Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Because pills are equipment, paid for with points spent of Wealth (if any). Anybody at TL10-12 can go to the nanogenosuperpharmstore and buy whatever they need.

As I pointed above, a holdout blaster is essentially an Innate Attack with Gadget and Limited Use. But how many GMs consider it an advantage that should be paid for?

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Just because GURPS doesn't go all the way down that road, as HERO does [1], does not mean that GURPS doesn't go part way down that road. It has always (at least since 1st ed Cyberpunk, anyway) said that some things cost points, some things cost cash, and some things cost both.

[1] In Champions at least, not in all HERO genres, but Champions probably sees more play than all their other genres combined.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Well, pills aren't anywhere even near similar to cyberware. So where's the line in your opinion? (Because IMO your opinion doesn't match the definition in the RAW.)

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

1) Why aren't pills similar to cyberware? In both cases you get the ability from an external source. In fact a pill might very well literally be cyberware, in that it could have lots of nanobots in it. Is there a functional distinction between 'my eye is bionic and has a telescopic zoom lens' and 'when I pop this pill my vision improves to 20/2, allowing me to zoom in on things like an eagle' or a more Technomanceresque 'Potion of Hawks Vision $149.99 at my local S-Mart' other than some minor details?

2) It depends on the setting, I suppose. In a modern (TL 8) four color supers game it would be fine with me if a player took Doesn't Sleep with a gadget limitation for the pills [1], or if (assuming they're equipment at TL 12) they bought them as equipment (at x16 cash cost for the +4 TL's per the standard rules), at least as long as they either bought their personal TL up to 12, or had an Unusual Background for their High Tech friend they're getting the pills from. In most 'realistic' genres I wouldn't let the players (of human characters) take either.

[1] Although they'd get less of a discount for pills than for most gadgets, since it's pretty hard to take the effects of a pill you've already swallowed away from you.

We should probably stop hijacking the thread though.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Sword Mage: The character can channel magic through a sword as if it were a Staff.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

On the other hand, the character isn't getting an advantage others don't have access too. She's just going to die before the downside comes due.

Actually this is a fundamental feature of any advantage or disadvantage that functions over time. Essentially its the same problem as calculating the net present value of a transaction that happens in the future - part of the appeal of a reverse mortgage for example is the discrepency in value for the participants - one of them expects to be dead when their side of the deal comes due.

GURPS advantages and disadvantages are mostly priced on the assumption that the actual manifested effect is matter for a significant piece of the campaign. But anything that has a component that has an effect somewhere other than *right now* runs up against the problem that it might never kick in. It stands out more in the case of Terminally Ill, where you know for certain it will happen, but after all on the flip side if I die before it's revealed, I'm cheated out of my secret advantage too. Its the same problem that plagues pricing things like being an heir, pregnancy or old age, and in some ways related to the pricing issues of Longevity and Unaging.

In a sense, the best justification for the lots of points you get from Terminally Ill is that it amounts to a Temporary or small number of charges limitation on every ability you have, and PCs are assumed to have a significant net positive point value. I don't buy that particularly, if for no other reason than because it is way too rare for anybody to actually *pay* the downside price - running as it does against pretty much all the uses of this theme in literature - but it has a certain amount of logic if the GM really is going to be ruthless about it.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Fan of (something): You're a very dedicated supporter of something (usually a sport team but can be other, like political ideas, music bands and so on) you need to spend time and money for your passion (nothing more expensive than the equivalent of event tickets or cable TV). But this rewarding for you and works as a weak ally group when you engage some activity where your fandom is revealed. Fellows that share your passion are friendlier an kinder (normally a +1 in reaction that can raise to +3 during end season matches, political processions, battle of bands and the like). This brings however some down sides: supporter of opposing factions react badly at you (-1 to -3 as explained above) and very heated situations could easily escalate in something bad (exchange of insults or even a fight). This perks gives you a "basic level" of fandom, for more extreme ways (hooligan heads, trade unionists, crazed groupies, political speakers) buy the appropiate advantages and disvantages.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

Maiden's Wrath. A staple of anime. Whenever someone acts like an idiot or a pervert (or both), you may either silence them with your flaming eyes of death (i.e., a stare that will make anyone, even someone with the Clueless disadvantage, realize that what they have done is WRONG and then shrink down in fear and embarrassment) or just wallop them. (The wallop may be a kick, slap, etc.) Your attack will always hit, and always hurts, and will always make your target look stupid, but it is a cinematic attack that never does any actual damage and has no other combat benefits, only social ones (i.e., you cannot use it to stun your target and then shoot him while he is helpless). In cinematic campaigns, this includes totally unrealistic (but funny) attacks such as booting an unwanted suitor across a football field.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

There's a special ability from Dog Town (a game about street criminals making it big in 1970's NYC)...you have crazy eyes that help you freak people the **** out.

Not sure how much of a bonus you could get for a perk, though? A little help?
Here's my first inclination:

Evil Eyes: You get +2 to Intimidation rolls when the target can look into your eyes.

Re: List Of your favorite Custom Perks
 

I'd limit that to +1. Most Intimidation situations allow the target to look into your eyes. It may actually be too good for a Perk.