It works best if everyone avoids overlap in their designs, with the high-powered heroes being massively capable in one or two areas rather than being able to do everything. GMs may also want to place limits, not on point value, but on combat capabilities. A convenient reference point for these is the rules for scaling damage on p. B; these rules provide for dividing damage, HP, and DR by 10 or to avoid excessive dice-rolling. In high-powered supers campaigns, a further scale step may be needed: M- or millennium scale. These limits ensure that heroes on a given scale are not quite immune to attacks by other heroes on that scale. These are in addition to, not instead of, point value guidelines; a hero whose powers do not add to his ST, DR, or dice of damage may still be a formidable threat in ways that this scale does not capture. I-scale divide by 1 : Maximum dice of Innate Attack or basic swing damage: 15d.

Maximum DR: Maximum Damage Reduction factor: Maximum level of ST with Super-Effort see p. Heroes at this level are comparable to infantry forces. D-scale divide by 10 : Maximum dice of Innate Attack or basic swing damage: d. Heroes at this level are comparable to tanks. C-scale divide by : Maximum dice of Innate Attack or basic swing damage: 1,d. Maximum DR: 5, Maximum Damage Reduction factor: 1, Heroes at this level are comparable to large warships. M-scale divide by 1, : Maximum dice of Innate Attack or basic swing damage: 15,d. Maximum DR: 50, Maximum Damage Reduction factor: 10, Heroes at this level are more powerful than the largest military vehicles. Rather than flatly prohibiting combat abilities above the desired scale, GMs may want to follow a suggestion from GURPS Powers: charging an Unusual Background cost for them. For this purpose, treat D-scale abilities as comparable to LC1 armaments, with an Unusual Background cost of points.

Treat C-scale abilities as comparable to LC0 weapons, or strategic weapons, with an Unusual Background cost of points. M-scale abilities should have an Unusual Background Cost of points. Several patterns have emerged during the evolution of the genre. SOLO HERO The original pattern was the solitary hero. He may be the only one in his continuity, or he may coexist with others but have no interest in associating with them. Helpers like these could be player characters in a campaign. The hero is invariably more capable than his assistants and should be built with more character points, though this creates a risk of his overshadowing them, making their actions meaningless to the storyline except perhaps as comic relief. GMs can give helpers a bigger role in three main ways. First, they can have skills that the hero lacks.

Third, the GM can allow them a wider range of cinematic options discussed in chapters 6 and 7 than he allows the hero, letting them achieve dramatic successes at key moments. In such a campaign, the central hero can be either a player character or a non-player character. Strategically, the first option puts all the important decisions in the hands of the players; how the plot develops is the result of their choices. Dramatically, it encourages player-player scenes, but it also requires the hero to let the others make meaningful contributions. The second option puts all the PCs on an equal footing. GMs should choose the approach that best fits the personalities of their player groups. LEAGUE Some supers pursue solo careers, but also come together regularly or irregularly. They may join forces when one of them discovers an emergency that demands more than they can accomplish alone — a higher power level or a wider range of abilities.

The first such event can lead to establishing regular channels for requesting backup. They may go on to hold periodic meetings and compare notes. This was the original pattern for such classic groups as the Justice League of America and the Avengers. The Justice Society of America evolved into this model after starting out as a variant on it: the club, where heroes met to tell stories of their solo adventures and share data. HEROES 19 How closely league members work together varies. A big marker for this is whether they reveal their true identities to each other. Keeping these hidden was common in Silver-Age teams; later comics more often show associations whose members trust each other with this information. Members of a league started out working solo, and usually continue to do so. They need to have suitable abilities, as discussed in The Formula see p. They should also have separate supporting casts discussed in Chapter 3.

Most campaigns emphasize the major crises that bring the entire league together rather than solo adventures of the members. A GM who wants to spend more time on lone forays may find it useful to adopt a form of troupe-style play in which each player runs two or more characters. Such organizations may be relatively small, like Alpha Flight, or large, like the Legion of Super-Heroes. The Avengers and the Teen Titans both followed that path, for example. They own a base, train together, and have a formal chain of command, much like police or military forces. As a solo hero he would need better fighting or protective abilities that could resist such attackers. Basic combat training is still desirable, and full-time teams often provide it.

Players may want a theme for characters who always work together. Classic examples are the four elements, as seen in the Fantastic Four and the Elementals, and light and darkness, as seen with Cloak and Dagger and in Jade and Obsidian, two members of Infinity Inc. Thematic abilities are even more common in villain superteams discussed on p. Full-time team members in fiction often have smaller supporting casts because they have personal relationships mostly with teammates rather than ordinary human beings. On the other hand, the entire group can have a supporting cast see p. LEGION Supers groups in roleplaying campaigns commonly have one member for each player, but some published groups are bigger than that. There are several ways to approach such large teams in gaming. For a slightly larger organization, the GM may introduce one or two NPC heroes as additional members. See p.

A better approach is to have the players create the members of one squad within the team, who regularly work together and get assigned to suitable missions. Or a team could maintain special-purpose crews, with separate functions like investigation, espionage, or street operations. Another option is troupe-style play, with each player running two or more heroes. Some large groups may assemble a new force for each mission, including one hero for each player. Others may have permanently assigned squads, with players alternately taking the roles of members of two or more different squads. Heroes who belong to large groups can be even more specialized in their abilities. Some players may play one combatant and one noncombatant, for more variety. This can be a common enemy or a disaster that they all have to deal with. They may simply all live in the same city and keep running into each other; for example, both the Marvel Universe and the Wild Cards series give New York a large superhuman population.

They may be celebrities who share the stresses of public visibility and media attention. Non-comics treatments of supers, such as Wild Cards and Heroes, can serve as models for a non-team campaign. A non-team campaign has to spend a good part of its time on the solo activities of the PCs, or on the two or three of them who happen to be together. Keeping this interesting to the players whose characters are off stage can be a challenge. HEROES 20 ORIGINS In addition to a power level, each super has an origin story that explains how he got his powers and what motivated him to pursue his specific mission. Part of planning a campaign is deciding what origins are possible. This choice reflects, among other things, the range of power sources that are available in the universe. Many origins can be conceived as encounters with a power source, which may be anything from a god to an innovative technology. In classic universes, the choice of origins is wide open see Many Origins, p.

Everyone has a unique beginning and powers have diverse sources. The best way to capture this sort of world in a campaign is to let the players come up with origins to suit themselves, incorporate their power sources into the understructure of the setting, and build the game around their choices. Many GMs set limits on power sources, and as a result on possible origins. In a stringently realistic campaign, powers may have to be scientifically and technologically plausible among other things, this severely limits energy output from powers! A broader approach may accept speculative or fringescience ideas like psionics or chi defined in terms of biomorphic energy fields or the like. A still broader one may accept any power that can be given a scientific-sounding explanation, but disallow divine, moral, and spirit abilities. On the other hand, a modern-fantasy campaign may allow supernatural powers, but forbid any nonsupernatural violations of strict scientific plausibility.

GMs influenced by science fiction may restrict players to a single source or origin, following H. In this setting, players have to show that their characters have powers with the permissible source and origins that involve encounters with it. Supers may all be mutants, or psis, or agents of higher moral powers. Even in such a world, heroes without powers may still be an option — for example, the Yeoman in the Wild Cards universe. A GM may also run a campaign where everyone is powerless, relying on high attributes, skills, and devices — for example, a classic pulp heroes background. For a somewhat freer campaign in the same style, PCs may be allowed to have powers, spells, or superscientific devices, but only one or two per hero, and they may have to be low-powered. Finally, even if a universe allows many origins, all the members of a team may have the same origin.

Two specific types are especially suited to this approach. FAMILY Some teams are based primarily on personal relationships among the members. For example, the Fantastic Four all knew each other before they gained their powers; in fact, it was because they knew each other that they were all together for their shared origin. Super families gain new members by developing new personal relationships. This happened a number of times with the Fantastic Four. It was also responsible for the development of the Marvel Family around the original Captain Marvel, published by Fawcett in the s and now more often referred to as SHAZAM, for the magic word that grants his superpowers. COMMUNITY Other teams are brought together by its members having the same background. The prototype for this is the X-Men, a coalition of mutants; other possibilities would be aliens, artificially constructed beings, members of lost races, or wizards.

A community-based team can recruit new members by seeking out other potential heroes with the same background. Some communities support more than one supergroup, and PCs may have to deal with a rival group of heroes or a group of villains with the same background see The Dark Mirror, p. The personal relationships within the team should be affected by their shared experiences as members of their particular community, and the character designs should all include suitable mental and social traits. The X-Men introduced the concept of a school for supers into the genre, and several entries have developed it further, including the film Sky High. Attendance at a special school, particularly a boarding school, can itself be a form of community, as illustrated by martial-arts academies and schools of wizardry as well as supers colleges. ELEMENTS In comic books, most supers have powers. In GURPS, characters can often have powers. There are also supers with no powers at all, who get by with natural talents, highly trained skills, and possibly some cutting-edge technology.

HEROES 21 POWERS In GURPS terms, a power has three game-mechanical features. First, it has a list of advantages, called abilities, through which the power can be expressed; these abilities should be based on a common focus or theme, such as fire, magic, or plants. Second, it has a power modifier that can be applied to an advantage to turn it into an ability within the power; these modifiers are based on the source of the power, such as chi, psi, or spirits. For more information on powers, consult GURPS Powers. Such abilities can still be included within the framework of a power. A passive ability can be shut down by powers or devices that affect its source, or by the unpredictable nature of the source itself. GMs can look for indirect ways that Talent could affect a passive ability. GURPS Powers provides some examples: Power Block attempts based on Damage Resistance; improved HT rolls for crippling with Independent Body Parts or Unbreakable Bones; bonuses to Stealth skill for Invisibility.

For example, superhuman strength is commonplace among supers see Strength and Super-Strength, p. A treatment that shut down his superpowers, though, would also reduce his food intake. GMs may also design meta-traits that package together advantages and disadvantages and give both the same source modifier. For example, he might be resistant to injury because he has bony plates covering his skin, or his skeleton was reinforced with metal. Such traits can be bought as bare advantages, with neither a source nor an associated Talent. An advantage of this sort is usually an inherent trait, but it could also be the result of a transformative power, magical spell, or weird device. Which way a transformational ability works is usually a 0-point feature of the power; there are benefits and costs either way, as the example of Growth should suggest.

RACIAL TEMPLATES Some heroes are nonhuman beings of various types — not just mutants or members of lost races, but aliens, robots or androids, enhanced animals, or supernatural entities. Such beings have racial templates. If being a member of a race requires having a source, then being denied access to the source means death or long-term incapacitation. In GURPS terms this is Dependency. For example, dragons might be inherently magical to such a degree that being cut off from magic would kill them; this is Dependency on mana, an energy that is Very Common in most fantasy settings.

On the other hand, racial templates can include powers if every normal member of the race has the ability in question. For example, dragons might all have a flame power manifested as fiery breath, with a magical source. A no-mana zone would render dragons unable to breathe flame, but they would still be huge serpentine creatures with armor, claws, fangs, and massive strength. The ability to acquire a racial template can itself be a power, based on the Alternate Form or Morph advantages. Like any other transformational power, this can be taken either as actively maintaining the body in a specific form, or as reshaping it into a form that remains stable until modified again. A single score of 20 puts someone into the street-level power range, while boosting all four to 20 puts him into the classic comicbook range.

GMs may want to set the ceiling on attributes at 25 or 30 instead of 20 for super normals, especially for those who only take a single attribute at this level. SKILLS Some supers get along without any actual powers, simply by being amazingly skilled. These include both specialists, usually in combat skills such as archery or kung fu, and Renaissance men who are masters of many skills. Heroes who have skills of 25 and up can easily do things that an ordinary master of the skill would hesitate to attempt. In effect, a skill that high is the equivalent of a superpower — but one that the hero has learned. Attributes and Skill Defaults Most skills in GURPS have default levels based on attributes. Those defaults are limited by the Rule of 20 p. B : if a basic attribute is higher than 20, skills default to it as if it were But some supers are universal geniuses, possessing many different skills at very high levels. Paying the points for all of them can get expensive! As an alternative, a GM might allow them to break the Rule of Apply the enhancement to attribute points in excess of 20; each point bought that way raises the limit for skill defaults by 1.

Example: Divine Grace has DX She pays points for DX 22; she then buys four more points of DX with Super Attribute, which cost her points, for a total cost of points. The four points of DX with Super Attribute raised the normal limit of DX 20 for skill defaults to DX 24, so she has Acrobatics, Cloak19, and Knife, without spending points on them. GMs may want to consider allowing heroes to purchase wildcard skills p. B; see p. In four-color or cinematic campaigns, GMs might want all characters to take wildcard skills, possibly with optional specializations. Genres other than comic-book adventure may have characters with equal breadth. Spock on Star Trek and Marshall Flinkman on Alias are just as good examples of Science! skill as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four. One way to avoid this is to divide characters into two groups.

Supers and major supporting characters — anyone who keeps coming back and has a name and a full character sheet — have access to wildcard skills. In effect, the first group is similar to Allies, and the second to Contacts. Skills and Talents In a campaign with a more realistic flavor, GMs should stick with skills of ordinary breadth. For heroes with high proficiency in several fields, GMs should define suitable Talents. In supers campaigns, Talents may have more than four levels, and GMs may want to consider defining Talents for combat skills. SPELLS In a universe where magic works, the range of skills heroes can learn may include spells. However, such traits as Mana Enhancer could form part of a superpower that enhanced the use of learned magical spells. If the character is a brilliant scientist — or a powerful enchanter — these may be his own creations. Otherwise he may have a Patron who granted them to him in exchange for his services, or an Enemy he took them from, or he may simply have found them in some museum collection or crashed spacecraft.

For a discussion of such devices, see Chapter 4. HEROES 23 Other heroes have advanced devices built into their bodies, as in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. These can be defined as new power modifiers see p. Entire robotic bodies may instead give the character Electrical or Maintenance as a disadvantage. SUPER-STRENGTH Superhuman strength is one of the most common superpowers in the comics. Unfortunately, increasing ST in this way makes it extremely expensive, if not impossible, to match the feats of comic-book crime-fighters.

The rules presented here make it feasible. In four-color campaigns, the enhancement Super-Effort from p. It has the following effects: Lifting: As described in GURPS Powers, it allows heroes to lift extreme weights. Find the number of points of ST bought with this enhancement in the Base Value column of the SuperAbilities Table see p. Striking: When you are striking a blow with Super-Effort, use dice of damage based on the supervalue. When you are engaged in any ST-based attack, add those dice of damage to the normal damage from the attack. This also affects knockback from the blow. Throwing: When you throw an object, use your supervalue bonus to figure throwing range, use the thrust damage based on it in figuring out damage from thrown objects, and use the BL derived from it in figuring out both of these.

Knockback Resistance: When something collides with you, if you have time to brace yourself, include your supervalue bonus in the ST score you use to resist knockback. This is a passive use of super-strength and does not cost FP. Fatigue Cost: Using Super-Effort costs 1 FP per lift, throw, blow attempted, or brace against knockback. For various reasons, a character might spend some points on ST without the Super-Effort modifier, and then add on more ST with the modifier. For example, he might be big and strong, even apart from his superpowers; he might be a giant, and need the extra ST to function at all. In other words, a character that has super-strength is stronger than any normal human being even without the benefits of Super-Effort.

The columns for ST in the Super-Abilities Table are based on this assumption. B rather than looking them up in the table. For such a character, list the ST that benefits from SuperEffort as an advantage, with its own point cost. Under Attributes, give two total ST values, separated by a slash: total ST without using Super-Effort, and total ST with Super-Effort. In GURPS Powers, Super-Effort only applies to Lifting ST. Super-Effort does not affect HP; to gain the ability to withstand massive damage, take Injury Tolerance Damage Reduction as discussed on pp. That is, each level of super-strength costs 40 points. In four-color campaigns, the applications of superstrength in combat are restricted to avoid injuries to normal human beings see p. HEROES 24 section.

For example, the Archetype template see p. A character might also take Striking ST, possibly with modifiers like One Attack Only p. This fits a hero whose muscles contract rapidly against light loads, but no harder than normal against massive loads — such as a speedster see the Speedster template on p. The Super-Effort modifier has no effect on HP; to get a character who can withstand massive blows, take Injury Tolerance Damage Reduction as defined on pp. The Super-Abilities Table gives point costs for Injury Tolerance factors higher than 4. Strength and Weight Increasing ST by adding muscle, bone, and sinew normally adds to body weight; see the Build Table on p. B or damage suffered from falls or collisions pp. B , and disregard it in figuring knockback p. The size of a dose of poison p.

B also is unaffected by ST or HP with a power source. Players may designate ST or HP with a power or source modifier as granting virtual weight or not, though the GM may override this and have all super ST and HP work one way or the other. Instead, this section discusses two other aspects of supers. Second, it discusses traits that reflect the special role of the hero — both his personal image and how he fits into his society and culture. Appearance See p. B21 Comic-book supers commonly have above average looks. Affliction See pp. B To teleport people or objects without teleporting yourself at the same time, buy Affliction Advantage: Warp.

To limit this to small objects, add Exoteleport p. Then use the lower-cost version of Warp to determine the percentage for the Advantage modifier. See Itching right for details. To enable it to counter super-strength, Binding can be taken with a new enhancement: Special Enhancements Super-Binding: Through massive effort, you can create elaborately layered bonds and snares. This counts as extra effort, costing 1 FP per attempt. When you try this, ignore the normal extra-effort rules. Instead, find your level of Binding in the Base Value column of the Super-Abilities Table p. Itching Itching is an irritating condition. You are at -2 to DX for the duration of the itch.

Scratching for one full second relieves the itch, but you can do nothing else while scratching. HEROES 25 To layer super-binding, use the following calculation. First, take the effective ST of a single layer of binding. Look it up on the table and take the corresponding supervalue. Each added layer increases total ST by that much. Charisma See p. Claim to Hospitality See pp. The point level is unlikely, unless supers are utterly commonplace in the campaign setting. Control See GURPS Powers To create heroes with extremely powerful Control abilities, a new enhancement is available: Special Enhancements Super-Effort: By spending one FP in extra effort, you can greatly magnify the effects of your Control. Find your level of Control in the Base Value column of the Super-Abilities Table see p. That is the number of levels of control you can apply through extra effort; this replaces the normal extra effort rule.

This advantage is especially appropriate for teenage sidekicks; it helps make up for their not being fully trained in combat or the use of their powers. Duplication See pp. B Like Compartmentalized Mind, Duplication can benefit from a form of Super-Effort: Compartmentalized Mind The standard version of Compartmentalized Mind is active all the time, but some heroes may have it with the Switchable enhancement, letting them activate extra mental compartments at will. Going back to a single compartment is normally done by mutual consent; if one compartment is unwilling, it requires a Quick Contest of Will. Treat this as a resistance roll: The compartment that favors reunion must succeed in its Will roll. If one compartment has been controlled by an outside force, successful reunion requires another Quick Contest of Will to see if the control continues. The controlled compartment must defeat the uncontrolled one, or the control is broken.

Switchable Compartmentalized Mind can be used with a variant on Super-Effort: Special Enhancements Massively Parallel: When you switch to multiple compartments, you have the option of setting up a large number of compartments. This requires spending 1 FP. Look up your standard number of compartments in the Base Value column of the Super-Abilities Table see p. Read over to the Supervalue column. The number shown there is the number of mental compartments you can activate. This does not enhance your combat abilities; in fact, only one of your compartments can initiate any combat action, physical or mental including abilities like Mind Control. Nor does it let you learn faster by having multiple compartments study a skill in parallel. But it allows you to do many mental tasks at the same time speeding up certain kinds of mental work.

Special Enhancements Multiplication: In noncombat situations, by spending 1 FP in extra effort, you can form more than your normal number of duplicates. Look up your standard number of duplicates in the Base Value column of the Super-Abilities Table see p. The number shown there is the number of bodies you can split into. This does not enhance your combat abilities; only one of your bodies can initiate any combat action. Nor does it let you learn faster than normal by having your dupes study the same subject in parallel. But it lets you do many tasks at the same time, speeding up work and other noncombat activities. Enhanced Defenses See p. Enhanced Move See p. B52 For more effective speedsters, the GM may want to allow the following modifiers: Special Enhancements Cosmic Instantaneous Acceleration : The speedster can go from a standing start to top speed in a single Move maneuver. HEROES 26 This also grants the ability to stop in a single Move maneuver. Cosmic Complete Maneuverability : The speedster is exempt from maneuver rolls, and can turn on a dime, without concern for acceleration.

This requires taking the Cosmic enhancement both on Enhanced Move and on any underlying movement ability. Note that acceleration still has physiological effects that can require a HT roll; to avoid these, take Immunity to Acceleration. Extra Attack See pp. B This is a classic advantage for speedsters. To simulate the classic superspeed move of running past multiple foes and striking at all of them, a hero with this ability can add Talent to the limit of 9 on attack skill for a Move and Attack, improving his chances of hitting his foes. Reconfigurable Mechanisms: You have internal or external machinery such as cinematic nanotech that is capable of performing different functions. You can work with a catalog of standard items, or add any improvised device whose design and operation you understand. New gizmos require a concept roll, but not a prototype roll — the mechanisms take care of that automatically.

Mechanisms external to your body are subject to signal jamming; internal devices are not. Normally this includes physical abilities and must be taken with some form of the Physical enhancement. Spirit Trapping: You can visit the spirit plane and acquire the services of its denizens, which provide you with spells or knowledge mental skills. Each trip requires going into a trance lasting several minutes. Modular Abilities and Modifiers Extra Life See p. Hard to Kill See pp. B Another way to make sure that characters keep coming back. See A Matter of Life and Death p. Higher Purpose Modifiers enhancements and limitations can be applied to Modular Abilities. But some Modular Abilities provide slots that can contain advantages, and those advantages can also take modifiers. If the modifier affects Modular Abilities as a whole, use it to adjust the overall cost of Modular Abilities; if it only affects the functioning of a specific advantage, use it to adjust that cost.

This can allow an advantage to fit into a slot worth fewer points than its unmodified cost. An older hero still fighting for his cause is especially likely to have it. Less Sleep See p. B65 Heroes who patrol by night and hold down jobs by day should definitely be able to function on reduced sleep. Racial Memory See pp. B In a world where supers have been around for a while, some identities may have been passed down from hero to hero. Scanning Sense Modular Abilities See pp. B See p. B71 This book adds some new modular abilities to those listed on p. Instead you have pacts with a number of beings whose sigils are bound into a book or stored in a database, etc. You can only call upon a pact by accessing the grimoire and taking time to review the sigil. Electrically powered supers may add an additional variety of Scanning Sense to their powers: Field Sense: Your scanning sense relies on electric fields generated within your body. This works like standard Radar, but base range is yards underwater, 20 yards in air or vacuum.

In addition to its active functions, your field sense acts as a Detect for bioelectricity and for electrical power sources including machines with the Electrical disadvantage. HEROES 27 Security Clearance See pp. B A major superteam that operates on a continental or global scale may have secret files on various topics. This advantage gives access to them. Among other materials on record may be the Secret Identities of team members. Shapeshifting See pp. B Many supers have a specialized variant of Alternate Form: the ability to turn into a different person with superpowers. A classic version of this is the child who can take the form of an adult hero. Another, found in both heroes and villains, is a Jekyll-and-Hyde change into a more physically formidable body.

In creating such a character, the baseline is the form that the character reverts to when knocked unconscious or deprived of his powers. Changes in attributes should be dealt with by giving the superpowered form suitable attribute modifiers. For example, if a brilliant scientist IQ 16 changes into a brutal monster IQ 8 , give the alternate form IQ -8 []. One common motif in this type of transformation is the normal form being physically disabled in some way while the super version is fully functional. The same approach can be taken to changes in Appearance. Special Limitations Preventable: To change form, you have to speak a code phrase, make a special gesture, touch a magical talisman, or meet some other requirement.

This takes no longer than the usual time, but you can be prevented from doing it by mundane methods such as gagging you. If you depend on an external physical object to make the change, you can also take suitable gadget limitations. Super Jump See p. B89 Some supers have this with a new limitation: Special Limitations Bouncing Only: Figure an increased jumping Move as for standard Super Jump: double your normal distance and height for each level of Super Jump and divide by 5, or take your normal ground Move, whichever is greater. Instead, when you experience a fall or collision, roll against the best of DX, Acrobatics, or Jumping. If it does, you must bounce, and you roll at -5 per multiple of your jumping Move, or fraction thereof, by which you exceed your jumping Move. Standing on a roof 6 yards up, he see a purse-snatching in the street below.

He jumps and hits the ground with velocity His roll against his Acrobatics18 at -5 is a success; he rebounds with Move 9. Talent See pp. Suitable limitations include Divine for skill taught by a god , Psionic for intuitive hunches about how to use a skill , and Spirit for skill aided by a spirit ally. In a campaign that uses wildcard skills see Wildcard Skills, p. Talents cost as little as 5 points per level; after the first level, wildcard skills cost 6 points per level, and 12 points per level from then on. The former approach has more to recommend it if some Talents, such as Green Thumb, also serve as power Talents for such things as Plant Powers. Telekinesis See p. Here are the last 15 GURPS supplements including reprints and new editions we have released , either in print or electronically. Click on a cover to go to that product's page.

Subscribe to the GURPS News mailing list by going here and clicking on "Join Group" or " Subscribe to this group " or by rss. but I got "Covember" with a "C," which is a dorky way of saying that I caught COVID I hate failing HT rolls! As the GURPS Line Editor was hors de combat for a three weeks — oh, and since SJ Games' CEO, Phil Reed, was also down with the sickness at around the same time — little changed for GURPS during the month. The few things worth mentioning are all "upcoming. Thanks to the joy of illness, this month brought no new GURPS -related items.

I am very sorry for that. Everything Old Is New Again Department As a consolation prize, if you like, we'll soon make available color printings of many GURPS supplements formerly published in hardback. Keep your eyes on GURPS on Demand for GURPS Banestorm , GURPS Bio-Tech , GURPS Dragons , GURPS Fantasy , GURPS High-Tech , GURPS Infinite Worlds , GURPS Low-Tech , GURPS Magic , GURPS Martial Arts , GURPS Space , GURPS Thaumatology , and GURPS Ultra-Tech. While I can't help lovers of paper or color get color hardcovers, here's your chance to grab color softcovers. Remember how I've been warning that unforeseen events could derail progress, especially since the debut of the pandemic? Well, illnesses at SJ Games proved the point recently. Work does continue, and I'll hint at what's going on, but there hasn't been a lot of change. Six additional projects exist but aren't ones I can talk about. Which said, the latest internal update on five of them was during the past month, so they aren't just rotting.

The original concept would have gotten us just a few additional weeks of data, perhaps just days. Now we will have months! What is so valuable about this planet that you needed to go through all of this trouble? Why not just kill us? Why all the charades? If we had left the planet as you expected, we would certainly have returned to find my missing friends, with the Speedwell or even Star Fleet or police backup. Several different contracts are involved and certain clients have special needs. And, to be frank, I have never been especially comfortable with. But it is not my main focus. I prefer to obtain profit through subtler means. The University is going to be expecting progress reports. If we stay silent for too long, they will send a ship out to investigate.

And the Speedwell will return in six months anyhow. At least the recfe was good quality. The Captain softened a bit. The Speedwell will return, and you and your team will be on the planet, just as they expect. Tree pollen on this planet has unusual biochemical properties, acting as a stimulant for certain areas of the central nervous system of most humanoids. Rigellians are immune, but other species are vulnerable to these effects, to a greater or lesser extent. My clients are interested in studying this pollen in detail, and perhaps enhancing the effect. But we can discuss the details later once you begin your research.

That is exactly what I want you to believe. Atchison rose, considered saying something defiant, then realized that any such comment was both pointless and likely to antagonize the pirates. He nodded meekly, then left in custody of the guards. The Orion Captain took the last sip of recfe from his own mug, then sat back to consider the state of affairs. Despite the botched attempt to scare the scientists away, quick thinking on his part had saved the situation. His clients were extremely pleased with his solution. It promised six additional months of unfettered research into the unusual biochemistry of the life on this world. What his clients wanted this research for did not concern him, but they were paying handsomely for it.

The data would have to be checked, of course, to make sure the scientists were performing valid research and not faking or contaminating their results. His clients seemed confident that their own experts would detect any flaws. Persuasion could be brought to bear, if necessary, given the emotional ties obviously present in the group, although he would hold this option in reserve as a last resort. He was undecided about the eventual disposition of the scientists; perhaps his clients would be interested in acquiring their services permanently, either voluntarily or otherwise. The newest addition to his crew was an intriguing case. In fact, this lack of trust had been part of the reason they rushed the operation so quickly after the Speedwell left, not wanting to give him time to change his mind. But if the new man worked out as well as the captain hoped, he would definitely be of great value in the future, both on this mission and on others.

Someone hit the door chime. Come in, Doctor. As we agreed last month, your contract includes a lifetime supply of premium Gahannaese recfe. Notes for GMs In a gaming setting, this story could evolve and resolve in several different ways. How much is the team willing to cooperate with the Orions? Will they make an escape attempt? Is Ecirp really a traitor or is he just playing the Orions along? Are the Orions really going to leave the team on the planet when the research is finished or will they sell them into slavery or simply kill them? Who are the clients the Orions are working for and what do they want the tree pollen for?

Will the pollen impact the different species in the group in different ways? Will the Speedwell or another ship return to the planet ahead of schedule? The disappearing Ecirp could have been eaten by a tentacled beastie living in the muck at the bottom of the pond. Perhaps he and the missing team members fell victim to a disincarnate energy being, maybe even a benign-but-misunderstood one in typical tradition of the genre. Ecirp could have gone crazy from the fungal infection, an insect bite, or the pollen in the air. Sarest could be a traitor, rather than Ecirp, or there could be no traitor at all. With an entire galaxy of planets to choose from, the limits are only those of your imagination. There are over a thousand planets with a significant population over 10, , and at least 50 have native populations species which evolved there, or at least were transplanted there in the dim past and can be considered indigenous at the present time , but the planets are only a part of the concept that is the UFP.

This concept also includes the people of various species , numerous military organizations and forces, a constitution and legal system, a powerful economic system, and a trans-planetary system of knowledge and popular culture. The cultures of each planet and each region of each planet have never synthesized into one united culture, but all of them hold and respect core elements: freedom of expression, of opportunity, of mobility; freedom from fear, from want, and from oppression. There is a joint expectation to receive and a joint duty to provide protection from domestic tyranny, foreign aggression, and criminal exploitation. There is a unified belief in economic expansion through free trade and technological development, and a drive to gather up as many key resources and markets as possible.

Unique among the known empires, there is a respect for the opportunity of planets which have yet to reach starfaring status to develop naturally without interference — the vaunted Prime Directive for which the game is named. The people of the Federation jealously guard the right to the self-government of their respective planets, but are comfortable in the knowledge that should the government they elected for themselves prove corrupt, incompetent, or tyranical, the Federation will reluctantly and only temporarily intervene to put things back on the right path. The people of the Federation admire and respect their military forces, but keep those forces rigorously controlled by a civilian government. Every member of Star Fleet swears a sacred oath to support and defend the Charter of the Federation, and the military will not tolerate those among its ranks who — even for a moment — would contemplate the intervention by the military into civilian affairs.

Except in rare and short-lived emergency situations usually natural disasters or imminent military threat , no civilian takes orders from the military. Even in wartime, the military asks the civilians for what it needs, rather than demanding it, and if the military must order civilians around during an emergency, it is for the protection of those civilians, not for the benefit of the military. Every citizen has the duty to take responsiblity for his failures and the right to take credit for his success. To protect successes and enforce responsibility, a complex system of laws, ordinances, and regulations guide and govern the economy. Every benefit of citizenship comes with an obligation. Everyone gets free medical care, but each adult must earn that right by supporting himself and paying his fair share of taxes. Everyone has a right to a basic education and has the opportunity to earn an advanced education with which to better himself through scholarship grants or student loans.

Anyone who is out of work receives government-paid benefits, but this comes along with the obligation to obtain gainful employment at the earliest opportunity. To that end, those unemployed without marketable skills are given the opportunity to learn new skills that are in demand by an ever-changing economy. Government at every level of the Federation operates not by forcing people to move or change jobs for the benefit of the government, but by striving to provide opportunities and making those opportunities worth pursuing. No citizen is forced to move to another planet, but civilized planets start and support colonies on other worlds and make these exciting and worthwhile places for their citizens to consider, not a dumping ground for surplus warm bodies.

These people feel comfortably at home on any world of the greater political whole. The Federation was chartered in one day but was not built in one day. It evolved over a century and continues to evolve from its many elements into the ultimate expression of what a free society can achieve. This document outlines the basic rights, laws, and structure of the overall government, while respecting the rights of the original planetary governments. AMENDING THE CHARTER The Charter can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Federation General Assembly, followed by a two-thirds vote of the Federation Council. NEW WORLDS New planets that wish to join the Federation present a petition. In some cases, the General Assembly will invite a promising planet to submit such a petition. If the petition is accepted by a majority vote of the Assembly, the planet becomes a Probationary Member. After a minimum threeyear waiting period, the planet may petition for status as a Prospective Member, which also requires approval by majority vote of the Assembly.

The next step is Associate Member status, which requires a two-thirds vote in the Assembly for approval. Full Membership is granted only by three-quarters vote of the Assembly and a unanimous vote of the Federation Council. See the chapter on colonization for more detailed information. The first meeting of the Conference on Interstellar Organization convened on November 2, Y1, in the city of San Francisco on Earth. Representatives of Earth, Vulcan, Andor, and Rigel were present. Alpha Centauri was not represented at the first meeting, but was invited to send representatives in the spring of Y2. As the universal translator had not yet been developed, linguistic experts were brought in from all the worlds represented at the conference to form the core of the Interpretation and Translation Corps.

Many of these were merchants who had traveled space for years and had learned languages and cultures on their own. The results were mixed. Ambassadors strove to overcome the inevitable misunderstandings and mutual suspicions between the newly met species, while linguists worked hard to iron out the language and cultural barriers. The Vulcans, even at this early point in Federation history, were the predominant agents in helping the various parties overcome their concerns. However, each species had something important and unique to contribute. The Humans, for example, helped bridge the gap between the Vulcans and Andorians, who had come close to war in years past. It should be pointed out that all of the species made extreme efforts to be accommodating. Drawing upon the best aspects of each of their cultural frameworks, the Conference succeeded in drafting a truly multi-cultural charter. The First Charter of the United Federation of Planets was signed in Y4. As in most parliamentary systems, voters vote by party list, rather than for a specific candidate.

There are four main political parties in the Federation, plus numerous smaller parties. Their critics charge that this simply means spending a lot of money on the military that could be better spent elsewhere. In domestic policy they tend to be concerned with keeping taxation as low as possible, and to avoid rapid expansion of social programs, although they do not challenge the existence of the social safety net itself. The Federalists are closely tied with industrial consortiums and military contractors. The Federalists usually form a coalition with the Conservative Party during their peri13 HISTORY AND CULTUREX ods of governance. The Federalists are particularly strong on Mars, Alpha Centauri, and Cygnus. Andor , the Peace and Bread League popular on Rigel , and the Justice Party based on Earth and Mars on the left end of the political spectrum, with the Originalists mainly based on Earth, Mars, and Alpha Centauri , the Independence Party popular on Andor , and the Freedom Party Antares and Tellar on the right.

The Orion Pride Party has significant strength within the Orion Enclave. The OPP is non-ideological and focuses mainly on maintaining Orion interests. As this party includes many faiths, they do not always all agree on any given point. It should be noted that not every politician or member of a party thinks the same about every issue, especially among the Federalists and Unionists. Generally speaking, the larger the party, the less monolithic and ideological it is; both the Federalists and Unionists are in some ways more akin to political coalitions than ideological parties, no matter what their opponents may say in election season.

The average Federalist politician probably has more in common with his fellow Unionist Assembly member than he does with an Originalist or Freedom League member. Most politicians in the major parties are pragmatists, rather than ideologues, even if they paint cartoonish caricatures of their opponents on trivideo campaign commercials. While as concerned with defending the Federation as anyone else, they tend to favor boosting the National Guard and associated ground forces rather than in expanding Star Fleet. Their critics charge that they are more interested in spending military money on their home planets as a sort of jobs program than actually defending anything. Based on their reading of history, particularly Vulcan history, Unionists believe that a Star Fleet which is too large is not only expensive, but a temptation to seek violent solutions to conflicts that can be resolved peacefully.

When faced with a crisis, a Unionist leader would be more likely to look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, where a devastating war was avoided through negotiation, as an example to follow. The Unionists tend to support higher levels of domestic spending and taxation than the Federalists. They are closely tied with the service and high-tech, but nonmilitary, industries. The Unionists are strongest on Vulcan, Rigel, and Arcturia. The Conservative Party The Conservative Party has pockets of strength on Mars, Alpha Centauri, Andor, and parts of Earth, but has virtually no presence on Vulcan, Arcturia, and Rigel. Often cooperating with the Federalists but even more to the right on the spectrum, the Conservatives are the most hawkish of the four major parties.

Federation Elections Elections for the Federation Assembly must be held within six standard years of the last election, but can be called sooner if the Assembly votes no-confidence in the current government, or if no party is able to establish or maintain a majority government in coalition with smaller parties, or if the ruling government finds some reason to call elections earlier. After the election results are certified, the sitting President who is head of state but has little actual political power beyond symbolism asks the party with the most seats in the new Assembly to form a new government.

In theory, the President could ask any party to form a government, but as the Assembly has to vote to confirm each cabinet minister, there is little point in asking a party unable to gain a majority. If a party has an outright majority which is rare , it can form the new government, selecting the Council and Chairman. In Y, the Federation Charter was amended to ensure that no one individual could be Council Chairman for more than 12 years in his lifetime. The President is elected by the Assembly every 12 years. There is no term limit, although no one has served as president for longer than 15 years. Smaller Parties There are usually about a half-dozen smaller parties which pick up enough votes to have a few seats in the Assembly.

These parties change over time, are sometimes absorbed into the larger parties or simply disappear, and are often closely tied with the specific concerns of member planets. There is a strong tradition, developed over the last years, for the President to be from one of the less powerful planets, although this is not ensconced in law. The first election for the Federation General Assembly and Council occurred in Y8, four years after the ratification of the Federation Charter. Chairman Karl Schmidt Federalist Party , YY A human from Stuttgart, Germany, Schmidt was a trained economist and former Prime Minister of United Earth. A protégé of Richardson, Schmidt faced a very difficult task in trying to coordinate the political and military efforts of the various Federation member worlds to face the Romulan attack.

In Y42, he was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had given tacit support to a secret United Earth initiative to bring Tellar into the Federation without the knowledge of the rest of the Council. Although a vote of no-confidence narrowly failed in the Assembly, Schmidt resigned to end the political crisis. He is regarded by modern historians as something of a premature visionary in the field of foreign policy, though his domestic political policies are less well-regarded. This helped ease political tensions left over from the Schmidt administration, and most disagreements were tabled until the end of hostilities.

In the long run, the treaty was fundamentally a bad deal for the Federation, as the Orions insisted on a variety of economic concessions vis-à-vis the other member planets, plus language that enabled the Enclave to leave the Federation under certain conditions. But in the short run, Orion aid was the critical factor that enabled the Federation to win the war. Although the Federalists had retained power in the wartime election of Y44, Sissah-Al called for an early election in Y46 after the war was over, hoping to use the victory to propel the Federalist Party into another six years of governance. This backfired. A brilliant politician able to reach across both sides of the aisle, he was reelected by a massive margin in Y52 thanks to a booming economy. A great deal of money was poured into scientific research in this period, resulting in the development of tactical warp drives and transporters. There was also massive improvement in consumer goods technology, raising the standard of living.

Many historians regard him as the most successful peacetime chairman in history, and he became a long-standing political hero for Unionists. During his administration, he started the Social Contract programs which later proved to be too expensive and had to be modified in a series of heated political debates. He returned to Rigel and rejoined the Primacy Council following his chairmanship. A BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY A full documenting of the political history of the Federation would require a multi-volume book series and would take years if not decades to research and write. The following is a general overview, structured around elections and major events.

Deeply involved in the drafting of the Federation Charter, Li Zhaoxing provided stable and intelligent leadership as the Federation found its footing and was easily reelected in Y He retired from the chairmanship before the Y20 elections, and was then elected President of the Federation by the Assembly. Chairman Solak Union Party YY Formerly the Vulcan ambassador to the Federation, Solak continued the peaceful expansion and diplomacy policies of the Union Party as the Federation grew in the early years. He was primarily responsible for the establishment of strong trade relations with the Orions following contact with that species in Y Solak who was years old resigned for health reasons in Y24, turning the chairmanship over to Thelam of Andor.

Chairman Thelam Union Party YY An Andorian industrialist who was previously Secretary of Industry under Solak, Thelam replaced Solak but served as Chairman for only two years before the Union Party narrowly lost the Y26 elections over economic concerns. Thelam retired to Andor, where he returned to his previous position as head of the largest industrial tyk. Chairman Victor Paul Richardson Federalist Party YY Born in San Antonio, Richardson had previously served as Governor of Texas, President of the United States, and President of the United Americas. He boosted Federation military spending and attempted to improve coordination between the various national fleets, but found this difficult to get through the Council and Assembly. Nevertheless, his preparedness program was a major reason that the Federation was able to withstand the Romulan onslaught when war broke out in Y He retired from politics after his second term, writing books about politics and history, and becoming president of Texas Tech University.

He died of a heart attack shortly after being reelected by a larger margin in Y The chairmanships of Hortefeux and Tankanv are regarded with admiration by many historians, despite the political difficulties they faced in centralizing Federation power. Tankanv returned to Andor and became High General of the Andorian National Guard. Chairman Abdel Naguib Taleb Union Party Y71Y A native of Alexandria, Egypt, Taleb took office following the razor-thin electoral victory of the Unionists in Y His government confirmed bipartisan support for the formation of the United Star Fleet and expanded the military infrastructure to support its operations. The first of the Republic-class starships were laid down during his administration. Due to family concerns, he retired after one term in office. After a promising start, her administration was rocked in the last two years by a slowing economy, as well as a series of diplomatic blunders involving non-aligned planets, giving rise to a series of reforms in Star Fleet and the Diplomatic Corps.

This eventually resulted in the adoption of the Prime Directive in Y Tensions with the Kzintis were growing in this period as well. A war was narrowly averted in Y83, but this was only a temporary respite. She spent parts of her childhood on Vulcan, Rigel, and Tellar, and was educated at the best universities on Earth and Andor. Despite her cosmopolitan views and wide-ranging education, her chairmanship brought mixed results. On the positive side, she negotiated a series of commercial treaties with the Klingon Empire following First Contact with that species in Y She felt that the Klingons were natural allies of the Federation, despite the dictatorial nature of their government, due to the threat posed to both powers by the sentienteating Kzintis.

Her internal economic policies also succeeded in boosting domestic growth rates. Isenhavel had serious problems holding the Federalist coalition together after the Kzintis struck. Forced from the chairmanship after the Y90 elections, she remained in the public eye, founding the Foundation for Interstellar Union, a private organization encouraging greater cooperation between member worlds. Her work in this regard gave her broad popularity with the public, and she was elected Federation President in Y Her public support for the controversial Federation Defense Act in Y helped Chairman Rustvem pass the legislation through the Assembly.

Chairman Sudheendra Kulkami Federalist Party YY A human from Calcutta, India, Kulkami took office following the narrow Federalist victory in the wartime Y90 elections. Although they won the election, a schism in the party between conservative and moderate factions over the course of the First Federation-Kzinti War made it impossible for Chairman Isenhavel to continue in her post. Kulkami, a compromise candidate, was able to bridge the gap and led the war effort to a successful conclusion. As Chairman Sissah-Al did during the Romulan War, Kulkami brought leaders from other parties into the cabinet during the war. The Federalists won these elections, but did not obtain an outright majority and were forced to rely heavily on the support of the Conservatives and smaller right-wing parties to form a government.

The coalition collapsed during the severe economic recession of Y, forcing a new election. One key component of his plan was solving the poorly defined border problem in regards to the Kzintis and Klingons, resulting in the Border Declaration of Y The limit was defined by the distance from the capital to the Romulan Neutral Zone. It included territory claimed and in some cases occupied by both the Kzintis and Klingons, and set the seeds for future conflict with both empires. His second term was dominated by the outbreak of war with the Klingons in Y Star Fleet performed well in this conflict, and the war ended with a status-quo-antebellum arrangement within less than a year, which Formin believed was due to his diplomatic prowess and which his opponents including some of his allies in the Council believed was due to internal Klingon politics.

By the end of his tenure economic growth had slowed again, thanks to a breakdown in trade agreements between Orion, Andorian, and Tellarite industrial cartels. Member planets were also stalling on the disbandment of the National Fleets Chairman Rustvem Federalist Party YY The Federalist Party was elected in late Y on a platform of solving economic problems, and centralizing and strengthening Star Fleet. Chairman Rustvem, an Andorian economist, used momentum from the election to push through the Federation Defense Act, upgrading Star Fleet while also creating the National Guards to act as a reserve and local defense force. Sixteen Orion starships and over 9, crewmen mutinied and disappeared, heading to secret Orion colonies in Romulan space and forming the core of the Orion Pirates, thus humiliating the Rustvem government.

Although a vote of no-confidence in Y failed, the Federalists were blamed for the Orion mutiny and Rustvem lost most of his political capital. Chairman Sanal Union Party YY The Unionists won election handily in Y, on a platform of using scientific research and colonial exploration as a way to unify the bickering member planets. Chairman Sanal, a well-known Vulcan diplomat who had served as the ambassador to the Federation for several years, successfully negotiated a series of agreements that eased tensions between Andor, Tellar, and Vulcan interests, although some aggressive Earth and Orion corporations remained dissatisfied. In Y, Sanal pushed through the Exploration and Expansion Act, beginning a massive program of exploration toward the galactic core. The Unionists were reelected in Y, but cost overruns in the exploration program and the mysterious disappearance of the Aurora Colony in Y caused a major political scandal.

Former president of the United States of Africa and a cabinet minister in the last Federalist government, he cut back the expensive Unionist exploration program and reduced taxes. The last year of his tenure was marked by increasing tensions with the Kzinti Hegemony over planets such as Cygnus and Mantor. In October Y, a Kzinti cruiser acting without orders destroyed the Federation police ship Behan, but last-second negotiations prevented the outbreak of war. An exhausted Obasanjo suffered a debilitating stroke in November Y, but the moderate and conservative wings of the Federalist party were unable to agree on a candidate to replace him as Chairman, forcing an election several months earlier than constitutionally mandated. Chairman Ignacio Guerrero Juarez Union Party YY A human from Monterrey, Mexico, Chairman Guerrero took office after the Unionists barely won the hastily called March Y election. He was thrown into crisis almost immediately due to the outbreak of war with the Kzintis in August.

The new Kzinti Patriarch, seeking resources from the disputed regions to fund planned future wars with the Klingons and Lyrans, believed that the Federation was weak and politically fractured by democracy and the constant arguments between member planets. But the Kzintis gravely underestimated Federation resolve. The initial offensive, while successful on the surface, failed to knock the Federation out of the war with the first blow, and the superior Federation economy eventually ground the Kzintis down. Like most wartime Federation leaders, Guerrero brought political opponents into his cabinet during the conflict. Guerrero proved to be a very effective war leader, rallying morale and support even after initial reverses along the Kzinti front. The war was brought to a successful conclusion in Y, formalizing the pre-war border and bringing Cygnus, Mantor, and many 17 HISTORY AND CULTUREX other worlds firmly into the Federation orbit.

Guerrero and his government were easily reelected in the euphoria that followed. However, his second term was much less successful. Internal disputes between member planets over as usual economic concerns split the moderate and liberal wings of the Unionist party, bogging down the Council and Assembly in infighting and leading to a Federalist resurgence in Y Chairman Rena Manfe Federalist Party YY Alpha-Centauran political figure Rena Manfe took over as Chairman following the Federalist victory in the Y election. Disagreements between Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, and Orion over admitting new worlds to the Federation were particularly common. When the Conservative Party left the coalition with the Federalists in Y, Manfe was forced to call new elections.

Chairman Qnorna Kannal Union Party YY Granddaughter of popular Chairman Moerv Kannal, Qnorna Kannal led the Unionists to a victory late in Y on a platform promising economic revival, a new exploration drive, and a reform of Star Fleet and the rest of the Federation military. Kannal backed a major expansion of the National Guard and planetary defenses, in part to make sure that there were plenty of local government contracts available to satisfy the various member planets. Star Fleet was not expanded in terms of fleet size, but additional money was allocated into technological research to improve the quality of the fleet, and to provide more jobs and reduce bickering among the member planets. This program was successful in reducing economic friction between the various worlds. All three wars were resolved through negotiation. Kannal presided over the signing of the Treaty of Pelione that that ended the war with the Romulans and re-established the old border and neutral zone.

Formal diplomatic relations were opened and strictly controlled trade began to cross the border for the first time. The Organian Peace Treaty ended the conflict with the Klingons. Brokered by the powerful but not omnipotent Organians, the new treaty allowed for economic development and scientific exploration of uninhabited planets within the neutral zone between the two powers. The Organians also agreed to act as neutral arbiters in disputes between the two powers. Alas, in some ways the treaty actually increased tensions, rather than preventing them, as many planets within the neutral zone became focal points for conflict rather than cooperation. The upgrade of border base stations to battle stations which had begun much earlier was completed in Y Here, the Federation apologized for attempting to colonize the territory of the then-unknown Gorns, while the Gorns paid reparations for the destruction of the Federation colony on Cestus III. That planet was beyond the limits of the Y declaration, and its establishment had been hotly debated.

The Federalists felt that since no one was there, the limit was not relevant. The Unionists felt that the principle was important, and that there were plenty of worlds inside the declared limit. When it was discovered that there was another species in that direction, the Federalists were humiliated. The Gorns were happy to accept a border based on the Y Border Declaration. Trade routes were established, and the two sides began a series of diplomatic and cultural exchanges. Reelected by a huge margin in Y, Kannal herself believed that this flurry of diplomacy only postponed a wider war, although she did not make this belief public, as she still hoped to avoid it. In her second term, she began pushing for greater military spending, but found this difficult to get through the Assembly. The Klingon-Romulan Treaty of Smarba brought the two empires closer to each other, and boxed the Federation in.

Kannal attempted to counter the closer relations between the Romulans and Klingons by opening up the Romulan Empire to the galaxy through détente; she hoped to reduce the Romulan xenophobia, and to pursue closer relations with the Kzintis and Gorns. Kannal also began a new exploration drive toward the galactic core, looking for more resources. This was highly controversial, as any sustained drive would quickly go beyond the Y Border Declaration. By the end of her second term in Y, Kannal felt that war was still possible but no longer inevitable, provided that wise leadership remained in power. She retired to academia at the end of her tenure, but during the General War she returned to public life and served as the ambassador to the Gorns under the Baranov and Kirnad administrations.

She helped convinced the Gorns to join the war in Y In Y, she was assassinated. The culprits were never caught, but Romulan operatives were suspected. Chairman Randolph C. Buckner following the Unionist victory in the Y elections. An experienced figure in the politics of Luna, United Earth, and the Federation, Buckner had served in two previous Unionist cabinets, was a general in the United Earth Defense Organization, and was considered the ideal and obvious candidate to follow up Kannal. His military policy was more controversial. Star Fleet wanted to build new classes of ships carriers, a new class of light cruisers, light dreadnoughts, fast cruisers, and more while Buckner wanted to restrict the military budget to spend more on social programs and focus more of the military budget on National Guard forces popular with Unionist politicians who increasingly used this as another social program.

As a compromise, Buckner supported the modernization of existing Star Fleet ships, adding drone racks and more phasers, and accepted the design and production of a very limited number of new ships, with an equal number of old light cruisers placed into mothballs. Opposed to spending so much money on new ships, Buckner allowed that program to become law without his signature by refusing to sign or veto it within the Chartermandated period of 30 days. Buckner put little political muscle behind the modernization program, bending to domestic economic concerns and limiting the pace of refits and new construction. This program, while helpful, was far less than what Star Fleet wanted or needed, and left the Federation unprepared for the war to come. Buckner and the Unionists were reelected narrowly in the spring of Y on a platform of keeping the Federation out of the Second Four Powers War while supporting the Kzintis with massive sales of weapons and supplies on credit.

Tensions with the Klingons were very high, but a diplomatic initiative to resolve the crisis collapsed when the Organians, who had served as neutral brokers for 15 years, disappeared. At that point everything fell apart. Buckner had several personality flaws that made him a poor war leader. He was a micromanager, and found it very difficult to delegate responsibility to those who knew more than he did. Outwardly confident, inside he was plagued with self-doubt and guilt. When the invasion began, Buckner panicked and began interfering with military deployments in an attempt to stop the onslaught. His political opponents accused him of using the fleet to shield the worlds of his political allies. Some historians agree with this, while others believe that Buckner was simply incompetent and out of his depth.

The front stiffened in Y when the Klingon offensive ran out of its initial stockpile of ships and supplies. Romulan and Klingon ships even raided Federation member planets. By the middle of the year, the situation seemed almost beyond hope. Vice Chairman Baranov and several others disagreed with this decision and wanted to fight on or at least hold out for better terms , but were outvoted. Star Fleet was outraged and the Federalist Party called for a vote of no confidence, which was stalled by parliamentary maneuvering. Born in Vladivostok in Y, Baranov was a dynamic figure. He had no military experience, but was extremely skilled in economics, politics, and diplomacy, and was a quick study about any topic to which he put his mind. Baranov faced an immediate crisis in the looming noconfidence vote, which the Unionists were certain to lose. Faced with the choice of defeat or resignation, he masterminded a political compromise, pointing out that a no-confidence vote and hurried new elections in the middle of an invasion would disrupt the Federation government at the worst possible moment.

To remain in power, he formed what was effectively a coalition government with the Federalists, naming noted conservative Federalist Andorian politician and jurist Aelastok Kirnad as Vice Chairman, and retired Admiral Kincaid MacKenzie as Defense Minister. Buckner had forced MacKenzie to retire because he was pushing too hard for construction of new classes of ships. While nothing was said in public, rumor had it that Baranov had reached a deal with Kirnad: the Unionists would run the Federation while the Federalists would run the war. Over time, Baranov earned the respect of his Star Fleet advisors, showing a deep understanding of the major strategic and operational dilemmas of modern war.

His diplomatic initiative to the Gorns and the appointment of former chairwoman Qnorna Kannal as ambassador succeeded in bringing the Confederation into the war against the Romulans in Y, creating the Grand Alliance. Although Baranov held office for only three years, he is credited by many historians with saving the Federation, energizing the people and the economy, and providing outstanding leadership in the darkest hour. His critics claimed that he simply got out of the way of Kirnad and MacKenzie. Not unexpectedly, the Unionists lost the Y elections, but few held Baranov responsible. Baranov served as a symbol of unity and hope for the remainder of the war. Kirnad himself turned out to be an excellent war leader. Like Baranov, the Andorian politician avoided military micromanagement and concentrated on tending the political and diplomatic side of the war. His first order was to launch Operation Wedge, which separated the Klingons and Romulans and turned the war around.

Kirnad won reelection by a large margin in Y, but at that point warweariness began to set in as economic strains and the failure of several Alliance offensives hurt his standing. By the time the Organians reappeared in Y, the pre-war borders had more or less been re-established, with both sides conducting tedious attrition operations that made any kind of strategic victory impossible. When Kirnad and the Council accepted the Organian proposal to mediate a ceasefire, a political firestorm exploded. Some conservatives claimed that the millions of dead had been betrayed by the cowardly Kirnad accepting a ceasefire that ended the war with no territorial gains, but most agreed that the Federation had never wanted anything more than status quo antebellum.

This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below! Home Add Document Sign In Register. Supers GURPS, 4th Edition Home Supers GURPS, 4th Edition. Written by WILLIAM H. STODDARD Edited by ANDY VETROMILE Cover Art by DAVID DORMAN and JOHN ZELEZNIK Illustrated by JOHN Author: Steve Jackson Games. DOWNLOAD PDF. LARGER THAN LIFE but Not Super Heroes. SETS AND PROPS. Dell'Orto Martial Arts Guy , Scott Michael Harris The Pontificator , Martin Heidemann Pomphis , Steve Kenson Mastermind , Jason Levine Reverend Pee Kitty , Patrick Ley Hexslinger , Christian Maillefaud Cosmic Catman , Phil Masters, Brian Rogers Agent of THEM , and Emily Smirle Gal Dynamo GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated.

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CONTENTS 2 Alchemical Preparations. AMAZING FEATS. CLASHES OF TITANS. Our address is SJ Games, P. Box , Austin, TX Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope SASE any time you write us! We can also be reached by e-mail: [email protected] Resources include: Pyramid www. Our online magazine includes new GURPS rules and articles. It also covers the d20 system, Ars Magica, BESM, Call of Cthulhu, and many more top games — and other Steve Jackson Games releases like Illuminati, Car Wars, Transhuman Space, and more. Pyramid subscribers also get opportunities to playtest new GURPS books! New supplements and adventures. For a current catalog, send us a legal-sized SASE, or just visit www. Our e-publishing division offers GURPS adventures, play aids, and support not available anywhere else! Just head over to e Everyone makes mistakes, including us — but we do our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata sheets for all GURPS releases, including this book, are available on our website — see below.

Visit us on the World Wide Web at www. To discuss GURPS with SJ Games staff and fellow gamers, come to our forums at forums. The GURPS Supers web page can be found at www. Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that begin with B refer to that book, not this one. With its help, almost any power from the comics can be defined and balanced against other abilities. Their adventures are an entire genre, with its own themes and conventions. And there have been many comic book heroes with no powers at all.

GURPS Supers is a guide to the supers genre. Building on the material in GURPS Powers, it shows how to use that book to run a campaign that feels like stories about supers. Players who love game mechanics will find some here, especially in chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 1 of this book reviews the history of the genre and examines its key features. Chapters look at the heroes themselves; their supporting casts; and their equipment, costumes, vehicles, and bases. Chapter 5 examines the typical plots of comic book adventures and shows how to make them work in a game. Chapters 6 and 7 provide game mechanics for superhuman action. And Chapter 8 discusses the construction of supers universes as campaign settings. ABOUT THE AUTHOR William H. Stoddard acquired an early enthusiasm for reading and the English language, partly with the help of Silver Age comic books. This eventually led him into a career as a developmental editor, specializing in scientific and scholarly materials.

He discovered roleplaying games in time to play Superhero and Villains and Vigilantes when they first came out; he currently plays in two campaigns, runs three, and writes game books, including the Origins Award winning GURPS Steampunk and his most recent book, GURPS Fantasy. All this gives him more reasons for indulging in his other favorite hobby, research. The supers genre is still one of his favorites. He lives in San Diego, California, with his girlfriend of twenty-plus years, in an apartment that holds one computer, two cats, and far too many books — despite which he still visits two libraries as often as he can. Nearly all of this material has been incorporated into GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition and GURPS Powers, most in substantially revised versions.

So have the gadgeteering rules. All of this material was inspirational for this volume, but almost none of it was specifically incorporated into it. This is partly because the mechanical aspects have already been incorporated into the core GURPS rules, producing a more smoothly integrated system — rather than laying the same foundation, this book focuses on customizing that system to the needs of the four-color genre and a specific campaign world. The Scarab moved cautiously, not wanting to stumble over anything. Drawing attention to himself would be a bad idea; this part of the building was off-limits to the public, even during the daytime. The devotees might be eccentric, but many of them were wealthy; the police would side with them against a masked intruder.

But his questions were too urgent for him to be bound by legalities. There, up ahead, was a source of light: a single fixture mounted above an alcove. Shielding his eyes, he peered into the shadowed space below and made out a door, and a still figure — a statue? no, it was moving now — a man, standing guard. As it stepped out into the light, the air seemed to shimmer as if his vision had blurred. Then there were three figures, not one, all clad alike, and each holding two knives. They came down the corridor toward him; there must have been enough light for them to see him. He briefly considered whether it would be better to retreat — but any room guarded by a sorcerer would surely yield important information. He raised his staff. At least in this narrow corridor it would be hard for them to get behind him.

Two of them moved ahead of the third. He struck one with his staff, but felt no resistance. Were these glamours of some kind, then? But the one at his left slashed at his arm, and he felt the impact as the blade glanced off the metal bands of his armor. The three figures spoke, in unison, in a carrying whisper. You cannot defeat us. Listening carefully, he could tell that one of the three figures was breathing audibly, and he could feel the vibrations of its footfalls on the wooden floor. The other two had SOURCES no such physicality. Having found his true target he struck out, and as his staff slammed against its head the two creatures of goetia shimmered and faded away. He pressed forward against his dazed opponent, batting the knife from his left hand. One final blow and the sorcerer was unconscious. Now to see if he could get through the door. Supers adventures, as a genre, came into being in with the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics.

Every element of the story had precursors in earlier fiction, but the combination was new — and wildly successful. It was quickly imitated, as publishers rushed other titles into print. Over the following decades supers dominated American comics, and branched out into other media: film and television, novels and short stories, and roleplaying games. Most genres try to limit their wonders and marvels, tracing them all back to one fantastic premise; supers adventure usually piles them up, creating a world of open-ended possibilities. If the GM wants to run a campaign in such a world, this book shows him how. All of them were changed in the process. Characters in such campaigns can still find inspiration in the older concepts.

MASKED AVENGERS Earlier 20th-century fiction featured many heroes who fought crime or oppression in disguise and under pseudonyms. LARGER Some operated in historical settings, such as the Scarlet Pimpernel published , the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh published , Zorro published , and the Lone Ranger aired ; others were present-day adventurers, such as the Shadow published after earlier radio appearances and the Green Hornet aired In an early example of shared continuity see p. From these heroes, comic book heroes took the idea of fighting evil under a false name and in disguise.

Search metadata Search text contents Search TV news captions Search radio transcripts Search archived web sites Advanced Search. It was quickly imitated, as publishers rushed other titles into print. Skintight Your costume fits you perfectly and has effectively no thickness; you can wear it under your civilian clothing without bulges and without anything showing. His other hobbies include strength training, reading, painting miniatures, Japanese, and music. Emeralds were mined in The simplest stone tools were made by Egypt by the early second millennium B. Metallic pozzolana a volcanic ash , sand, and stones. Basic Lift is equal to the square of your Will, divided by 5, in pounds; use the table on p.

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