no matter the circumstances. For example, Daring Climber allows you to reroll any critical failure with Climbing, even if you're not engaged in particularly risky behavior. You may specialize in any skill, from Daring Broadsword to Daring Fireball, but no Daredevil may have more than three Daring Skills. This perk essentially grants Daredevils the option of buying Stabilizing Skills - and allows them to accept greater skill penalties with a negligible risk of critical failure.


Let me know what y'all think!

Re: New perks
 

I decided to finally take a look at Mass Combat, and it looks like it would be easy to come up with lots of perks (and advantages, too) applicable to this subsystem. Here's one:

Heroic

When using the rules from Mass Combat, your character gets a +1 to her Risk Modifier roll without having to add it to her Misfortunes of War roll. This allows her to take a Risk Modifier up to +4, rather than only +3. If your character is not a force commander, this same perk allows her to take the same +1 and apply it to a Significant Actions roll.

I'd be very interested to see any perks (or other traits) designed specifically for Mass Combat or for other subsystems, especially Realm Management or Boardroom and Curia (or even City Stats?). I'm not really very familiar with any of these systems, but I would like to see what kind of perks folks might come up with, especially since character traits are often a good way to start to understand how a system works ....

Re: New perks
 

Worryingly Significant

To buy this perk, you must have a skill that would be useful in battle at a minimum of 18. With that, and this perk, you get +2 on your Heroism roll under "Significant Actions" on p. 33 of Mass Combat, rather than +1. However, your Risk Modifier must be at least +2 for this to work.

Optionally, this can be a levelled perk, requiring skill 21 for the second level, and giving +3 on a Heroism roll if you take a Risk Modifier of +3.

Re: New perks
 

Pocket Change

This can only be taken along with Wealth: Comfortable or better. As a perk Pocket Change simply means you always have at least a little actual cash on your PC. This isn't cash you planned to carry, like the Gizmo advantage, it just so happens you have the cash.

This will need to be ajudicated by the GM. As a rule of thumb, PCs of Wealth: Comfortable won't have a spare ten thousand in their pockets (although someone with a few levels of Multimillionaire just might).

Re: New perks
 

Cunning Commander

When using the rules from Mass Combat, your character may opt to use a "Cunning" value (as per "Battling Monsters") equal to the greater of her IQ or Per for any one of Intelligence Analysis, Leadership, or Strategy for the duration of the battle. The "Cunning" value may be reassigned for each battle; the character need not specialize. Note that Charisma adds to Cunning when used to replace Leadership.

Re: New perks
 

Handy Handset

This is a historical Perk fromt he pre-cell phone era mostly seen with TV Heroes.
No matter where you go phone calls that you've been waiting for will find the nearest phone to you and even strangers will not mind answering the phone for you.

Re: New perks
 

Charismatic Command *‡

When using the rules for NPC behavior from Boardroom and Curia or Realm Management, the PC may adjust Will rolls of any NPC with whom she has direct, personal contact (as with Charisma) by +/- 1 per level of Charismatic Command, up to a maximum of 3 levels. This bonus may stack with any bonus from the character's Charisma, if applicable. At the third level of Charismatic Command, the character may temporarily adjust the Loyalty Rating of an NPC up or down one level.

I'm not totally clear on how Realm Management plays; I'm guessing for most actions using the Realm Management rules, personal contact means using Public Speaking skills to influence an action? Comments would be appreciated. I'm imagining this perk functioning as aspected Charisma that only works for actions outlined in the books I mentioned....

I'd love to get feedback on any of these new perks I've recently posted. I'd also really like to see any perks others might come up with for Mass Combat, Boardroom and Curia, Realm Management, or any other subsystems I'm not thinking of right now.

Re: New perks
 

Free is FreeYou aren't a full blown hoarder but if someone is giving away something that might actually be useful you take it. Gives a +2 to Scrounging if you have access to your home, storage unit, whatever.

Re: New perks
 

Here's a few takes on some quirks.

Oddity Attractor: Weird things happen to you, but not as weird as they are for a Weirdness Magnet. Encounters with celebrities or escaped zoo animals, not talking dogs and eldrich portals... or at least, not unless those are pretty common in your world.

Karmic Imbalance: You have a bizarre quirk of luck. Delightful and dreadful things happen to you, but they tend to balance out quickly. You may find a lottery ticket and win millions, only to lose it all when a forgotten ancestor's debts come due.

Lightly Cursed: A specific, minor inconvenience reliably befalls you. Perhaps stoplights always turn red for you, or computers are your foe. You've learned to live with it. (If it's something you can't mitigate or don't know how to yet, try Divine Curse.)

Re: New perks
 

All In Order: No matter how odd you are, your legitimate personal documents, database entries, passports, and other identification are always accepted at first glance; officers of the law are never suspicious of said documents unless you actually are trying to pull one over on them.

Likewise, 'random' searches won't nab you unless they actually are random.

Serial Number 11111: You ended up with one or two VERY easy to remember phone numbers, pin codes, addresses, or whatever. This makes it easy to find you through ordinary databases.

Re: New perks
 

As a variant:

Lucky Number: Your phone number, ID number, license plate, address or similar data associated with you or your business is highly memorable, extremely appropriate, culturally considered to be lucky, or otherwise gives you an occasional minor benefit. This might take the form of a +1 bonus to certain Reaction Rolls or a +1 bonus to skills such as Merchant or Propaganda which involve the number. ("Gremlins gotcha grouchy? Bothered by Boggarts? Call 555-CTHULHU for Guaranteed Entity Removal! Unwelcome visitors exorcised within 24 hours or your money back! All major credit cards accepted. Bonded.*")

*

Re: New perks
 

Learned the Hard Way: You get +2 bonus on your defense rolls for one type of defense (parry, block or dodge) to defend one specific hit location against one type of attack (thrust, swing, ranged). Choose all three at the time the Perk is taken.

Flat-beater: You can strike with the flat of a blade weapon (convert damage type from Cutting to Crushing) without any risk of cutting and at no penalty.

Tactical Alertness: When a foe in one of your front or side hexes moves or falls into one of your rear hexes, you can treat them as if they are in one of your side hexes for one combat turn.

Alternatively, when a foe in one of your front or side hexes moves or falls into one of your rear hexes, make a Tactics roll. On a success you can treat them as if they are in one of your side hexes for combat turns equal to your margin of success divided by 3 (minimum 1 turn). On a failure, you get no benefit. On a critical failure you have no idea where the foe is and the GM can misrepresent the foes position in the next turn, for example telling or showing you the foe is in one of your side hexes even though they are somewhere else.

Retreat Deceit: When you declare a retreat in making an Active Defense, if your defense succeeds your retreat can be into a forward hex. If your foe is in the hex you enter, you will be in close combat.

Re: New perks
 

This already exists as an option; see Slip and Sideslip under Retreat Options, MA pp.123-124.

Re: New perks
 

Deceitful Retreat could be reworked to allow a Slip with the normal retreat bonus (instead of -1 for parries/blocks and +1 for dodges) if you win a quick contest of weapon skills. I'd don't know I'd allow it at my table because who wants another contested skill test at that point, but that seems in line with other perks.

Re: New perks
 

This might be similar to an existing perk, but the game mechanics are probably different enough to make it a valid addition.

Take a Dive (Mental/Physical)

You can predictably use skills at a lower level than your actual level. You must specify which skills this perk applies to at the beginning of each scene, as well as the skill penalty you’re willing to accept (from -1 to -10). Once set, you can’t change these parameters until the scene ends, however, making this Perk risky to use if conditions might get worse than expected.

For example, if you’re normally an excellent shot, with DX 14 and Beam Weapons (E) skill at DX+4 (skill 18), you could pretend to be far less skilled and shoot as if you just had Beam Weapons at DX level (skill 14) or were even shooting using default skill (skill 11).

Realistically, it's harder to fake incompetence with tasks which rely on instinctive actions, such as Active Defenses and other rolls to prevent catastrophe. When you perform an “instinctive” action, you must make an IQ roll to remember to underperform. Failure means you use your actual skill level, allowing observers to make a Per-based roll vs. any relevant skill to realize that you're faking your incompetence.

If you use this skill to affect combat skills, your reduced skill doesn’t affect damage bonuses due to high skill (your muscles are still trained, even if you're faking), nor does it reduce your Striking or Grappling ST if you hit your target.

Re: New perks
 

This is kind of like the classic pool hall hustler, except their skill level eventually does get used. I could see a Perk to appear less skilled while still using full skill.

Re: New perks
 

So Uninteresting It's Interesting

The character, who must have Average Appearance is simply boring to look at. So much so that nobody give a good description of them or draw a faithful picture of them. There is a -1 penalty to any roll to pick them out of a crowd or notice that they are doing something.

Re: New perks
 

See "Forgettable Face," on p. 4 of Power-Ups 2: Perks.

Re: New perks
 

That perk might have already been proposed somewhere up-thread. It's certainly been proposed elsewhere. Here's my take:

Bumbling †

You can appear to be incompetent when using a particular skill without incurring any actual penalties.

At the GM’s option, “bumbling” skill use might give you a +1 bonus to Reaction rolls or give you a +1 bonus in Quick Contests of skill when you’re trying to make an opponent underestimate your skill or ignore you as a potential threat.

Re: New perks
 

MY LEG! You have the uncanny tendency to always get the exact same injury time after time. Once per session, when an enemy hits you, you may choose to have that attack strike one particular hit location as if the enemy had aimed for it.

Re: New perks
 

Tailor's Eye
You can size up a person for clothing size without having to measure them, judge what will look good on them without having to see them try on outfits, etc. You can also easily judge whether a specific article of clothing will fit you (useful if sizing isn't standardized). This allows you several small bonuses: ignore up to -3 in penalties for being rushed when making rolls to get someone matched with a suitable outfit, automatically tell whether a guard's uniform will fit should you steal it, and a +3 to rolls to spot poorly fitting or mismatched clothes when it might be a clue (a stolen uniform, clothing modified to serve as a disguise, an off-the-rack suit at a high society event where everyone would be expected to wear bespoke outfits, etc.).

Re: New perks
 

This feels powerful for a Perk, particularly if the character opts to heavily armor that particular body part (or has replaced it with a cybernetic limb or similar - think of how often Edward Elric in Full Metal Alchemist took serious hits to his automail that would have killed or incapacitated him if they hit anywhere else). Maybe you've only got enough money to start out with a shoulder guard made of Beskar... but if you can redirect attacks to hit that, that's not such a bad thing. Then again, the limit of "once per session" may be enough to prevent abuse, at least in fairly combat-heavy campaigns (in those with more moderate amounts of combat, getting hit even once in a session may be the exception rather than the rule).

Re: New perks
 

It doesn't bother me particularly since it reduces PC casualties but by conventional Powers Theory this is a highly limited use of Super Luck and that couldn't be reduced normally below 20 pts.

Re: New perks
 

Sounds like Extra Option Flesh Wound, but instead of reducing the damage to 1 point and spending 1 CP (or going into debt!), you move the target location.

Re: New perks
 

The power of it would be reduced by stipulating that the chosen location will sustain a minimum of one point of damage after everything is taken into account.

Re: New perks
 

Don't bother. That would only harass (in a very minor way) somebody who'd gotten a DR50 arm. It's not worth adding to the Perk text or making the user keep recording the damage 1 pt at a time.

Re: New perks
 

It's also potentially much less problematic if you're stuck buying your DR with points, at least if you don't have the option of extremely narrowing-down the hit location (like specifically having it hit your shoulder rather than the arm in general) - buying DR that only protects one arm at 60% base price (-20% for -2 to hit, and I think a further -20% to only apply to one arm instead of both) is already arguably overcharging for it, so being able to use that DR against a single hit elsewhere once per session probably isn't that big of a deal. It's more problematic if you can narrow it down a lot and can purchase heavy armor as gear there - a single pauldron (protecting the shoulder) is around 5% the cost and weight of torso armor, for example. But I think unless you're in a campaign where getting hit more than once a session is uncommon, it's probably fine - just seemed a bit powerful for a Perk.

Re: New perks
 

Sorry, i meant to say wounding.

Re: New perks
 

Do you mean "wounding" instead of "damage"? Why would that change anything? I understood it to be "loss of 1 hit pt" but that'll only happen once a day.

Re: New perks
 

Yes, loss of one hit point.
As written, the ability is already restricted to use once a day, so the automatic HP loss would be too, obviously.
This addition would mean that an armored character is not getting off free by shifting the hit location, and would align with the concept of 'Ow, my leg'.

Re: New perks
 

As I said, not worth adding the text or the record keeping.
The Perk user was already not getting off "free". He paid a pt for the Perk.

Rules for Perks should be short and snappy and not develop odd little side-paths.

Re: New perks
 

Meh.
I bet I could write it quite snappy enough.

Re: New perks
 

Things that could become plausible accessory perks

Flashlight
Lockpicks
Glue
First Aid Kit
Insect repellent (self only)
Magnifying glass (self only)
Display screen
Firestarter

Re: New perks
 

I'd condense that into S.O.P. "Always carries EDC" and then define those objects as the EDC.

Re: New perks
 

Personal size electric fan
Magnet
Small vacuum
A length of light cable on a small winch
A dental drill
A squirt gun
Small fire extinguisher
Smart phone

Re: New perks
 

Not the physical objects. Accessories as "being to produce the effect of the object without having the object".

Re: New perks
 

That's one way, but I'm not sure as to why bother listing such items here, the list is truly unlimited.

But still, if a Player wanted that many Accessories at once, I'd steer them towards SOP "EveryDay Carry", sure they can lose those items, but they will probably also be given moments to replenish their EDC, especially if it's a Perk. If they were really worried I'd let them also take Signature Gear to cover their EDC as added protection.

Re: New perks
 

Accessories need to be part of a character's body (easy enough for a cyborg) or even a magical Power that mimics a small and not very powerful physical object.

An Accessory Perk is not meant to be a thing you carry in your pocket. That would be Signature Gear and having a group of cheap objects be onthe same point is probably no big deal.

Re: New perks
 

There's also Doodad.

Re: New perks
 

Plausible

This is a limited form of Charisma. Basically, if people around you have no reason to doubt either you personally or strangers at this given time, they tend to take you at your word. This sometimes might require props and the right clothing. Example: if you're well dressed and well spoken, and you claim to be a professional, the Plausible perk helps you convince your audience. If however, you're dressed like a garbage collector and sound uneducated, this perk won't help you.

Similarly, if people are suspicious for some reason ( maybe they've been told there is a con artist or a spy around) this perk won't let you pull the wool over their eyes. But in neutral situations, you get the benefit of the doubt.

Re: New perks
 

Who said anything about getting more than one Accessory? You can but that's not what they're for. They're for the cool factor of having a minor and inexpensive superpower. Suppose you're a telekinetic and you want to use your telekinesis to pick locks. Problem is, telekinesis at best gives you a +4 to pick locks because it's a pair of invisible hands with all the limitations of hands. You don't want to poke at locks with little metal rods you just want to dramatically wave your hand or point a finger and have the lock click open. So you get accessory: lockpicks and now you can just point at the lock and invisibly use a tool a tool you don't have, can using your TK plus 4 bonus to speed things up. The "first aid" kit is great for a person who has the Healing power but also wants to provide a bit of healing magic that doesn't cost them so much.

Re: New perks
 

A good complement to the Honest Face perk for con artists and spies or Classic Looks or Rehearsed Role for actors.

Might be limited to certain broad roles, e.g., Plausible (Law Enforcement, Soldier, Academic, etc.) making it the Perk version of Distinctive Looks.

E.g., Sam Elliot has Plausible (Cowboy).

Re: New perks
 

Good call. But I think it's contextual. In some games the broad roles idea would be to limiting. The way the 5e Ranger's gifts where logically, but way to harshly, limited. Still, basically a good call.

Re: New perks
 

I know this isn't the Quirk's thread, but this immediately calls out for it's dark opposite "Typecast" to be written down...

Re: New perks
 

So true. Congratulations on your pellucint insight.

Re: New perks
 

It occurs to me that Plausible is the perk level of an advantage that comes in levels, Wickedly Plausible. Bugs Bunny and Doctors One, Two, Three, and Seven, all have this Advantage. All the rest of the Doctors have the Plausible perk.

The Hartnel Doctor had to get a uniform to make this advantage work in Paris during the Terror. But he had to do something to counteract the ambient paranoia of Robbespirrie's Paris. Bugs Bunny clearly has multiple levels of this advantage. Just think of a rabbit grabbing glasses and a clipboard and convincing all and sundry that you are in charge.

Re: New perks
 

In order to represent a certain comedic character I go with "Affliction Gullibility". Honestly it's the only thing I've ever used gullibility for.

Re: New perks
 

As it's more for a comedy setting than anything else, this relies on the hit actually hitting. Otherwise it's more like wonderwoman's bracers.

Re: New perks
 

I think it's more that Bugs has a super high Fast-Talk and Acting.

Re: New perks
 

This is a variant on the "Good with X" perk.

Jerk Whisperer (Type)
You can briefly evade the attentions of people who suffer from a specific antisocial disadvantage. When someone with the specified trait fails a self-control roll you are never their first target, even if it was you who triggered their problem.

For example, if you're Very Beautiful and your presence causes a Lecherous person to fail a self-control roll, they hit on someone else first rather than you. If you enrage someone with Berserk, you're always second on their list of people to kill.

This perk is handy for characters who specialize in starting trouble and then escaping before it affects them personally.

Re: New perks
 

I think that's too powerful for a perk, and also hard to rationalize in narrative terms, especiallly as a passive effect. I might allow something like that as an application of using a skill actively (particularly an Influence skill) for deception or distraction, but I'd require more of a narrative for how it's done.

Re: New perks
 

Its value depends on how frequently you encounter NPCs with a particular disadvantage and your ability to manipulate them. I assumed that's a very rare circumstance unless you're forced to live with/work for someone with a toxic personality.

I agree this could be more than a perk a player builds a character around the concept of manipulating people with a fairly common disadvantage, like Scaramouche in Commedia del Arte manipulating people with the Bad Temper disadvantage into fighting each other. In that case, it's more like a Higher Purpose (Trigger people with X disadvantage).

The "non-narrative" rationale for the perk is that there's something about you that makes bad actors briefly engage in "displacement behaviors" rather than attacking you directly. For example, Lecherous people might realize that you're "out of their league," so they hit on someone else first. Or you might look just tough enough that Bullies attack someone else rather than picking a fight with you, at least at first.

Game mechanically, it might be the social equivalent of the Flesh Wound cinematic rule which lets you minimize the effects of one attack.

There's also nothing to prevent people you've triggered previously from recognizing your game, negating the perk's benefits. After all, it only protects you from being the first target of their attentions, so you have no special protection the second and subsequent times you trigger them.

Re: New perks
 

It looks to me to be best used as a part of a "Luck Powerset".

Re: New perks
 

Remember it is limited by type. A might know how to deal with megalomaniacs, while B can manipulate the greedy. It's a social perk dealing with one narrow type of nuisance.

Re: New perks
 

Extreme Precognition
You can see the future. The far, far future. When you concentrate and make a successful IQ roll, you get a glimpse of events which will occur in your location at some random point millions or billions of years later. A second successful roll lets you narrow your point of view to a random point in time 2d-2 x 10,000 years within the epoch you're viewing. You have no idea as exactly how far into the future you're seeing, however.

GM's choice as to exactly what you see in the future, how far into the future you see, and whether you just see rock due to geological activity which eventually buries your location, sea water due to activity which sinks it, open air due to activity which erodes it, or vacuum as a result of some event which destroys the planet.

Extreme Postcognition is a similar power, but is too powerful to be a perk since it might actually be of use to paleontologists.

If your visions of the future are terrifying, this is a Quirk and possibly the basis for all manner of mental disadvantages.

Re: New perks
 

Um, is even the normal use beneficial enough to be considered a perk?

Re: New perks
 

I was trying to think of minor Precognition-related perks that could be legitimately considered to be weaker than a -80% limitation. That requires some serious limitations to the basic advantage to take it below the normal minimum of 5 points.

As written the Perk is marginal. The ability to learn the exact date that your viewing or being able to view a specific time period beyond a "lockout period" (e.g, anything 1M+ years into the future) might make it more useful.

The basic idea is that you can see so far into the future that the knowledge you gain isn't particularly meaningful. If you're lucky, it might give you an idea for a story or an invention, but it's mostly just a cool trick unless you have access to incredible time travel abilities. It's good for uncanny cosmic entities that can slip in and out of the time stream, not so good for ordinary mortals.

With a lot of work, an ordinary person could use the Perk to figure out the best place to bury a time capsule so it can be found by a specific future person or store high level nuclear waste so it isn't disturbed before it becomes inert.

Anyhow, it's a starting place for perks for clairvoyants and precognitives.

Re: New perks
 

Nah, that's a zero-point feature at best; I can't imagine how that could possibly meaningfully interact with game play. So I can determine that a million years into the future, Earth is part of the (Unpronounceable Squiggle Realm) of (Unpronounceable Squiggle)? Presuming people don't dismiss me as a nutcase, now what? Probably do me a lot less good than to be able to "see" that the dominant polity in the Connecticut River Valley 10,000 years ago was the Speckled Rock tribe of Paleo-Indians ... and likely few campaigns turn on academic paleontology.


EDIT: Thinking a bit more on my answer, the principal reason why folks are houseruling the cost of advantages such as Unaging and Extended Lifespan down as far as Quirk-level for points is that they have no practical effect on game play in the vast majority of campaigns. This one is even more so.

Re: New perks
 

It can allow for you to predict that the Shadows are going to return several years from now and that your descendant will marry a human and steal Babylon 4.

Re: New perks
 

Wrong Number: (Must have Weirdness Magnet as a prerequisite) You regularly get misdialed numbers, but the people making the call are in the future. IE you have Weirdness Magnet but one particular type of weirdness is recurrent and has a slight chance of being useful

Right Caller: (Must have Precognition as a prerequisite) You always know who is calling you although only by name if you know their name in the first place. Alternatively you always foresee the face of someone at your door. Alternatively you know the name of everyone you see but only if they were likely to tell you their name.

Weather Wise: You know when rain is going happen in a few hours.

Fated Mate: Once in your life you will encounter the person Fate has chosen to be your mate. You will know them when you see them, both of you will perceive each other as at least handsome/beautiful (because they may not be pretty but somehow they're totally your type), and you will be fertile with each other.

Re: New perks
 

If the character in question is not straight (or either partner is sterile for whatever reason), then it would seem a bit more like a very minor ability that could be granted by a god of family or outright reality warper.

Re: New perks
 

The Fated Mate concept is intended as divine intervention to keep a race on the verge of extinction from dying out by increasing reproduction. People who aren't straight or at least bisexual or who are totally infertile aren't eligible for it.

Re: New perks
 

Compulsive Correction: interferes whenever someone makes a logical error, a factual error or even a grammatical error. Actually that is more a quirk.

Compulsive maintainance: always fixing the tools he has. Good for a gadgeteer. With a warrior applicable to personal arms.

Re: New perks
 

Thanks! This and the rest of the perks you've come up with are exactly the sort of Precognitive perks I was trying to think of.

I could also see Perk level Precognition perks they're very tightly focused on certain events or locations, or if there's little you can do to benefit from your precognition.

Cassandra: You get glimpses of future catastrophes, but there's nothing you can do about them. People ignore your warnings and any attempt to alter fate just makes things worse. That includes taking out insurance policies or making bets to profit off of future bad events.

Geo-Fenced Precognition: You can only see random flashes of future events in one particular unimportant location. If you're very lucky you might see a glimpse of an event of interest, such as a crime, battle or social interaction. Other than that, it's just visions of sky, weather, vegetation and random animals.

Nostradamus: My original Extreme Precognition perk potentially becomes useful if it gives you random glimpses of events which will happen decades or centuries in the future, rather than eons. You don't know exactly when or where a particular event will occur, but you can describe it accurately enough that people will recognize your precognitive power in retrospect - after the event occurs. Mixed with Fortune Telling or Writing skill you have a career as psychic or SF writer. (Could also be called Jules Verne or Agnes Nutter)

Person of Interest: You get visions of future events which affect individual strangers. If you're lucky you can geolocate or date the place or time where your vision takes place. To change the future, you have to identify the location and travel to it, then find the stranger and convince them that you're not just a random nutcase.

Trivial Precognition: You have precognition of truly trivial events, like the outcome of random amateur sports matches. Nobody really cares except for the participants and their immediate relatives, so there's no way you can make book on the outcomes without serious effort.

Ultra-Specialized Precognition: As above, but tightly focused. Examples: You always know how much change you're going to get as a result of your next (cash) purchase, although you don't get a vision of how many dollars you'll spend. You always know if a shop has your favorite candy in stock.

Re: New perks
 

A better name might be "True Love."

As variations:

Heart Line: Requires Precognition and Fortune Telling skill. By making a Fortune Telling skill roll, you get a vision of the person the subject of your fortune telling will marry/otherwise be seriously romantically involved with. You can describe this person in sufficient detail that your subject will eventually recognize them when they see them. Assuming they remember your words and take your precognition seriously.

Love Connector: When you see two people who are ideally suited for each other in the same place, you just happen to have two trivial objects which will bring them together. Giving one object to each of them will trigger (or reveal) a trivial event which brings them together. E.g., you just happen to have a button you can give one partner and a needle and thread you can give to the other. As soon a you do so, one of them discovers that they've just lost a button of the same type and needs to have it sewn back on. This is a good way to get Reaction bonuses or even a good Reputation. With the right social skills you can eventually use it to gain minor social advantages. GM's choice as to how often your perk comes into play.

Yenta: You occasionally get flashes of insight that two random people are ideally suited for each other. Your power manifests when you see one of the two parties, at which point you get a vision of the other party and their general location. That vision is good enough that you will immediately recognize the other party when you see them. Actually reaching them might require an adventure. Getting the two parties to realize that they're perfect for each other might require another one.

Re: New perks
 

Perhaps it will shine a different perspective on "Fated Mate" name when you know it comes from werewolf romance novels.

Re: New perks
 

I've got a couple of Precog Perks.

Shot Caller: This is a Rules Exemption Perk. As long as you are the one holding the ranged weapon no shot can be declared impossible due to the weapons innate ACC or even intervening conditions. You still need the Skill (and/or Luck) to make the shot but your precognition shows you how to exceed any normal limits.

Exact Change: Within the limits of your personal wealth and as long as you had access to it when you last got dressed you will always have enough money on your person to cover any expenses that come up no matter how unexpected they might be.

Re: New perks
 

I mean given werewolves and the, uh, proclivities, of some writers, the non-straight angle seems more plausible.

Re: New perks
 

Fun! Have the player describe exactly how they pull off the impossible shot for a +1 bonus (to cancel penalties only).

And a classic:

A Million-to-One Chance: AKA "A New Hope," "Fiver" or "Moses." No matter how hopeless the odds, you get an insight as to some action which might just save the day. Of course, performing that action might just give you an insight as to the next action needed, and so on. While there's no guarantee that you won't suffer terribly along the way, or that your companions survive, eventually your visions allow you to triumph (or at least escape or survive).

This isn't a favorable Destiny, though; there's no guarantee that ultimate triumph won't demand ultimate sacrifice. If you die before you triumph, however, you are always able to convey the content of your visions to others, potentially allowing those who follow your path to succeed where you did not.

Effectively, this perk is occasional GM-supplied, focused Intuition which acts an a hook for various adventures, as long as you're willing to buy an unlimited pass to ride the G&M Railroad. Taken a bit more generously, it's the equivalent of replaying a video game or viewing a walk-through video of a video game you haven't yet played yet. You get a general idea of how to win, but you still have to grind through every level in order to actually do so.

Re: New perks
 

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
When you play rock-paper-scissors, you can tell ONE of the three that your counterpart won't throw.

Re: New perks
 

I'm not entirely clear on how this works from the description. The only shots GURPS deems impossible are those where skill drops below 3 (and thus you aren't allowed to roll), the effective range exceeds your weapon's maximum range, or there's a barrier in the way that your weapon is unable to penetrate. The first one obviously isn't covered here (you note the character still needs to have the skill to make the shot), and both "increases Max to infinity" and "gives an infinite armor divisor against Cover DR" are obviously too powerful. Does the Perk just negate the optional Minute of Arc rules from Tactical Shooting? The fact you peg it as a Rules Exemption makes it sound that way, but the description sounds like it goes further...

Note this means you will never lose a game of rock-paper-scissors unless you try to do so. If you always know one of the options your foe won't use, you just throw whatever would lose to that option, and you'll have a 50% chance of winning (and a 50% chance of a tie). That said, "Unbeatable at <Specific Game>" is probably a legitimate Perk in most campaigns, unless it would serve to readily enrich the character (like "Unbeatable at Blackjack" in a campaign set in Las Vegas). In a situation like that, I'd only allow it if it came with the caveat that the player wasn't allowed to abuse it to make the character wealthy. They could certainly suggest such a game to resolve things in situations where it makes sense, and as GM I'd reserve the option to have a "You must win in this game to advance the plot" incident (to make use of the character's talent).

Re: New perks
 

Maybe it only works on trivial games: if there are any stakes, it doesn't work. Good for a "impressed" Reaction bonus against players of said game.

Or maybe it only works on quick games for determining who gets a good/bad option: rock-scissors-paper, drawing straws, coin tosses, etc. So you can use it deliberately in situations like who starts a sporting match, but since no one gambles on those sorts of quick determinants you can't use it to win money.

Re: New perks
 

Yes, that's the major rule it's an exemption to. Your precog abilities can exceed the physical limits of the accuracy of the gun. That sounded terribly narrow to me so I wanted to add in the ability to ignore ad hoc rulings from the GM in the vein of "The weather conditions alone would be a -10! No one can hit anything in conditions like that!". The Guns-30 you'd need to go with the Perk is separate (even if that Skill level owes a lot to precog too).

Re: New perks
 

Event of Interest: You know one specific future fact with great certainty - but it is subject to change. For example you know the name of the first human to travel to Alpha Centauri, or the date the last living human will die. If the future changes, through your actions or otherwise, you know.

Re: New perks
 

"We have a problem."

"What?"

"The new date is two days from now."

"Which date?"

"The date the last living human will die."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

"I JUST DO OKAY."

Re: New perks
 

The description also says "or Luck". So, the Perk could allow ignoring the "effective skill >= 3" restriction, and allowing a roll no matter what the effective skill level. Of course, only a crit will succeed with an impossibly-tiny target number -- hence the Luck. (Works even better if the Buying Successes rule is in play.)