T
alents are unusual abilities some characterspossess. They include weird or unique attributes, bizarre skills, and a variety of effects that aren’t common among normal folk, but are sometimes possessed by heroes and their enemies.
The GM should examine the Talent list care- fully. Not all Talents fit every campaign, and in some extremely realistic campaigns the GM won’t allow Talents at all. Talents are usually appropriate for Heroic campaigns, though the GM may wish to forbid characters to buy some of the more outlandish ones (such as Universal Translator).
THE NATuRE OF TAlENTS
Think of Talents as a halfway step between Skills and Powers. Some of them, like Combat Sense, resemble Skills. Others, like Universal Translator or certain forms of Danger Sense, are more like Powers. They are, in effect, a collection of “super-Skills.” They often represent abilities like Eidetic Memory which, while extremely uncommon in the real world, do exist.
Talents aren’t actually a distinct game element — you construct them using Skills and/or Powers. (See the Appendix in 6E1 for a breakdown of how each one described here was built.) Players and
TAlENT SummARy TABlE
talents cost Description
Absolute Range Sense 3 Character can gauge distances accurately
Absolute Time Sense 3 Character can gauge the passage of time accurately Ambidexterity 1/2/3 Character doesn’t suffer Off Hand penalties Animal Friendship 20 Character has an innate affinity for relating to beasts Bump of Direction 3 Character has an innate sense of direction
Combat Luck 6+ Character has a knack for avoiding injury
Combat Sense 15/1 Character can fight effectively in HTH Combat even while blinded Danger Sense 15+ Character has a special “sixth sense” for danger
Deadly Blow 12/16/19 Character’s attacks do more damage in certain circumstances Double Jointed 4 Character’s flexible joints make some Skills easier to use
Eidetic Memory 5 Character has a photographic memory
Environmental Movement 2-6 Character can move and act without restriction in an unusual environment Lightning Calculator 3 Character can perform mathematical calculations rapidly
Lightning Reflexes Varies Character reacts more swiftly than normal with some attacks
Lightsleep 3 Character is rarely surprised while asleep
Off-Hand Defense 2 Character gets +1 DCV in HTH Combat when fighting with a weapon in each hand
Perfect Pitch 3 Character can identify musical pitch exactly
Resistance 1+ Character can withstand interrogation better than normal
Simulate Death 3/1 Character can feign death
Speed Reading 4+ Character can read much faster than normal
Striking Appearance Varies Character is unusually attractive or ugly Universal Translator 20/1 Character can communicate in any language
Weaponmaster 12/20/24 Character does more damage with certain types of weapons
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volume 1: character creation n chapter Four 109 GMs may design their own Talents the same way,
using the examples provided here as guidelines. Similarly, the GM can expand the Talents list with Skills and Powers which seem more appropriate as Talents for a given campaign.
Talents do not cost END to use, unless the description of a specific Talent notes otherwise. The perceivability of a Talent depends on the game elements used to build it; most are Inobvious or Invisible (see Sensing Powers And Special Effects, 6E1 124).
sensory talents
Several Talents — Absolute Range Sense, Abso- lute Time Sense, Bump Of Direction, Combat Sense, Danger Sense, Lightning Calculator, and Perfect Pitch — are really just special forms of Detect (see 6E1 210), and were constructed using the rules for Detect. However, a character almost never has to make a PER Roll to use some of them, such as Absolute Time Sense and Bump Of Direc- tion — they function automatically with absolute accuracy. Only when the character experiences stress (for example, in combat) or something interferes with his ability should the GM even consider having him make a PER Roll to use such Talents. As noted in their rules, a few sensory Talents (such as Combat Sense and Danger Sense) do require frequent rolls.
Enhanced Perception (6E1 211) or other bonuses that apply to “all of a character’s Senses” generally do not apply to Sensory Talents. Just because sensory Talents are “built” as Detects doesn’t mean they are Detects in the full sense of the term.
lEARNING TAlENTS
Characters cannot learn most Talents as easily as they can learn Skills. First, of course, the GM must allow Talents in the campaign. Second, the character must possess some natural aptitude for the ability. It’s impossible to learn to be ambi- dextrous, and no one just acquires an Eidetic Memory. Therefore, the GM may rule that char- acters cannot learn some or all Talents after the campaign begins.
However, because some Talents are “Skill-like,” conceivably a character could train himself in them. Characters probably could, for example, learn to react more swiftly (Lightning Reflexes) or read quickly (Speed Reading). Therefore the GM may allow characters to learn some Talents after character creation.
As an optional rule, a character could have a “latent” Talent for the cost of 1 Character Point. A latent Talent gives the character no benefit, but allows him to buy the Talent later. The GM might also decide that a character must undertake some special quest or perform a special mission to gain a Talent after the campaign has begun. For example, a martial artist might have to travel to a lonely monastery in Tibet and study there before he could buy Combat Sense.
Characters shouldn’t purchase Talents with Power Modifiers or in Power Frameworks unless the GM permits it or the text notes otherwise. If the GM or rules permit this, apply the Power Modifier to the listed cost of the Talent; don’t “re-build” it using the construction noted for the Talent with the new Modifier. Similarly, if a char- acter puts a Talent in a Power Framework, he uses the Talent’s listed cost.
To keep Talents rare and “special,” GMs may wish to allow only one PC in the campaign to buy each one. Once one character buys, say, Danger Sense, no other character can buy that Talent: it’s the first character’s “trademark” special ability, one no other PC has.
uNBAlANCED TAlENTS
Every effort has been made to balance the Talents. However, some Talents can be more powerful than they initially appear. These Talents are marked with a . A second group of Talents can completely alter a GM’s plot or scenario. These Talents are marked with a . For more informa- tion, see Balancing Powers, 6E1 120.